Period foods

[Company C, 9th KY]

Hi all, Im familiar with most of the food and/or rations of the period, (hardtack, saltpork, cornmeal, etc.)...but what about popcorn? I did a few searches for it but couldnt find anything definitive. With the amount of corn used for other things, ie: corn pone, parched corn, and cornbread, among other things, I figured they might have some. I know it wouldnt do much for a soldiers appetite, but making some in a mucket over the fire with some of the boys sounds feasible.

Thoughts?

Pvt. Kirk

[chatrbug]

popcorn that we know today was brought over in the 17th century (before that it was not the popcorn we know of today). popcorn poppers for street vendors became popular in 1889. it wasnt a popular item to grow though.

i remember laura ingalls always eating popcorn with her parents in the evening. but thats in 1870s and 1880s.

[hanktrent]

it wasnt a popular item to grow though.

I think that's the key. Where's a soldier going to get popcorn? With acres and acres of regular corn in the field, the chance of him finding a field of popcorn would be about, well, nil. So he'd have to purchase it somewhere, and for some reason.

If you're portraying a time and place where a soldier might have access to it (maybe a treat at Christmastime in a fort, bought from a well-supplied sutler there?) it would be a great idea.

On the march, not so great, unless there was some oddball documentation to the specific time and place.

Hank Trent
hanktrent@voyager.net

[chatrbug]

from what im seeing.. it wasnt grown much in the eastern states (study says it shows total lack of growth), but it was popular in mexico... i believe that may have to do with the harsh winters that the east gets. 1880 it became a commercial product (doesnt mean that the small farmers didnt sell it).

i would say that a soldier on the march wouldnt have it. if he did have it, it could be a package from home or something... but i also wonder if it wouldnt be on the cob still.

[Frenchie]

:confused: Popcorn is just ordinary dried corn that's poured into a pot or pan with a little oil or butter and shaken gently over a fire. I learned to do it in the Boy Scouts. I've never heard of a special kind of "popcorn" corn.

[hanktrent]

:confused: Popcorn is just ordinary dried corn that's poured into a pot or pan with a little oil or butter and shaken gently over a fire. I learned to do it in the Boy Scouts. I've never heard of a special kind of "popcorn" corn.

One need only look at the shape of a kernel of modern popcorn (round or tear-drop shaped), and the shape of a kernel of mature dent field corn as typically grown in southern fields (flat, indented top), to see that something's going on.

From Notes on North America, Finley, 1851: The popping of corn is owing to the presence of this oil [in the kernel], but only those varieties will pop in which the horny part is large, and surrounds completely the internal starchy part. The varieties called pop-corn and rice-corn possess this property in the highest degree...

Gourdseed or dent corn, the varieties most common in southern fields during the war, would have some of the softest outer covering and the least oil compared to northern flint varieties and especially the true popcorn varieties, and so would make the "worst" popcorn. When I've tried to pop or parch mature heirloom gourdseed corn, the results have been just about nil, as far as getting the usual puffed up, white, popcorn appearance.

Fearing Burr's Field and Garden Vegetables of America, 1865 lists two varieties of popcorn, white (the most common) and yellow. The white produces ears 6-8" long, "kernel roundish, flattened, glossy, flinty, or rice-like, and of a dull, semi-transparent, white color. When parched, it is of pure snowy whiteness, very brittle, tender, and well flavored, and generally considered the best of all the sorts used for this purpose. In many parts of New England the variety is somewhat extensively cultivated for commercial purposes."

For an online list of some period corn varieties similar to Burr, see The Technologist magazine, 1868 at http://books.google.com/books?id=NiQAAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA219-IA2 That should take you to the start of the list on page 217, and popcorn is listed on page 219 under the heading pearl corn.

Pearl Corn, commonly called pop-corn, from the fact of its being used for popping or parboiling. The ears of this variety are small, the grains are sound, of various shades of colour, the white of a pearly appearance; and contains with the rice corn, more oil and less starch than any other variety.

Hank Trent
hanktrent@voyager.net

[Frenchie]

Cool. You learn something new every day.

[Company C, 9th KY]

Cool. You learn something new every day.

You sure do. I didnt think about all that, it does make sense though. The group of reenactors Im with are period-correct, so I wouldnt want to do something that might not be right.

Thanks for all the input!

Pvt. Kirk

[chatrbug]

its okay frenchie... i actually only knew because my children decided to pop some regular corn from a can :) i knew it wouldnt work..but hey.. i wont stop learning! so we dried some up and tried to pop it. i had done research and knew but all well.

[jat]

Hey Native Americans had popcorn before the Europeans came to America. They pop the corn in hot sand in pots. There is one problem that is getting the corn during the war.

[hiplainsyank]

If you're looking for a crunchy, salty treat, buy some sweet corn (if you don't have a garden) pull back the husk and dry it out thoroughly. Throw it in your haversack and "fry" it in some hot grease--salt it if you can. It's parched corn and does just fine for that snack fix.

[Company C, 9th KY]

If you're looking for a crunchy, salty treat, buy some sweet corn (if you don't have a garden) pull back the husk and dry it out thoroughly. Throw it in your haversack and "fry" it in some hot grease--salt it if you can. It's parched corn and does just fine for that snack fix.

That sounds good. I found a couple articles about parched corn and I think thats the way Ill go. Just something to munch on around the fire before hitting the dog tent.

Pvt. Kirk

[DaveGink]

from what im seeing.. it wasnt grown much in the eastern states (study says it shows total lack of growth), but it was popular in mexico... i believe that may have to do with the harsh winters that the east gets. 1880 it became a commercial product (doesnt mean that the small farmers didnt sell it).

i would say that a soldier on the march wouldnt have it. if he did have it, it could be a package from home or something... but i also wonder if it wouldnt be on the cob still.

I'm not sure what study you were looking at? Perhaps it wasn't an agricultural crop but it was a very popular treat during that period and grown in many home gardens. And while I have not read of any soldier mentioning it in letters, it would be very hard for me to believe it was not a at least an occasional care package item. The cured kernels would be easy to ship, carry, and make.

[DaveGink]

Here are a couple links to period recipes...

http://web.archive.org/web/20031205204216/http://www.eden.rutgers.edu/~sirak/uscwcc/recipes.html

http://web.archive.org/web/20031205204216/http://www.eden.rutgers.edu/~sirak/uscwcc/recipes.html

http://www.geocities.com/Pentagon/Barracks/1369/recipes.html