The mainstays of a pioneer diet were simple fare like
potatoes, beans and rice
, hardtack (which is simply flour, water, 1 teaspoon each of salt and sugar, then baked), soda biscuits (flour, milk, one t. each of carbonate of soda and salt), Johnny cakes, cornbread, cornmeal mush, and bread.
How did pioneers cook food?
Much of the food was cooked
over an open-hearth fireplace with a few utensils
, perhaps made of wood or gourds, an iron skillet, a pot for boiling, an iron griddle, and a tea kettle. The early pioneers survived by eating meat, wild berries, and food they found in the forest.
What did pioneers eat for breakfast?
Beans, cornmeal mush, Johnnycakes or pancakes, and coffee
were the usual breakfast. Fresh milk was available from the dairy cows that some families brought along, and pioneers took advantage go the rough rides of the wagon to churn their butter.
What did the pioneers eat for dessert?
As for desserts — they were simple, but many and varied. There were
apple dump- lings, rice and bread puddings, soft molasses cookies, sugar jumbles, and mincemeat, pumpkin, dried apple, or custard pies
. On special occasions we might have lemon pie. It was not necessary to skimp on eggs or milk.
What did they eat for dinner on the Oregon Trail?
- Flour. Don’t leave home without it! …
- Bacon. It doubled as food and medicine. …
- Sugar. A spoonful of sugar helps the tedious traveling go down… …
- Cornmeal. The gluten-free grain. …
- Coffee. They’ll take that to-go. …
- Dried Beans. The cowboy classic. …
- Rice. …
- Bread.
What food did saloons serve?
Meals consisted of
meat, breads, syrup, eggs, potatoes, dried fruit pies, cakes, coffee and seasonal vegetables
. And beef. Lots of beef, since cattle were plentiful.
Where did pioneers sleep?
Some pioneers did sleep
in their wagons
. Some did camp on the ground—either in the open or sheltered under the wagon. But many used canvas tents. Despite the romantic depictions of the covered wagon in movies and on television, it would not have been very comfortable to travel in or sleep in the wagon.
What did pioneers do with leftovers?
Soup
. Do you ever look around your kitchen, eyeball the leftover meats and vegetables from the week, and think, “This is perfect for a stew”? So did the pioneers. Soups and stews were a great way to serve a hot and tasty meal without too much effort.
Did pioneers eat bear meat?
Pioneer food was often stodgy, plain, or altogether absent. …
In summertime or fall, pioneers might feast on bear meat
(Laura’s favorite), buffalo, venison, elk, and antelope, unconstrained by the big game laws of the Old World. But in winter, when nothing grew or could be hunted, pioneers were vulnerable.
What did Mormon pioneers eat?
The typical pioneer diet consisted of
corn-meal mush, white or navy beans, salt-rising bread, dried fruit
(if they had it), and any meat they may get along the trail. Things that packed well like flour or beans were the staples.
What Candy did Pioneers eat?
Pioneer Candy Recipes:
Hard Taffy and Old Fashioned Rock Candy
. I thought a fun summer activity would be to make some pioneer candy recipes – and it was! My kids and I made “pioneer taffy” and old fashioned rock candy. They took a little while to cook, but in the end it was worth it.
What did the pioneers eat for lunch?
About midday, the travelers would stop for their “nooning” rest and meal. Lunch choices could include
breakfast leftovers, more beans but now cold and with bacon, bread and crackers, rice and dried beef
. A day’s travel ended in the early evening.
What food did homesteaders eat?
Homestead Food Production
Corn, beans, peas, carrots, tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, spinach, turnip, rutabaga, pumpkins, squash
, Swiss chard, beets garlic and others.
Why didn’t most pioneers ride in their wagons?
Teams of oxen or mules pulled the wagons along the dusty trail. People didn’t ride in the wagons often,
because they didn’t want to wear out their animals
. Instead they walked alongside them, getting just as dusty as the animals. The long journey was hard on both people and animals.
Can you still see the Oregon Trail?
National Frontier Trails Museum
Evidence of the trails can still be seen in the field in the form of swales, which marks the exact route used by emigrants as they traveled westward.
Why did the pioneers go to Oregon?
There were many reasons for the westward movement to Oregon and California.
Economic problems upset farmers and businessmen
. Free land in Oregon and the possibility of finding gold in California lured them westward. … Most of the pioneer families either followed the Oregon-California Trail or the Mormon Trail.
