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Cooking Throughout American History
Food and Recipes of the Pilgrims
Describes the kinds of foods grown and prepared by the Pilgrims during their first years in America, and their dependence upon Native people to ward off starvation. Includes recipes.
- GenresHistoryFoodNonfiction
24 pages, Library Binding
First published August 1, 1998
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
July 19, 2019
Excellent little book to introduce kids to our culinary history as Americans.
July 9, 2011
Found this at the children's grocery store at the Strong Museum of Play, standing proudly and seductively next to the rubber baguettes. I had spent some of the day reading Haddix's Sabotaged, set during the Roanoke civilization period, and the characters were finding ruins and scrounging for food at that very minute, so I had to put this supplement in the cart and read it quickly.
Well, it was good. The recipes were SUPER easy and for kids: butternut squash with butter and brown sugar on top, mashed turnips, etc. Things that don't need recipes but show just how simple and maybe boring the food of the Pilgrims actually was. More importantly, it explained how clueless the Pilgrims were about food when they got here, how the natives helped, and the new information I took away from this was which food came from England and which grew here naturally. I'm sure I had learned this somewhere before, but I didn't remember, so I guess I didn't REALLY learn it.... Reading this book was a terrific way to spend 10 minutes.
Well, it was good. The recipes were SUPER easy and for kids: butternut squash with butter and brown sugar on top, mashed turnips, etc. Things that don't need recipes but show just how simple and maybe boring the food of the Pilgrims actually was. More importantly, it explained how clueless the Pilgrims were about food when they got here, how the natives helped, and the new information I took away from this was which food came from England and which grew here naturally. I'm sure I had learned this somewhere before, but I didn't remember, so I guess I didn't REALLY learn it.... Reading this book was a terrific way to spend 10 minutes.
November 5, 2021
Great introduction to cooking with simple recipes while also imparting historical information. Highly recommended.
September 21, 2026
An informative culinary history book for kids including recipes.
December 4, 2011
Informational Text:
The book was told through the perspective of a little boy named Benjamin and his family. It talked about how rough it was for his family and the other settlers when they first came to America, and how the Indians gave them a great deal of support by showing them how to survive in the lands that they had lived in for years. The book is set up in chapters and throughout each one it is sprinkled with different traditional recipes that the pilgrim's (and Benjamin's family) would have made. Along with the help of a parent a child could easily follow the recipes to try some of the meals that are mentioned in the book. This would be a great way for them to put into practice the knowledge that they are learning as well as help to make it more memorable for them. It would be a great informational book to use around Thanksgiving since it also talks about the first Thanksgiving and how the tradition came to be. The pictures are mostly black and white sketches which lend a feeling of nostalgia, like the reader is looking back on very old important documents from Benjamin's family history. I really liked the way that the information was delivered through the eyes of a child that would have been slightly older then the children who would be reading this book because it makes it more interesting for them.
The book was told through the perspective of a little boy named Benjamin and his family. It talked about how rough it was for his family and the other settlers when they first came to America, and how the Indians gave them a great deal of support by showing them how to survive in the lands that they had lived in for years. The book is set up in chapters and throughout each one it is sprinkled with different traditional recipes that the pilgrim's (and Benjamin's family) would have made. Along with the help of a parent a child could easily follow the recipes to try some of the meals that are mentioned in the book. This would be a great way for them to put into practice the knowledge that they are learning as well as help to make it more memorable for them. It would be a great informational book to use around Thanksgiving since it also talks about the first Thanksgiving and how the tradition came to be. The pictures are mostly black and white sketches which lend a feeling of nostalgia, like the reader is looking back on very old important documents from Benjamin's family history. I really liked the way that the information was delivered through the eyes of a child that would have been slightly older then the children who would be reading this book because it makes it more interesting for them.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews