Colonial America Kitchens – A Visit to Strawbery Banke

An awesome living museum, with 42 buildings located on the mouth of the Piscataqua River, Strawbery Banke (it really is spelled with one R !) holds special Candlelight Christmas Tours that allow visitors a glimpse of Christmases past. I have visited often – in fact the first was a field trip for my Junior High class way back when (talk about history!) but I had never seen the kitchens so active. Since so much about holidays centers around the special food prepared to celebrate, Strawbery Banke had many on full display mode, and it was so interesting our 2 1/2 hour walk about flew by! We enjoyed samplings of warm roasted New England chestnuts, molasses spice cookies, and figs destined for a pudding. Each  kitchen that was open showed a special bit of that homes’  history and the food that would have been typically prepared in it’s era. The museum has buildings dating from the mid 1600’s to the mid of the last century, but we found the colonial period kitchens to be the most fascinating.

`We got quite a kick out of seeing all the young ladies who seemed to be running many of the kitchens and educating the visitors. They were having a blast and were all delightful! We noticed right off that herbs were everywhere – hanging to dry, and used for cooking as well as for medicinal purposes. The organization does do a fantastic job of not only maintaining several gardens, (including a tremendous garden devoted entirely to herbs) but their use of everything was impressive to see. All of the georgeous wreaths, natural table decorations and ornaments we saw were collected from the gardens, surrounding trees and seashore and lovingly assembled by volunteers.

 

 The very best kitchen smells were at the Shapiro House. They produced a fragrant and beautiful bundt cake from their coal stove!

Also on the table were rugalas, biscotti, anise cookies and other delights.

 That cake smelled so good that we suggested to the people running the Tavern kitchen (where we stopped for a cup of coffee) that they runn over and grab it to sell in slices….we would have purchased some to go with our coffee!  the William Pitt Tavern, built in 1766 by John Stavers,  was a fun place to relax for a bit – pretty much in the dark, as it would have been back in the day. No flash photography allowed! As the starting point for the stagecoach from Portsmouth to Boston, the tavern would have greeted many memorable historical figures, and the museum vouches that it hosted many dignataries, such as George Washington, John Hancock and the Marquis de Lafayette.

 It was nice and bright by the tavern’s huge cooking fireplace. Although not in operation that night, it had a most interesting contraption for roasting meats that was easy to view.

Quite a reminder of how far we’ve come around here – we’ve got it pretty easy! Although it was a lot of work to prepare a meal in the time, many of the guests were commenting how they were wishing they had something like it at home. A huge ice storm took out the power across Northern Massachusetts and Southern New Hampshire last weekend. In fact days later a lot of places still don’t have power. How unprepared we are nowadays for such an event – and how happy we are that the event is only temporary.

On display in some kitchens were the everyday pewter dishes, all well as the finer import china the wealthier citizens would have.

One cooking fireplace that was in full swing was at the Yeaton House. I so wanted to make a soup in that kettle…..

 While the ladies were working with a pumpkin and an extruder, they explained the cone of sugar on the table.

While everyday sweeteners were mollases, honey and apple cider, the wealthier citizens were able to buy sugar, shipped in cone form from the West Indies.  They just scraped the sugar off as they needed it.

Other kitchens were quiet, but gave us a chance to really look at the cooking pots, pans and utensils that were used in Colonial America. Overall it was eye candy for a consumate foodie – I wanted to roll up my sleeves and give it a whirl. Thank you Strawbery Banke for such an insightful, delightful tour. What a great way to spend a December evening, strolling under the full moon and being transported to another place in history!