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Snapshots into how Americans grow, prepare and serve food
1500-1600 | 1600-1700 | 1700-1800 | 1800-1900 | 1900-1950 | 1950-2000+
1500-1600
Native Americans and newcomers . . . An amazing variety of beast, fowl and vegetation.
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 | | "Indian Village of
Secoton," 1585-86
Drawing by John White | |
The Three Sisters: Corn, Beans, and Squash
Native Americans have traditionally grown three crops ? corn, beans, and squash - together for thousands of years. ?Companion planting? allows the plants to help one another grow. The corn provides structure to support the growing beans, which add nitrogen to the soil, and the squash spreads along the ground locking in essential moisture and preventing weed growth. The combination holds a spiritual meaning for Native Americans. According to an Onondaga farmer, who lives near Syracuse, NY, "So long as the three sisters are with us we know that we will never starve. The Creator sends them to us each year. . . . We thank Him for the gift He gives us today and every day."
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 | | Pemmican, sun-dried meat used by Native Americans (Dakota), hangs in strips on a crossbar supported by two timber stands
Denver Public Library, Western History Collection,
Call Number X-31659 | |
Pemmican: The Ultimate Survival Food
Long before refrigerators or microwaves or zip-lock bags, Native Americans made foods that could be carried easily and would last months. One such food, "pemmican", helped them survive harsh winters and long searches for food. Pemmican was usually made with dried bison, deer, moose, or caribou meat. After the meat was dried, it was pounded thin and mixed with animal fat and, sometimes, dried berries.
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 | | Differential Grasshopper on Purple Flower
� CORBIS | |
Foraging 101: Insects as Food
On the television show, Survivor, castaways eat bugs to earn a million dollars. In the 16th century, edible plants, vegetables, meats, and insects were part of the highly diverse array of foodstuffs used in Native communities. Locusts and lice were among the insects and insect larvae (newly hatched insects) that made up part of some Native diets.
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 | | "Columbus taking possession of the new country"
Library of Congress
Created by: L. Prang & Co. | |
Christopher Columbus: What's in a Name?
Christopher Columbus and his crew ate many of the native fruits and vegetables found growing wild in the Americas during their second visit in 1493. One unusual fruit was a special favorite. Called the "Pine of the Indies" because it resembled a giant pinecone, Columbus and his crew later added the word "apple" to its name when they introduced the fruit to the English. A brilliant move, people eagerly tried the pineapple since the "apple" in the name suggested that its taste was associated with that other delicious fruit.
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 | | Hanging up chili peppers for drying, New Mexico, 1960s
Photograph by: Dick Kent | |
Spice News: The Chile Pepper
Various forms of the fruit capsicum were grown in Central and South America as early as 9000 years ago. Use of the fruit by cultures in North America also grew over the centuries. Green and red ?chile peppers,? as the capsicum fruit came to be called, became an important part of diets in what is now the Southwestern United States. The chile, in all its many hot and spicy varieties, is the basis for many famous Southwestern dishes, such as chili con carne, and for the "El Diablo" hot sauce that people buy but don?t dare eat.
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1500-1600 | 1600-1700 | 1700-1800 | 1800-1900 | 1900-1950 | 1950-2000+
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