Great Plains Studies, Center for
Date of this Version
2005
Document Type
Article
Abstract
This well-designed and appealing book, combining history with usable recipes reminiscent of the times and places the expedition traveled, looks as though it might have been published early in the nineteenth century. Gunderson uses the term "paleocusineology," which she defines as bringing history alive through cooking. If one merely thumbs through the volume, finding recipes for ice cream and lemon meringue pie can be a bit startling. Obviously, these foods could not have been prepared in the wilderness. Reading, however, tells us that the story begins with the employment of Meriwether Lewis as President Thomas Jefferson's private secretary in 1801 and continues with the appointment of Lewis to head the expedition to explore the territory known as the Louisiana Purchase and beyond. Lewis was sent to Philadelphia to meet with scientists in order to increase his knowledge of botany, anatomy, fossils, and so forth. There he purchased much equipment for the trip and a few provisions, including 193 pounds of portable soup. Continuing to Pittsburgh, he waited for his keelboat to be built, then began the journey down the Ohio River to the Mississippi. The early recipes in the book are for foods that Lewis may have eaten in Washington, Philadelphia, and Pittsburgh.
Comments
Published in GREAT PLAINS QUARTERLY 25:4 (Fall 2005). Copyright © 2005 Center for Great Plains Studies, University of Nebraska–Lincoln.