Rations

[DonSmithnotTMD]

Re: Vinegar Storage

I agree vinegar is good. In fact somebody stole the idea I stole from Scott McKay about marketing some of the receipts he posted for medicinal vinegar. Actually the guy who did it was a few months ahead of me, but I like my version better.
This is from the 10th Texas website:

http://members.aol.com/cbbelt/Food/cures.htm

As far as transport, I have a small glass bottle (like a cough medicine bottle) with a cork that I use. A sip (sip, swish around your mouth, swallow), followed by a little vinegar and another sip of water is a remarkable restorative when its hot.

[DonSmithnotTMD]

Andersonville Soup

The recent novel thread led me to post this. There was an Andersonville article in the May issue of North & South, this is from a reply in the current issue.

"I strongly urged the preparation of large quantities of soup made from the cow and calves heads, with the brains and tongues, to which a liberal soup of sweet potatoes and vegetables might have been most advantageously added. The materials existed in abundance for the preparation of soup in large quantities."
--Joseph Jones
Confederate surgeon and professor at the
Medical College of Georgia

The writer says that such a soup might have prevented some of the disease prevalent in the compound.

Although I know a few hundred guards died at Andersonville, I haven't looked for anything to determine what ration availability actually was.

[Rmhisteach]

Re: Andersonville Soup

That soup might cause me to drw the line on autheticity ! Gross!

[1stMaine]

Re: Andersonville Soup

Comrade,

It all depends upon how hungry one is. When you have known true hunger, you won't be too fastidious when dining. It's amazing what one will do to preserve life.
respects,

[Hank Trent]

Re: Andersonville Soup

It depends also on whether you're talking about modern people and their attitude toward the soup, or period people. Sure, starvation can overcome a lot, and it might take that to get modern people to eat it, but in the period, calf's head soup (mock turtle soup) shows up in virtually every cookbook including the upscale ones, and was made, in better circumstances, with wine and spices--clearly not just a subsistence food to be eaten in desperation. Most recipes emphasize the amount of time required for preparation, six or eight hours, so that might have discouraged the making of it even if the ingredients were available.

Hank Trent
hanktrent@voyager.net

[RedCordCO]

Re: Andersonville Soup

This recipe would all depend on how it is cooked.

If you are just going to take things, plop them in a pot and boil it for six to eight hours you'll have some swill I doubt anybody would want to eat.

If, however, you take care to make this soup palatable, I believe it can be pretty decent eating.

You have to be able to detach your scruples about what animal body part you are eating from the finished product. If you can't, you get what I call 'Bug Food Syndrome'. You see a bug, you are told it will be your food, and all you can see [no matter how it is prepared] is 'bug'. I make a green chile soup out here using what the Hispanics call 'Chachete de Res'. It is beef cheeks. Yep, the meat from the head. You have to cut the fat and gristle and cook the meat properly but you do get a wonderful soup afterwards. I've even thought about making a type of BBQ out of the stuff.
My point about this is, you have to think about what people of the period would've eaten and not about Modern-Day sensibilities. You certainly have to be open to trying something new that you've never had as food.
In my being a camp cook for quite few units, I've found this mindset VERY helpful when making some period items.

Hmm...Cow and calf-head soup. Sounds like it would be interesting!


Rob Burchardt
Artillery Company of New Mexico

'Today you lose, tomorrow you may win. Things change, Kundun.'

That soup might cause me to drw the line on autheticity ! Gross!

[hiplainsyank]

Re: Can Openers

A friend of mine discovered that Van de CAmps (I think it was them, and not CAmpbells) were selling pork and beans by 1860.

Joanna Norris Grimshaw

[hiplainsyank]

Re: Vegetables

Another dried vegetable is parched corn, and it's easy to make. While we may think more of Confederate soldiers having it, I also recall reading of Union soldiers having, too.

When I was a kid, I remember my parents hung some ears of sweetcorn in the garage. They peeled the husks back and hung them by the husks. This was in Ohio, so even in the humidity there it worked. After a few weeks or so, voila, you get parched corn. Rub it off the cob and place in a ration bag.

While the soldiers often probably ate it raw, as a stop gap to hunger, we toasted it in a skillet in some oil. So, translating that to the field, cook your bacon, then toast the parched corn in the leftover fat. Using bacon grease relieves you of the need to salt it, too.

While you won't be getting an heirloom variety of corn (and with corn I don't think there aren't many left), all you have to do is get some grocery store sweet corn, because it has already started the drying process.

Joanna Norris Grimshaw

[Charles Heath]

Re: Vegetables

This website is not the most organized for "our" purposes, but they do have a variety of small volume dried vegetables, fruits, and their version of parched corn is very tasty. They also offer some flours and condiments; however, you can do a little price shopping and find better deals elsewhere.

http://www.theingredientstore.com/ge...1200/index.htm

Don't overlook local food service suppliers, bulk food co-ops, and other retail opportunities near you.

Charles Heath

[ephraim_zook]

Re: Vegetables

Please keep in mind that gov't issue dessicated vegetables came in bricks, not in modern flake form. Mrs Mescher's recipe looks to be the best I've seen. Some years ago someone posted a technique for making the bricks that literally involved putting the vegetables into a wooden form and parking a truck on top of it to compress them into a block. I believe the poster was serious.
:bowl:

Ron Myzie
Official Grocer to several fine events

[The Pigman]

Re: Vegetables

I believe that dessiccated vegetables were pressed not dehydrated.

I have often thought about going to one of the apple orchards with a steam apple press and have them press a pail of half cooked vegetables for me. If you have ever seen the bone dry residue left from an apple pressing you would understand what I am talking about.

Thanks,
Mark C. Foster

[ephraim_zook]

Re: Vegetables

Mark,

From what I've read, they were thoroughly pressed dry then further oven-dried. For our short-term purposes pressing would probably be sufficient.

I've included a reference here:

PROVISIONS
Randolph B. Marcy's A Handbook for Overland Expeditions was considered by many as THE manual for westward migration. Originally published in 1859, it contained practical advice on everything from route selection and wagon packing to emergency medicine (rattlesnake bites) and dealing with Native Americans. Marcy [1812-1887] was a captain of the U.S. Army. Prior to the Civil War he served in the West, forging new trails and escorting wagon trains. That made him an expert in stores and provisions. In his own words:

"Dessicated or dried vegetables are almost equal to the fresh, and are put up in such a compact and portable form as easily to be transported over the plains. They have been extensively used in the Crimean war, and by our own army in Utah, and have been very generally approved. They are prepared by cutting the fresh vegetables into thin slices and subjecting them to a very powerful press, which removes the juice and leaves a solid cake, which, after having been thoroughly dried in an oven, becomes almost hard as a rock. A small piece of this, about half the size of a man's hand, when boiled, swells up so as to fill a vegetable dish, and is sufficient for four men. It is believed that the antiscorbutic properties of vegetables are not imparied by dessication, and they will keep for years if not exposed to dampness. Canned vegetables are very good for campaigning, but are not so portable as when put up in the other form. The dessicated vegetables used in our army have been prepared by Chollet and Co., 46 Rue Richer, Paris. "

Ron Myzie

[jaron_hudgins]

Knife, fork, spoon combinations

Good afternoon everyone, I have tried several searches to find discussions about this issue and cannot come up with anything that was helpful. If you could point me to an existing thread you are aware of, I would appreciate it.
I am planning on upgrading my eating utensils soon and was wondering just how common these eating combinations actually were. I would imagine that the army issue eating utensils would be the most common, but I haven't been able to find a retail vendor who sells the military issue like what is seen in EOG. Even though the combos seem practical, compact, etc, I don't want to use something that would be considered the "exception" instead of the norm. If I have missed a thread or a good vendor please let me know. Thank you,
Jaron Hudgins

[Jimmayo]

Re: Knife, fork, spoon combinations

They were used. How common were they I don't know. I have found one in a CS trench in Petersburg and seen a couple of others found along the way. I can't remember if they were found in union or cs spots. If you could find one with a brass spoon that would be nice. My dug one has a brass spoon but most repos have steel.

You can see the one I dug sitting at the top of this page.

http://www.angelfire.com/ma4/j_mayo/uscanteen.html

[JimKindred]

Re: Knife, fork, spoon combinations

Halves of these turn up in the Corinth / Iuka area fairly often. Both sites saw most of their activity prior to the end of 1863 for a date reference.