B I L L OF F A R E SAMUELFRAUNCES' Published at Fraunces Tavern® Museum, the Corner of Broad and Pearl Sts, MMXXII
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Fraunces Tavern® Museum is owned and operated by, and Fraunces Tavern® is a registered service mark of, Sons of the Revolution℠ in the State of New York, Inc., a Section 501(c)(3) not-for-profit corporation instituted in 1876 and incorporated in 1884.
Samuel Fraunces' Bill of Fare Virtual Dinner Party was developed by Lisa Goulet, Collections Manager, and Mary Tsaltas-Ottomanelli, Special Programs & Engagement Manager, as part of the Museum Association of New York's Building Capacity Grant.
Many thanks to Frank Clark, Master of Historic Foodways at Colonial Williamsburg, and Carl Childs, Executive Director, Research and Education, for their help and guidance in developing this program. And to Eli McClain, Building Capacity Project Fellow, for his continuing encouragement and friendship.
Copyright © 2022 SRNY, Inc. All rights reserved.
I. To the Reader II. How to Participate III. The Art of Cookery IV. To Ragoo a Piece of Beef V. To Dress Greens, Roots, &c. VI. To Make White Bread, After the London Way VII. Samuel Fraunces VIII. A Bill of Fare IX. An Ordinary Service X. Dining at the Tavern XI. The Colonial Tavern XII. Understanding Foodways XIII. New York City XIV. The Dutch XV. The Lenape XVI. African Influence XVII. Local Agriculture XVIII. Public Markets XIX. Cooking at 54 Pearl Street XX. 18th Century Cookbooks THE CONTENTS.
Weinviteyoutojoinusvirtuallyfor Samuel Fraunces' Bill of Fare Dinner Party on Thursday, September15,2022at6:30pm. Pleaseprepareatypicalordinarymeal likelypreparedatFrauncesTavernin the1770s.Thefollowingrecipesreflect accessibleandseasonalstaplesofthe colonialera.Joinusatourvirtualtable foradinnerpartytoenjoythese recipesandreflectoncookingcolonial recipesinamodernkitchen. T O T H E R E A D E R. 1
While you gather your ingredients, cook your meals, and enjoy them at home, think about the following questions to prepare for our virtual dinner party. HOW TO P A R T I C I P A T E. 2
Where did you purchase your ingredients? Were they easy or difficult to find? Do you know if they were locally grown? B E F O R E. 3
How did you feel making the meal? Did you make the recipe as directed or did you make edits? What did you add or subtract? D U R I N G. 4
A F T E R. How was the finished meal? Do you wish you had done something differently? Did it remind you of anything you’ve eaten before? 5
The Art of Cookery Made Plain and Easy was written by Hannah Glasse in 1747 and became one of the most successful cookbooks of the 18th century. The book's success was rooted in easyto-read recipe instructions, accessible ingredients, and a focus on frugality. The book was reprinted over the next hundred years, with new recipes added to each new edition.
T H E A R T OF C O O K E R Y.
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, p , p bacon steeped in vinegar a little while, a crust of bread toasted brown; 7
Let all this stew till the sauce is rich and thick: then have ready some artichokebottoms cut into four, and a few pickled mushrooms, give them a boil or two, and when your meat is tender and your sauce quite rich, lay the meat into a dish and pour the sauce over it. You may add sweetbread cut in six pieces, a palate stewed tender cut into little pieces, some cocks-combs, and a few sorce-meat balls.
put to this a quart of water, and let it boil till half is wasted. While this is making, pour a quart of boiling water into the stew-pan, cover it close, and let it be stewing softly; when the gravy is done strain it, pour it into the pan where the beef is, take an ounce of truffles and morels cut small; some fresh or dried mushrooms cut small, two spoonfuls of catchup, and cover it close.
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These are a great addition, but it will be good without. Note, for variety, when the beef is ready and the gravy put to it, add a large bunch of celery cut small and washed clean, two spoonfuls of catchup, and a glass of red wine. Omit all other ingredients. When the meat and celery are tender, and the sauce rich and good, serve it up. It is also very good this way: take six large cucumbers, scoop out the seeds, pare them, cut them into slices, and do them just as you do the celery.
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ALWAYS be very careful that your greens be nicely picked and washed. You should lay them in a clean pan, for fear of sand or dust, which is apt to hang round wooden vessels. Boil all your greens in a copper sauce-pan by themselves, with a great quantity of water. Boil no meat with them, for that discolours them. Use no iron pans, &c. for they are not proper; but let them be copper, brass, or silver.
put them into a saucepan with some milk, and stir them over the fire till they are thick. Take great care they don't burn, and add a good piece of butter and a little salt, and when the butter is melted send them to the table.
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LET them be scraped very clean, and when they are enough rub them in a clean cloth, then slice them into a plate, and pour some melted butter over them. If they are young spring carrots, half an hour will boil them; if large, an hour; but old Sandwich carrots will take two hours.
will with the water: strain it, and with this liquor make your dough of a moderate thickness, fit to make up into 13
Note, As to the exact quantity of liquor your dough will take, experience will teach you in two or three times making, for all flour does not want the same quantity of liquor; and if you make any quantity, it will raise up the lid and run over, when it has stood its time.
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loaves; then cover it again with the lid, and let it stand three hours more. In the mean time, put the wood into the oven and heat it. It will take two hours of heating. When your spunge has stood its proper time, clear the oven, and begin to make your bread. Set it in the oven, and close it up, and three hours will just bake it. When, once it is in, you must not open the oven till the bread is baked; and observe in summer that your water be milk-warm, and in winter as hot as you can bear your finger in it.
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S A M U E L F R A U N C E S.
New York City Philadelphia
Samuel Fraunces was an entrepreneur, operating at least eight taverns in New York City and Philadelphia during his life. He was known for his excellent cooking — he supervised the kitchen’s operation and performed the specialty cooking himself, notably preparing the desserts.
Fraunces served as President George Washington’s first steward from 1789 to 1794. As a steward, Fraunces was responsible for overseeing the operation of the house and a staff of 12 and selected food for Washington’s table and supervised its preparation. 16
A B I L L of F A R E. 17
Samuel Fraunces likely prepared a daily Bill of Fare, a written list of food served at the tavern. They were simple in design and listed the foods available. Although no bill of fare survives from Fraunces Tavern, we can deduce what Fraunces served from his newspaper advertisements, like this one from Rivington’s New York Gazeteer in 1773. Rivington'sGazetteer,October21,1773
Many urban taverns offered an "ordinary service," a prepared meal open to the public at a set time for a set rate. Fraunces advertised his ordinary between one and four ' l k M l d t l AN ORDINARY SERVICE. 18
Fraunces followed English dining customs, with meat centered dishes served in two or three courses and a final course of dessert. Each course contained between five to fifteen dishes! The dessert course was usually a mixture of sweet dishes, sweetmeats, dried fruit, and nuts.
DINING AT THE T A V E R N. 19
It was no easy feat to prepare these meals. Fraunces' household was comprised of 14 people, including his wife, six children, indentured servants, waitstaff, and at least two enslaved men. They were all essential to the preparing, serving, and running of the tavern.
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In addition to a large first-floor public room, Fraunces Tavern featured a number of private rooms in the floors above for the accommodation of private clubs and companies. A number of clubs, societies, and business groups met regularly in Fraunces Tavern and enjoyed the famous hospitality and fine food that the tavern was known for. It would not be uncommon for a small group to dine in a private room.
Taverns were the center of 18thcentury urban life, providing a space for people to gather. Tavernkeepers often advertised "good entertainment” to attract customers. Today we think of the word entertainment as only amusements, but its original meaning was a catchall for providing food, drink, and lodging.
THE COLONIAL T A V E R N.
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UNDERSTANDING F O O D W A Y S. 23
Foodways are the intersection of food, culture, and history and include customs around preparing, presenting, and preserving the food customs of a group of people. The 18th-century exchange of customs and traditions through food was just another exchange of ideas, adapting and evolving from region to region.
In New York City, foodways were influenced by Dutch, English, Indigenous, and African cuisines to form a distinct New York City foodway. The Dutch living in New Amsterdam in the 17th century were introduced to new indigenous plants and animals in North America while introducing European goods to the Lenape. N E W Y O R K C I T Y. 24
The Dutch diet of New Amsterdam included dairy (milk, cheese, butter), and locally grown produce and grains. Salted and smoked meats were also part of their diet. THE D U T C H. 25
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Bread was a staple in the Dutch diet and part of every meal. Bread production was a business regulated by the local government. Brood-wegers (bread weighers) inspected bread and ensured it was the correct size, weight, quality, and price to be sold.
The Dutch prepared special bread and koeks (a gingerbread-like cake) for celebrations, like births and funerals. Seasonings like salt, used to flavor the bread, were imported from other Dutch West India colonies in the Caribbean. They also brought cooking tools to make doughnuts and waffles, which we still eat today! 27
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THE L E N A P E.
The Lenni Lenape were the first inhabitants of the land known today as New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Delaware. Within the Lenape, the Munsee peoples were the first inhabitants of the New York City area.
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The Lenape lived seasonally, and their food came from hunting, foraging, and gathering crops. In the spring and summer, people came to Manahatta (Manhattan) to fish, plant, and gather crops. By the fall, they prepared to move inland by gathering crops and drying meats.
Much of the food we eat today was grown and cultivated by Indigenous people in the Americas for thousands of years before European arrival.
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Fruits like apples and peaches, nuts like pecan and pine, meats like bison, turkey, and beaver, and even some chile peppers, were introduced to the colonial diet.
THE THREE
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Diohe'ko, The Three Sisters—maize, beans, and squash— are pillars of the Lenape agricultural system. The Sisters play a leading role in many ceremonies and legends of Indigenous tribes, like the Seneca Nation of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy inhabiting western New York State. SISTERS.
AFRICAN I N F L U E N C E.
The transatlantic trade involved the movement of enslaved African people, fruits and vegetables, grains, and spices. Food items like watermelon, kola nut, okra, black-eyed peas, nyami (yams), and sesame seeds were brought to the colonies.
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Africans adapted cooking techniques to the new ingredients to create dishes that reflected those in their native countries. For example, oysters from the harbor in New York City were similar to oysters available on the West African coast.
AFRICAN COOKING T E C H N I Q U E S. African cooks applied their native techniques to existing colonial recipes. They introduced cooking techniques like barbequeing, deep-frying, slow-cooking, and steaming food in plantain or corn husks. 34
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Gombo (gumbo) comes from the West African word ki ngombo (okra), the base for the stew-based dish that includes fresh seafood.
Jambalaya is another example of the African diasporan influence on colonial foodways. The seafood dish originated in the southern colonies and pulls from African, Caribbean, French, and Spanish influences during the 18th century.
Much of New York City today was farmland in the 18th century. Kings (Brooklyn) and Queens counties were among the largest grain producers. They were responsible for nearly three-quarters of wheat, barley, and oats harvested in the colonies.
LOCAL A G R I C U L T U R E. 36
Fruits like blueberries, huckleberries, cherries, apples, and peaches grew in orchards just outside the city.
Vegetables like pumpkins, sweet potatoes, squash, lettuce, cabbage, and onions were also regularly available. The Hudson River and surrounding waterways had fresh bass, trout, turtles, and lobsters. Oysters, a New York delicacy through the 19th century, were consumed more than any other shellfish.
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P U B L I C M A R K E T S.
Public markets were integral to colonial New York City foodways. Vendors sold fresh produce, meat and seafood, and even liquor from carts at the marketplaces. The city government regulated markets—butchers were required to have licenses to sell. By the mid-18th century, markets offered imported tropical fruits like oranges, pineapples, and lemons.
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When preparing the daily bill of fare, Fraunces looked for seasonally and locally grown food. Samuel Fraunces likely frequented the Old Slip Market, Coenties Slip Market, and the Fly Market, all within a short distance of the Queen's Head Tavern. The Fly Market, located on Maiden Lane, was one of the area ' s oldest and largest public markets. PREPARING T A V E R N M E A L S. 39
In many urban taverns, the kitchen was located in the basement and featured several hearths. In an advertisement to sell 54 Pearl COOKING AT 5 4 P E A R L S T. 40 New YorkGazette,March19,1781
The hearth was the center of the colonial kitchen. A suspension system allowed pots to be moved around the open flames to adjust the cooking temperature. One-pot dishes were commonly prepared because they did not require extra tools or attention.
HEARTH C O O K I N G. 41
THE 18TH CENTURY C O O K B O O K. Early cookbooks were compiled as manuscripts with recipes and handed down through each generation. As families expanded, they added new recipes from their family and friends to their manuscripts. Cookbooks play an important role in the growth of foodways. The act of writing and sharing recipes is essential to continuing customs and traditions. 42
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This project was made possible in part by the Institute of Museum and Library Services [CAGML246991-OMLS-20]. The views, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this publication do not necessarily represent those of the Institute of Museum and Library Services.
