by Judi McWilliams
Over the past few years the Festival Nomad and I have had wonderful experiences visiting War of 1812 Re-enactments around Ontario. We find these re-enactments amazing and extremely interesting! In this NEW War of 1812 Discovery Series, I want to share with you some of our experiences, while attempting to shed some light into the actual historic.
Our Daily Rations (Part One)
We are very blessed in our world some 200 years after the battles of the War of 1812. We have many choices for “our daily rations”. It seems even on limited budgets we are able to provide ourselves with a vast variety of cuisine! Even choices of foods from countries from literally around the world! We have fast food, prepared, packaged, frozen food, take-out food, eat-in food, microwavable food and so on! For many of us, we get to enjoy the bounty of our seasonal harvest, with ample fresh fruits and vegetables. With the War of 1812 Celebrations upon us, it led me to wonder about the choices of the brave men and women who fought for us. I don’t think “foods of convenience” were an option, nor the full amount of bounty that we enjoy today. In our day of “supersize foods”, it’s hard to image a soldiers “daily rations” which would have to sustain them throughout the long hot/cold physically challenging ordeals that lasted all day long. In my research, I was interested to learn quite a lot about "Our Daily Rations"!
Breakfast was served at 9 a.m. consisting of bread, milk, soup, tea and sometime butter. A special privilege was purchasing breakfast rations, such as cheese or pork, privately. The bread being part of the soldier’s diet was almost solely provided by flour from Canadian farmers and deemed wholesome and good. In Canada many regiments had the mess cooks prepare the bread, although the British Army had it made by contractors. Some regiments had their bakers make bread or biscuits, that was then sent to the men who were off fighting. (Similar to ordering and delivery of special goods, perhaps our first glimpse of “take-out”).
The main meal of the day was normally served around 12:30 p.m. At the beginning of the War of 1812, boiling meat was the common method of preparation. It had been estimated that ¾ of a pound of beef (bone included) would produce a pint of broth per person. With various cooks, the soup varied, sometimes including oatmeal and potatoes, flour or rice and veggies such as peas, beans, cabbage.
Our Daily Rations (Part One)
We are very blessed in our world some 200 years after the battles of the War of 1812. We have many choices for “our daily rations”. It seems even on limited budgets we are able to provide ourselves with a vast variety of cuisine! Even choices of foods from countries from literally around the world! We have fast food, prepared, packaged, frozen food, take-out food, eat-in food, microwavable food and so on! For many of us, we get to enjoy the bounty of our seasonal harvest, with ample fresh fruits and vegetables. With the War of 1812 Celebrations upon us, it led me to wonder about the choices of the brave men and women who fought for us. I don’t think “foods of convenience” were an option, nor the full amount of bounty that we enjoy today. In our day of “supersize foods”, it’s hard to image a soldiers “daily rations” which would have to sustain them throughout the long hot/cold physically challenging ordeals that lasted all day long. In my research, I was interested to learn quite a lot about "Our Daily Rations"!
Breakfast was served at 9 a.m. consisting of bread, milk, soup, tea and sometime butter. A special privilege was purchasing breakfast rations, such as cheese or pork, privately. The bread being part of the soldier’s diet was almost solely provided by flour from Canadian farmers and deemed wholesome and good. In Canada many regiments had the mess cooks prepare the bread, although the British Army had it made by contractors. Some regiments had their bakers make bread or biscuits, that was then sent to the men who were off fighting. (Similar to ordering and delivery of special goods, perhaps our first glimpse of “take-out”).
The main meal of the day was normally served around 12:30 p.m. At the beginning of the War of 1812, boiling meat was the common method of preparation. It had been estimated that ¾ of a pound of beef (bone included) would produce a pint of broth per person. With various cooks, the soup varied, sometimes including oatmeal and potatoes, flour or rice and veggies such as peas, beans, cabbage.
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