Really Vintage Food–I’m Talkin’ Thomas Jefferson Vintage!

Okay, let’s go deep vintage food. Let’s look at the guy who tried to grow so many of our first stabs at exotic veggies–Thomas Jefferson.  He took on tomatoes, eggplants, and artichokes before they were hip.  He was no locavore, asking Lewis and Clark to bring back plants from the Louisiana purchase. Purportedly, various dignitaries of other nations vied to offer the most unusual and rare plants to his gardens.  Here, we have an enthusiast of the exotic;  Thomas Jefferson’s gardens cannot be overlooked in their influence on American cuisine, if only, at the very least, when they trickled on into his cousin’s early American cookbook. A documentation of new Virginia cuisine, “The Virginia Housewife,” by Mary Randolph, appeared in print in 1824, with some actual recipes developed at Monticello by Jefferson–reportedly an early “fusion food” enthusiast, as well, with his pairing of French and Virginia eating traditions.  An early gumbo is listed therein, although my current gumbos tend to lack veal knuckles.  What a shame.

I’m here studying Monticello’s gardens and the landscapes at the University of Virginia as part of the Historic Landscape Institute, which is pretty darn cool.  In the photo above, we see the kitchen garden, or vegetable garden, with the bean arbor just to the south of the garden pavilion.  The cool thing is that Jefferson liked to attempt to grow just about anything.  Which really means that there are some strange things in the historic gardens of Monticello.  Or at least things that were more exotic than those veggies the slaves grew in their own, separate plots at their homes on the plantation (which it is documented that they sometimes sold to the Jefferson household.  Stick it to the man, I say!).   Let us not discuss Jefferson’s elaborate garden accomplishments without acknowledging the real sweat equity of the slaves who tended the terraced gardens–I mean, no one imagines a 6’2″ white dude circa 1800 out in this Virginia heat lugging dirt from one section of the yard to another to create the beautiful terraces that we enjoy, do they?  Monticello presents a complicated legacy, and the organization tries to do right by addressing these issues, while still honoring the man at the heart of the Monticello story.  It may be up to each individual visitor to decide how well that is accomplished.

Yet, in the realm of strange vegetables, how many people have grown Sea Kale?  As a New Englander, I’m entirely unfamiliar with it.  However, Jefferson grew it, and employed specially made clay pots which were placed over the growing plants, where they were “blanched” in place, and cut when they were sufficiently white with a taste that would be reputedly asparagus-like.  Blanching in a covered pot prevents small plants from producing chlorophyll, and thus keeps them tender and less bitter.  Historically so, but not very tasty according to those I’ve found who’ve eaten the darn thing.

Therefore, let us consider the real vintage food–when tomatoes were scarce and the three sisters of corn, squash, and potatoes were culinary staples.  I think limited choice can sometimes be a good thing.

More from the Historic Landscape Institute 2010 coming soon…Meanwhile, please enjoy  some of Jefferson’s lovely hops.

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