Foodies in chief
For Presidents Day, here are dishes loved by Washington, Adams, Jefferson and Lincoln
Forget feasts fit for kings. This is America, and we’re celebrating Presidents Day with meals worthy of our democratically elected leaders.
We’re looking at some of the favorite foods of presidents past. And that’s surprisingly well documented in some cases. From George Washington forward, historians have taken notes on what many of our presidents enjoyed for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Some, most notably Thomas Jefferson, even scribbled out recipes for those dishes by hand.
The tastes of those presidents varied quite a bit. Some had quite humble appetites while others went all-out on lavish ingredients and dishes.
Andrew Jackson was known to have a fondness for “leather britches,” a modest dish of dried green beans simmered in water with bacon. Squirrel stew was a favorite of multiple presidents, including William Henry Harrison and James A. Garfield, who both had access to far more flashy proteins than tree rodents.
Theodore Roosevelt was quite defensive about his simple tastes. In 1906, a Washington Post story claimed his appetites were quite extravagant, resulting in a published correction reading, “Instead of a breakfast consisting of oranges, cantaloupes, cereals, eggs, bacon, lamb chops, hotcakes, and waffles, President Roosevelt insists that the regular White House breakfast consists of hard boiled eggs, rolls, and coffee.”
On the more refined side of the plate, Chester A. Arthur, an enthusiastic angler and noted food fan, was particularly smitten with Rhode Island eel. Considered a delicacy at the time, the eel was fished to the point of near extinction. Presidents John Adams, James Buchanan, Theodore Roosevelt and William Howard Taft all regularly served turtle soup at the White House, another dish that’s nearly vanished from American tables, although it was quite common earlier in the country’s history.
The swagger and grace of John F. Kennedy and first lady Jacqueline Kennedy extended to the dinner table. The two helped popularize French food in the U.S. — a stark contrast to Richard Nixon, who allegedly demanded his cottage cheese be topped with ketchup.
Though we’re not going to ask anyone to re-create turtle soup or,
heaven forbid, Nixon’s preferred snack, we do have four recipes from past presidents any home cook could feel patriotic about preparing this Presidents Day.
George Washington: Our nation’s first president reportedly preferred to start his day with a breakfast of cornmeal hoecakes. In his time, baking powder hadn’t yet been invented, so those would have been leavened with yeast for a unique texture not commonly found today. Our recipe for 18th-century-style hoecakes like those that Washington would have eaten comes from the Mount Vernon Inn Restaurant on Washington’s plantation in Virginia.
John Adams: Our second president — and the first to live in the White House — preferred foods reflecting the pantry of his native Massachusetts. Apples played a significant role: Adams reportedly drank a tankard of hard apple cider nearly every day. When those apples weren’t in a mug, they’d wind up in desserts, including our recipe for a classic spiced apple pandowdy from his wife, Abigail.
Thomas Jefferson: Jefferson has often been billed as the nation’s first “foodie president” for his renowned appetite shaped in part by his service as ambassador to France from 1785 to 1789. Ten recipes penned by Jefferson himself are housed at the Library of Congress, as is a hand-written document detailing the construction of a pastamaking machine, a reflection of his deep appreciation for macaroni and cheese. His recipe for white bean soup was adapted into a modern recipe by food historian and writer Tori Avey.
Abraham Lincoln: The famously frugal Lincoln was known for simple tastes, being a fan of biscuits, bacon, corned beef and other staples of the day. But he had a fancy side as well, including an appreciation for the classic French dish chicken fricassee. It’s an old-fashioned dish of well-browned chicken braised in a creamy sauce. Our recipe reflects a unique way Lincoln enjoyed his fricassee: with a dash of ground nutmeg and mace.