This might be one of my only, and definitely the most forceful hot take I've had so far:

The variety of food depends almost entirely on the vegetables - well the plant foods. After all, there are only so many ways to cook meat - roast, boil, fry, braise... all the interesting flavors come from the plant additions.

But also - going on the move, and the "hurry up" of American culture made our food bland.
Not everyone in new America had bland food, but note, they stayed in place!

Pawpaw & sweet corn pudding vs. baked beans. I ask you...


Books by William Woys Weaver:
The Christmas Cook: Three Centuries of American Yuletide Sweets
Pennsylvania Dutch Country Cooking
American Eats: Forms of Edible Folk Art
Sauerkraut Yankees
Country Scrapple: An American Tradition

Videos on Typical Early American Diets via Townsends:
The Poor Hunter
The Poor Fronteirsman
The Poor Farmer
The Poor Sailor
The Poor Soldier


Also check out:
Prizefighters, Circus Freaks & Gangsters! There's Fighting, Food, Fashion & Fraud (we swear... we laugh, we tease, it's fun)

Music Credit: Fingerlympics by Doctor Turtle
Show Notes: https://thehistoryofamericanfood.blogspot.com/
Email: TheHistoryofAmericanFood at gmail dot com
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