The History of Food and Drink in New York

BOOK REVIEW

The History of Food and Drink in New York Food City: Four Centuries of Food-Making in New York,, by Joy Santlofer.

New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 2017 Reviewed by Karla Freire

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he disappearance of good-paying manufacturing jobs emerged as a major issue in last year’s presidential campaign.

Nowhere has that trend been more dramatic than New York City: from 1 million such jobs in 1950, its manufacturing total has dwindled to a mere 75,000 today. However, one subsector has been growing so sharply that it alone now accounts for one-fourth of all manufacturing employment: the food industry. How and why has this happened, and what does it mean for the city’s culinary and economic future?

from Holland. Alternatively, they attempted to reproduce foods from their homeland using the familiar ingredients available. Thus, preservation of Dutch food and culture played an enormous role in food-making in pre-colonial America.

New Amsterdam’s constant short supply of food sources, like wheat, led to the production and consumption of hard-bread or crackers. However by 1628, as harvests improved and the population expanded through migration, New Amsterdam had enough grain to make beer and bread. Shortly thereafter, the Dutch West India Company opened a brewery on present-day Stone Street and a bakery on Pearl Street, thus marking the beginning of artisanal production in New York City’s food history. Additionally, Santlofer notes that the Dutch established an enduring culture of buying food products from shops rather than consuming homemade goods, as was the norm with New England settlers.

Joy Santlofer’s Food City meticulously explores the rise, fall, and recent revival of New York City’s major food industries over a period of 400 years. Beginning with America’s first settlements in the early 1600s and concluding in the late 20th century, she places New York’s food production and consumption within a deep historic context. Along the way she touches upon a multitude of themes, including: labor, race and ethnicity, class, gender, migration and immigration patterns, globalization, and warfare.

By the 1640s and 50s, issues of race and labor begin to arise, as a new law forbade bakers to sell bread to Native Americans before the colonists bought their share of bread. Food a common source of inclusion and community, became instead a means of exclusion and discrimination. Meanwhile the politicization of food begins as bakers complain of a lack of guilds and later protest the Common Council’s controls over bread price controls. It is here that the book sets the stage for conflicts that would cycle continuously through New York City’s food history.

Completed posthumously, Food City, is Santlofer’s tribute to the city’s vivid and lengthy food history. As a former professor at NYU and editor of the Journal of the Culinary Historians of New York, she divides the book into four highly comprehensive sections, one for each food industry analyzed: bread, sugar, drink, and meat. She also shows how pre-colonial Dutch settlers influenced and shaped the industries listed above. The author skillfully uses this section as a starting point for her main argument: the story of New York City’s main food industries is one that is founded upon artisanal production in the 17th century, shifts to industrial production for nearly two centuries, and ultimately returns to artisanal production in the 21st century. The work’s brief conclusion examines the state of each major food industry today and determines that New York City is currently experiencing a “golden age” in regards to food production.

After English conquest in 1664, New Amsterdam, renamed New York, experienced cultural diffusion as a heavy consumption of tea, sugar, and meat became more common in the American diet. So much so that Santlofer notes the opening of the first sugar refinery in New York in 1730 and the first public slaughterhouse in 1720. By the mid-18th century, the city had built a rich and profitable global food trade, drawing on the wealth of its produce and livestock from ample nearby farmland. After the French and Indian War, a downturn in the economy and crop failures plagued this trade.

British taxes imposed on Americans to pay for the war led to a multitude of boycotts, most infamously one of British tea. Tea drinking became a symbol of disloyalty amongst Americans.

During the Revolutionary War, the British forces made the city their headquarters for the duration. This generated considerable demand for a host of New York businesses. However, during the war’s later years a period of scarcity of affordable foods and a decline in food industries and trade plagued the average New Yorker. By this time only wealthy Loyalists continued to prosper from the war boom.

Food City’s first chapter, “Appetite” covers the arrival of the Dutch West India Company in the Americas in 1624, subsequent settlement in New Amsterdam, British conquest of New Amsterdam, and concludes with the Revolutionary War. Within the context of these major events in early American history, Santlofer introduces the Dutch and later English influence on early artisanal production of bread, sugar, drink, and meat. She begins by describing the harsh environment early Dutch settlers found in 17th century Manhattan.

Although settlers were surrounded by rich new sources of food, such as corn, most settlers did not feel comfortable eating unfamiliar foods, and instead often survived on imported preserved foods 40

The following four sections on bread, sugar, drink, and meat are anchored within the context of other historic events, such as the Civil War, large waves of immigration in the 19th century, the Progressive Era’s concern for industrial and moral reform, the Great Depression and World War II. They trace the similar shift from artisanal to industrial production and its rise as a result of human ingenuity and technological advancements. In addition, each section examines the fall of each industry in the post World War II era, as a result of consumers’ flight to suburbia and various labor conflicts.

industry, sparking public demands for legal reform. Despite new laws, like the 1906 Pure Food and Drug Act, most food production facilities remained unsanitary well into the 20th century.

By the 1920s, the bread industry’s leading corporations were paying greater attention to the large immigrant population in New York City. For example, Loose-Wiles, (ancestor of today’s Sunshine Biscuits), created a specialty foods market featuring kosher foods.

Immigrants also influenced New York’s cuisine through their introduction of a more diverse diet for Americans, such as one that included pasta. As a result, by the post World War II era, bread consumption had declined greatly. This issue was exacerbated by competition by the ethnic foods now found on supermarket shelves.

The 1950s also marked a victory for bread unions as they won the right to a five-day work week and wage increases. However, the bread industry in New York City was now in decline as its consumers moved to suburbia. Companies such as National Biscuit, followed its consumers out by the end of the decade as it moved its industrial plant from Manhattan to New Jersey leaving many workers unemployed in its wake.

The section “Bread,” begins with the post-Revolutionary War period that heralded an economic upsurge and a rise in employment rates within the food industry. The turn of the 19th century also marked a shift in power within the bread industry as bakers won the right to determine bread prices after a lengthy battle with New York’s Common Council in 1821. Shortly afterwards, the completion of the Erie Canal proved beneficial for nearly all industries, sharply lowering transportation time and costs to and from upstate New York and the Great Lakes. An influx of inexpensive wheat, grain, and flour poured into New York’s bakeries for the production of crackers and bread. Inexpensive grains feed livestock headed for the city’s slaughterhouses each year, while cheap barley produced inexpensive alcohol in the form of whiskey.

In “Sugar,” we see New York’s sugar industry revolutionized by two brothers, Robert and Alexander Stuart, in the early 1830s. The Stuarts’ sugar refinery is the only one that adapted to new European candy making techniques that involved the use of the steam engine.

This method produced sugar faster and at a lower cost. With refineries such as the Stuarts’, by the 1850s New York City became one of the largest sugar markets in the world.

By the mid-19th century, a wave of immigrants, arriving predominantly from Europe, began to form a large part of the city’s workforce and would later prove to shape its food history as well.

Meanwhile technological advancements, such as the reel oven, revolutionized the bread industry as it reduced the amount of time needed to bake large quantities of crackers. Another innovation, the floating grain elevator, a machine that removed grain from stalks directly from canal barges, reduced the need for human labor. This led grain workers organizing and protesting the resultant layoffs.

By 1925, the bread industry fully mechanized at every stage of the bread making process.

The Civil War posed new issues for the city’s sugar industry as refineries long depended on raw West Indian sugar produced by slave labor. Thus, several leading businessmen and politicians supported the South’s secessionist cause during the war years.

However, any fears related to a loss of the South’s sugar market during the war vanished, as several confectionaries made more profit providing the Union army’s sugar rations through government contracts than they had ever seen before with their sales within the South. Massive profits created societal tensions as a generation of millionaire businessman produced a larger gap between the rich and the poor by the end of the war.

The Civil War marked the beginning of large government contracts within the American food industry as Union soldiers received millions of pounds of bread and crackers each week from New York City bakeries with government contracts. Returning soldiers later came to shape the American diet as they grew accustomed to eating crackers, thus contributing to their greater consumption after the war. Additionally, the war paved the way for the rise of big business and the age of monopoly as several food company owners became wealthy off the booming wartime economy and began to consolidate companies. By the 1880s, major wholesale bread factories found themselves embroiled in union battles with bakers for a reduction in work hours. Despite a series of strikes and boycotts, the United Bakers Unions of Brooklyn and New York, failed to achieve their immediate goal. It took until 1938 for the labor-led “eight-hour-day” campaign here and across the country to ultimately achieve overtime and the standard 40-hour workweek.

By the late 1880s, several sugar refineries had expanded and consolidated. Public outcry over rising sugar prices, a result of sugar corporation price controls, helped Congress to pass the ineffective Sherman Antitrust Act. In addition, union strikes over the right to safer work conditions, fewer work hours, higher wages, and job security within the industry became the norm. Exposes on the candy industry published in the early 20th century revealed unsanitary and sometimes poisonous candy production, diseaseridden workers, and the exploitation of young immigrant women laboring in candy factories.

World War II marked a period of intense rationing, including sugar rationing, as most of the industry’s sugar went to the US army. The war itself shaped American diets as chewing gum consumption rose during the war and returning soldiers, now accustomed to greater

In addition to improvements in labor conditions, the Progressive era called for cleaner food products. A series of exposes by journalists revealed the unsanitary and dangerous work throughout the food 41

quantities of wrapped chocolate candy bars, began to consume them at home. Newly arrived war refugees introduced still more new foods, such as yogurt, to the American public.

By the end of World War I, the temperance movement was making great strides. The Anti-Saloon league lobbied for the passage of legislation against the production of alcohol. Soon enough the Eighteenth Amendment was passed, despite its unpopularity with some sectors of society. The amendment banned the manufacturing and sale of alcohol. The production of moonshine in homes across the city and subsequent police raids of these homes became common. Breweries struggled to stay afloat and instead produced “near beer” a beer of very low alcoholic content. Nonetheless some breweries still produced lager illegally, only to see their beer poured down sewers during successful police raids. A cry of happiness from both consumers and producers of alcohol rang across the city when the amendment was repealed in 1933.

The post war period saw a wave of change for the sugar industry.

First, sugar workers at major companies, like Sucrest, won a wage increase after strikes. The sugar industry also experienced a shift in its workers’ demographic as stricter New Deal labor laws prevented teenagers from working in certain factories from 1938 onwards.

Next, the creation of artificial sweeteners, such as Sweet’N Low, threatened the sugar industry as this new product was successful in attracting diet-conscious consumers away from major sugar companies. Additionally, by the 1960s companies like National Sugar fully integrated its workforce, as half of its employees were now people of color. As with the bread industry, the flight of sugar consumers to suburbia led to a move of sugar factories away from the city during the 1960s and 1970s.

The 1930s also saw a massive rise in coffee consumption as the price for coffee dwindled more than ever before. Companies, such as Maxwell House, became national brands. By the eve of World War II, the Brooklyn’ coffee industry was yielding millions of dollars through international trade with areas of Latin America, Africa, and Asia.

This was exacerbated by a powerful combination of politicians, real estate interests, and the urban planner Robert Moses who sought to replace factories with new housing, roads and related infrastructure.

However, despite the significance of these factors, Santlofer barely discusses them within her work. With the exception of a small mention of Robert Moses, she instead emphasizes a public desire to move industry away from New York City, primarily for aesthetic purposes, as a contributing factor to the decline of the city’s sugar industry. The exclusion of a more in-depth discussion regarding the effects of these factors on the fall of the sugar industry is detrimental to this section of her work, as they are intricately tied to greater issues related to labor, class, and race.

The 1950s brought an era of both prosperity and decline for breweries and the coffee industry. Although there was now an increase in beer consumption across all American social classes by 1953, local breweries with limited urban space struggled to compete with the sprawling mass production facilities of new rivals elsewhere.

Large breweries began to put local, small rivals out of business. In addition a series of strikes and boycotts allowed national brands to overpower the city’s industry. By 1977, both of the largest local beermakers, Rhinegold and Schaefer, had shut their breweries, effectively ending the city’s beer industry for years to come.

“Drink” opens with the issue of contaminated milk. In the mid 19th century the city’s milk was produced by cows housed in small, cramped shanties attached to whiskey distilleries. Cows were often sickly and malnourished as they were fed distillery “swill,” a wheat slop left over from distillery processes. The cows then produced thin, swill milk, which led to the city’s high infant mortality rates.

The fight for the production of pasteurized milk began in the 1890s through the efforts of Nathan Straus, the co-owner of Macy’s Department Stores, and a group of pediatricians. Concerned with the high infant mortality rate, Straus funded the development of pasteurization to be applied to the city’s milk supply by opening his own pasteurization and bottling plant that provided clean and inexpensive milk to the public. By 1914, New York mandated pasteurization for milk distributors.

The 1970s also saw a decline in coffee consumption, as health fears regarding heavy caffeine consumption arose amongst the American public. Additionally, major coffee companies were no longer producing appealing, tasty coffee. The issue was exacerbated by the introduction and subsequent popularity of specialty coffees in local coffee bar chains in the late 1980si . Major companies, like Chock Full o’Nuts, faltered and moved production elsewhere. As for dairy, by the late 1970s milk was no longer processed in the city. They would now be trucked in for distribution. Only three local dairies were still thriving in the city in the 1980s.

The final section, “Meat,” begins with a discussion regarding public complaints about cattle yards and slaughterhouses in the city during the 19th century. A typical scene in Manhattan consisted of daily cattle drives across city streets led by butchers’ apprentices on their way to the slaughterhouse. Animals were kept and slaughtered in unsanitary cattle yards located in the middle of the city. Those who resided near yards or slaughterhouses often complained of the stench of rotting meat and blood, as well as the noise of yelping animals all day and night. To remedy these issues a city ordinance that banned cattle herding below 42nd street during the day was issued in 1850. While slaughterhouses were ordered to move to upper parts of the city to lessen the inconveniences experienced by city residents by 1846. Meanwhile, independent meat shops were

With its long Dutch, British and German heritage, it may seem unsurprising that New York from its earliest decades was seldom short of good breweries. After the Civil War, alcohol consumption was shaped by two historic events: high alcohol taxes and Prohibition. High government taxes on alcohol led to the creation of illegal makeshift distilleries in cellars across the city. Police raids on homes became common until illicit alcohol production ceased in the 1880s as cheaper alcoholic imports from the Midwest made its way to the city. This would come to serve as a precursor to the era of prohibition.

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legalized in 1843 after public complaints that city run meat markets, like the Fulton Market, kept meat prices high.

century influx of immigrants from Latin America introduced new forms of corn based products, such as tortillas, to Americans. By the 1990s, the Tortelleria Piaxtla’s popularity soared and yielded millions in revenue as well.

By the 1870s, Timothy Eastman’s slaughterhouse on 60th Street brought innovative methods to city abattoirs as his business’ meat was placed in “chilling rooms” where meat was kept fresh and cool by circulating fans. Eastman’s slaughterhouse was the first to transport beef across the Atlantic for trade and created an extensive trade network between the U.S. and Europe. However, Eastman’s meat shipping trade was soon challenged by the Lehman, Samuels, & Brother slaughterhouse who became the first ever to successfully transport live cattle for overseas trade.

As for sugar, Santlofer provides examples of successful artisanal candy makers who began to produce expensive, unusually flavored chocolate candies by 2000. One example she uses is Williamsburg’s Mast Brothers chocolate makers, who produced chocolate made from Latin American imported cocoa beans during the “renaissance of small-batch hand made foods” in 2007. If the author fails to explain how such a renaissance came about, she does successfully explain the revival of the drink industry, with breweries, the specialty coffee market, and dairies all showing signs of new life.

For example, a newfound interest in beer-making began in Brooklyn in the mid 1990s, led to the growth of small breweries and the production of local beers gained popularity throughout the borough.

Her final point regarding the meat industry is less successful, with poorly detailed, brief examples regarding three distinct sausage city factories. However, this slightly truncated point could be attributed to the posthumous completion of the work itself.

A group of women in the Ladies Health Protective Association led the call for reform of unsanitary slaughterhouses, which still filled the air with a foul stench. Their intense lobbying for improved slaughterhouse conditions at City Hall and public petition to local slaughterhouses proved successful by the 1880s. Women also played a role in battling beef trusts in the early 20th century.

Weary of the consistently increasing prices of meats, women began to fiercely boycott local meat wholesalers. They battled both meat prices and the police by inciting riots. Women drenched meats in shops with carbolic acid and hauled carcasses onto streets. However, after months of boycotting the women lost to corporations. The price of meat rose even higher.

Overall, Joy Santlofer’s Food City is an excellent, well-researched work for both academics and average foodies who are interested in food studies. She effectively guides her reader through the cyclical rise, fall, and rise again of industry through artisanal production.

Food City serves as an incredible testament to New York City’s long, diverse food history. Works such as Santlofer’s transport us to different eras in which both the stench of slaughtered meat and sweet sugary aromas filled New York’s streets. But perhaps more importantly, the author allows us to realize that each item that resides in our refrigerator or food cabinets has an origin. Each product, from the sugar packets we use for our daily coffee to the truffles we secretly consume as a snack from time to time, possesses an innovative story and colorful history. And for that Food City stands out as an important source within the burgeoning field of food studies.

By the 1920s, several meat businesses grew larger and some like, Hygrade Food Products Company, manufactured meat both nationally and internationally. However, the Great Depression brought a decline in business for several sausage companies. The only exception was the products made by Hebrew National Kosher Sausage Factory. In fact, the low price of its sausages was highly appealing during this period of economic hardship.

The decline of the meat industry began as early as the 1930s. By then issues related to waste disposal and physical space forced slaughterhouses to move outside of the city. The introduction of cellophane packaged meats, of self-serve meat counters in groceries, prepared canned or frozen meats, all contributed to the decline of butcheries in the 1950s. By the 1960s, new taxes placed on slaughterhouses made it difficult to keep them open in New York City. The last slaughterhouse in the city closed in 1968.

Meanwhile, many meat companies, like Ward’s Foods’ Plymouth Rock, outsourced its workers and moved to the Midwest in the 1980s. Hebrew National, now National Foods, followed suit in 1986 when it moved to Indiana.

Karla Freire is a senior undergraduate majoring in History and Social Studies Education at Hofstra University REGIONAL LABOR REVIEW, vol. 20, no. 1 (Fall 2017). © 2017 Center for the Study of Labor and Democracy, Hofstra University

NOTES:

In Food City’s conclusion Santlofer asserts that the food industries described above are experiencing a golden age in artisanal production in the 21st century. She argues that as industrial bakeries were closing their doors, artisanal bakeries were establishing themselves. She effectively defends her claim with examples like, successful and ever expanding Tom Cat Bakery, located in Long Island City. Tom Cat continuously produces an array of both old and new school varieties of bread for hundreds of restaurants, while reaping millions in revenue each year. Meanwhile the late 20th

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For a more in depth discussion on special coffees see William Roseberry’s “The Rise of Yuppie Coffees and the Reimagination of Class in the United States,” American Anthropologist (Dec. 1996): 762-75.