Existing comment:
From the Forests and Rivers:
To supplement their diets, enslaved men used their limited personal time to catch wildlife. After dark, they set box traps for squirrels, rabbits, racoons, and opossums. Lead shot found in excavations confirms that some slaves had access to firearms to hunt deer and ducks. They also crafted fishing hooks from bone or metal and sometimes borrowed George Washington's large nets, called seines, to catch fish.
Food Rations:
Each adult slave on George Washington's farms received a weekly distribution that provided a daily ration of about 4 cups of cornmeal and a few ounces of salted, dried herring. The corn provided carbohydrates, while salted herring added valuable protein. These basic rations lacked variety and certain essential nutrients. Special fare, such as wheat flour, pork and beef, or rum, night be distributed at butchering, for holidays, or as a reward.
What's Cooking?
The slaves' diet centered on cornbread and hoe cakes, which were flat, pancake-like breads made with cornmeal batter and fried on a griddle. The dried herring needed to be soaked in water to rehydrate and remove salt. Slaves also ate fresh fish that they caught themselves. Fish may have been added to stews, or fried, which softened the bones enough to be chewed and eaten, supplying much-needed calcium. |