Yes, the official celebration of George Washington’s birthday was last Monday, but I felt we needed to explore his kitchen and larder and dining room for old times’ sake. The man we revere was more interesting than the saccharine tale of the boy chopping down that cherry tree would lead us to think.
Sometimes we don’t think beyond those spurious tales we heard as children: the cherry tree, the wooden teeth, the dollar thrown across the Potomac… While I was reading about the culinary habits of the Washingtons I learned that perhaps George Washington damaged his teeth because he loved to crack open black walnuts with them. Holy smokes! The father of our country liked nibbles! He also liked bacon – something of which we are inordinately fond ourselves; he is beginning to take on some human characteristics.
Mount Vernon, George and Martha Washington’s home and plantation, was a bustling, self-sufficient place which was visited by hundreds of people a year. George himself referred to Mount Vernon as a “well-resorted tavern.” To feed and entertain these folks in the days long before Whole Foods and Acme, the Washingtons availed themselves of their kitchen gardens, groves of fruit trees, home grown meats and dairy products. (https://www.mountvernon.org/exhibitions) They imported much wine, many spices, and teas and nuts.
The Washingtons presided over a gracious table for their many friends and diplomats, and folks who just dropped by. The larder was always stocked with victuals, in case a neighboring farmer stopped by for a chat and subsequently, a meal. Many were wined and charmed in the gaudy Kelly green dining room at the main mid-day meal.
From The Presidents’ Cookbook: “Washington said: “My manner of living is plain, and I do not mean to be put out by it. A glass of wine and a bit on mutton are always welcome. Those who expect more will be disappointed.” This, however, is an example of the “plain living” offered guests at a Presidential dinner: There was an elegant variety of roast beef, veal, turkey, ducks, fowls, hams, etc.; puddings, jellies, oranges, apples, nuts, almonds, figs, raisins, and a variety of wines and punch.” (The Presidents’ Cookbook, Poppy Cannon and Patricia Brooks [Funk & Wagnalls:New York] 1968 [p. 8-9] )
The stores of fruit and vegetables would have been plentiful. Mrs. Washington called vegetables, “the best part of our living in the country.” They raised potatoes, sweet potatoes, beets, turnips, carrots, leeks, parsley, parsnips and cabbages.
Washington and his gardeners kept meticulous annual records and plans complete with drawings of the various gardens: a kitchen garden, a botanical garden, the “Upper” garden which was a greenhouse with lemon and orange trees, and young trees not native to America. George Washington was a scientific and painstaking farmer.
The famous cherries were ingredients in pies, tarts and breads, jams and jellies, cherry preserves, cherry wine, and cherry paste. Martha Washington’s Booke of Cookery has a recipe for preserving cherries, something necessary when the days of electric refrigeration were decades away. Nowadays you can saunter out of the grocery store almost any time of the year and make these: https://thehistorykitchen.com/2011/07/01/martha-washingtons-preserved-cherries/.
You should wait until this summer to prepare your own store of preserved cherries, when the farmers’ markets will have loads of fresh organic, locally grown cherries. And then you can bake a pie and give a toast to Martha, as well as George. Her birthday is June 2. Mark your calendars.
https://www.fourpoundsflour.com/the-history-dish-washingtons-birthday/
Washington Cake
Adapted from The Cook Not Mad, 1831.
2 cups sugar
2 cups flour, sifted
2 sticks butter, plus 1 TBSP for greasing
4 eggs
3 cups raisins (or 1 1/2 cup raisins and 1 1/2 cups currants)
¼ cup brandy
½ cup cream
¼ tsp each: cloves, cinnamon, nutmeg (all finely ground)
1.Pre-heat oven to 325 degrees. Grease a 9×5 inch loaf pan and set aside.
2.Cream together butter and sugar until mixture is light and fluffy and the color is light yellow, about 3 minutes on medium high speed.
3.Continue to beat mixture on medium high speed, adding in eggs 1 at a time. Add in remaining wet ingredients (brandy and cream).
4.Fold flour, by hand, into cake batter in three batches. Add in spices. Add in raisins and mix well to fully incorporate all ingredients.
5.Transfer batter to loaf pan and cook for about 80 minutes, or until a cake tester (or knife) inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.
6. Let cake sit for 15 minutes before removing it from pan.
A little more modern: https://food52.com/recipes/23452-cherry-pie-filling
And interestingly enough – President Washington’s recipe for beer! Thanks, George!
https://www.history.com/news/the-new-york-public-library-raises-a-toast-with-george-washingtons-beer
“First in war, first in peace, and first in the hearts of his countrymen.”
-Henry Lee
“It could be argued that there is an element of entertainment in every pie, as every pie is inherently a surprise by virtue of its crust.”
― Janet Clarkson
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