Looking for some easy and delicious colonial recipes? Well, then you have come to the right page as this article gives you some of the best recipes, that are sure to be loved by one and all.
Colonial times have impacted our food and lifestyle, especially the modern cuisine. American cuisine is based on the colonial food style. There is nothing such as traditional colonial recipes or colonial cooking as the cooking differs depending on the class. Upper class people had lavish meals and had a special cook, whereas as the lower class people often had one-pot meals, except for occasions like Thanksgiving. Whether it was upper class or lower class, cooking was equally difficult as there were not many facilities available like today. But this fact also added in the flavor; for example, if chicken or sniper was to be made for lunch, the cooks had to hunt it themselves! This ensured the quality of the food. Delicacies like apple pie were commonly found in every class.
Classic Colonial Recipes
Shepherd’s Pie
Ingredients
- Turnips, peeled and diced, ½ pound
- Unsalted butter, 4 tbs.
- Beef stock or water, 2 cups
- Tomato paste, ⅓ cup
- Carrots, peeled and diced, ½ pound
- Celery stalks. trimmed and sliced, 3
- Onion, peeled and diced, 1 medium
- Fresh thyme leaves, 1 tsp.
- Lean boneless leg of lamb, cut into ½-inch cubes, 2 pounds
- All-purpose flour, ½ cup
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
- Unsalted butter, ¼ pound 1 stick
- White or red boiled potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes, 2 pounds
- Yolk, 1 egg
- Egg, 1
- Freshly ground white pepper, ½ tsp.
- Salt (to taste) or 1 tsp.
Process
First we will make the stew. To make stew, melt butter in a saucepan or a Dutch oven, over medium heat. Add lamb to it and cook until brown on both sides. Transfer the lamb to a bowl, set aside. Add carrots, turnips, onions and celery to the same saucepan and sauté for about 3 minutes, stirring frequently. Add the lamb to the pan again along with thyme. Sprinkle flour over the mixture and then cook for about 3 minutes, on low heat. Next add stock or water, increase the heat and bring the mixture to a boil. Stir in tomato paste, pepper and salt. Let the lamb cook for about 40-55 minutes over low heat, covered.
Meanwhile we will make the potato topping. To make potato topping, place the potatoes in salted cold water and bring to a boil, then lower the heat and let boil further for about 15 minutes. Drain and mash the potatoes, along with salt, pepper, yolk, egg white and butter. Place the potato topping in a pastry bag fitted with a large star tip.
Preheat an oven broiler. Place lamb on a large baking dish, pipe the potato topping on it, and then place the dish 6 inches from the heat, brown the potatoes. Serve immediately.
Colonial Shepherd's Pie
Yankee Pot Roast
Ingredients
- Boneless chuck roast, trimmed, 1 4-pound
- Chopped plum tomato, 1 cup
- Low-salt beef broth, 2 cups
- Small red potatoes, 1¼ pounds
- Carrots, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces, 1 pound
- Kosher salt, 1 tbs.
- Cracked black pepper, 1 tbs.
- Coarsely chopped onion, 2 cups
- Olive oil, 2 tsp.
- Ketchup, ¼ cup
- Worcestershire sauce, 2 tbs.
- Fresh lemon juice, 2 tbs.
- Chopped fresh parsley
Process
To make this recipe, preheat the oven to 300 °F. Heat olive oil in a Dutch oven, over medium heat. Season roast with salt and pepper then add it to the pan and cook for about 8 minutes, or until browned from all sides. Transfer to a bowl. Add onion to the pan and cook for about 8 minutes, or until browned. Add ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, roast, tomato and broth to the pan, bring to a boil over low heat. Cover the mixture and bake in the preheated oven for about 2½ hours. When done, add carrots and potatoes to the pan and bake further for about 30 minutes. Add in lemon juice and garnish with parsley.
Colonial Yankee Pot Roast
Apple Pie
Ingredients
- Green apples, 24
- Sugar, 2 cups
- Flour, 2 tbs.
- Butter, 2 sticks – 8 tbs.
- Sugar, ¾ – 1 cup (depending on apples)
- Lemons, 4
- Nutmeg, 1 tsp.
- Deep dish pie crusts, 4
- Pastry crusts, 2
- Cinnamon , 4 tsp.
- Cinnamon, 1 tsp.
- Pinch salt
Process
To make this recipe, firstly peel and core the apples, sprinkle them with lemon juice. Take a big bowl and combine nutmeg, flour, sugar, cinnamon and salt in it. Place the apple slices in the bowl and toss until the apples are coated. Place the coated apples into the pie crust, apply them with butter. Place the top crust over the pie, seal and flute. Cut very lightly on top of the pie and then bake it in preheated oven at 425 °F, for about 30-40 minutes.
Colonial Apple Pie
Avoid making changes in any of the above recipes if you want to maintain the colonial taste. However, you can add your favorite ingredients to any of the above recipes, if you want a blend of traditional and modern in your cuisine. Bon appétit!
FAQs
They cooked foods by frying, roasting, baking, grilling, and boiling just as we do in our homes. During the 1700s, meals typically included pork, beef, lamb, fish, shellfish, chicken, corn, beans and vegetables, fruits, and numerous baked goods.
What desserts did they have in 1776? ›
It wasn't long before the New England settlers started to cook steamed puddings, pandowdy, pies and other apple desserts in their fireplace ovens. By the time the revolution was over, almost everyone was eating a hearty slice of pie for breakfast.
What is a colonial dinner? ›
For lunch many colonists would have had bread, meat or cheese along with water, beer or cider. Most cheese making was done at home, and was very hard work. At dinnertime the colonial people might have had a meat stew, meat pies, or more of that porridge, and again beer, water or coder to drink.
What did they eat in Virginia colony? ›
Fresh game, fish, seafood and produce fattened the colonists during warm months, while cured meats and fresh wild game, oysters, herbs and roots sustained them through winter.
What was a typical meal in 1776? ›
Colonial forests were packed with wild game, and turkey, venison, rabbit and duck were staples of the colonists' meat-heavy diets. In addition to these better-known (by modern standards) options, many colonists enjoyed eating passenger pigeons.
What was the most popular food in the 1700s? ›
A typical comfortably fixed family in the late 1700s probably served two courses for dinner. The first course included several meats plus meat puddings and/or deep meat pies containing fruits and spices, pancakes and fritters, and the ever-present side dishes of sauces, pickles and catsups...
What is the oldest dessert in history? ›
Ashure (Noah's Pudding) is thought to be the oldest dessert in the world, first made by Noah after his fabled landfall at Mt Ararat. It is a delightful mix of dried fruit, nuts, grains and beans (yes, beans!) made in Turkey and all over the Middle East. Give it a try - you'll be glad you did!
What did people eat for breakfast in 1776? ›
A typical breakfast could be toasted bread, cheese, and any leftover meat or vegetables from the previous dinner. In summer, people drank fresh milk. The backcountry relied heavily on a diet based on mush made from soured milk or boiled grains.
What did they drink in 1776? ›
During the colonial era, rum was the preferred alcoholic drink of American colonists. By one estimate, colonists consumed 3.7 gallons annually per head by the time of the American Revolution.
What did colonial people drink? ›
So instead of drinking water, many people drank fermented and brewed beverages like beer, ale, cider, and wine. Children drank something called small beer. One of the first steps in brewing beer is to boil the water, which kills the germs and bacteria and makes it safe to drink. This first brewing has alcohol in it.
For colonial Virginia, you could expect to see fish and oysters along with crops like potatoes and pumpkin casserole at a wedding party. There were also two cakes, one for the bride and one for the groom (a tradition often continued today).
What did colonists cook? ›
Many ingredients in colonial cooking are similar those used today, including meats, fish, vegetables, baked goods, coffee, tea, and chocolate. However, tastes, customs, and practical limitations dictated very different cooking methods and expectations.
What food did Jamestown eat? ›
A “rough sort” of the tens of thousands of bones suggests the colonists ate horses, rats, and venomous snakes during the Starving Time. Cattle bones were scarce in the years before 1610, when meat was shipped from England in barrels, but became more common after live cattle arrived in Virginia in 1610 or 1611.
What did colonists eat for breakfast? ›
Corn porridge was popular among the Native Americans, who called it “sofkee” or “sofgee” and eventually became popular with the colonists. As you might wonder, hoecakes and johnny cakes – otherwise known as corn bread – were also breakfast staples.
What Jamestown had to eat? ›
Settlers were forced to eat snakes, vipers, rats, mice, musk turtles, cats, dogs, horses, and perhaps even raptors. In addition, multiple gruesome stories suggest, and archaeological evidence has partially corroborated, that settlers devoured each other.
What was dinner called in the 1700s? ›
Supper, the last meal of the day, was light and, sometimes, optional. It was eaten in the early evening...
What time was dinner in the 1700s? ›
In the early 1700s dinner was taken at 3pm. In about 1805 in London a midday meal was started by women for women and called luncheon. Around the 1850s dinner was now at 6pm, often called teatime. With the 20th century came American fast food breakfast, lunch and dinner, which now decide the eating times.
What did people eat for dinner in the 1600s? ›
This main meal was generally three courses. The first was made up of the heaviest meat dishes, including beef and venison, and the second usually contained lighter meats, fish or poultry, while the third course was made up of sweets, cakes, comfits, cheeses and fruits.
What was a typical dinner in the 1800s? ›
The foods served varied, changing with the customs of each region, but in the North some common foods were chowder, beef, clam soup, baked beans, roasted pork, custards, oxen, turtles, mutton and salmon.
