Authentic Recipes of the Frontier

This collection is a variety of meats, breads, soups, fruit and vegetables, desserts, and traditional Holidays dishes that would have been part of frontier life in the 1800's.  The   recipes are easy to print out and cut apart to add to your own file box.

Cooking was anything but easy for the early settler in the west, with no refrigerators and often long arduous journeys in a covered wagon with just a few boxes, foods either had to have long shelf life or be available wherever these families stopped to camp.

No supermarkets, meat counter selections, or produce washed and shiny for these frontier folks.  Although "new fangled" discoveries such as vacuum packed meats (Hormel was already making an early version of Spam!) and Borden's sweetened condensed milk were sometimes available, the settlers on the western frontier were often poor and without access to such luxuries.

Most dishes were reminiscent of the "old World", with English and European flavor.  Regional favorites were carried west such as Virginia ham, Louisiana Creole, Tennessee Barbecue, and Boston Baked Beans.

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Main Meat Dishes

Game was a popular main dish.

Meat wasn't always at every meal like we have today. If hunting wasn't good, often times they substituted beans for the main dish. Our favorite dishes are a far cry from most of these ... Frontier Meat/Seafood Recipes

Bread Recipes

Bread was a staple...

Baking bread was a daily chore. Several loaves of bread were usually baked each morning for the days meals. By morning, we don't mean 10 am either - bread was made and baked before breakfast! There was no such thing as store bread or sliced packaged bread. Frontier Bread Recipes

Fruits and Vegetables

Veges home grown...

Vegetables consisted of what was available in the garden. One of the first chores of a new homestead woman was to prepare the household garden. Vegetable were the common ones we buy at the store every day. except they were canned for winter use. Fruits were wild berries or an apple tree. Citrus was rare on the frontier. Frontier Fruit and Vegetable Recipes

Soups and Stews

Economical and Hearty

One of the most popular foods on the prairie was a good pot of stew or soup. Not only did it feed a large volume of people in the case of guests, but it was very economical to make - and still is! A good soup kept many a settler warm in the harsh winters! Frontier Soup and Stew Recipes

Desserts

A little bit of sweet...

With white sugar usually scarce on the frontier, desserts were mostly for special ocassions. Pies were a frequent addition to a meal, but fancy cakes (like rum cake) were reserved for holiday feasts. Maybe they just got tired after baking bread every morning! Frontier Dessert Recipes

Beverages

No sodas on the prairie...

Beverage were usually coffee, tea, and milk or water for the kids. Apple cider was available and iced teas in the summer, but no sodas or fancy brand name water. Frontier Beverages Recipes

Popular Spots

From Genealogy, to Frontier School Tests, and Shopping...

Vermont Country Store Our favorite place to shop for past brand name stuff! "It's Like Shopping In a Museum!"

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