WHY STUDY FOOD?
Eating, whether by oneself or with a group, is a universal human activity that spans across time, space, and culture. Hunting, gathering, growing, preparing, and eating food is a central aspect of our social lives, on both an individual level and in societies at large. We are compelled to eat in order to survive, making it one of the singular most important objects of human interest and experience across all of history. Yet, the universal consistency of preparing food often consigns it to banality in our day-to-day lives. When considering the great figures, moments, and movements of human history, it is easy for food to take a secondary position in considerations of "the big picture." When making a B.L.T. for lunch, one does not, understandably, often consider that the sandwich they have made an interesting articulation of history and culture.
But it IS interesting! And there is a lot to consider with the hypothetical B.L.T.: One might consider the ingredients; bread has changed a lot over time and the white bread that we eat represents major shifts in food economy away from the yeoman baker to an industry of mass-produced foods. Tomatoes were once eschewed because people believed them to be poisonous, but now they are a staple ingredient in the American diet. The history of the sandwich, for example, offers insights into the lives of working-class people who innovated convenient and affordable meals and the appropriation of simple fare into menus of the well-to-do. This humble B.L.T. offers many lines of inquiry into the past and also the present - what can our lunch choices tell us about ourselves?
The study of foodways explores those lines of inquiry. By definition, "foodways" refer to the “eating habits and culinary practices of a people, region, or historical period” (Meriam-Webster Dictionary) and investigating foodways is an integral aspect of historical practice. Food and the practices surrounding its preparation and consumption are important expressions of culture that reflected the lives of individuals, family units, and whole communities. Historical foodways can be studied by examining archeological evidence of cooking practices, material culture such as cooking tools and tableware, written accounts of meals in diaries and other media, and cooking instructions that are located in archives or passed down through family traditions.
Historical foodways offer insights into issues like environment, gender, class, race, and politics all of which invariably impacted a person or group's experience. When considering the role of food in the lives of our ancestors, there are many important questions to ponder: What and how did people eat? Who gathered ingredients and prepared the food? What social and cultural differences account for the experiences of different groups of people in their eating habits? These questions have formed the basis of whole areas of ongoing research, particularly on the part of historians, sociologists, and anthropologists. By asking these questions, we can begin to explore the ways in which the simple enterprise of eating is representational of larger historical movements and patterns across time, and better understand our food cultures as they exist in the present day.
FOOD AND THE 18TH CENTURY
The above considerations bring us now to the subject at hand: How can the study of historical foodways enhance our understanding of Colonial New Jersey and the American Revolution?
Environment: Knowing what people cultivated and hunted (and therefore ate) shows us how European settlers coped with the climate and landscape of the middle colonies and how food habits were driven by the abundance of some resources and the scarcity of others.
Technology: Food preparation employed a variety of tools that ranged from simple to elaborate. Although perhaps mundane, the technology of food preparation was also impacted by innovations of the 18th century, and the kitchen was a space in which peoples' lives changed drastically.
Gender: The processes of growing, harvesting, hunting, and cooking food were gendered. The separation of these activities between men and women are illustrative of the cultural values and social lives of 18th century New Jerseyans.
Race: Racial difference was exploited in the 18th century kitchen. The relegation of enslaved people to the task of cooking articulates 18th century sensibilities about race and gives insight into the impact of black cooks on modern American food.
Class: What people ate was determined by the social class they occupied, thereby making food practices highly stratified. Although class was a limiting factor in the availability of certain dishes and ingredients, food practices also conveyed the aspirations of those preparing it.
Politics: Food was no exception to the politically fraught world of 18th century America. Peoples' eating habits were impacted by the conflict of the Revolutionary War, as many foodstuffs were subject to shortages and blocades. Food was also subject to some of the most important political debates of the time, that often led to riots and boycotts.
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| Kitchen at the Ford Mansion, Morristown National Historical Park. Credit: Amy Hester |
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