Something New

[L Verge]

Well, I finished the book on Abraham Lincoln in the Kitchen tonight, and I loved every page of it -- even the recipes, which I could have lived without, but it was interesting to read the ingredients and imagine how I could have spiced them up a bit!

I would like to share one intriguing piece of information from the book that I doubt too many of y'all have thought about. What did archaeological digs around the Springfield home and the Lincolns' neighbors' homes reveal about Abe and Mary? Reports as late as 1985 indicate types of china and glassware that they used (and broke) and old medicine bottles. More interesting was an old well that had been covered over by the home's renovations in the mid-1850s. In addition to household items, the well gave up egg shells, peach pits, and 57 pieces of animal bones - as well as over 200 other things related to animals.

The bones revealed that the Lincolns ate beef sirloin, short loin round, and ribs. They also had mutton or lamb, a good bit of pork, chicken, and turkey. The amazing thing was that 45% of the pork remains were from pigs' feet. For many families, pigs' feet were a staple in Lincoln's time and were prepared stewed, barbecued, or pickled. The book's author imagines that, because the pickled kind could be stored in crocks for long periods of time, Mr. Lincoln could easily have come in from his travels, gone to the pantry, and fetched a few to temporarily satisfy his hunger. Another use for both pigs' feet and calves' feet is for boiling down to produce a medicinal soup or jelly. I have eaten one pig's foot in my life, and it almost made me sick instead of curing anything!