Life in the Colonial era was very different to life as you may know it today, and food is a prime instance of how important things have changed. The Colonial people did not have convenience foods like jello powder to generate jello recipes. Their desserts were made from scratch.
They used their woodcutting knife for cutting their meat and vegetables. Cooking would have been a slow process where there were no food markets to generate life easier. Butter and cheese were homemade. Corn was popular in the Colonial era, as were vegatables and fruits.
People living near to the sea would enjoy seafood like lobsters and clams. Beverages included beer, milk, apple cider, and pear cider. Recipes maintained as “receipts” and rosewater, coconut, molasses, caraway seeds, lemon, and almonds featured in a number of baked recipes. They might dry spices near the fire after which powder them, to work with in traditional foods recipes.
This can be obviously very different to the life we know today. For people, it is possible to head right down to the store and pick up convenience foods and readymade meals. Should you compare our diet to the Colonial diet however, you will find that many of their recipes were a great deal healthier than modern favorites.
Recipe for Brown Sugar Cookies
What you will need:
1/2 teaspoon soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup brown sugar
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup shortening
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 cup sour cream
3/4 cup raisins
3/4 cup chopped nuts
1 egg
Steps to make them:
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Mix the sugar, shortening, egg, salt and nutmeg, adding the sour cream, baking powder, soda and flour. Stir the mixture well. Add the raisins and nuts and drop the mixture, a spoonful at any given time, to a greased baking sheet. Bake the brown sugar cookies approximately fourteen minutes and cool them over a wire rack.
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