FOOD. 18th century recipes.

17th Century Recipe Found. German Gingerbread.

Take 20 litres of honey and boil it together with 2 litres of water. Add in cinnamon and nutmeg, a healthy amount of ginger and pepper, plus some aniseed and coriander. Mix it all together with rye flour and water.

http://nationalpost.com/pmn/news-pmn/medieval-manuscripts-and-xmas-recipes-abbey-library-a-trove

SALT PORK, SHIP’S BISCUIT, AND BURGOO: SEA PROVISIONS FOR COMMON SAILORS AND PIRATES, PART 1.

Sailors or Pirates loading provisions onto boat for transport to a ship. From an illustration of Blackbeard in Charles Johnson’s, “A General History of the Lives and Adventures of the Most Famous Highwaymen, Murderers, Street-Robbers, &c.,” illustrated by Joseph Nichols, 1736.

https://csphistorical.com/2016/01/24/salt-pork-ships-biscuit-and-burgoo-sea-provisions-for-common-sailors-and-pirates-part-1/

SALT PORK, SHIP’S BISCUIT, AND BURGOO: SEA PROVISIONS FOR COMMON SAILORS AND PIRATES, PART 1.

Sailors or Pirates loading provisions onto boat for transport to a ship. From an illustration of Blackbeard in Charles Johnson’s, “A General History of the Lives and Adventures of the Most Famous Highwaymen, Murderers, Street-Robbers, &c.,” illustrated by Joseph Nichols, 1736.

https://csphistorical.com/2016/01/24/salt-pork-ships-biscuit-and-burgoo-sea-provisions-for-common-sailors-and-pirates-part-1/

PDF. Reproducing The 18th Century English Biscuit.

http://colonialbaker.net/Reproduction%20Biscuit%20article%20JOTEA%202011.pdf

Ships Biscuit.

I have read several recipes for ships biscuit but none of them appear to use the constant kneading or "knocking down" method. Somewhere in my memory I seem to recall that this kneading & knocking down (pounding with the side of a clenched fist) was an important part of making ships biscuit. Anyway, here are the links to three articles on this biscuit.

Ship’s Biscuits made by Jeff Pavlik, as featured in John Pavlik, “‘Consisting Merely of Flour and Water’: Reproducing the Eighteenth-Century English Biscuit,” Journal of the Early Americans 1, no. 11 (April/May 2011), 7-11.

http://csphistorical.com/2016/01/24/salt-pork-ships-biscuit-and-burgoo-sea-provisions-for-common-sailors-and-pirates-part-1/

http://www.westfordminutecub.com/resources/Biscuit+Recipe.pdf

http://colonialbaker.net/A%20Summary%20of%20Reproducing%20the%2018th%20Century%20English%20Sea%20Biscuit.pdf

http://www.theoldfoodie.com/2013/04/ships-biscuits.html

Succariebread, Field provisions of the 1718 campaign

https://historyhysteria.wordpress.com/2016/02/10/succariebread-fieldprovisions-of-the-1718-campaign/

Cross Buns From Pegs & Tails.

https://pegsandtails.wordpress.com/2015/04/03/cross-buns/#comment-6926

A Woodsrunner's Day Part Four Video.

A Woodsrunner's Day Part Three. Video.

A Woodsrunner's Day Part Two.

The Community Oven. A Link.

My thanks to Louis Tramelli for this link.

http://fortat4.org/blog/?cat=25

Cooking Utensils For Wilderness Living.

Cooking Utensils For Wilderness Living.

Now there is no doubt that a variety of cooking utensils are useful, but are they really necessary? When you are carrying everything on your back, weight and bulk is a concern, because you need to priorities. The items of major importance for me are: water, gunpowder, lead, and food. So let’s take a look at what is available to you for cooking that will satisfy all your needs.

I carry food in bags inside my kettle which site sideways into my knapsack and sits squarely in the middle of my back, which is a comfortable feeling!!! 

I chose to carry a trade kettle because to me it is the most versatile piece of equipment. I can use it as a bucket for carrying water or berries; I can boil water for purification or for a hot drink. It will cook stews nicely and boil dry foods. If I want to cook bread I can do it on a hot rock or in the ashes. If I want to roast meat I can put it on a stick in front of the fire. I do not need to fry my foods so I do not need a skillet or a frying pan. This saves me a lot of weight and bulk.

I also carry a tin cup, so if I am cooking a meal in my kettle, I can still get myself a hot drink by boiling the water in my tin cup. There is evidence of this being done in the 18th century, as the remains of tin cups have been found with replacement wire handles, the original handles being soldered on having fallen off in the heat of the fire. 

The pot hook I make from a piece of wood easily enough with my clasp knife, so there is nothing else I need to carry. My wooden spoon and my hunting knife serve as eating utensils.
Take care on the trail.
Keith.