Civil War Prison Food - Andersonville to Elmira

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Subtitles: Jose Mendoza | IG @worldagainstjose

#tastinghistory #civilwar

[TastingHistory]

I realize I didn’t describe the crust! The flavor was mild, like mashed potato, but the texture was wonderfully fluffy, especially around the rim of the pie. I think it’d be perfect for savory pies.

More civil war and other war foods here: War Food Videos

[SapShoes]

I think the reason you rocketed up to 2.5 million subs is not because there are so many historical food lovers but more so that there are so many food lovers and history lovers out there and you successfully combined the two. You speak of both in equal parts and explain how one affected the other. It's a brilliant idea executed perfectly.

[wyattkelly]

I had an ancestor in Andersonville. He was part of a prisoner exchange, and just went home instead of back into the army. Can't say I blame him.

[KatzenwagenTV]

whenever I hear "hardtack", even in other channels my brain automatically plays your "clack clack" clip in my head 😹 I think I got "Pavlov'ed" 😹😻

[emilyb]

Hardtack story here. So I'm a saxophone player in a local street band and a few months ago we were playing at a large parade for the 250th anniversary of the founding of a neighboring town. Think people dressed as pioneers, tours of log cabins, etc. Minding my own business I hear someone mention hardtack and half a second later the echoing response was "tap tap." I was tickled to death that in the middle of nowhere there were others who know the call-and-response of "hardtack! tap tap!" It's almost as good as "Marco! Polo!"

[lotharbeck]

Like any typical girl, I was a huge Civil War buff starting at age 11. My grandparents had a coffee table book about Andersonville. The images of emaciated prisoners and hangings are burned into my mind.

A common joke during the Civil War era:
Soldier Billy— yesterday, I bit into a piece of hardtack, and I bit into something soft.
Soldier Johnny— was it a worm?
Soldier Billy— no, it was a nail.

[jukku]

I introduced my mom to this channel at the start of the year after she started getting too sick to do a lot and she loved the combination of cooking and history this channel provides. We'd talk about the new episodes and I'd actually follow your recipes and cook foods for the show that she was interested in trying. (She loved the tang pie). She passed away a couple of weeks ago and I just wanted to thank Max for some of the last good memories I was able to make with my mom.

[all-luna]

As soon as he read “crackers” in the recipe, I KNEW there’d be a hard tack reference…ohhh the excitement “clack clack”
Congrats on your success Max!

[lymb]

6:50 "What's that? Oh, these? These are just my Nice Buns. Do you want to feel my Nice Buns or just have a taste?" sounds like the kind of thing that gets you kicked out of the baking club

[RollingStone]

My great grandfather was in Andersonville and according to family lore after getting out he walked from Georgia to New York and everyone thought he had expired because no one had heard from him and when he arrived on the doorstep, he had lost enough of his weight that no one recognized him. It took months for him to recuperate from his ordeal. Walking all the way home was preferable than continuing to fight in the war after being stuck in a Confederate prison for about a whole year. Sounded like he never fully got over what he saw in there.

[zstrike]

Vinegar doesn’t actually help scurvy at all. They just thought it would at the time because they thought acids helped. But vinegar doesn’t contain any vitamin C (ascorbic acid).

[davidwoolsey]

2.5 Million because we LIKE the food history, but we LOVE how you present the information, Max!

[thomasmorgan]

My German-immigrant ancestor, William, was one of the first to be sent to Andersonville, helping dig those wells inside the prison. He survived with a head wound from the battle where he was captured, and a ball of shot was left in the side of his head.

He lived to be 74 with that would that never fully healed, and was always painful. When asked, he was known to stare into the distance saying "nobody would believe the things I've seen..."

[michaelG_]

The 'hardtack' cut will never get old.

[QuasarSniffer]

I think it's a testament to the quality of Tasting History that the channel just keeps growing since it first blew up in 2020, when we were all in lockdown and cooking videos were getting big view counts all over YouTube. Tasting History, however, has increased in subscribers and quality since that initial success (those early video remain wonderful, by the way), as Max has created consistently excellent, well-researched, and entertaining videos week after week, chasing his own passions and interests instead of trends. Flat-out one of the best channels on YouTube in any category and the video I look forward to the most every week. The Tasting History Cookbook was a no-brainer buy for me.

[bobdobsin]

I remember, years ago, back during COVID, I asked you in the comments about medieval german baking recipes, and you actually responded. It really did make my day.

You've come a long way, Max, and you have a lot to be proud of. I was never much one for food history, but I always did love history - and what better way to resurrect a slice of the past than through that inescapable human necessity, food? I've cooked a bunch of the recipes you've featured since then, and enjoyed all of them. Parthian Chicken is a favorite of mine. And how I *wish* modern european cuisine resembled its medieval predecessor. 🤤

[VoodooMcVee]

2:25 Regarding the "papers pepper": In Bremen, Germany, a banquet of the Seafarers' Guild is held (almost) annually since 1545 (this year for the 480th time). This event is very traditional and highly regulated, e.g. the menu is strictly defined and has remained unchanged for centuries. In any case, the table setting at this banquet traditionally includes (among other things) little paper cones with pepper, so I would assume that it was customary to package it like this in the past.

[nathancarter]

This episode had everything. Complaints about cooking, reading through receipts, *HORRIBLE DEPRESSING WAR STORIES* and a nice little pie at the end. How lovely!

[midgey]

me cheering at the hard tack clapping clip like i’m watching a sport

[_letstartariot]

Max is our cool uncle who can cook, is really kind, and teaches us history. Tuesdays are cooking with uncle Max day. I need to cook this myself now.