Food defined social hierarchy in colonial America, historians say
8 reported
According to a single-source report from NPR, food served as a primary marker of social class in 1776, with the wealthy gentry emulating European cuisine while enslaved people and working-class colonists ate simpler fare. The article, based on interviews with historians and a visit to historic sites in Annapolis, Maryland, describes how the Founding Fathers and affluent colonists relied on recipes from France and England and imported some food from Europe. Enslaved cooks, including James Hemings and Hercules Posey, prepared meals for figures like Thomas Jefferson and George Washington, often in stiflingly hot kitchens. Working-class colonists ate similar foods to the wealthy but without refined ingredients like white flour or sugar, and taverns served as social and political centers with varying food quality. The report notes that seafood like rockfish and crab was abundant in Maryland, and that alcohol consumption was high because water was not purified.
What’s reported
Arthur Gross has been the chef at Middleton Tavern in Annapolis, Md., for 50 years; the tavern is 276 years old.
In 1776, seafood such as rockfish and crab dominated the diets of many early colonists in Maryland.
The Founding Fathers and gentry class relied heavily on recipes from France and England and imported some food from Europe.
Thomas Jefferson, George Washington, and a few others defined the food of the time period, according to food historians.
Enslaved chefs James Hemings (for Jefferson) and Hercules Posey (for Washington) cooked for the Founding Fathers.
Working-class people ate much of the same food as the wealthy but without processed aspects like white flour or sugar.
Colonists drank small beer or weak wine because they had no way to purify water; alcohol consumption was high.
The article includes a correction noting a previous version misattributed a quote by chef Arthur Gross to author Adrian Miller.
Key figures
Arthur Gross, chef at Middleton Tavern in Annapolis, Md.
Dana Connett, community programs coordinator at Historic Annapolis
Joyce White, local food historian
Adrian Miller, author of The President's Kitchen Cabinet
Sarah Lohman, food historian and author of Eight Flavors: The Untold Story of American Cuisine
Ashley Rose Young, food historian and American history curator at the Library of Congress
Sources: NPR
