Civil war johnny cakes

My children expect this at least once a month as a regular feature on our saturday morning breakfast menu or when we have breakfastforsupper. At the onset of the civil war, hardtack rationed to the soldiers was left over from the mexicanamerican war, fifteen years earlier. Johnny cakes 100 year old recipe gluten free the hillbilly kitchen duration. H oe cakes had been a food of slaves made like traditional african millet bread. My tasty caribbean johnny cakes are a must have on the islands of the blue sea, johnny cakes are one of the most beloved dishes made in my country.

They were also called journey cakes as they could be taken on a long journey. They were especially famous among soldiers in the south. In the 1869 cherokee west census, there are several families with the surname johnnycake. In a cast iron skillet, heat the oil over medium heat until just barely shimmering. Johnny cakes or hoe cakes are a true southern delicacy. The art of the civil war camp life, nine to 12yearold campers have, among other things, made a civil war journal, drawn a comic strip, made johnny cakes, sampled hard tack, had a water balloon battle and made wax bullets.

These cakes were made from white cornmeal and had no eggs, sugar, or syrup. Hardtack crackers, confederate johnny cake, and the civil war april 9, 2015 by kendra on april 9, 1865, the civil war officially came to an end in appomattox, va. The war between the states changed the way the south eats forever. Its one of the many great recipes shared by home cooks on, the worlds sweetest recipe swap community. The following union army recipe comes from camp fires and camp cooking. Please practice handwashing and social distancing, and check out our resources for adapting to these times.

Using a tablespoon, drop the batter onto the griddle 2 inches apart for each johnny cake. Johnnycake history and recipe, whats cooking america. Johnnycake also called journey cake, spider cornbread, shawnee cake or johnny bread is a cornmeal flatbread. With experience growing among the confederate soldiers, personal modifications to the uniform became prevalent. It is still eaten in the west indies, dominican republic, saint croix, the bahamas, colombia, and bermuda as well as in the. In rhode island, traditionally, the cake is made only from fine white corn that has been ground by a water process. Apr 14, 2016 feeding the civil war troops was the responsibility of the commissary department, and both the union and confederacy had one hardtack johnnie cake stay safe and healthy. Just add the water at camp and cook in your cast iron skillet. Original johnny cake came about in the south before the civil war. The cakes were made from white cornmeal and had no eggs, sugar or syrup. Its a basic recipe in those days known as a receipt for commissary beef stew. In fact, hardtack from the civil war still exists today.

Johnny cakes and salt pork a civil war soliders delight my husband and i are civil war reenacters and since i am a bit of a foodie i am naturally drawn to civil war era recipes. Selden state monument and dan brooks, the cast iron. Recipes from the confederacy american civil war forum. You can also make some hardtack which is a hard, saltless biscuit that was used for army rations in the civil war. This makes me wonder, what, exactly, is a johnnycake and what is the history of the food. A johnnycake is a cornmeal pancake fried in whatever fat was available to the cook, usually in a cast iron skillet. Hardtack crackers, confederate johnny cake, and the civil war. In an shtf situation, you have to make the best with what youve got. It will be quite thick and the consistency of mashed potatoes. During the civil war, food had to be light and able to be easily transported, and didnt require a lot of preparation. World war ii free resources for a middle school unit study. Hoecakes were one of the basic foods for families and soldiers of the south during the war. Dye davis said, now, lads, lets go down to the fire and we will have some johnny cakes.

If wheat flour was available, up to fifty per cent was used to offset the corn meal. American civil war recipes and cooking johnny cakes. Hardtack crackers made with whole wheat flour alongside confederate johnny cakes. Johnny cakes and salt pork a civil war soliders delight.

This yummy simple dish can be eaten for breakfast or lunch. Add the buttermilk mixture into the flour and stir until just combined. Let cook for 6 minutes, turn and cook 5 minutes more. This first hand account of the delicacy known as hardtack was taken from hardtack and coffee published in 1887 by john d. In a second large bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, water, eggs and sugar. Hardtack crackers were a main form of despised sustenance for all civil war soldiers. It is basically a cornmeal pancake, fried on the flat blade of a h oe over a fire.

Campers on the civil war kentucky historical society. A common expression in use following the civil war. Because of the union blockade, flour was not readily available in the south and corn meal was substituted. Learn how to make the historic johnny cake with dave harkness, living history demostration chef at ft. Baked beans and johnnycake journal of the american. The hillbilly kitchen down home country cooking 118,163 views 25. As the civil war continued into 1864 and 1865, food became very scarce for the confederates. Families and soldiers had to do with what they had. Made with cornmeal and a touch of sugar and nutmeg. Maybe they called the southern bread, cake, just for. Ingredients varied widely based upon what was available. Civil war bayonets were used more for cooking than impaling the enemy. Johnny cakes worked on the same principle as hardtack. Laura always wondered why bread made of corn meal was called johnnycake.

They are pancakelike cornmeal flatbreads that are recognized by many other regional names as well. Hoecakes had been a food of slaves made like traditional african millet bread. Johnnycakes, johnny cakes, jonnycake, ashcake, battercake, corn cake, cornpone, hoecake, hoe cake, journey cake, mush bread, pone, shawnee cake, jonakin, and jonikin. Saunderstown, ri this is really a two batter recipe. Johnny cakes, hoe cakes, journey cakes, shawnee cakes, johnny bread, and spider cornbread are all names of the same bread. In a medium bowl, whisk together cornmeal, sugar, and salt. According to the encyclopedia of american food and drink by james mariani, the name, rhode island johnnycake first appeared in print in 1739, and an 1835. Ma didnt know, unless the northern soldiers called it johnnycake because the people in the south, where they fought, ate so much of it. This recipe dates back to before the first american colonies. How to make civil war fire cakes survival food tutorial. Below you will discover the gnarly truth of civil war diets. An army is a big thing and it takes a great many eatables and not a few drinkables to carry it along. They were fried on a hot cast iron pan in bacon drippings. Today ill take you back to the olden days and show you one of the civil war recipes which require only a couple of ingredients and limited resources.

Prepare the optional sausage and hardboiled eggs ahead of time, and it goes together quickernanything. And when they reached the fire, dye said, john howells, do we get some wood and make a fire. The recipe for johnny cakes consisted mainly of cornmeal, hot water, milk, salt, and, if you were lucky, a little bit of sugar. Two of the basic foods were h oecakes and ramrod biscuits. Although overreliance on unprocessed corn later led to diseases of malnutrition, such as pellagra, it was considered to be. These southern johnny cakes aka hoe cakes would be a great alternative to your everyday pancake. Free world war ii resources and unit study for american history.

How about maple sugar candy or calfs foot jelly or union pudding or taffy or johnny cakes. Civil war cake oreggless, butterless, milkless cake. After its adoption by the colonists, the corn originally cultivated by native americans formed an integral part of the revolutionaryera diet across most of the colonies, displaced only by rice, and then only in those places where that staple grew reliably. Coffee, hard tack, salted pork or beef, flour, cornmeal, some salt, sugar, and. Teach kids about making do with the ingredients you have by making ration cakes.

The need for long boots, long coats, long sabers, buck gauntlets with long cuffs gloves, and knapsacks filled with essentials soon went by the wayside. It is basically a cornmeal pancake, fried on the flat blade of a hoe over a fire. A disappointing johnny cake american civil war forum. Soldiers of the american civil war had more colorful names for the cracker, such. Commissary departments gave soldiers uncooked rations of flour, salt, potatoes, cornmeal, beans, sugar, and dried or salted beef. This civil war cake recipe is so delicious and full of flavor. The food originates from the indigenous people of north america. This johnny cake recipe also known as a fried cornbread is so easy and perfect for breakfast or anytime of day especially with my collard greens. Hoecakes are cornmeal flatbreads with exceptional texture and flavor. Little house on the prairie johnnycake recipe little.

Also, refers to a stupid animal or person, one easily cheated. An early american staple food, it is prepared on the atlantic coast from newfoundland to jamaica. Feeding soldiers during the civil war was a very different process from the way contemporary soldiers are fed. This served the same purpose as hardtack because the cakes. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, cornmeal, baking powder and salt. Johnnycakes these fluffy fried dumplings, served at the wyndham kingston jamaica, are great alongside ackee and saltfish. Johnny cakes were the confederate equivalent of hardtack. The plain version was a staple during my dads depressionyears childhood. Johnny cakes or hoe cakes as they are called in a real southern cook are close kin to pancakes but from the south. Johnny cakes came about in the south before the civil war. Western slang, lingo, and phrases a writers guide to. Some think these fried cornmeal johnnycakes were originally called journey cakes while others believe they were first called shawnee cakes after the tribe in the tennessee valley. Johnnycakes or, johnny cakes are a famous food from the civil war era. Hardtack crackers, confederate johnny cake, and the civil.