The History of American Food

• 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 meat, and are in a place with apparently wide open spaces that are just fine for feeding said cattle.A bonus when you have lots of growing industries that are willing to buy beef from you to feed their growing ambitions - whaling, the railroad, new factories, a military pushing out the borders...And then... you also have new technologies to cook the beef, and have come up with new flavors for seasoning the beef.The result - American is ready to become a beefy country.Music Credit: Fingerlympics by Doctor TurtleShow Notes: https://thehistoryofamericanfood.blogspot.com/Email: TheHistoryofAmericanFood at gmail dot comThreads: @THoAFoodInstagram: @THoAFood& some other socials... @THoAFood

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• 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 were at least heated (cheese) or outright cooked - almost everything else - or downright boiled - your breakfast milk.Funny thing is, Americans have retained their passion for boiled milk at breakfast.  We just flavor it with coffee and tea now.For more on this and how the evolution of the American Barn got us ready to have Milk Runs on trains, listen in.Music Credit: Fingerlympics by Doctor TurtleShow Notes: https://thehistoryofamericanfood.blogspot.com/Email: TheHistoryofAmericanFood at gmail dot comThreads: @THoAFoodInstagram: @THoAFood& some other socials... @THoAFood

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• 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.htmHey - so were early Americans eating mushrooms?Yeah.  But not all that much.  Just enough for a mushroom industry to spring up in the end of the century - but only in one place, and only for one kind.But in the meantime - mushroom powder is DELICIOUS... and not that hard to make.Recipe for 1 quart/4 cups/1 litre of MushroomsClean your favortie way.  Cut or break up.Combine with:1/2 tsp mace (or slightly less nutmeg)5 cloves2 bay leaves1/4 tsp pepper (or more depending on your tastes)1 Tbs salt1 small onion quartered (or half a large one)1 Tbs fat (butter or your favorite oil)1 Tbs vinegar (white/rice/apple cider all good choices)Heat over medium-low heat to sweat the mushrooms.  When mushrooms have withered - take off heat.  Squeeze out all the liquid using lint free tea-towel.Save liquid, reduce by 1/2 - Mushroom Ketchup!Remove large spices and larger onion pieces.  Spread out on drying tray.Dehydrate to crispy. (Dehydrator - or 200F/100C for a few hours)Crush to powder in favorite appliance.Music Credit: Fingerlympics by Doctor TurtleShow Notes: https://thehistoryofamericanfood.blogspot.com/Email: TheHistoryofAmericanFood at gmail dot comThreads: @THoAFoodInstagram: @THoAFood& some other socials... @THoAFood

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• 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 - in ways besides tripping out?Also - how is the lack of information and the limited presence of mushrooms in AMerican food related?Some answers are here.Also - The Fantasia clip of Tchaikovsky's "Chinese Dance" will let you see (among other things) open and closed mushrooms - the "li'l-est" one with it's veil more or less intactAlso - that in the 1940's Americans were pretty mushroom cluelessMusic Credit: Fingerlympics by Doctor TurtleShow Notes: https://thehistoryofamericanfood.blogspot.com/Email: TheHistoryofAmericanFood at gmail dot comThreads: @THoAFoodInstagram: @THoAFood& some other socials... @THoAFood

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• 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 from some of the features/specters of that myth making that inhabited a huge part of the 20th century. Links:Johnny Appleseed Cartoon (1948) Paul Bunyan Cartoon (1958)  John Henry Cartoon 1 (1973 – narrated by Roberta Flack)John Henry Cartoon 2 (2000 - Disney)Pecos Bill Cartoon (1948) Davy Crockett Disney TV show Theme Song (1954 – This is… OOoooF rough) Iriana Geogescu's plum dumplings you can use with apples.  Or apricots of course.   Music Credit: Fingerlympics by Doctor TurtleShow Notes: https://thehistoryofamericanfood.blogspot.com/Email: TheHistoryofAmericanFood at gmail dot comThreads: @THoAFoodInstagram: @THoAFood& some other socials... @THoAFood

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