Confederate Home Cooking

An examination of the food situation in Southern homes during the Civil War. Originally published 1991, revised from the 1990 first edition. 40 authentic and commemorative recipes, 62 research notes, 2 illustrations, 10,858 words.

With her husband gone off to war, the Confederate wife had to manage all aspects of home life (and tend to any business which the husband would normally conduct). One of the wife's chief responsibilities was the feeding of all members of her household.

Author Patricia B. Mitchell tells how Southern women coped with food shortages brought on by decreased agricultural production, blockades, and other war-created situations. Included in Confederate Home Cooking are actual accounts by women who experienced the war and the cooking challenges it engendered. Recipes of the time period are presented, as well as commemorative recipes.