Colonial Food In Philadelphia

Colonial Food in Philadelphia

“You don’t need a silver fork to eat good food,” said Chef Paul Prudhomme. During my first few months in Philadelphia, the food of this place approved Chef’s comment as far as I knew. I did not acquire the use of forks to eat pretzels, hoagies, and the famous Philadelphia cheesesteaks. As a busy student not being able to venture out much to explore and absorb Philadelphia’s history I had knowledge of a very few obvious food choices that surrounded everyday life in Center City. The amount of carbohydrates in pretzels and Philadelphia cheesesteaks scared me coming from Austin, Texas, one of the healthy-eating cities in the nation. However, I found them extremely delicious and satisfying to my taste, which only started

Located in Old City, just a few blocks from the Delaware River where ship captains came to barter their cargos, City Tavern provided a place with luxurious meals and patriotic energy. In 1772, fifty-three citizens commissioned the building of the City Tavern and completed building in 1773. Men such as Benjamin Franklin, George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and John Adams have discussed the future of America at City Tavern, creating a place of social, political, and economic hub for centuries. Taverns and public houses were considered destination for sharing news, exchanging ideas, and managing business. Of course none of these activities would have happened if the tavern did not offer such delicious food because “No man can be a patriot on an empty stomach,” said William Cowper Brann (Staib 24). Similar to history of the colonial food in Philadelphia, the building itself goes through gastronomic history as well. In 1784, the City Tavern was sold over to Samuel Powel, formal mayor of the city during the time. Later it catches on fire and burns down in March of 1834. After it was reconstructed, Walter Staib re-opens the tavern on July 4th featuring authentic colonial cuisines from the 18th century. Since then, the City Tavern has offered more than two hundred recipes reflecting the foods relished by our Founding

Dishes like soups, bisques and chowders were just enough to be convenient and tasteful; it also did not need much ingredients. Related to utilizing raw materials from the West Indies, food recipes transported and influenced Philadelphia food as well. Carrying over 300 years of history, the authentic West Indies Pepperpot Soup recipe traveled over to life of Philadelphia by George Washington. During his trip abroad in 1751, “Washington visited his brother Lawrence in Barbados, where he enjoyed Cohobblopot, a version of pepperpot soup made with okra” (Staib 72). Washington then arrived back in Philadelphia and instructed cooks to make the soup for his freezing troops during the winters at Valley Forge, located by Schuylkill River. The winter of 1777 was particularly harsh for more than ten thousand American soldiers who were freezing with not enough clothes and food. On December 29th, he gave an order to make a soup, “that will warm and strengthen the body of a soldier and inspire his flagging spirit” (page?). While it is totally invalid to say that this Pepperpot soup won the American Revolution, it definitely was a contribution to an event that cannot be underestimated. Following the history, now at the City Tavern, The West Indies Pepperpot Soup is cooked by