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

May 24, 2023 · 25 min
089 18th Century Housekeeping - Inside Edition
Shout out to the National Park Service! Hallowell Furnace is a beautiful spot all full of history. So what does it take to run an 18th century house - inside? Who does the work? (and how glad am I to live in the. age of not just running water - but...
May 17, 2023 · 26 min
088 Fat & Frying in the 18th Century
Deep Fat Frying has come to the North American British colonies... how far away could the French fry be? Not the question I'm answering. Not yet. Instead, it's a look at the arrival of savory deep fried food in (pre) America. What are it's roots,...
May 10, 2023 · 42 min
087 18th Century Transportation - Part II
Time to send me question for the end of Season 2 question show! Getting around the colonies. South of the Mason-Dixon Line, there is way more water transport than I had realized. Which lead to fewer roads and more little trails than I expected. And...
May 3, 2023 · 27 min
086 18th Century Transportation - Part I
Tell me about your local library or history resource! Round 2: Her Half of History - written and presented by Lori Davis https://herhalfofhistory.com/ This week - how did stuff get around the colonies, and back out into the world? Why were port...
Apr 26, 2023 · 27 min
085 Foraging is for Losers - Stay in the Farmyard
Tell me about your local library or history resource! Round 1: Kelsey Creek Farm - sheep shearing, farm life and animal care https://bellevuewa.gov/city-government/departments/parks/community-centers/kelsey-creek-farm/visiting-the-farm Looking for...
Apr 19, 2023 · 27 min
084 Pemmican - Why it’s Called That, What it is, How it’s Made, and How it Changed the World
Pemmican Week - Part 1 - the intro. (Part 2 comes in a later season) It’s a favorite food for a variety of American Fad diets that cost a lot to follow. Yet it has a skilled and knowledge filled past, along with its own origin story. Learn what...
Apr 5, 2023 · 28 min
083 Turning Wild Game into Food is A Lot of Work - 18th Century Hunting
This week I deal pretty frankly with the facts of turning animals into food. There is a little discussion of blood and guts - and how removing them from an animal transformed it from a dead animal into meat - that is, food. These are essential...
Mar 29, 2023 · 30 min
082 Coffee me in the Caribbean, Sugar - the 18th Century Quest for Liquid Vigor
I love coffee and I love sugar (and tea and chocolate for the record). This is clearly a typical human response. I am also unhappy about their history and their present conditions of production. This episode is dedicated to understanding the...
Mar 22, 2023 · 25 min
081 Ketchup - the 18th Century Name for Umami
If for no other reason, listen this week to hear me say "Worcestershire" while looking at the word. This week it's ketchup - and what it was before tomatoes got involved. You'll learn about the history, and find out about all sorts of sauces that can...
Mar 15, 2023 · 29 min
080 Tomatoes & Other Foreign Fruits - The Conundrum
This week it's fruit's turn, and time to learn which fruits are locals, which are imports and how they got to North America, and into the colonial pantry. We glance briefly at fruits we've covered, mention familiar imports and look at the known...
Mar 8, 2023 · 26 min
079 Potatoes & Other Possibly Foreign Vegetables
All the "normal" colonial vegetables were foreign. Or they were imports anyway. Except for the famous ones - pumpkins (which are a fruit) and corn (which is a grain - mostly). But what is up with potatoes? All about potatoes - both kinds - and the...
Mar 1, 2023 · 30 min
078 I Said Mixed Drinks. These are Definitely Not Cocktails - 18th Century Social Drinking
Turns out colonists were making mixed drinks in America... before there was America, or cocktails (officially). Some were elborate and required prep-work (syllabub, cherry bounce), some were super familliar (whiskey Tod?), and some were just a shot...
Feb 22, 2023 · 26 min
077 Whisk(e)y Pulls Alongside Rum - Adventures and Economies of 18th Century Distilled Liquors
THe 17th century was the age of Rum. The 18th century has a new fighter, Whisky or Whiskey - choose your spelling. How is happened, and where it was most important are all explored. There's some brandy and such, but these other things aren't as...
Feb 15, 2023 · 33 min
076 Colonial Wine – the Tedious and Extensive Reasons Why There Wasn’t Any in the 17th & 18th Centuries
Was there wine in the North American British Colonies? No, but yes. There was pricey imported wine, and there were also other fruit wines - including stuff made from some of the American grapes. But no one was selling wine, and definitely no one was...
Feb 8, 2023 · 25 min
075 A Horse's Life - 18th Century Colonial Style
Horses - it's an issue we've basically used the whole country and most of history to run away from. Find out how the American horse problem started - and far we have not come in 300 years. Also - does your town have a Race St? FInd out why today!...
Feb 1, 2023 · 24 min
074 18th Century Colonial Eggs & Associated Chicken Facts
Eggs & Chickens In the 18th century eggs made practical and fancy food (cake!). Chickens made fancy food. Or at least special occasion food. If you wanted bird meat, you usually ate it wild. Chickens on the other hand were always underfoot....
Jan 25, 2023 · 28 min
073 18th Century Hogs - The Start of the Pork Industry
Hey! Hey, Guess what? Did you know that pigs have many names... and many fats. No, please. Wait. Don't run away from me. I'm really here to talk about dental health and delcious sausages. Does this sound like a strange pairing. You migh be...
Jan 18, 2023 · 19 min
072 18th Century Pumpkins - Not Exciting
This week we are about to lose an original member off the leader board. But before the pumpkin slips away for a few seasons, I'll share with you why American food pumpkin dishes are so boring, despite this country being the home of the pumpkin, plus...
Jan 11, 2023 · 35 min
071 Thar She Blows – The Rise of the 18th Century Oil Industry
Well, well, well. Still not eating whale are we? Why in the heck are you talking about whale in a food podcast then? Turns out the global trade that lead to the pelagic (open ocean) whaling trade is a follow on of the "food for sea" in development....
Jan 4, 2023 · 35 min
070 The History of Whaling
This week one of my cats makes his debut in sound design. His playing about in the closet makes me it seem as if I have Very Strong Feelings about trends in rich people food. But mostly this is a look into the past of large-whale eating on a...

The History of American Food

089 18th Century Housekeeping - Inside Edition

088 Fat & Frying in the 18th Century

087 18th Century Transportation - Part II

086 18th Century Transportation - Part I

085 Foraging is for Losers - Stay in the Farmyard

084 Pemmican - Why it’s Called That, What it is, How it’s Made, and How it Changed the World

083 Turning Wild Game into Food is A Lot of Work - 18th Century Hunting

082 Coffee me in the Caribbean, Sugar - the 18th Century Quest for Liquid Vigor

081 Ketchup - the 18th Century Name for Umami

080 Tomatoes & Other Foreign Fruits - The Conundrum

079 Potatoes & Other Possibly Foreign Vegetables

078 I Said Mixed Drinks. These are Definitely Not Cocktails - 18th Century Social Drinking

077 Whisk(e)y Pulls Alongside Rum - Adventures and Economies of 18th Century Distilled Liquors

076 Colonial Wine – the Tedious and Extensive Reasons Why There Wasn’t Any in the 17th & 18th Centuries

075 A Horse's Life - 18th Century Colonial Style

074 18th Century Colonial Eggs & Associated Chicken Facts

073 18th Century Hogs - The Start of the Pork Industry

072 18th Century Pumpkins - Not Exciting

071 Thar She Blows – The Rise of the 18th Century Oil Industry

070 The History of Whaling