Joyce White kitchen demo, Hampton Mansion
In a way, White Potato Pie led me into the world of uniquely Maryland food, and so it is fitting that it also led me to the website of one Joyce White, culinary historian.
As the foremost expert in Maryland food (in this author’s humble estimation), Joyce White’s expertise spans far beyond that into American and European historic foodways. She has recently curated a Maryland exhibit at the Southern Food and Beverage Museum (oh no, someone called Maryland the South! Here come the angry letters from all sides). I recently had the privilege of attending one of her engaging demonstrations, and I would recommend that food history enthusiasts follow her website for updates on similar opportunities. She has appeared at countless museums and libraries such as the Maryland Historical Society, Riversdale House, Sandy Spring, and the Charles County library, plus senior centers, genealogical societies and similar venues all over the DC/Maryland region. Although she has not authored any print publications currently, she may be writing a book on late 18th – early 19th century baking in America, highlighting British origins of the recipes.
A little bit about yourself and the path that led you to be a food historian:
I started out with food history as an intern at the Geneva Historical Society in New York State during college. I was forced to dress as an 1840s kitchen maid for a program for local 4th graders, I had to make a cake with them in the hearth. I never had done any historical cooking before, nor had I ever even built a fire. It was a good way to immerse myself in open hearth cooking as I had to do this several times per week over the course of the spring semester.
What type of perspective do you think that your work has given you into Maryland/American/World history?
I have learned so much and am continually learning every day. What I enjoy is being able to make connections between time periods (change over time),
regionalism (how the local economy, natural landscape, and rate of immigration and industrialization) affects the food choices that are made. I try to focus less on the origins of foods and more on what makes them persist within a culture. How do recipes adapt over time? Do recipes fall out of fashion and why? How are old world food traditions incorporated in a new world setting and time?
Do you have particular favorite “culinary eras” or geographic regions?
I seem to spend lots of time on eastern US foods from the late 18th – late 19th century. It is a time in Maryland that is still very British in foundations but also a time when a definite American angle becomes obvious in the food choices made. For example, hominy corn (a very American crop associated with lower classes originally from settlement through the 18th century) eventually becomes popular with all classes in Maryland (hominy croquettes found on a high class menu for Baltimore’s Hotel Rennert by the late 19th c.).
Have you noticed any increase/decrease in public interest in culinary history and if so do you have theories as to why?
People seem to be very interested in my programs. Of course, I try to provide topic options that are appealing such as Chocolate, Tea, Maryland, and Dessert.
It also doesn’t hurt that I offer samples at the end of all of my programs! I am actually at a point where I have to decline invitations to speak because there just aren’t enough days in the week and hours in the day for me to do it all.
Are there any other historians, writers, chefs, whose work you admire or who have influenced you?
Ivan Day, British Food Historian
Peter Brears, British Food Historian
Susan Plaisted, Pennsylvania Food Historian
Leni Sorenson, Monticello
Michael Twitty, Kosher Soul
Elizabeth David, cookbook author
The Two Fat Ladies (mainly for their very British take on things and humor)
And many more …
You contributed to an exhibit on Maryland food at the Southern Food and Beverage Museum – can you tell us anything about that for those of us who haven’t seen it?
I wish I could – I haven’t seen it yet! The exhibit was just installed this past spring. I did the research but was not involved in the actual exhibit design and
installation. There is a bit of anxiety in this type of collaboration because I cannot be sure those on-site will interpret my research correctly. A trip to New Orleans is on the list and I will hopefully get there sooner rather than later.
Do you still do any active research/learning and if so, what type of subjects are you exploring?
Always. I am constantly researching and revising all of my current programs and always thinking of new program topics. I am looking at creating programs based on the foods of Jane Austen, the foods of the Edwardian period for a Downton Abbey program, and the foods of Shakespeare.
What comes to mind when you think about Maryland food traditions specifically? Anything particularly unique or notable?
Recipe fossils, meaning something that was popular at one time but not so much any more:
- White Potato Pie (look at my blog for that one);
- Baltimore Fish Peppers: a type of very spicy African serrano pepper that was picked unripened and dried. It was made into a powder used to spice fish dishes (the light color of the unripe pepper did not discolor the fish dishes). Very popular in the late 19th century, not anymore though.
Beer – Baltimore was flooded with breweries in the 19th century. There were 40 breweries by the end of the century!
Muskrat – An Eastern Shore tradition popularized during the Great Depression of the 1930s
Pennsylvania Dutch Influences:
- Smearcase Cheesecake
- Scrapple
- Pot Pie
- Fastnacht donuts for Shrove Tuesday
- Markets
- And many others …
German influence: Sauerkraut with turkey for Thanksgiving and pork for New Year’s Day
What, if anything, do you feel is left for culinary historians to learn at this juncture? Are there any particular resources that haven’t been tapped to their fullest potential?
There is always more to learn. I would love to spend several days exploring local and national archives looking for hand written recipe manuscripts and journals dating as far back as possible. You can get a fantastic insight into the preferences of our ancestors by looking at their personal recipe books. You can
see which recipes are more popular than others (grease stains, notations in the corner, etc), and you can really see what types of crops were popular on a
seasonal basis. If only there were more hours in each day!
Joyce White’s Nutmeg Grater
Any ways in which your work has affected your home/personal cooking habits?
My family is less than enthusiastic about most of the historic cooking I do. I get made fun of a lot. My husband calls me Martha Washington Stewart! However, they are happy for me to try new things as long as I have a back-up in case they don’t like my experiments. I live with some very picky eaters!