Lecture at Gunston Hall: 18th Century Cooking and Culinary History

Introduction

• Speaker: John Townsen
• Location: Gunston Hall, home of George Mason (a forgotten founding father), near Washington DC
• Guest: Michael Twitty, Culinary Historian

Michael Twitty's Specialization

• Roles: Food writer, culinary historian, historic interpreter
• Focus: Foodways of the enslaved from Africa to America
  • From slavery to freedom
  • Covers Chesapeake, Low Country, Mississippi Valley, Caribbean, Brazil
  • Historical food ways in West Central Africa and their interaction with European and Native American foodways to form Southern cuisines
• Book: "The Cooking Gene" by Harper Collins, tracing family history through food, expected release August 2017

Okra Soup

• Origin: Okra is a vegetable from tropical Africa, thousands of years old
  • Spread due to Portuguese slave trade
  • Known as a Southern vegetable in the U.S., associated with Africans due to the slave trade
  • Spread through the Caribbean to the American South
• American History: By 1740s, grown in Philadelphia, presence in the American South predates the Revolution
• Traditional Preparation: Okra soup common from Senegal to Angola
  • Also found in Chesapeake, Low Country, as gumbo in New Orleans

Cooking Okra Soup

• Broth Preparation:
  • Use chicken and beef broth
  • Add onions (with cloves), herbs (added fresh at end), beef tallow, and scraps
  • Broth takes 1-2 hours to develop
• Soup Ingredients and Cooking:
  • Flour onions and garlic, fry using lard and butter
  • Cut small okra thinly to reduce sliminess
  • Add okra, onions, tomatoes (debated as poisonous historically due to nightshade family)
  • Season with kosher salt, kitchen pepper, black pepper, herbs (sage, thyme, rosemary)
  • Add smoked protein (e.g., smoked turkey)
  • Add fresh parsley, cook for about an hour, serve with cooked rice

Cultural Insights

• Historical Context:
  • Interpretation beyond heroic soldiers to everyday enslaved people's stories
  • Importance of telling diverse narratives, including free people of color, black Civil War soldiers, and everyday individuals in bondage
• Flavor Profile:
  • Okra blends well with tomatoes, corn, rice
  • Colorful dish with a mix of flavors and textures
  • Kitchen pepper highlighted as enhancing the dish

Conclusion

• Acknowledgment of the diversity and richness of 18th-century flavors
• Encouragement to try okra soup
• Appreciation for Gunston Hall's contribution to the series
• Mention to check Gunston Hall’s website for more information