Civil war johnny cakes

Hoecakes had been a food of slaves made like traditional african millet bread. 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. The food originates from the indigenous people of north america. Also, refers to a stupid animal or person, one easily cheated. Maybe they called the southern bread, cake, just for. In a second large bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, water, eggs and sugar. Using a tablespoon, drop the batter onto the griddle 2 inches apart for each johnny cake.

The following union army recipe comes from camp fires and camp cooking. Just add the water at camp and cook in your cast iron skillet. Commissary departments gave soldiers uncooked rations of flour, salt, potatoes, cornmeal, beans, sugar, and dried or salted beef. These southern johnny cakes aka hoe cakes would be a great alternative to your everyday pancake. It is basically a cornmeal pancake, fried on the flat blade of a h oe over a fire. 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. In fact, hardtack from the civil war still exists today.

Johnny cakes or hoe cakes are a true southern delicacy. This civil war cake recipe is so delicious and full of flavor. 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. Campers on the civil war kentucky historical society. Hardtack crackers, confederate johnny cake, and the civil war. In rhode island, traditionally, the cake is made only from fine white corn that has been ground by a water process. A johnnycake is a cornmeal pancake fried in whatever fat was available to the cook, usually in a cast iron skillet. It is still eaten in the west indies, dominican republic, saint croix, the bahamas, colombia, and bermuda as well as in the. 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. They were especially famous among soldiers in the south. Two of the basic foods were h oecakes and ramrod biscuits. Its one of the many great recipes shared by home cooks on, the worlds sweetest recipe swap community. They are pancakelike cornmeal flatbreads that are recognized by many other regional names as well.

Add the buttermilk mixture into the flour and stir until just combined. The plain version was a staple during my dads depressionyears childhood. The recipe for johnny cakes consisted mainly of cornmeal, hot water, milk, salt, and, if you were lucky, a little bit of sugar. How about maple sugar candy or calfs foot jelly or union pudding or taffy or johnny cakes. An army is a big thing and it takes a great many eatables and not a few drinkables to carry it along. Johnny cakes, hoe cakes, journey cakes, shawnee cakes, johnny bread, and spider cornbread are all names of the same bread. Hoecakes were one of the basic foods for families and soldiers of the south during the war. 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. They were also called journey cakes as they could be taken on a long journey. Johnny cakes or hoe cakes as they are called in a real southern cook are close kin to pancakes but from the south. At the onset of the civil war, hardtack rationed to the soldiers was left over from the mexicanamerican war, fifteen years earlier.

And when they reached the fire, dye said, john howells, do we get some wood and make a fire. A disappointing johnny cake american civil war forum. Because of the union blockade, flour was not readily available in the south and corn meal was substituted. Soldiers of the american civil war had more colorful names for the cracker, such. As the civil war continued into 1864 and 1865, food became very scarce for the confederates. Baked beans and johnnycake journal of the american. The cakes were made from white cornmeal and had no eggs, sugar or syrup. World war ii free resources for a middle school unit study. 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. This recipe dates back to before the first american colonies. Johnny cakes were the confederate equivalent of hardtack.

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. Feeding soldiers during the civil war was a very different process from the way contemporary soldiers are fed. Learn how to make the historic johnny cake with dave harkness, living history demostration chef at ft. This served the same purpose as hardtack because the cakes. In a medium bowl, whisk together cornmeal, sugar, and salt. This yummy simple dish can be eaten for breakfast or lunch. During the civil war, food had to be light and able to be easily transported, and didnt require a lot of preparation. If wheat flour was available, up to fifty per cent was used to offset the corn meal. A common expression in use following the civil war. Hoecakes are cornmeal flatbreads with exceptional texture and flavor. 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.

Selden state monument and dan brooks, the cast iron. Dye davis said, now, lads, lets go down to the fire and we will have some johnny cakes. Recipes from the confederacy american civil war forum. Hardtack crackers, confederate johnny cake, and the civil. Although overreliance on unprocessed corn later led to diseases of malnutrition, such as pellagra, it was considered to be. Civil war bayonets were used more for cooking than impaling the enemy. These cakes were made from white cornmeal and had no eggs, sugar, or syrup. Hardtack crackers were a main form of despised sustenance for all civil war soldiers. My children expect this at least once a month as a regular feature on our saturday morning breakfast menu or when we have breakfastforsupper. Made with cornmeal and a touch of sugar and nutmeg. Let cook for 6 minutes, turn and cook 5 minutes more.

American civil war recipes and cooking johnny cakes. Western slang, lingo, and phrases a writers guide to. Johnnycake also called journey cake, spider cornbread, shawnee cake or johnny bread is a cornmeal flatbread. In an shtf situation, you have to make the best with what youve got. Below you will discover the gnarly truth of civil war diets. Ingredients varied widely based upon what was available. Civil war cake oreggless, butterless, milkless cake. The hillbilly kitchen down home country cooking 118,163 views 25.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, cornmeal, baking powder and salt. Johnny cakes worked on the same principle as hardtack. Johnny cakes and salt pork a civil war soliders delight. Families and soldiers had to do with what they had. Laura always wondered why bread made of corn meal was called johnnycake. How to make civil war fire cakes survival food tutorial. Please practice handwashing and social distancing, and check out our resources for adapting to these times.

Johnnycakes, johnny cakes, jonnycake, ashcake, battercake, corn cake, cornpone, hoecake, hoe cake, journey cake, mush bread, pone, shawnee cake, jonakin, and jonikin. They were fried on a hot cast iron pan in bacon drippings. In the 1869 cherokee west census, there are several families with the surname johnnycake. Ma didnt know, unless the northern soldiers called it johnnycake because the people in the south, where they fought, ate so much of it. Free world war ii resources and unit study for american history. Its a basic recipe in those days known as a receipt for commissary beef stew. This makes me wonder, what, exactly, is a johnnycake and what is the history of the food. 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. Hardtack crackers made with whole wheat flour alongside confederate johnny cakes.

This first hand account of the delicacy known as hardtack was taken from hardtack and coffee published in 1887 by john d. Someone was looking for a cake that didnt have any milk in it. Johnny cakes 100 year old recipe gluten free the hillbilly kitchen duration. An early american staple food, it is prepared on the atlantic coast from newfoundland to jamaica. Johnnycakes or, johnny cakes are a famous food from the civil war era. Prepare the optional sausage and hardboiled eggs ahead of time, and it goes together quickernanything. Johnnycake history and recipe, whats cooking america. 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.

You can also make some hardtack which is a hard, saltless biscuit that was used for army rations in the civil war. Little house on the prairie johnnycake recipe little. In a cast iron skillet, heat the oil over medium heat until just barely shimmering. Some think these fried cornmeal cakes were originally called journey cakes, while others belive they were first called shawnee cakes after the tribe in. Johnnycakes these fluffy fried dumplings, served at the wyndham kingston jamaica, are great alongside ackee and saltfish. 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. 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. It is basically a cornmeal pancake, fried on the flat blade of a hoe over a fire. With experience growing among the confederate soldiers, personal modifications to the uniform became prevalent. Original johnny cake came about in the south before the civil war. H oe cakes had been a food of slaves made like traditional african millet bread. Saunderstown, ri this is really a two batter recipe. The war between the states changed the way the south eats forever. Johnny cakes came about in the south before the civil war.