Tavern Fare

At the Center House, Joseph Martin probably served eighteenth-century Anglo-Welsh American country food that was plain and hearty, although no specific food has been linked to this tavern. Salted or smoked pork and beef such as hams, bacon, dried chipped beef, and corned beef were often available year round, along with breads, biscuits, and pies. Breakfasts were usually cold meat leftovers, dinner was available all afternoon with seasoned vegetables often broiled, and supper consisted of soup, gruel, porridge, or suppawn, a corn meal mush. Flavorings were limited mainly to salt and herbs, with black pepper and other spices used only sparingly. Butter and cheese were locally available, but fresh milk did not keep. In 1798, Chester County had six malthouses and nine distilleries, and the most common drinks were hard cider and cider royal fortified with apple brandy. Rye whiskey often came from the west, while rum and gin occasionally arrived from the West Indies and Holland. Tavern keepers traded food and lodging for groceries and liquors from wagoners traveling to and from Philadelphia, Wilmington, and Lancaster. Locally distilled drinks included Apple Jack from apples, peachy from peaches, perry from pears, and cherry bounce, a strong mixture of crushed fresh cherries soaked in rye whiskey. Most taverns, including Martin's, had abundant orchards nearby that produced the fruit used for these beverages, and before Benjamin Franklin became the colonies' first Postmaster General in 1775, people picked up their letters at the local tavern.

Marshallton, Pennsylvania · United States