FOREWORD<br > What did the American Colonists eat? Surprisingly enough，<br >many of their favorite dishes may be found on American tables<br >today， particularly in New England and Tidewater Virginia，<br >where it all started.<br > The settlers who landed on New World shores were raised on<br >the food of Olde England， the mother country， and of course<br >brought these tastes with them. The English diet featured<br >roasted meats and birds， pies and pottage， gravies and sauces，<br >boiled suety puddings， fish， cabbage， turnips， carrots， onions，<br >parsnips and peas， cheeses and other dairy products， apples，<br >peaches， cherries， currants， gooseberries， pears， greengage and<br >damson plums， quinces， breads and ale or beer. Although the<br >emigrants ships carried seeds or cuttings of their English fruits<br >and vegetables， and agricultural grains such as wheat， oats， rye，<br >and barley， the early harvests were a disaster， and the colonists<br >turned to the Indians for help and tutelage in utilizing plants and<br >animals native to America. From the Indians， they learned to<br >cook， eat， and cultivate crops unknown in England -- corn， na-<br >tive beans， squash -- and how to seek out edible wild plants and<br >game. New shipments from England in time reinforced supplies<br >of seed， farm and draft animals and tools， but meanwhile， the<br >settlers eagerly adopted the fruits， nuts， vegetables， fish and<br >flesh so plentiful in their wild new home. So， from the outset，<br >colonial cooking impressed the stamp of the New World on its<br >English inheritance.<br > Today， more than 200 years later， the American cuisine， like<br >the American people， has roots from all over the world and<br >represents many， many different cultures: French， Italian，<br >Polish， Russian， Jewish， German， Scandinavian， Spanish，<br >Chinese and dozens of others. But in the seventeenth and eigh-<br >teenth centuries these influences were absent; food was British<br >or Indian or a little of both. The first foreign gastronomic in-<br >fluence of any weight came in with the French alliance during<br >the Revolution. The first American to employ a French chef was<br >Thomas Jefferson!<br > Here are seven chapters of what our research and the files of<br >the Old Farmer s Almanac (first published in 1792) show to be<br >authentic colonial foods， adapted for preparation in the modern<br >American kitchen.<br > Clarissa Silitch， Editor<br >QQ<br ><br >