Random Foods George Washington Ate On A Daily Basis As President (13 items)

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  (#11) Washington Enjoyed Beer And Other Spirits

  Washington preferred Madeira wine but didn't drink wine alone. At Thursday evening Congressional dinners, "he had a silver pint cup or mug of beer, placed by his plate, which he drank while dining."

  Washington preferred domestic porters, especially those made by Philadelphia brewer Robert Hare, Jr. On one particularly festive Fourth of July in 1788, Washington asked merchant Clement Biddle to get him "a groce of Mr. Hairs best bottled Porter if the price of it is not much enhanced by the [copious] droughts you took of it at the late Procession." 

  Hare's brewery burned down soon after and Washington had to hoard what he could while branching out to other types of porter. He told his secretary "to lay in a pretty good stock of his, or some other porter" and even began growing barley himself.

  Historians believe Washington brewed his own beer, as well. In 1754, Washington made a note on the beer his family drank at Mount Vernon, listing the ingredients and brewing process:

  Take a large [Sifter] full of Bran Hops to your Taste. Boil these three hours then strain out 30 Gall[ons] into a cooler, put in 3 Gall[ons] Molasses while the Beer is Scalding hot, or rather draw the Melasses into the cooler & [strain] the Beer on it while boiling Hot. Let this stand till it is little more than Blood warm then put in a quart of [yeast] if the Weather is very Cold cover it with a [blanket] & let it work in the Cooler 24 hours then put it into the Cask - leave the bung open till it is almost [done] Working - Bottle it that day Week it was Brewed.
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  (#9) Washington Needed Soft Foods Due To His Bad Teeth And Faulty Dentures

  Washington was somewhat limited in what he could eat due to his teeth. Washington had only one tooth of his own and went through several pairs of dentures during his presidency. Soft foods were ideal. As noted by observers, his daily hoecakes were sliced and covered in butter and honey for that very reason. 

  Washington's teeth affected his ability to speak publicly and caused him a lot of pain. His dentures altered his appearance and were adjusted again and again. Washington described his dental woes to his dentist John Greenwood in 1797:

  Not knowing whether you mean to make a new sett, or to repair the old, I must again caution you against adding any thing that will widen the bars on the sides, or extend them in front at bottom - They are already too wide, and too projecting for the parts they rest upon; which causes both upper, & under lip to bulge out, as if swelled - By filing these parts away (to remedy that evil) it has been one cause of the teeth giving way, having been weakened thereby. 

  It was this continued trouble that contributed to Washington's preference for soft foods like cheese and pickled tripe.

  Another one of Washington's dietary habits also affected his teeth: his love of wine. In 1790, Washington told his dentist Greenwood that his dentures were blackened. Greenwood told him that the discoloration was "occasioned either by your soaking them in port-wine, or drinking it... Port, being sour, takes off all the polish." He advised Washington to "either take them out after drinks and put them in clear water and put in another set, or to clean them with a brush and some chalk finely scraped." 
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  (#13) Walnuts May Have Been One Of Washington's Guilty Pleasures 

  Another one of Washington's favorite foods was walnuts. It's somewhat counterintuitive that the president enjoyed such a hard food given his bad teeth, but Washington imported walnuts from England and nuts were often present at meals. Whether or not Washington cracked walnuts with his bare hands remains unclear - or if, as John Adams claimed, Washington lost his teeth after cracking walnuts between them - but Martha Washington's family cookbook refers to pickled walnuts and walnut catsup.

  Pickled walnuts are fairly easy to make: 

  One hundred walnuts, salt, and water.

  To each quart of vinegar allow two ounces of whole black pepper, one ounce of allspice, one ounce of bruised ginger.

  Procure the walnuts while young; be careful they are not woody, and prick them well with a fork; prepare a strong brine of salt and water (four pounds of salt to each gallon of water), into which put the walnuts, letting them remain nine days, and changing the brine every third day; drain them off, put them on a dish, place it in the sun until they become perfectly black, which will be in two or three days; have ready dry jars, into which place the walnuts, and do not quite fill the jars.

  Boil sufficient vinegar to cover them, for 10 minutes, with spices in the above proportion, and pour it hot over the walnuts, which must be quite covered with the pickle; tie down with bladder, and keep in dry place. They will be fit for use in a month and will keep good two or three years.
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  (#12) Casual Dinners On Saturday Nights Featured A Simple Fish And Vegetable Hash

  In contrast to formal dinners held by the family on Thursday evenings, Washington enjoyed a simple hash on Saturday nights. Made of beets, potatoes, onions, and Washington's beloved fish, the mixture was topped with pork scraps and egg sauce. 

  The hash was probably the creation of the Washingtons' cook, an enslaved man known as Hercules or Uncle Harkles. Hercules wielded a vast amount of power in the Washingtons' kitchen, and the family valued his culinary efforts tremendously. Washington took possession of Hercules in 1767, acquiring him from his neighbor, John Posey. Hercules quickly developed a reputation as an able cook, demonstrating his talents at Mount Vernon and in Philadelphia. 

  To prepare the foods Washington liked, Hercules often walked through Philadelphia to purchase items like fish, oysters, and other sundries. Dressed in a tricorn hat, button-adorned coat, and meticulously polished shoes, Hercules was described as "one of the most polished gentlemen." Hercules's fare was so well-known that he was able to sell his leftovers, earning between "one to two hundred dollars a year."

  Perhaps this money contributed to his eventual flight from Mount Vernon in 1796 or early 1797. The Washingtons moved Hercules from Philadelphia to Mount Vernon to bypass the Act for the Gradual Abolition of Slavery, which freed slaves in Pennsylvania if they lived in the state for more than six months at a time. Washington was shocked and upset after Hercules ran away and ordered he be found and returned to Mount Vernon. At one point in 1798, Washington received word that Hercules may have been in Philadelphia, but there's no record of his capture or return to Mount Vernon.  
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  (#10) Martha Washington Was Known For Her Epic Cakes

  Martha Washington oversaw the kitchen, appearing as early as 6 am to make sure breakfast preparation was underway. Martha discussed meal plans with Nathan and Lucy, two cooks who prepared meals at Mount Vernon. She returned to the kitchen several times throughout the day, making sure dinner was on time and that the next day's hoecake batter was mixed and ready to go.

  Martha was known for a dessert called "The Great Cake." Martha wrote down the recipe for her granddaughter, Martha Parke Custis, but the exact ingredients are unclear. At one point, the recipe seems to have included as many as 40 eggs and four pounds of butter. 

  Using other cake recipes and Martha's cookbook as a reference, historians have recreated the 18th-century recipe for modern bakers.

  The Great Cake's ingredients include currants, candied citrus peel, Madeira wine, French brandy, flour, almonds, nutmeg, butter, mace, eggs, and sugar.

  To prepare the cake:

  Combine the currants, orange and lemon peels, and citron in a large bowl. Add 1/2 cup of the Madeira, and stir to combine. Cover... and set aside for at least 3 hours, or as long as overnight. Stir the remainder of the Madeira together with the brandy, cover, and set aside...

  Drain the fruits in a large strainer set over a bowl, stirring occasionally to extract as much of the Madeira as possible. Add the strained Madeira to the set-aside Madeira and brandy.

  Combine 1/4 cup of the flour with the fruit, and mix well. Add the almonds, and set aside. Sift the remaining flour with the nutmeg and mace.

  Mix the butter, sugar, and egg gradually, incorporating the flour, Madeira wine, and brandy, as well. Once the mixture is beaten smooth, more eggs are folded into the batter before the fruit is slowly added in. The cake is baked, cooled, and iced with sugar icing on its top and sides. The sugar icing is made of egg whites, sugar, and rose or orange-flavored water.
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  (#6) Washington Enjoyed Eating Fish Whenever He Had The Chance

  One of Washington's favorite foods was fish - something his steward, Samuel Fraunces, knew very well. Washington's stepgrandson, George Washington Parke Custis, said the president "ate heartily, but was not particular in his diet, with the exception of fish, of which he was excessively fond." 

  Luckily for Washington, fishing on the Potomac River afforded him access to herring, shad, and bass. One of Washington's enslaved persons, known as Father Jack, regularly fished the Potomac from a canoe to catch dinner for the president.

  Fish was served in a variety of ways in the Washington household. Roasted and boiled fish were common dinner foods. Martha Washington's Booke of Cookery and Booke of Sweetmeats, a cookbook attributed to the First Lady, includes recipes for roasted carp, boiled trout, fried sole, and carp pie. 

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