Lecture 25: Colonial Cookery in North America
New England simplicity changed into the mid-18th century for a few
reasons. First, the region became a major mercantile hub, a large
shipbuilding industry, and a large rum-distilling industry connected
them to the triangular trade route, linking them to Africa and the
Caribbean. Foods from all over the empire—including tea, coffee,
and spices—passed through New England ports. Some people
grew very wealthy, but their eating habits didn’t seem to change
that much, except that they became much more closely connected
culturally to England.The Mid-Atlantic Region
It’s diffi cult to generalize about the mid-Atlantic region because
there are several different colonies that were founded for different
reasons. The Dutch in New Amsterdam and up the Hudson
Valley essentially transplanted Dutch culture and large estates
(patroonships) into the New World. They set up what are basically
feudal estates and rented out the land in parcels to tenants—a
practice that is relatively rare in the Netherlands, where most
farmers own their own land that is intensively cultivated or used for
dairy. Perhaps the investors saw this as a way to attract settlers and
make a lot of money. The Dutch handed over New Netherlands to the English in 1667
after a mercantile war, but the Dutch settlers remained, even though
the colony became New York and East Jersey. Many Dutch cooking
traditions remained, including waffl es and cookies. In the southern part of New Jersey—and, more importantly,
into Pennsylvania—there settled an entirely different group of
Englishmen: the Quakers, who are not only radical Protestants, but
also pacifi sts. These people were also religious exiles and were lead
by William Penn. Incidentally, they’re a lot like the Anabaptists,
who were invited to join them in the 18th century, so there’s this
massive infl ux of Mennonites and Amish from Germany. In terms of foodways, the Quakers don’t seem to be that different
from other English settlers—except that they often wouldn’t eat