We arrived at the Archives at 10:30 a. m. expecting to attend the showing of the documentary film Hamburger America, a part of the America Eats series, at 11 a.m. Upon finding out that the film was actually not starting until noon, we decided to use the extra time to go back to What's Cooking, which we had briefly looked at earlier this summer.
Here is some of what we found:
- Thomas Jefferson smuggled rice out of Italy in his coat pocket, a crime that was then punishable by death
- In 1776, a Broadside heralded that each Revolutionary War soldier would get 1 pint of spruce beer daily. Historians have noted that generous food rations may have been just as attractive to volunteers as cries of freedom
- In 1803, the Lewis and Clark expedition carried with them a recipe for portable dried soup
- Does this sound familiar? In the 1890s, W. O. Atwater warned that Americans were eating too much fat and sweets and were not getting enough exercise.
- In 1906, Upton Sinclair, the muckraking author whose book The Jungle made sure that people would never look at packaged meat products in the same way again, wrote a 7-page letter to then President Teddy Roosevelt urging much-needed food reforms that are still going on today.
- America's fascination with backyard barbeques was sparked by President Lyndon Johnson's love of both barbeque and Tex-Mex food.
- Richard Nixon's last meal in the White House before he left in disgrace consisted of pineapple rings, cottage cheese, and milk.
- When current First Lady Michelle Obama started her White House Garden to help teach school children the value of healthy eating, it marked the 1st First Family garden since Eleanor Roosevelt planted a Victory Garden during World War II.
If you are planning to visit What's Cooking Uncle Sam? the exhibit will be closing Jan. 3
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