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Each day, costumed historic interpreters trained in the culinary arts of the 1800s staff several kitchens. Very different food is cooked in each of these kitchens based on the buildings’ era and original location, the socio-economic status of the owners, and the season. New hands-on activities and tastings in these kitchens will help you truly get a taste of 19th century life.
The Pioneer Farmstead
kitchen interpreted c. 1820s
This kitchen is representative of a self-sufficient family with limited cash income. Store-bought goods are limited to molasses, spices, and very small quantities of items like wheat flour and rye meal. Wheat and rye could not be grown on newly cleared ground, and our pioneer family would still be busy clearing trees and growing crops in between the tree stumps. Their crops would be limited to corn, beans, squash and some root vegetables.
The cooks use pots or a griddle and iron bake oven (Dutch oven) hung on a trammel over the fire. Women would have limited time to fuss in the kitchen as there was too much work to be done elsewhere. You might encounter a typical midday meal of a bowl from the stew pot and some cornbread.
The Jones Farm
kitchen interpreted c. mid-1850s
The aroma of the midday meal cooking on the step stove often fills this house. Meals were prepared on the new and improved cook stove. You’ll see receipts (as recipes were then called) such as “Toad in the Hole” and “Bubble and Squeak” prepared in this kitchen. Heirloom vegetables grown in the adjacent kitchen garden supply our cooks today as they would have at the time.
Sour milk was a fact of life, as was an over abundance of fresh milk at certain times of the year. You’ll see the cream saved and made into butter using a period ceramic churn. On select days, you’ll also see cheese being made. Since cheese was nutritious, delicious and easily stored, many farmwives made their own.
The Livingston-Backus House
kitchen interpreted mid-1850s
This elegant city house is complete with its brick fireplace and spacious brick oven. The kitchen is an excellent representation of the changes brought about by three decades of economic growth in the Genesee Country. Guests will find one of the few “hired cooks” in the village preparing wonderful seasonal dishes that could accompany menus suitable for fine dining in this well-to-do family’s dining room. You’ll see that the kitchen is well-equipped kitchen and learn the advantages of urban living with its easy access to markets supplied by the Erie Canal.
Hosmer’s Inn
kitchen interpreted 1830s
The brick-floored kitchen located in the basement of the inn is a hub of activity on special event weekends and during our Summer Sampler summer camp programs. In the 19th century the kitchen would have produced meals for weary travelers along the State Road and local residents stopping in for a meal. The inn will soon be available for historic dining experiences on select evenings for small groups during the 2009 season.
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