Slave owners knew the importance of their labor force and gave them the basic necessities to keep them alive. Food provided to slaves depended on location, what food was produced on the plantation and the owner’s economic situation (2009). In the southern plantations, there were two groups of workers, house servants and field hands (Franklin and Higginbotham 2011, 140). House servants cared for the house, cooked the meals, drove the carriages, and acted as a personal servant. The house servant, who usually ate the same food as their owner, had the advantage of traveling with their owners and having better or more food, clothing, or education (Franklin and Higginbotham 2011, 140). Most of the slave population worked the fields.
In general, for the field hands, each slave household received a weekly ration of a “peck” cornmeal and three to four pounds of meat, usually salt pork (Franklin and Higginbotham 2011, 144). In …show more content…
Additional rations and time off from the fields during the holidays allowed slave women to prepare meals not made throughout the year such as ribs, hams, chops, chitlins, stews, and soups (Opie 2008, 35). In Twelve Years a Slave, Solomon Northup recounts Christmastime celebrations on the Epps Plantation as the “only time to which they look forward with any interest or pleasure” (Northup 2011, 127). Northup describes the tradition of “Christmas Supper” is a time when the weekly rations are “dispensed with” and instead the slaves enjoy a meal of turkey or chicken and savor deserts such as tarts or pies (Northup 2011, 128). Northup also emphasizes the importance of these meals to a slave, stating “only the slave who has lived all the years on his scanty allowance of meal and bacon, can appreciate such suppers” (Northup 2011,
In general, for the field hands, each slave household received a weekly ration of a “peck” cornmeal and three to four pounds of meat, usually salt pork (Franklin and Higginbotham 2011, 144). In …show more content…
Additional rations and time off from the fields during the holidays allowed slave women to prepare meals not made throughout the year such as ribs, hams, chops, chitlins, stews, and soups (Opie 2008, 35). In Twelve Years a Slave, Solomon Northup recounts Christmastime celebrations on the Epps Plantation as the “only time to which they look forward with any interest or pleasure” (Northup 2011, 127). Northup describes the tradition of “Christmas Supper” is a time when the weekly rations are “dispensed with” and instead the slaves enjoy a meal of turkey or chicken and savor deserts such as tarts or pies (Northup 2011, 128). Northup also emphasizes the importance of these meals to a slave, stating “only the slave who has lived all the years on his scanty allowance of meal and bacon, can appreciate such suppers” (Northup 2011,