How did people get food on the Oregon Trail?

How did people get food on the Oregon Trail?

Cornmeal Pancakes Like flour, pioneers brought along tons of cornmeal for the trail. Cornmeal was easy to make and transport, so travelers got creative with how they used it in their meals. A favorite food on the Oregon Trail was cornmeal pancakes, which could easily be fried up over the campfire.

How did pioneers get food and water?

Breakfast leftovers were packed up and the pioneers were on the trail while it was still early morning. The goal was to travel 15 to 20 miles per day. About midday, the travelers would stop for their “nooning” rest and meal.

How did pioneers eat?

The first pioneers in most places ate by campfires. By necessity, foods were cooked by very simple methods. Dutch ovens, frying pans, boiling pots, and roasting spits were typically employed. As settlements grew, so did the range of cuisine.

How much food did the pioneer family have to take with them to survive the long trip on the Oregon Trail?

about 1,000 pounds
A four-person pioneer family needed to take about 1,000 pounds of food with them in order to survive the long trip to Oregon on the trail. Wagons used by the pioneers were simple farm wagons. They were often made of wood (such as hickory and oak) that was reinforced by iron.

What supplies did the pioneers bring on the Oregon Trail?

Generally, the following minimum rations were recommended for each adult person:

• 120-200 pounds of flour in canvas sacks.
• 30 pounds of hardtack or crackers.
• 25-75 pounds of bacon.
• 15 pounds ground corn.
• ½ bushel cornmeal.
• 10-50 pounds of rice.
• 2 pounds of saleratus (an early form of baking soda)
• 10 pounds of salt.

Did pioneers eat bear meat?

Pioneer food was often stodgy, plain, or altogether absent. In summertime or fall, pioneers might feast on bear meat (Laura’s favorite), buffalo, venison, elk, and antelope, unconstrained by the big game laws of the Old World. But in winter, when nothing grew or could be hunted, pioneers were vulnerable.

What did pioneers eat in the winter?

Winter Food for the Pioneers

• Root cellar: A root cellar is like a man made cave. Pioneers would dig into the side of a hill, and place some foods like root vegetables, underground.
• Root vegetables are foods where people eat the part that grows under the ground such as potatoes, carrots, beets, and onions.

What food did they eat on the Oregon Trail?

A guide written by Joel Palmer, who traveled to Oregon in 1845, advised people to pack 10 pounds of rice per adult for the journey. They could eat it with meat, like dried beef. Travelers also enjoyed rice with water, milk, butter, sugar, molasses, and our favorite, cornmeal mush.

What did the pioneers bring on the Oregon Trail?

The pioneers packed light because although their wagons could hold 2000lbs of supplies, 1,800lbs of that needed to be food. There was no one standard pioneer supply ration. Over time, the food they brought changed slightly, different guidebooks advised slightly different things, and each family would adjust the supplies to their taste.

What kind of animals were found on the Oregon Trail?

Much of the wildlife and plants originally documented in the area comes from the Lewis and Clark Expedition that started in 1804, less than 10 years before the first emigrants started the arduous journey west. Millions of bison, also known as buffalo, used to dot the plains along the trail, but hunting almost depleted the entire population.

What kind of oven did the Oregon Trail pioneers use?

A reflector oven, also known as a tin kitchen, was akin to a large can with one side partially open to catch the direct heat from the fire while the other side reflected heat to the cooking surface on the bottom of the can. Learning to use these tools on an open fire took quite a bit of trial and error to master.

What kind of sugar did they carry on the Oregon Trail?

Travelers mostly carried brown sugar, which went through fewer processes than white sugar, so it was cheaper. However, it still contained molasses, which could make the sugar run in the hot sun. Consequently, they sometimes added crushed sugar to get them through the latter part of the journey.