Early American Settler Food and Recipes
Pioneer people were also called early settlers. The first Pioneers in early America followed animal runs or Indian paths as they traveled through the wilderness. They traveled by foot, horseback, and wagon. Campfire and kitchen meals were usually cooked together in one pot. A housewife's heavy skillet and boiling pot often lasted her entire life.
When a cabin was built, it only had a dirt floor. Tables were made from planks and there were benches or stools instead of chairs. The kitchen with its fireplace was probably the most important room in the house and sometimes the only room.
Most cooking in pioneer settlements was in open fireplaces or Dutch ovens. They usually had some form of corn at almost every meal.
What they had to eat depended on the season.
Wild meat included venison, wild geese, partridge, turkeys, pigeons, hares, squirrel, fish and eels. They often raised pigs, cows, chickens, ducks, and goats.
The pioneers gathered herbs, roots and berries from the forest, ate dandelion leaves for fresh greens, and collected blackberries, gooseberries, and blueberries The rest of the food came from their fields, and gardens.
They stored root vegetables (onions, potatoes and carrots) in a root cellar for winter use. They dried fruits and vegetables and made bread, cheese and butter.
Click on the link for pioneer recipes.
http://www.squidoo.com/pioneer-early-American-reci...
