1619 Through the Lens of Food: Solomon Northup Part 3
Arrival home, and first meeting with his wife and children, Courtesy of the New York Public Library, Circa `1853
Today we continue our 1619 series in commemoration of the 400th anniversary of American slavery. This collection is part of a larger project on food in the African canon. Each of the stories will contain a related historical image and recipe. In part three of our second installment, we turn to the writings of Solomon Northup.
Nineteenth-century accounts tell us that whites who lived and worked in close proximity to enslaved people also served as the customers of black cooks who made delicious food. For example, In crowded urban centers of Louisiana African American culinary entrepreneurs sold fried chicken and fish dinners while others sold gumbos, meats, and drinks. In 1851 one observer noted how “punches, and nogs, and soups, and plates of fish, and game, and beef and loaves of bread” appeared from side doors and vanished for a dime each.
Eggnog Recipe
Ingredients
Eggs
Sugar
Brandy
Whiskey
Lemon/Orange Rind
Method
Have all ingredients, eggs, sugar, brandy, and whiskey, thoroughly chilled before beginning, and work very, very quickly. Beat the yolks of eighteen eggs very light with six cups of granulated sugar, added a cup at a time. When frothy and pale yellow, beat in gradually and alternately a glassful at a time, a quart of mellow old whiskey, and a quart of real French brandy. Whip hard, then add the whites of the eggs beaten till they stick to the dish. Grate nutmeg over the top and rub the rims of the serving glasses with lemon or orange rind cut into the fruit. The glasses should be ice-cold, also the spoons. Fill carefully so as not to slop the sides and serve at once.
