Fruits and Nuts in the Early 1800s

Fruits and Nuts in the Early 1800s

Did you know …

 

Strawberries grew wild in the meadows. Children found raspberries and blackberries in such places as fence corners. Wild grapes and service berries grew in the woods and huckleberries grew on hillsides.

How many of these fruits have you eaten?

Small fruits that children then ate were gooseberries, currant, elderberries, wild cherries, haw, dewberries, mulberries, cranberries, wild red plums, and crabapples. How many of these have you eaten?

They also ate peaches, apples, and pears. They dried the fruit to eat during the winter.

Boys gathered chestnuts and black walnuts

Boys gathered chestnuts, hickory nuts, black walnuts, butternuts, and hazelnuts for their families and animals. They probably enjoyed hiking through the woods to find them.

Hogs fattened up on beech nuts and acorns.

Tomatoes were considered poisonous

Do you like tomatoes? The early settlers believed them to be poisonous. Tomatoes were displayed on mantles as pretty ornaments.

Making apple butter was fun for everyone

Making apple butter every fall was a fun event for the whole family. They also loved making pumpkin butter. Have you ever tasted either one of these?

Families also made apple cider and stored the drink in cider barrels. They enjoyed this tasty drink on winter evenings.

-Sandra Merville Hart

 

Sources

Welker, Martin. 1830’s Farm Life in Central Ohio, Clapper’s Print, 2005.

 

Submit a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *