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Life was often hard for the women among the settlers arriving in Wisconsin between 1850 and 1880. They were engaged in farming, gardening, food gathering and household tasks. Their dwellings were small and uncomfortable, and ill-health was common among them.
Living conditions for women and their families were not ideal. Their first shelters were rough. They were often hastily built upon arrival at their new homestead, and resembled huts or shanties. The walls, roofs and floors usually had large cracks and were not always safe from the elements. [1] There were accounts of settler’s first dwellings that described snow coming in and covering the beds overnight. These first cabins were small, commonly only 12 by 12 feet. The floor in the main room was made of split logs and there was often a second room in the attic that could be accessed by the ladder. [2]
Life on the frontier was hard, clearing land and farming was backbreaking work, and the women had to work right alongside the men even in the hardest work. Women could help supplement their families income if they had access to livestock. Having access to milk or eggs could round out a bland diet, and many women could use the extra eggs or butter to sell or trade for other goods. [3]
Gardening was another one of the major chores of frontier women, because the families relied on these gardens to get them through the winter. The more food a family could grow themselves, the less they would need to buy and the more comfortable their winter would be. Summer was an especially busy time for women who spent most of their daylight hours harvesting their gardens and putting up the food into storage for the long, cold winter ahead. [4]
Another common way to get food was to forage for it. Berries were abundant in Wisconsin during the summer months and women devoted a great amount of time picking, drying and canning strawberries, currants, cranberries, raspberries, blackberries, cherries, blueberries and gooseberries. Women spent days or weeks picking the berries while they were available. [5]
Typical daily chores for pioneer women were numerous and included running the overall household, cooking, cleaning, having and raising children and helping with farm chores. These chores included feeding chickens, collecting their eggs, milking cows and churning butter, as well as doing the families sewing and meal preparation. [6]
Accidents, illness and tragedies were common on the Wisconsin frontier, and the highest rates of death among women were childbirth and causes related to childbirth and infection that stemmed from childbirth. [7] When illness struck a family women had to rely on their own homemade medication as doctors were often to far away to do any good. Common illnesses on the frontier included headaches, cholera, malaria, measles, mumps, whooping cough and fever and ague. Other diseases included consumption (tuberculosis), lung fever, small pox and diphtheria. [8]
Swedish cuisine is the traditional food of Sweden. Due to Sweden's large north-to-south expanse, there are regional differences between the cuisine of North and South Sweden.
Cake is a flour confection made from flour, sugar, and other ingredients, and is usually baked. In their oldest forms, cakes were modifications of bread, but cakes now cover a wide range of preparations that can be simple or elaborate, and which share features with desserts such as pastries, meringues, custards, and pies.
Porridge is a food made by heating or boiling ground, crushed or chopped starchy plants, typically grain, in milk or water. It is often cooked or served with added flavourings such as sugar, honey, (dried) fruit or syrup to make a sweet cereal, or it can be mixed with spices, meat or vegetables to make a savoury dish. It is usually served hot in a bowl, depending on its consistency. Oat porridge, or oatmeal, is one of the most common types of porridge. Gruel is a thinner version of porridge.
Oatmeal is a preparation of oats that have been de-husked, steamed, and flattened, or a coarse flour of hulled oat grains (groats) that have either been milled (ground) or steel-cut. Ground oats are also called white oats. Steel-cut oats are known as coarse oatmeal, Irish oatmeal, or pinhead oats. Rolled oats were traditionally thick old-fashioned oats, but can be made thinner or smaller, and may be categorized as quick oatmeal or instant oatmeal depending on the cooking time required, which is determined by the size of the oats and the amount of precooking.
Finnish cuisine is notable for generally combining traditional country fare and haute cuisine with contemporary continental-style cooking. Fish and meat play a prominent role in traditional Finnish dishes in some parts of the country, while the dishes elsewhere have traditionally included various vegetables and mushrooms. Evacuees from Karelia contributed to foods in other parts of Finland in the aftermath of the Continuation War.
Danish cuisine originated from the peasant population's own local produce and was enhanced by cooking techniques developed in the late 19th century and the wider availability of goods during and after the Industrial Revolution. Open sandwiches, known as smørrebrød, which in their basic form are the usual fare for lunch, can be considered a national speciality when prepared and decorated with a variety of fine ingredients. Hot meals are typically prepared with meat or fish. Substantial meat and fish dishes includes flæskesteg and kogt torsk with mustard sauce and trimmings. Ground meats became widespread during the industrial revolution and traditional dishes that are still popular include frikadeller, karbonader and medisterpølse. Denmark is known for its Carlsberg and Tuborg beers and for its akvavit and bitters, but amongst the Danes themselves imported wine has gained steadily in popularity since the 1960s.
Russian cuisine is a collection of the different dishes and cooking traditions of the Russian people as well as a list of culinary products popular in Russia, with most names being known since pre-Soviet times, coming from all kinds of social circles.
Dutch cuisine is formed from the cooking traditions and practices of the Netherlands. The country's cuisine is shaped by its location in the fertile North Sea river delta of the European Plain, giving rise to fishing, farming, and trading over sea, its former colonial empire and the spice trade.
Ukrainian cuisine is the collection of the various cooking traditions of the people of Ukraine, one of the largest and most populous European countries. It is heavily influenced by the rich dark soil (chernozem) from which its ingredients come and often involves many components. Traditional Ukrainian dishes often experience a complex heating process – "at first they are fried or boiled, and then stewed or baked. This is the most distinctive feature of Ukrainian cuisine".
A butter churn is a device used to convert cream into butter. This is done through a mechanical process, frequently via a pole inserted through the lid of the churn, or via a crank used to turn a rotating device inside the churn.
Medieval cuisine includes foods, eating habits, and cooking methods of various European cultures during the Middle Ages, which lasted from the fifth to the fifteenth century. During this period, diets and cooking changed less than they did in the early modern period that followed, when those changes helped lay the foundations for modern European cuisine.
Traditional Estonian cuisine has substantially been based on meat and potatoes, and on fish in coastal and lakeside areas, but now bears influence from many other cuisines, including a variety of international foods and dishes, with a number of contributions from the traditions of nearby countries. Scandinavian, German, Russian, Latvian, Lithuanian and other influences have played their part. The most typical foods in Estonia have been rye bread, pork, potatoes and dairy products. Estonian eating habits have historically been closely linked to the seasons. In terms of staples, Estonia belongs firmly to the beer, vodka, rye bread and pork "belt" of Europe.
The cuisine of Wisconsin is a type of Midwestern cuisine found throughout the state of Wisconsin in the United States of America. Known as "America's Dairyland", Wisconsin is famous for its cheese as well as other dairy products, such as cheese curds and frozen custard. Other notable foods common to the region include bratwursts, beer and Old Fashioned cocktails, butter burgers, fish fries and fish boils, cranberries, and booyah stew.
Irish cuisine encompasses the cooking styles, traditions and recipes associated with the island of Ireland. It has evolved from centuries of social and political change and the mixing of different cultures, predominantly with those from nearby Britain and other European regions. The cuisine is founded upon the crops and animals farmed in its temperate climate and the abundance of fresh fish and seafood from the surrounding waters of the Atlantic Ocean. Chowder, for example, is popular around the coasts.
Childbirth in rural Appalachia has long been a subject of concern. Infant mortality rates are higher in Appalachia than in other parts of the United States. Additionally, poor health in utero, at birth, and in childhood can contribute to poor health throughout life. The region's low income, geographic isolation, and low levels of educational attainment reduce both access to and utilization of modern medical care. Traditional medical practices, including lay midwifery, persisted longer in Appalachia than in other U.S. regions.
Teeswater Creamery is a dairy business in the town of Teeswater, Ontario, Canada. It is the oldest creamery in Ontario. Since 1981 it has been owned by the Gay Lea Foods Co-operative.
Pie in American cuisine has roots in English cuisine and has evolved over centuries to adapt to American cultural tastes and ingredients. The creation of flaky pie crust shortened with lard is credited to American innovation.
Mormon foodways encompass the traditional food and drink surrounding the religious and social practices of members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and other churches in the Latter Day Saint movement, colloquially referred to as Mormons. The Word of Wisdom prohibits Mormons from consuming alcohol, coffee and tea. These restrictions began to be observed more closely in the 20th century. Traditionally, members are encouraged to fast two meals during the first Sunday of each month.
Breakfast, the first meal of the day eaten after waking from the night's sleep, varies in composition and tradition across the world.