What the Washingtons Ate; What Their Slaves Ate

If American history fascinates you and you also have a great interest in recipes from past centuries, February is the ideal month to delve into this new book-- Dining with the Washingtons: Historic Recipes, Entertaining, and Hospitality from Mount Vernon edited by Stephen A. McLeod. For a gift or to plan a potluck dinner, it’s an inspiration as the nation celebrates Presidents’ Day and Black History Month.  Published in November, 2011, McLeod’s book recently received this praise from the Chicago Tribune: “The genius—and the bite—of this book lies in the dramatic contrast between the oft-told lives of the president, his family and his famous guests with those of the unsung slaves who toiled long to produce the hospitality for which Washington was famous.” 

All aspects of 18^th century food cultivation, preservation, and preparation are discussed. In addition, there are more than 90 recipes for soups, meats, poultry, fish, vegetables, pies, puddings, cakes, ice cream, alcoholic beverages and so on.   These have been adapted for today’s cook by the culinary historian Nancy Carte Crump.   Thanks to her, you don’t need to go to Mount Vernon to sample the type of food the Washington’s served. You can create it in your own kitchen.

McLeod’s book also contains a section on the slave diet and moving anecdotes about the slaves. One example is the story of the president’s favorite chef, Hercules, who eventually made a successful escape.  When his 6-year-old daughter was asked if she felt sad because she would never see her father again, she replied that she was “very glad, because he is free now.”

Listed at $35, Amazon is selling this hard-cover, beautifully illustrated book for about $22.  It’s also available on Kindle.  If you look up this book on Amazon, the site will recommend other books that focus on the food of various periods of American history.  It could get you started on a new hobby.

Source(s):

Chicago Tribune “Mount Vernon life wasn’t always a party” 2/15/12