The Historic Table

In case you missed it!

VIDEO: Take a tour of Charleston's rich revolutionary history On your weekend stroll downtown or your morning coffee run, you may walk right past places with a story that helped build our nation.

Doesn’t seem cheap to me. It sounds delicious! A little skimpy on the meat maybe. This is also a very specific receipt for the 18th century. Usually there’s a lot more interpretation needed.

On your next snowy day, consider making this Receipt for a Cheap Soup from our collections! By using seasonal ingredients, this 1778 meat-and-vegetable soup recipe promises that for just a penny a serving, one can make “a very wholesome and pleasant food, and will serve very well at the Tables of the Rich, as well as the Poor.” The soup is made of half a pound of meat, split peas, turnips, Jerusalem artichokes, potatoes, onion, and celery, with oatmeal, flour, or ground rice to thicken. You can elevate the dish with warming spices or herbs.

Although this broadside was published for use in training camps of the British army, it reflects the new ideas about a healthful diet that were also circulating in American camps during the Revolutionary War.