Recipes

Feeding an Army... Meats were salted or smoked while other items such as fruits and vegetables were dried or canned. Because it was so difficult to store for any length of time, the food soldiers received during the Civil War was not very fancy and they did not get a great variety of items.   Confederate Johnnie Cake Recipe two cups of cornmeal 2/3 cup of milk 2 tablespoons vegetable oil 2 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 teaspoon of salt Mix ingredients into a stiff batter and form eight biscuit-sized "dodgers". Bake on a lightly greased sheet at 350 degrees for twenty to twenty five minutes or until brown. Or spoon the batter into hot cooking oil in a frying pan over a low flame. Remove the corn dodgers and let cool on a paper towel, spread with a little butter or molasses, and you have a real southern treat!

Hardtack

Hardtack Hardtack was a biscuit made of flour with other simple ingredients, and issued to soldiers throughout the war. Hardtack crackers made up a large portion of a soldier's daily ration. It was square or sometimes rectangular in shape with small holes baked into it, similar to a large soda cracker. Large factories in the north baked hundreds of hardtack crackers every day, packed them in wooden crates and shipped them out by wagon or rail. If the hardtack was received soon after leaving the factory, they were quite tasty and satisfying. Usually, the hardtack did not get to the soldiers until months after it had been made. By that time, they were very hard, so hard that soldiers called them "tooth dullers" and "sheet iron crackers" . Sometimes they were infested with small bugs the soldiers called weevils, so they referred to the hardtack as "worm castles" because of the many holes bored through the crackers by these pests. The wooden crates were stacked outside of tents and warehouses until it was time to issue them. Soldiers were usually allowed six to eight crackers for a three-day ration. There were a number of ways to eat them- plain or prepared with other ration items. Soldiers would crumble them into coffee or soften them in water and fry the hardtack with some bacon grease. One favorite soldier dish was salted pork fried with hardtack crumbled into the mixture. Soldiers called this "skillygallee" , and it was a common and easily prepared meal. Hardtack Recipe 2 cups of flour 1/2 to 3/4 cup water 1 tablespoon of Crisco or vegetable fat 6 pinches of salt Mix the ingredients together into a stiff batter, knead several times, and spread the dough out flat to a thickness of 1/2 inch on a non-greased cookie sheet. Bake for one-half an hour at 400 degrees. Remove from oven, cut dough into 3-inch squares, and punch four rows of holes, four holes per row into the dough. Turn dough over, return to the oven and bake another one-half hour. Turn oven off and leave the door closed. Leave the hardtack in the oven until cool. Remove and enjoy!

Apples and Sausage

This old Virginia dish is easy and delicious. 1.  Start with about a pound of sausage meat. 2.  Form into patties and fry lightly in a pan until just browned. 3. Remove the sausage, pour out the fat (not in the fire) and melt some butter in the pan, enough to barely cover the bottom. 4. Core and slice three apples to a thickness of about 1/4 inch and place in pan setting it over a low heat. 5. When apples have softened slightly add a half cup of brown sugar and a tablespoon of cinnamon. 6. As soon as the sugar has mixed with the butter and formed a thick syrup add back the sausage and cook for another ten minutes or so.

Ginger Cakes
These are crisp, sugar coated cookies 3/4 cups shortening 1 cup sugar 1 beaten egg 1/4 cup molasses 2 tsp. soda 1 tsp. cinnamon 1 tsp. ginger 2 cups flour Cream shortening and sugar. Add the egg and molasses and mix well. Sift together the dry ingredients and add to the shortening mixture. Mix until combined. Roll into walnut sized balls and roll in sugar. Bake at 350 degrees for 7 - 10 minutes.

Ginger Water

Switchel also switzel, swizzle, ginger-water or haymaker's punch, is a drink made of water mixed with vinegar and molasses, and seasoned with ginger. Honey, sugar, brown sugar, or maple syrup were sometimes used to sweeten the drink instead of molasses. 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar (yes vinegar) 1/4 cup molasses 1/2 cup sugar or honey 1 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger tap water to make 2 quarts First get out a two quart pitcher. Measure the vinegar, molasses, sugar or honey and ginger into it. Add cold water to fill. Another Recipe: SWITCHEL-OLD FASHIONED SUMMER DRINK 1/2 c. honey (more or less to taste) 1/2 c. apple cider vinegar (more or less to taste) 1/2 gallon water Preparation : Mix ingredients together, chill and serve cold