Page "Cuisine of the United States" Paragraph 12

The American colonial diet varied depending on the settled region in which someone lived.

Local cuisine patterns had established by the mid 18th century.

The New England colonies were extremely similar in their dietary habits to those that many of them had brought from England.

A striking difference for the colonists in New England compared to other regions was seasonality.

While in the southern colonies, they could farm almost year round, in the northern colonies, the growing seasons were very restricted.

In addition, colonists ’ close proximity to the ocean gave them a bounty of fresh fish to add to their diet, especially in the northern colonies.

Wheat, however, the grain used to bake bread back in England was almost impossible to grow, and imports of wheat were far from cost productive.

Substitutes in cases such as this included cornmeal.

The Johnnycake was a poor substitute to some for wheaten bread, but acceptance by both the northern and southern colonies seems evident.