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ROMA at THREE RIVERS PEI 1700s Food |
Fireside CookingAlmost three centuries ago meals on the Island were prepared before the warm glow of a wood fire even on the hottest days of summer. It wasn’t enough to be a good cook and set a fine table. Managing all kinds of wood to get the cooking coals just right, was a tricky skill. It was fireplace cooking and the cast iron cookware in the hearth required frequent watching. One had to be strong to lift the heavy pots filled with soup or stew. Kitchen conveniences of the 1730’s were long-handled fry pans, a swinging crane for hanging pots over the fire and a turnspit with a jack for turning meat. |
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Some things don’t change, and today fine food enjoyed in pleasant company is still one of the greatest joys of life. Jean Pierre Roma, who carved a settlement out of the woods and established a company and business community at Three Rivers (Brudenell Point), knew the value of good food and good times in keeping people happy. He was careful to combine work with pleasure. Singing, feasting and dancing were organized to give his weary settlers welcome respite from the grinding drudgery of creating a home in the wilderness Roma thought his employees would be content with lower wages if the settlement was made attractive. Fine blue porcelain and green pottery dishes imported from China, are included among the artifacts found on the site. The artifacts provide an example of the “privilege of position and property” that Roma, as a merchant of the French Empire, brought to Three Rivers. While France and Britain struggled for control of the seas, France was the undisputed world leader in both sophisticated cooking and fashion, for centuries.
From Jean Pierre Roma’s correspondence we learn that he supplied his boats that fished in St. Pierre with salt, bread, brandy, molasses and wine. He writes about his fishermen catching cargoes of cod – 560,000 pounds in twenty-six months. In the 1730’s salt was a valued staple and both fish and beef were served salted as well as fresh. His writings mention cattle. Roma’s eight gardens grew cabbages and turnips. In European style, the gardens were fenced to keep the animals out. Picket fences kept the pigs from rooting out the produce. Travel and trade affected eating habits. Flour came by ship from both Quebec and France. Roma’s ships brought in molasses, sugar and coffee from the West Indies. He traded fresh and salted fish.
Recipes of the early days were rare and if any, they usually just listed ingredients. Quantities were often hinted at - the size of an egg, a nut, and a fist or “to taste”. Cooking methods and times were pretty vague. Children grew up learning first hand in the kitchen helping their mothers or other cooks.
Marie Nightingale, Cookbook author and Food Editor of Saltscapes magazine says, “Bread was the single most important food in the diet. The loaves were heavy and there was no such thing as white flour. At Louisbourg, each loaf weighed six pounds and they were made from 80% whole wheat and 20% rye.” |