Wagon Wheel Kitchens: Food on the Oregon Trail - Paperback

by Jacqueline Williams (Author)

Award of Excellence from the Washington Museum Association

Pioneer temperaments, Jacqueline Williams shows, were greatly influenced by that which was stewable, bakable, broilable, and boilable. Using travelers' diaries, letters, newspaper advertisements, and nineteenth-century cookbooks, Williams re-creates the highs and lows of cooking and eating on the Oregon Trail. She investigates the mundane--biscuits and bacon, mush and coffee--as well as the unexpected--carbonated soda made from bubbling spring water; ice cream created from milk, snow, and peppermint; fresh fruits and vegetables.

Understanding what and how the pioneers ate, Williams demonstrates, is essential to understanding how they lived and survived--and sometimes died--on the trail.

Back Jacket

In this book, I gather the information and the data pertaining to mid-nineteenth-centruy culinary habits and examine it from the perspective of the people who lived in the prairie schooners. The focus is on the early months of travel, when supplies were adequate and cooks still had the energy to add a dash of creativity to the cookery pot.