American Food History #1: Native Influence Quiz

Answer: Southwestern spice gatherers and traders

Although wild herbs and spices were indeed to be found in the south, it was the Spanish who introduced most spices and chilies into the diet of early Americans. Southwestern Indians were gatherers, cultivators and hunters but generally had a rough time of it compared to other regions of the continent.

The Indians of the far west in what is now California were generally gatherers as were the plains Indians in addition to hunting. Eastern Indian tribes fished and cultivated the ground as well as gathered and hunted.

It is much like language and culture, there are no set boundaries. As tribes interacted they also learned from each other and traded.

Answer: They shared and were grateful

While there are exceptions to all generalizations of a group of people this varied and widespread it is generally true that American Indian Tribes were frugal and generous when they had plenty. They gave thanks to the gods and sang songs and danced to their good fortune. A good example is the Green Corn celebration for a bountiful corn harvest.

Answer: Salt preservation in barrels

Innovation was not uncommon to the American Indian. They developed many ways to use and keep the food they had for long periods of time. They smoked, cured, dried, and buried their bounty very efficiently so as to have food when it was otherwise unavailable. We have no record of the tribes making barrels.

However, some of the plains Indians and the southwestern tribes made very fine baskets and pottery for many uses including food storage. While salt curing was not common, salt was available in areas close to the oceans and in the desert regions where salt flats were found and used as seasoning and medication.

Answer: Beaver Hats

Many of the everyday items used by the Indians all over the North American continent were made from the parts of animals they killed. Clothes and foot wear from the hides, tools and weapons from the bones as well as cooking utensils. Virtually every part was used for something. Nothing went to waste. Though Hats and Head Gear was generally introduced to the Indians by the white man and few wore anything on their heads before then.

There are exceptions to this, especially in the northwest, but the Beaver Hat was a uniquely Eastern white man's covering and was particularly popular in Europe.

Answer: Pemmican

Pemmican was a preserved meat product made from pounded meat, lard or fat and seeds and berries for flavor and sweetening. It was all pounded together and dried in strips like jerky. Preserved lemons are an ancient product of North Africa. Coffee and other confections were introduced by Europeans as was corn liquor and whiskey.

Answer: Gelatines from the hooves

Although gelatines were indeed made from the collagen or connective tissue in animal hooves, it was generally introduced to the American Diet by the European settlers on the east coast and never gained favor with the Indians. The meat of the Buffalo or Bison was used in as many ways as one can imagine using any meat including Pemican and Jerky, but one of the choice cuts was from the hump behind the head.

Answer: Tomato

All the others mentioned were staples or the Indian diet but tomatoes were introduced by the Spanish moving in from South America in the 16th and 17th centuries and spread back to Europe in the 18th century where they were initially considered poisonous.

Answer: Red Snapper

Red Snapper is a deep water fish available in the warmer waters of the Gulf and Atlantic coast and not generally available to the Southern and Southeastern Indians. Indians built rugged dug out and bark covered canoes but did not generally venture into deep water. All the shallow water fish and shell fish however were part of the varied diet of the American Indian.

Answer: All of these

Corn was the major staple of the American Indian. Again, a generalization, but one that is easy to defend because of the widespread use of corn across the continent. Corn was so important that it was sometimes used as a form of currency. Corn was used in too many ways to list and preserved in almost as many. Corn cultivation and preservation was one of the first things the Indians shared with the white man.

Answer: Set aside as seed corn for the next crop

The best ears of corn were the ones chosen to be planted the next year and were set aside and prepared for that honor by drying and also a blessing. Harvest time was a celebration of a time of plenty and corn was at the center of that celebration.

I hope you enjoyed this first quiz about American Food and it's history. Next we will look at the first settlers or invaders, depending on you point of view, the Spanish.