What's Cooking: Food in 19th Century Henry County

Delving into the culinary landscape of 19th-century Henry County unveils a stark contrast to the robust Southern cuisine we relish today. Our pioneers navigated meager resources on their small farms, concocting meals tailored for sustenance during arduous workdays that involved labor-intensive activities like farming, road construction, mill operations, and even traveling to the inner city.

Breakfast fare, often humble but hearty, might include salt rising bread paired with salted pork or, for those more affluent, Indian Meal Batter Cakes—an early precursor to our beloved pancakes. Dinner, however, brought forth a diverse array of dishes, ranging from pickled calf's brain to the more opulent forced steak—a delectable beef and gravy ensemble.

While these delicacies graced the tables of white families, the narrative for African American families, particularly enslaved people, unfolded quite differently. Breakfast mirrored that of their masters but without the protein, often accompanied by sorghum, honey, molasses, or the rare luxury of butter. Some enslavers permitted a small plot of land for farming near enslaved people's dwellings, allowing experimentation with crops such as collard greens, beans, turnips, and even rice in certain regions. Leftover animal parts like chicken gizzards, livers, chitlins, and pig's feet became essential ingredients, leading to the genesis of Southern staples like Fried Chicken, Pork Chops, hushpuppies, fried okra, Hoppin' John, and ribs.

The amalgamation of English, African, and Native American culinary influences forged the foundation of Southern cuisine—a rich tapestry of flavors and traditions. Gratitude is owed to each of these cultures for their invaluable contributions that continue to define and enrich our Southern culinary heritage.

A woman, unnamed, standing in front of the hearth of a fireplace where she is cooking. She was a former slave on this plantation in Southern Georgia..

Photograph by L.D. Andrew, 1936, from a vintage photograph taken ca. 1880

[1]: Federal Writers' Project: Slave Narrative Project, Vol. 4, Georgia, Part 2, Garey-Jones. 1936. Manuscript/Mixed Material. https://www.loc.gov/item/mesn042/.