The first shiploads brought pigs with them, and I am sure the fat was used for flavoring [and cooking], as well as that "fat appeal" that humans crave. Wasn't pork so used back in England? Interesting that they had a communal meal. I have read that such communal meals, family get-togethers, pot lucks at church, etc. are so widely practiced in the south, but not so much so elsewhere in the US. The cafeteria style restaurant chain Morrisons was so successful in the south because it was more an accepted thing in the south. In other parts of the country, so I've read, such styles are less popular and seem to connote some sort of cheap or impoverished way of eating. But in the south, it was normal, a social and communal way to eat. The roots of that would be an interesting study. I had a book of recipes and meals from the James I era, it was so heavy on meats, some fruits usually prepared some sugary way, a few breads [they didn't seem very inventive in this regard], and little in the way of greens or veggies. A "sallat" was mostly what we'd call weeds. But it was probably more nutritious than iceberg lettuce and pale, plastic grocery store tomatoes. Nancy ------- I was never lost, but I was bewildered once for three days. --Daniel Boone On Jan 14, 2007, at 12:35 PM, Anne Pemberton wrote: > Another question on the historical accuracy of "D'Arcy" by Donna Doe > Southall. In the first days D'Arcy arrives, about 1619, he is served a > communal meal (everyone in the community at the table), and it > mentions > roots flavored with pork fat. Did the early Jamestowners flavor their > veggies with pork? Was that type of seasoning brought from England? > Or was it a Virginia tradition of later origin? > > Anne > > > > Anne Pemberton > [log in to unmask] > http://www.erols.com/stevepem > http://www.erols.com/apembert > http://www.educationalsynthesis.org > > To subscribe, change options, or unsubscribe, please see the > instructions > at http://listlva.lib.va.us/archives/va-hist.html To subscribe, change options, or unsubscribe, please see the instructions at http://listlva.lib.va.us/archives/va-hist.html