The History of American Food

Margaret Hardin

Starting with the first English settlements in the 17th Century, this podcasts traces how we went from barrels of salted meat & peas to Korean bbq tacos and the largest grocery store selections ever seen anywhere in the world. We'll go everywhere - and it is full of surprises.

Show Notes: https://thehistoryofamericanfood.blogspot.com/
Email: TheHistoryofAmericanFood@gmail.com
Internets: @THoAFood

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221 episodes
Updated July 24

Episodes221

Newest first

March 11 · 29 min
161 Hardtack, Softbread & Meal - Daily Bread in the War of Rebellion
I'm Back and it's bread. The American Civil War (the War of Rebellion is where suddenly we start really naming American Bread. Sure yeah, hard bread is nothing new, but the Fast Bread of fast moving America starts to become a thing. So in order to...
March 4 · 20 min
160 Season 5 Preview: War Changes Everything Except it Never Does
Welcome back to American Food! Sorry about the big break, and even more sorry to be talking about war food ... during war. Blech But it is interesting, and my ever growing fascination with American Food and how it keeps embracing emerging...
February 25 · 2 min
Season 5 Promo - War Food... but with Trains
I'm back and it's been so long. Find out why!
Nov 27, 2025 · 24 min
159.5 The Turkey History Episode... Just for Fun
It's been a little while since I put up this Tukey History Episode! Since Thanksgiving Week is also Episode Week - why not throw this one in for fun? Learn about the wild history of an American bird with a huge travel resume and names that all think...
Nov 26, 2025 · 24 min
159 The Roots of Grocery Store Culture Lie in a Big Country
It's the last Episode of Season 4! And I think I've finally answered one of my opening questions - why did America make our grocery stores the way we did? As soon as Americans could, we ignored the food on the ground (unless it was familiar like...
Nov 12, 2025 · 25 min
158 Are You Rich Enough or Poor Enough to Hunt in the Early 19th Century?
So far America is pretty hostile to everyday hunting - but for some reason we keep adding categories. And lets face it, for a country that keeps talking about how we don't need roaylty, we do seem to keep mimicking aritocrats. the early 19th century...
Oct 29, 2025 · 19 min
157 More Plates You Say? Let's Make Dining More Complicated
After years of no plates, not enough plates and just enough plates - you suddenly have access to many plates and pretty plates. What's a hostess of fashion to do? Obviously - upend the way food is served. Obviously if you have access to more...
Oct 15, 2025 · 26 min
156 The History of Plates
Every wondered how we got into this fix of needing so many plates - or more specifically why you’re supposed to put a set of plates on a registry for a wedding that you are never gonna use? Or at least why did people do that on the regular ,even just...
Oct 1, 2025 · 23 min
155 Whales - They Start to Bring the Kitchen Indoors and Change Dinner Time
As a child reader, I always thought it was so quaint that "dinner" was this old-timey word for lunch. It was a "Dinner Pail" - which was a crude Indian Tiffin - only 1 chamber - vs. a Lunch Box. But I had never spent any tme thinking about why and...
Sep 17, 2025 · 33 min
154 Fashionable Vegetables from Europe & Stealth Ones from America
Celebrate National Public Lands Day by finding a place to visit and get involved at https://www.neefusa.org/news/volunteers-across-country-take-part-national-public-lands-day or https://www.nps.gov/subjects/npscelebrates/public-lands-day.htm And get...
Sep 3, 2025 · 34 min
153 Coffee Finds a New Home
Wake up America! Coffee is on its way to becoming the drink of the people. Sure Cider and Beer are out there... but coffee is coming up on the outside. But how did one brew coffee in the 19th century? And just how weak was it? To find out, tune in.
Aug 20, 2025 · 30 min
152 Early 19th Century Tea - Still Extremely Fashionable
Last show on the substandard mic - but the paper towel as popfilter helped some. Let's talk tea - what tea were people drinking in the early 19th century? The answer was almost uniformly, "bad tea". Ignorance lead to people needing sugar in their...
Aug 6, 2025 · 38 min
151 The First Chinese Food in America
First of all - sorry about the diferent mic. But this way we get the episode. I'll see what I can do to make things better for next ep - and all will be back to normal by the one after that. Anyway - 19th Century Chinese Food? What can I tell...
Jul 23, 2025 · 23 min
150 Lobster - From Poor Man's Chicken to Fancy Canned Good
Think you're fancy with your lobster roll... or did you get it from a Massachusetts McDonalds? All are possible... and much more - including death by lobster poisoning. To get more of the story - tune in to early 19th century lobster Music Credit:...
Jul 9, 2025 · 27 min
149 Trains & Buying Stuff in the Early 19th Century - The Birth of American Consumer Culture
Have you ever thought how we got here - that farm land is all AWAY and houses are all in close? That products come to you... and packaging is often more important than the thing inside? That didn't happen over night. The fact that farms are there,...
Jun 25, 2025 · 32 min
148 Making Beef for Dinner - Increases in Early 19th Century Cattle
What happens when you grow more cows to make more milk to make more cheese and butter? You end up with more oxen that can't make milk - but are useful as a source of beef. And this works out well when you are living in a society that craves more...
Jun 11, 2025 · 33 min
147 How to Survive Drinking Milk in the Early 19th Century
So you are a typical early 19th Century American type... Is there a dairy scene? Yes. But are you drinking milk? Maybe... and probobly only for breakfast. Ok... but is it Raw Milk? Most likely not. In the early 19th century, most milk products...
May 28, 2025 · 28 min
146 What Was Early 19th Century America's Problem with Mushrooms?
Check out the NCPTT... while it's still there, and maybe find an unexpectedly cool place to live. Or maybe a cool woodworking job. https://www.nps.gov/subjects/ncptt/index.htm Hey - so were early Americans eating mushrooms? Yeah. But not all that...
May 14, 2025 · 28 min
145 Mushroom History - Food Edition & What Eactly is a Mushroom Anyway?
While last episode was drowning in information - this week when hunting down mushroom info... it's a bit of a desert. But no worries, there's still fun stuff to be learned - mainly just what is a mushroom? And how have humans crossed paths with it -...
Apr 30, 2025 · 32 min
144 Early 19th Century Apples - the Fruit of Progress & Propaganda
This week - it’s time to look at the connection between westward American Expansion and the apple. How is the apple all tangled up with our creation of the 19th century tall tales we started to tell on and about ourselves? So get ready for a visit...

The History of American Food

161 Hardtack, Softbread & Meal - Daily Bread in the War of Rebellion

160 Season 5 Preview: War Changes Everything Except it Never Does

Season 5 Promo - War Food... but with Trains

159.5 The Turkey History Episode... Just for Fun

159 The Roots of Grocery Store Culture Lie in a Big Country

158 Are You Rich Enough or Poor Enough to Hunt in the Early 19th Century?

157 More Plates You Say? Let's Make Dining More Complicated

156 The History of Plates

155 Whales - They Start to Bring the Kitchen Indoors and Change Dinner Time

154 Fashionable Vegetables from Europe & Stealth Ones from America

153 Coffee Finds a New Home

152 Early 19th Century Tea - Still Extremely Fashionable

151 The First Chinese Food in America

150 Lobster - From Poor Man's Chicken to Fancy Canned Good

149 Trains & Buying Stuff in the Early 19th Century - The Birth of American Consumer Culture

148 Making Beef for Dinner - Increases in Early 19th Century Cattle

147 How to Survive Drinking Milk in the Early 19th Century

146 What Was Early 19th Century America's Problem with Mushrooms?

145 Mushroom History - Food Edition & What Eactly is a Mushroom Anyway?

144 Early 19th Century Apples - the Fruit of Progress & Propaganda