Revolutionary War Recipes You Can Cook at Home: Part #4 of our American Revolution Food Series

Revolutionary War Recipes You Can Cook at Home: Part #4 of our American Revolution Food Series

WE'RE COOKING 8 SHOCKINGLY SIMPLE COLONIAL RECIPES TODAY. FROM GEORGE WASHINGTON'S HOECAKES AND JEFFERSON'S FAMOUS MAC AND CHEESE TO THE CHERRY BOUNCE THAT TOOK US THREE MONTHS TO MAKE. IT REALLY IS EASY TO DO 1776-STYLE. You probably assume Revolutionary War recipes are fussy, obscure, and impossible to make today. In this America 250 grand finale of Family Tree Food & Stories [https://podcast.familytreefoodstories.com/], Nancy May and Sylvia France prove that colonial cooking slides straight into a modern kitchen, no hearth, no weird 1776 ingredients, no fear required. If you have cornmeal, peanut butter, chicken, elbow noodles, navy beans, and a few apples in your pantry right now, you can cook the exact colonial recipes George Washington and his contemporaries ate. We run a full-day cooking marathon: crispy hoecakes and velvety colonial peanut soup for breakfast; spatchcock chicken and James Hemings' original French-béchamel mac and cheese for the midday feast; slow New England baked beans with homemade sauerkraut and pickles for supper. Dessert is Abigail Adams' rustic apple pandowdy, and the nightcap is George Washington's own cherry bounce, which took three full months. Don't want to do it all from scratch? Sylvia shares the free grocery store shortcut that does half the work for you. Along the way, you'll hear the real stories behind these 1776 recipes — including the brilliant, enslaved chefs, Hercules Posey and James Hemings, who built the bedrock of American cuisine. This is comfort-food history you can taste. Grab your cast iron pan and cook through history with us. WHAT YOU'LL LEARN: * How to cook what George Washington ate for breakfast every single day:— flourless hoecakes, with butter and honey and a savory colonial peanut soup that you can make fast with what’s in your pantry now. * Who really invented mac and cheese and how to make it fresh: We’re sharing the t French-béchamel technique James Hemings brought home from Paris. Sylvia France pulled this recipe straight from Jefferson's National Archives. * An easy free butcher-counter shortcut: This one’s for spatchcock chicken from scratch in your own kitchen. Nancy May and Bob, her husband, made this one, and how spatchcocking can cut your roasting time in half. Sylvia shares how you can get the butcher at Publix (or most any meat department) to do the hard part for you at no charge. * How to make real colonial comfort food, the easy way: This is 12-hour New England baked beans with molasses and salt pork, plus sauerkraut and fermented pickles that need no canning at all. It’s easier than it sounds. * What to add as an after-dinner drink…George Washington's Cherry Bounce: Although this one takes a little time to plan and make. It’s still very easy. Nancy followed the handwritten recipe from the Mount Vernon archives. George packed a flask of this with his things for military marches. ADDITIONAL LINKS SHARED:❤️ * Yaupon Tea, [https://www.riseyaupon.com/] family-owned. When British tea just won't do. * Book: My Family Tree, Food & Stories Journal [https://www.amazon.com/Family-Tree-Food-Stories-Memorable/dp/1734841613/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2ETT1Z6Q5J84F&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.9aDj51eTPwkVydIsxOUcm0psz2pwwjU2tA9464i0LYelVWMWkmc9-ft1v7W5bmJM1R9TCjrBIraYcmsIZ8wog4X4ogtbNhkG3EBH1R8jPV1zolTi0TmPdaAy0F7Jsp6SvGSwsUzfPqfaj0BfDOr2fZtOmQ4i1na0rqL3HXfBGiuIhKthz4OOetpp0nORqAyyNTZ_RR6xVoXiMRHTaYKNLZtcygneMGYBWpX9B0np3YU.S3u-1CFzDJusx_U7X3_txBApkxautt9G1C3qrLcNeTw&dib_tag=se&keywords=my+family+tree+food+%26+stories&qid=1730918662&sprefix=my+family+tree+food%2Caps%2C135&sr=8-1] Awarded #1 New Release on Amazon * Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/familytreefoodstories/] Story updates 📸 * Facebook [https://www.facebook.com/FamilyTreeFoodStories/] Family Tree Food Stories GROUP👍 * TikTok [https://www.tiktok.com/@nancymay877]: Family Tree Food Stories * 👇Share Your Story With Nancy & Sylvia! [https://podcast.familytreefoodstories.com/voicemail/]: Leave us a voicemail * You can send us a DM on Facebook. [https://www.facebook.com/FamilyTreeFoodStories] MORE FROM OUR AMERICAN REVOLUTION FOOD SERIES This is the grand finale of our four-part American Revolution food series: * Part 1 — the American Revolution food series [https://podcast.familytreefoodstories.com/what-did-revolutionary-war-soldiers-eat-colonals-loyalists-and-allies-on-both-sides/] * Part 2 — colonial recipes and the stories behind them [https://podcast.familytreefoodstories.com/america-was-built-on-beer-bread-and-stolen-coffee-food-of-the-american-revolution-part-2/] * Part 3 — how chef Hercules Posey walked out on Washington's birthday to claim his freedom [https://podcast.familytreefoodstories.com/the-founding-fathers-dinner-table-was-a-lie-food-of-the-american-revolution/] Next Thursday: we're beating the Florida heat with summer salads, grilled specialties, and homemade dog biscuits for BB and the Mighty Quinn. ABOUT YOUR AWARD-WINNING HOSTS: Nancy May [https://www.linkedin.com/in/nancyamay/] and Sylvia Franc [https://www.linkedin.com/in/sylviafrance/]e are the powerhouse team behind Family Tree, Food & Stories [https://familytree,food&stories/], a member of The Food Stories Media Network, which celebrates the rich traditions and connections everyone has around food, friends, and family meals. Nancy, an award-winning business leader, author, and podcaster, and Sylvia, a visionary author, foodie, and business leader, combine their expertise to bring captivating stories rooted in history, heritage, and food. Together, they weave stories that blend history, tradition, and the love of food, where generations connect and share intriguing mealtime stories and kitchen foibles. If you missed the first time around... now's your time to listen to Family Tree Food & Stories [https://podcast.familytreefoodstories.com/] and get inspired to make better use of what’s already in your kitchen. Then visit our page to share how you're using your leftovers this year. Waste less. Cook smarter. Tell the story behind your fridge. "Every Meal Has a Story, and Every Story is a Feast." (tm) is a trademark of Family Tree Food & Stories podcast ( [https://podcast.familytreefoodstories.com/]c) copyright 2026, all US and International Rights Reserved. @familytreefoodstories, #familytreefoodstories #familyfoodstories, #colonialrecipes1776, #foodpodcast, #historicalrecipes, #hoecakes #johnnycakes #applepandowdy, #cherybounce #macandcheese #colonialslaves #georgewashingtonsslaves #thomasjeffersonscook #abibaleadams #foodhistory Frequently Asked Questions About Revolutionary War Food * What did George Washington eat for breakfast? George Washington ate hoe cakes nearly every morning of his life; thick, savory cornmeal cakes with crispy fried edges, served swimming butter and honey, often with colonial peanut soup, another favorite of his. * What is a hoecake? A hoecake is a flourless colonial cornmeal cake, like a thick savory pancake. It's white cornmeal, a pinch of salt, a little sourdough starter or active dry yeast, and boiling water. You scald the cornmeal into a thick paste and fry it until the edges go crisp. No flour at all. * Were hoe cakes really cooked on a garden hoe? Partly. Enslaved laborers working the fields did cook them on iron garden hoes over fire pits out of necessity. But in the big estate kitchens, "hoe" was just another word for a flat iron griddle. * Who really invented mac and cheese? The mac and cheese we eat today traces back to James Hemings, the French-trained enslaved chef who cooked for Thomas Jefferson. Hemings mastered the béchamel technique in Paris and brought it home to Virginia, sourcing Parmesan, mozzarella, and Romano. Jefferson gets the credit mostly because he's the one who wrote it down. * What is cherry bounce? Cherry bounce is George Washington's favorite colonial cordial made with dark cherries packed tight with sugar, nutmeg, and cinnamon, then covered in rye whiskey or brandy and left alone for about three months. Washington loved it enough to have a traveler's flask packed for his military marches. * Are Revolutionary War recipes hard to make at home? Not at all! Almost every dish in this episode uses ordinary pantry ingredients: cornmeal, peanut butter, chicken, navy beans, apples, so you can cook authentic 1776 recipes in a modern kitchen with nothing fancier than a cast iron pan. * What is an apple pandowdy? Apple pandowdy is a rustic colonial dessert and the laid-back cousin of apple pie: sliced apples with brown sugar, cinnamon, and a splash of cider under a loose pie dough. Halfway through baking, you smash the crust down into the bubbling juices with a wooden spoon, so it comes out half-crispy, half-gooey. It was Abigail Adams' favorite, and there's no crimping required.

The Founding Fathers’ Dinner Table Was a Lie: Food of The American Revolution

GEORGE WASHINGTON, RENTED PINEAPPLES, AMERICA’S FIRST FOOD FLEX. WHAT THE RICH REALLY ATE, AND WHO ACTUALLY MADE IT. What if the Founding Fathers’ dinner table was less about elegance and more about power, performance, and people history forgot? Similar to today's power rooms. In this episode of Family Tree Food & Stories [In this episode of Family Tree Food & Stories, Nancy May and Sylvia France continue their America 250 Revolutionary food series by stepping inside the dining rooms of colonial America’s wealthy gentry. At first glance, these tables looked grand: French-style service, groaning boards loaded with 20-plus dishes, turtle soup, Madeira wine, locked sugar, rented pineapples, and summer ice cream served while much of the country could barely keep drinking water cool.], [In this episode of Family Tree Food & Stories, Nancy May and Sylvia France continue their America 250 Revolutionary food series by stepping inside the dining rooms of colonial America’s wealthy gentry. At first glance, these tables looked grand: French-style service, groaning boards loaded with 20-plus dishes, turtle soup, Madeira wine, locked sugar, rented pineapples, and summer ice cream served while much of the country could barely keep drinking water cool.] Nancy May and Sylvia France continue their America 250 Revolutionary food series by sharing the dinner table with America’s colonial gentry. At first glance, these tables looked grand: French-style service, groaning boards (you'll learn what that is later in the show), turtle soup, Madeira wine, fancy sugar, rented fruit, and summer ice cream served, all while much of the country could barely keep drinking water safe and cool. But behind all that fancy food, there was a more real and sharper story. George Washington’s daily breakfast really was very simple: cornmeal hoecakes, for a reason. Thomas Jefferson often treated meat more like a condiment than the main event. The rich weren't always eating completely different foods from everyone else. They were eating the same basic ingredients but with more expensive toppings, imported luxuries, and better marketing. The wild part is that they even created the appearance of luxury by renting fruit to make it look even fancier. Nancy and Sylvia also dig into the harder truth behind elite Revolutionary-era dining: the Founding Fathers did not cook these meals. But who did? Highly trained enslaved chefs and cooks, including James Hemings, Hercules Posey, Edith Fossett, and Fanny Hern, were the culinary talents behind many dishes and techniques later credited to the households of many Founding Fathers. Sadly, many of these fabulous chefs and cooks have only become footnotes in much of our history. But we're sharing here in this episode of Family Tree Food & Stories [In this episode of Family Tree Food & Stories, Nancy May and Sylvia France continue their America 250 Revolutionary food series by stepping inside the dining rooms of colonial America’s wealthy gentry. At first glance, these tables looked grand: French-style service, groaning boards loaded with 20-plus dishes, turtle soup, Madeira wine, locked sugar, rented pineapples, and summer ice cream served while much of the country could barely keep drinking water cool.]. This episode explores food, status, slavery, memory, myth, and how some recipes outlive the names of those who cooked them. It is a rich, funny, uncomfortable, and deeply human look at what America’s elite really ate, and who actually ate and fed them. 5 KEY LESSONS & TAKEAWAYS * The rich were not always eating totally different food. * Washington’s meals were simple for a health reason. * Colonial dinner parties were often pure theater. Wealthy tables were designed to impress, intimidate, and advertise status. * The history of The Groaning Board: What was it? * Some foods were locked up because of their value. * The dinner table was a true "war room." Major political conversations and Revolutionary decisions happened over private meals, including strategy discussions and postwar bargains. The table was not just where people ate. It was where power negotiated with dessert nearby. * The real culinary experts were often erased, but the recipes survived. Listen to the full episode at Podcast.FamilyTreeFoodStories.com, then join us in the Family Tree Food Stories Facebook group and tell us: whose recipe in your family deserves to have their name remembered? Because every meal has a story, and every story is a feast. WHAT TO DO NEXT? Listen to “America Was Built on Beer, Bread, and Stolen Coffee” at Podcast.FamilyTreeFoodStories.com [https://podcast.familytreefoodstories.com/], then join us in the Family Tree Food Stories Facebook group [https://www.facebook.com/groups/familytreefoodstories] and share the food story your family still carries. Because every meal has a story, and every story is a feast. Even those we make every day. ADDITIONAL LINKS SHARED:❤️ * Yaupon Tea, [https://www.riseyaupon.com/] family-owned. When British tea just won't do. * Book: My Family Tree, Food & Stories Journal [https://www.amazon.com/Family-Tree-Food-Stories-Memorable/dp/1734841613/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2ETT1Z6Q5J84F&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.9aDj51eTPwkVydIsxOUcm0psz2pwwjU2tA9464i0LYelVWMWkmc9-ft1v7W5bmJM1R9TCjrBIraYcmsIZ8wog4X4ogtbNhkG3EBH1R8jPV1zolTi0TmPdaAy0F7Jsp6SvGSwsUzfPqfaj0BfDOr2fZtOmQ4i1na0rqL3HXfBGiuIhKthz4OOetpp0nORqAyyNTZ_RR6xVoXiMRHTaYKNLZtcygneMGYBWpX9B0np3YU.S3u-1CFzDJusx_U7X3_txBApkxautt9G1C3qrLcNeTw&dib_tag=se&keywords=my+family+tree+food+%26+stories&qid=1730918662&sprefix=my+family+tree+food%2Caps%2C135&sr=8-1] Awarded #1 New Release on Amazon * Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/familytreefoodstories/] Story updates 📸 * Facebook [https://www.facebook.com/FamilyTreeFoodStories/] Family Tree Food Stories GROUP👍 * TikTok [https://www.tiktok.com/@nancymay877]: Family Tree Food Stories * 👇Share Your Story With Nancy & Sylvia! [https://podcast.familytreefoodstories.com/voicemail/]: Leave us a voicemail * You can send us a DM on Facebook. [https://www.facebook.com/FamilyTreeFoodStories] ABOUT YOUR AWARD-WINNING HOSTS: Nancy May [https://www.linkedin.com/in/nancyamay/] and Sylvia Franc [https://www.linkedin.com/in/sylviafrance/]e are the powerhouse team behind Family Tree, Food & Stories [https://familytree,food&stories/], a member of The Food Stories Media Network, which celebrates the rich traditions and connections everyone has around food, friends, and family meals. Nancy, an award-winning business leader, author, and podcaster, and Sylvia, a visionary author, foodie, and business leader, combine their expertise to bring captivating stories rooted in history, heritage, and food. Together, they weave stories that blend history, tradition, and the love of food, where generations connect and share intriguing mealtime stories and kitchen foibles. If you missed the first time around... now's your time to listen to Family Tree Food & Stories [https://podcast.familytreefoodstories.com/] and get inspired to make better use of what’s already in your kitchen. Then visit our page to share how you're using your leftovers this year. Waste less. Cook smarter. Tell the story behind your fridge. "Every Meal Has a Story, and Every Story is a Feast." (tm) is a trademark of Family Tree Food & Stories podcast (c) copyright 2026, all US and International Rights Reserved. @familytreefoodstories, @familyfoodstories, @riseyaupon, #FamilyTreeFoodAndStories #FoodPodcast #FoodHistory #AmericanRevolution #America250 #revolutionaryWar #FoundingFathers #GeorgeWashington #ThomasJefferson #FoodHistory #ColonialFood #RevolutionaryWar #HiddenHistory #BlackHistory #EnslavedChefs #AmericanHistory #HistoryPodcast #FoodPodcast #FamilyFoodStories #RentedPineapples #LockedSugar #FoundingFathersFood #ColonialDining #DinnerTablePolitics #FoodAndPower #ForgottenChefs #JamesHemings #HerculesPosey #RevolutionaryFood #HistoryYouDidntLearn #FoodStories

America Was Built on Beer, Bread, and Stolen Coffee: Food of the American Revolution (Part #2)

HOW DID ORDINARY FAMILIES FEED A REVOLUTION WHEN TEA WAS SUSPICIOUS, WATER WAS RISKY, AND COFFEE WAS WORTH STEALING? From liberty tea and eight-pound bread to women-led food riots, this is the everyday kitchen rebellion that fed America’s fight for independence. In this episode of Family Tree Food & Stories [https://podcast.familytreefoodstories.com/], [https://podcast.familytreefoodstories.com/] Nancy May and Sylvia France continue their America 250 Revolutionary food series by stepping into the everyday kitchens that helped feed our new nation. After the Boston Tea Party, British tea became more than a drink. It became a political statement. So colonial families brewed “liberty tea” from mint, raspberry leaf, sassafras, goldenrod, and other homegrown herbs. That's only the beginning, though. From New England’s eight-pound rye-and-corn bread to Southern cornmeal mush, Brunswick stew, Hoppin’ John, cider, small beer, oysters, eels, and even pigeon pie, this episode shares what common, or average Americans actually ate during the American Revolution. Nancy and Sylvia also dig into the home-front food rebellion, which most of us have rarely been taught. Women were real activists of the time. They led food riots, hoarded coffee, pushed salt shortages, used preservation tricks, and did the hard math to make sure their families didn't go hungry. They were the bargain hunters of the time. In this episode, Nancy and Sylvia also share the names of the nearly forgotten American cooks and chefs, as well as those who made sure everyone could have the recipe in the first American kitchen cookbook. This is part #2 of the Family Tree Food & Stories [https://podcast.familytreefoodstories.com/]series about the food history of Revolutionary America from the people who lived it daily: the families who stretched scraps, boiled herbs, preserved meat, shared cups, fed voters, and built a national cuisine one plate at time. SOME KEY TAKEAWAYS * The Boston Tea Party changed breakfast. After British tea became politically dangerous, many Americans turned to homegrown “liberty tea” that they made themselves. * There was no single “colonial meal.” New England, the Mid-Atlantic, and the South ate very differently because geography, soil, crops, trade, and culture shaped the table. * Beer was not just for fun. Small beer and cider were often safer, and even children drank weak beer. * Women held the home front together. Like they have for centuries during hard times. * American cuisine was built from necessity, Indigenous crops, immigrant influence, and forgotten cooks. Corn, squash, beans, regional breads, stews, preserved foods, and Amelia Simmons’ American Cookery helped shape the earliest American food identity. WHAT TO DO NEXT? Listen to “America Was Built on Beer, Bread, and Stolen Coffee” at Podcast.FamilyTreeFoodStories.com [https://podcast.familytreefoodstories.com/], then join us in the Family Tree Food Stories Facebook group [https://www.facebook.com/groups/familytreefoodstories] and share the food story your family still carries. Because every meal has a story, and every story is a feast. Even those we make every day. ADDITIONAL LINKS SHARED:❤️ * Yaupon Tea, [https://www.riseyaupon.com/] family-owned. When British tea just won't do. * Book: My Family Tree, Food & Stories Journal [https://www.amazon.com/Family-Tree-Food-Stories-Memorable/dp/1734841613/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2ETT1Z6Q5J84F&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.9aDj51eTPwkVydIsxOUcm0psz2pwwjU2tA9464i0LYelVWMWkmc9-ft1v7W5bmJM1R9TCjrBIraYcmsIZ8wog4X4ogtbNhkG3EBH1R8jPV1zolTi0TmPdaAy0F7Jsp6SvGSwsUzfPqfaj0BfDOr2fZtOmQ4i1na0rqL3HXfBGiuIhKthz4OOetpp0nORqAyyNTZ_RR6xVoXiMRHTaYKNLZtcygneMGYBWpX9B0np3YU.S3u-1CFzDJusx_U7X3_txBApkxautt9G1C3qrLcNeTw&dib_tag=se&keywords=my+family+tree+food+%26+stories&qid=1730918662&sprefix=my+family+tree+food%2Caps%2C135&sr=8-1] Awarded #1 New Release on Amazon * Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/familytreefoodstories/] Story updates 📸 * Facebook [https://www.facebook.com/FamilyTreeFoodStories/] Family Tree Food Stories GROUP👍 * TikTok [https://www.tiktok.com/@nancymay877]: Family Tree Food Stories * 👇Share Your Story With Nancy & Sylvia! [https://podcast.familytreefoodstories.com/voicemail/]: Leave us a voicemail * You can send us a DM on Facebook. [https://www.facebook.com/FamilyTreeFoodStories] ABOUT YOUR AWARD-WINNING HOSTS: Nancy May [https://www.linkedin.com/in/nancyamay/] and Sylvia Franc [https://www.linkedin.com/in/sylviafrance/]e are the powerhouse team behind Family Tree, Food & Stories [https://familytree,food&stories/], a member of The Food Stories Media Network, which celebrates the rich traditions and connections everyone has around food, friends, and family meals. Nancy, an award-winning business leader, author, and podcaster, and Sylvia, a visionary author, foodie, and business leader, combine their expertise to bring captivating stories rooted in history, heritage, and food. Together, they weave stories that blend history, tradition, and the love of food, where generations connect and share intriguing mealtime stories and kitchen foibles. If you missed the first time around... now's your time to listen to Family Tree Food & Stories [https://podcast.familytreefoodstories.com/] and get inspired to make better use of what’s already in your kitchen. Then visit our page to share how you're using your leftovers this year. Waste less. Cook smarter. Tell the story behind your fridge. "Every Meal Has a Story, and Every Story is a Feast." (tm) is a trademark of Family Tree Food & Stories podcast (c) copyright 2026, all US and International Rights Reserved. @familytreefoodstories, @familyfoodstories, @riseyaupon, #FamilyTreeFoodAndStories #FoodPodcast #FoodHistory #AmericanRevolution #America250 #revolutionaryWar #yaupontea, #libertytea, #colonialfood, #HistoryPodcast #FoodHistory #FamilyHistory #GenealogyPodcast #podcastEpisode, #foodie #foodPodcast #familyfun #homeschooling #stolencoffee #kitchenrebellion, #womeninhistory, #americancookery #foodriots, #historyyoudidntlearn #happybirthdayAmerica

What did Revolutionary War soldiers eat? Colonals, Loyalists, and Allies on Both Sides?

WHAT DID REVOLUTIONARY WAR SOLDIERS EAT? BROKEN SUPPLY CHAINS, BUGGY FIRE CAKE, BOILED SHOE LEATHER, AND THE ALLIES WHO ATE FAR BETTER. EPISODE 93. On paper, Congress promised each man a pound of meat, a pound of bread, peas, beans, milk, and beer or cider every day. In practice, a broken supply chain meant that Continental soldiers often went without, surviving on bug-infested “fire cake,” and at Valley Forge, they were even known to boil shoe leather to make soup! Meanwhile, the French, Spanish, Hessian, and even British forces ate very differently, and quite deliciously too. Join Nancy May and Sylvia France here in the Family Tree Food & Stories podcast, [https://podcast.familytreefoodstories.com/] as they kick off a four-part celebration of America's 250th birthday. Just to start, you'll learn what soldiers on every side of the Revolutionary War actually ate, including a real diary entry from a real Continental soldier who called a handful of pumpkin seeds fished out of a horse trough “the most delicious feast” he’d had in months. Congress’s official daily ration sounds generous on paper, but a broken supply chain, impassable roads, corrupt contractors, and the “Forage War,” where armies raided each other for hay, cattle, and grain. The results? What they really ate was bug-infested and disgusting. Some soldiers recorded boiling shoe leather and tree bark just to survive. Can you imagine? The real killer, though, wasn’t the British enemy; it was malnutrition and disease as a result of very few veggies in their diet. There were some pretty heroic Natives who came to the rescue when they could and taught our guys how to make spruce beer, which is very high in vitamin C. Nancy tasted it too. Really. The French might have been our first colonial food critics, too. While in the south, Spain’s Bernardo de Gálvez drove 2,000 Texas longhorn cattle to feed his troops and won the Siege of Pensacola; Nancy and Sylvia call them the first REAL Florida cowboys! They're likely right too. Women played an important food story role too. Want to know more, tune in to hear the story of Nancy Hart who used a turkey to capture a group of enemy soldiers, right in her kitchen! KEY TAKEAWAYS AND LESSONS LEARNED 1. The British didn’t starve the Continental Army; a broken supply chain did. Congress promised generous daily rations; soldiers got only a fraction of them due to bad roads, corrupt contractors, and the “Forage War,” in which armies raided each other’s food supplies outright. 2. Hungry soldiers ate the weirdest things to survive. “Fire cake,” which is simply flour and water cooked on a hot rock. The flour was often loaded with bugs, too, and baked right into the bread. A Continental Army staple; at Valley Forge and Morristown, NJ, men were said to have boiled shoe leather and tree bark just to keep from starving. 3. Scurvy, not the enemy, was the deadliest food-related problem of the war. A diet of salt meat and flour with almost no vegetables caused the most common illness of the entire war. Vinegar, sauerkraut, and spruce beer (learned from Native Americans) helped, decades before vitamin C was identified in 1932. 4. America’s allies ate far better than our guys, and it mattered strategically. French bread ovens in Chatham, New Jersey, helped disguise the march to Yorktown; Spain’s Bernardo de Gálvez fed his troops with 2,000 Texas longhorn cattle and won the Siege of Pensacola, tying down British forces on the Gulf Coast. 5. Women fed and sometimes saved the Revolution on regional battlefields. An Oneida woman, Polly Cooper, walked 250 miles to bring corn to the starving army at Valley Forge and refused payment; Georgia’s Nancy Hart was said to have disarmed loyalist soldiers over a turkey dinner, and a Georgia county still bears her name as a result of her heroic efforts, too. WHAT TO DO NEXT: Follow Family Tree Food and Stories [https://podcast.familytreefoodstories.com/] at podcast.familytreefoodstories.com [https://podcast.familytreefoodstories.com/] so you don’t miss the rest of the series, and send this episode to someone who’d love the story of a turkey dinner that disarmed three soldiers. Tell us on Facebook [https://www.facebook.com/groups/familytreefoodstories]between episodes what your own family ate, on either side of the Atlantic, and leave us a review, [https://podcast.familytreefoodstories.com/reviews/] we read every one. ADDITIONAL LINKS SHARED:❤️ * Book: My Family Tree, Food & Stories Journal [https://www.amazon.com/Family-Tree-Food-Stories-Memorable/dp/1734841613/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2ETT1Z6Q5J84F&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.9aDj51eTPwkVydIsxOUcm0psz2pwwjU2tA9464i0LYelVWMWkmc9-ft1v7W5bmJM1R9TCjrBIraYcmsIZ8wog4X4ogtbNhkG3EBH1R8jPV1zolTi0TmPdaAy0F7Jsp6SvGSwsUzfPqfaj0BfDOr2fZtOmQ4i1na0rqL3HXfBGiuIhKthz4OOetpp0nORqAyyNTZ_RR6xVoXiMRHTaYKNLZtcygneMGYBWpX9B0np3YU.S3u-1CFzDJusx_U7X3_txBApkxautt9G1C3qrLcNeTw&dib_tag=se&keywords=my+family+tree+food+%26+stories&qid=1730918662&sprefix=my+family+tree+food%2Caps%2C135&sr=8-1] Awarded #1 New Release on Amazon * Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/familytreefoodstories/] Story updates 📸 * Facebook [https://www.facebook.com/FamilyTreeFoodStories/] Family Tree Food Stories GROUP👍 * TikTok [https://www.tiktok.com/@nancymay877]: Family Tree Food Stories * 👇Share Your Story With Nancy & Sylvia! [https://podcast.familytreefoodstories.com/voicemail/]: Leave us a voicemail * You can send us a DM on Facebook. [https://www.facebook.com/FamilyTreeFoodStories] ABOUT YOUR AWARD-WINNING HOSTS: Nancy May [https://www.linkedin.com/in/nancyamay/] and Sylvia Franc [https://www.linkedin.com/in/sylviafrance/]e are the powerhouse team behind Family Tree, Food & Stories [https://familytree,food&stories/], a member of The Food Stories Media Network, which celebrates the rich traditions and connections everyone has around food, friends, and family meals. Nancy, an award-winning business leader, author, and podcaster, and Sylvia, a visionary author, foodie, and business leader, combine their expertise to bring captivating stories rooted in history, heritage, and food. Together, they weave stories that blend history, tradition, and the love of food, where generations connect and share intriguing mealtime stories and kitchen foibles. If you missed the first time around... now's your time to listen to Family Tree Food & Stories [https://podcast.familytreefoodstories.com/] and get inspired to make better use of what’s already in your kitchen. Then visit our page to share how you're using your leftovers this year. Waste less. Cook smarter. Tell the story behind your fridge. "Every Meal Has a Story, and Every Story is a Feast." (tm) is a trademark of Family Tree Food & Stories podcast (c) copyright 2026, all US and International Rights Reserved. @familytreefoodstories, @familyfoodstories, #FamilyTreeFoodAndStories #FoodPodcast #FoodHistory #AmericanRevolution #America250 #revolutionaryWar #falleyforge #colonialameria #ushistory #HistoryPodcast #FoodHistory #FireCake #ContinentalArmy #FamilyTreeFoodAndStories #FamilyHistory #GenealogyPodcast #NancyHart #BernardoDeGalvez #newpodcastepisode

A Goat Stomach, a Nobel Prize Winner, and How the Grateful Dead Saved a Yogurt.

YOGURT SECRETS: 7,000 YEARS OF LIVE CULTURES, INSTANT POT HOMEMADE YOGURT, AND THE GRATEFUL DEAD’S BENEFIT THAT SAVED NANCY’S YOGURT This episode of Family Tree Food and Stories [https://podcast.familytreefoodstories.com/] explores yogurt’s origins, surprising cultural history, and recipes. From its accidental invention 7,000 years ago when Central Asian herders carried milk in animal-stomach pouches while on horseback to global variations like dahi, labneh, skyr, and Bulgaria’s famous yogurt variety. Hosts Nancy May and Sylvia France share how to make yogurt simply in an Instant Pot, explain troubleshooting challenges, and make your own starter “culture.” You'll also learn about a famous Nobel laureate who, in the early 1900s, claimed it as a longevity remedy. Then, did you know the yogurt "bug" was identified and named Lactobacillus bulgaricus, after the country Bulgaria? Well, sort of. And that's what Nancy and Sylvia claim to be a "fork-lore" about how yogurt once cured a French king. If that's not enough, one of the coolest yogurt history stories centers on Oregon’s Springfield Creamery and Nancy’s Yogurt, including how the Grateful Dead helped save the company from closing. Oh, and the Huey Lewis hauling yogurt story too.... It's all true! If you want to know more about the truths and secrets about “Greek-style” and the business of marketing, among other cool yogurt culture (yes, pun intended), then tune into this next episode of Family Tree Food and Stories [https://podcast.familytreefoodstories.com/], now. KEY TAKEAWAYS The "invention" of yogurt was an accident in a goat's stomach. It involved a goat stomach, a hot day on horseback, and a lot of bouncing around. No inventor, no lab, just an accident with lots of bacteria that turned into a delicious treat. A Nobel Prize winner accidentally created the entire probiotics industry. He won medicine's top honor, then got obsessed with why Bulgarian peasants lived long lives eating yogurt. From that question and his slightly oversold theory, the health and wellness aisle was born. The one you walked down to find a gut health probiotic in. The Grateful Dead once helped bail out and save a yogurt company. Saddled with a $14,000 bill for back taxes, the company founder's friends played a benefit show; tickets were literally printed on yogurt labels, and the company survives to this day. #Nancy'sYogurt! "Greek-style" on the label might be a lie that shocks you. Real Greek yogurt is just strained yogurt, nothing more. BUT "Greek-style" often fakes that thickness with cornstarch or gelatin instead. The fix: flip the carton over and read the ingredients before deciding whether to spoon it into your breakfast bowl. You can make better yogurt at home for a quarter of the price, in an Insta Pot! Whole milk, two tablespoons of live-culture yogurt, and eight hours in an Instant Pot. No boiling required if you use ultra-pasteurized milk. WHAT TO DO NEXT? Subscribe to the show at podcast.familytreefoodstories.com [https://podcast.familytreefoodstories.com/] so you never miss an episode update. We release new shows every Thursday morning. Then do one thing for a friend and us too! Send this episode to one person [https://podcast.familytreefoodstories.com/follow/] who needs to know yogurt has a Grateful Dead story in it. That's it. One follow, one share. If every listener does that this week, we genuinely grow together , and next week, we do it again. ADDITIONAL LINKS SHARED:❤️ * SURVEY: Please Help Us Learn How To Do More For You [https://podcast.familytreefoodstories.com/survey/pull-up-a-chair-listener-survey/] * Book: My Family Tree, Food & Stories Journal [https://www.amazon.com/Family-Tree-Food-Stories-Memorable/dp/1734841613/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2ETT1Z6Q5J84F&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.9aDj51eTPwkVydIsxOUcm0psz2pwwjU2tA9464i0LYelVWMWkmc9-ft1v7W5bmJM1R9TCjrBIraYcmsIZ8wog4X4ogtbNhkG3EBH1R8jPV1zolTi0TmPdaAy0F7Jsp6SvGSwsUzfPqfaj0BfDOr2fZtOmQ4i1na0rqL3HXfBGiuIhKthz4OOetpp0nORqAyyNTZ_RR6xVoXiMRHTaYKNLZtcygneMGYBWpX9B0np3YU.S3u-1CFzDJusx_U7X3_txBApkxautt9G1C3qrLcNeTw&dib_tag=se&keywords=my+family+tree+food+%26+stories&qid=1730918662&sprefix=my+family+tree+food%2Caps%2C135&sr=8-1] Awarded #1 New Release on Amazon * Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/familytreefoodstories/] Story updates 📸 * Facebook [https://www.facebook.com/FamilyTreeFoodStories/] Family Tree Food Stories GROUP👍 * TikTok [https://www.tiktok.com/@nancymay877]: Family Tree Food Stories * 👇Share Your Story With Nancy & Sylvia! [https://podcast.familytreefoodstories.com/voicemail/]: Leave us a voicemail * You can send us a DM on Facebook. [https://www.facebook.com/FamilyTreeFoodStories] EPISODE TIMESTAMPS [00:00] Opening — goat stomachs, a Nobel laureate, and the Grateful Dead [02:54] Who invented yogurt? Nobody, it was a 7,000-year-old accident [04:44] Sylvia's Instant Pot yogurt experiment: two ingredients, eight hours [07:54] Élie Metchnikoff and the 1908 Nobel Prize in Medicine [08:49] Sour milk, the elixir: how Metchnikoff turned yogurt into a media sensation [11:39] The real story behind Nancy's Yogurt, Springfield Creamery, Oregon [12:26] The day the Grateful Dead saved a yogurt company [15:43] Getting skeptical: what "Greek-style" actually means on the label [17:48] The six rules of real yogurt, explained [19:10] Three takeaways to keep your own kitchen culture alive ABOUT YOUR AWARD-WINNING HOSTS: Nancy May [https://www.linkedin.com/in/nancyamay/] and Sylvia Franc [https://www.linkedin.com/in/sylviafrance/]e are the powerhouse team behind Family Tree, Food & Stories [https://familytree,food&stories/], a member of The Food Stories Media Network, which celebrates the rich traditions and connections everyone has around food, friends, and family meals. Nancy, an award-winning business leader, author, and podcaster, and Sylvia, a visionary author, foodie, and business leader, combine their expertise to bring captivating stories rooted in history, heritage, and food. Together, they weave stories that blend history, tradition, and the love of food, where generations connect and share intriguing mealtime stories and kitchen foibles. If you missed the first time around... now's your time to listen to Family Tree Food & Stories [https://podcast.familytreefoodstories.com/] and get inspired to make better use of what’s already in your kitchen. Then visit our page to share how you're using your leftovers this year. Waste less. Cook smarter. Tell the story behind your fridge. "Every Meal Has a Story, and Every Story is a Feast." (tm) is a trademark of Family Tree Food & Stories podcast (c) copyright 2026, all US and International Rights Reserved. @familytreefoodstories, @familyfoodstories, #FamilyTreeFoodAndStories #FoodPodcast #FoodHistory #YogurtLover #howtomakeyogurt #instapotrecipes #instapot #FermentedFoods #GreekYogurt #GutHealth #ProbioticFoods #HistoryPodcast #StorytellingPodcast #GratefulDead #FamilyRecipes #HomeFermenting #FoodieFacts #PodcastRecommendations