From the very beginning of colonization the food below the Mason Dixon Line has contrasted greatly from New England and even the mid-Atlantic. As discussed in other articles, the Southern society was more stratified and less egalitarian than that of New England, and the food was one way to recognize the differences in classes. While rich planters gorged themselves on red meat and game fowl, the more humble colonists enjoyed some meat seasoned with wild herbs and corn porridge. For everyone in the South, eating was a much more sensual experience than it ever was in New England.

Wealthy planters enjoyed large amounts of fruits and vegetables year round, a healthy aspect of their “heavy on the meat” diet. Native American plants like potatoes and tomatoes were rarely eaten in a gentry household until they became popular in the mother country. In most fashions, the Southern gentry were dedicated to keeping their colonial homes as fashionable and prestigious as the ones in England, making it seem more like home.

There was no religious order that banned enjoying food in Virginia, and even poor work hands and slaves enjoyed spices and variety. Average farmers enjoyed salted meats and wild herbs, hominy or mush, and lots of greens. A favorite for the upper and lower ranks alike was fried chicken, seasoned with herbs. The style of cooking became the foundation of the very distinct way of Southern cooking. It is known to be highly seasoned with a lot of roasting and frying. These preparations were very similar to those in the south of England, the area where most of the colonists came from. Food from that particular area was known to be more spicy than anywhere else in England.

Virginians, and the rest of the South, not only had very distinctive food, but also a very distinct way of eating their food. Southerners dined, New Englanders merely fed themselves. For the wealthy households, the major meal of the day was around 2 or 3 PM and could last for hours. Men and women dressed up for dinner, changed their clothing and fixed their hair. The table was always set in a very pleasing way, and even the poorest families had tablecloths included in their inventory. Pleasant conversation was thought to be of utmost importance, as was feasting.

New Englanders thought that fasting was a spiritual experience. Southerners feasted instead. Feasts could be put together on very little notice and often consisted of a lot of food, as well as entertainment. Rich and poor would feast together, on funeral days, holidays, days when visitors would come, and just about any other occasion when someone wanted to eat a lot. I am reminded of medieval feasts where people would eat for hours and then watch entertainment. Feasts in the Chesapeake were very similar and still flourish in some areas of the South.  

MASON DIXON LINE:  the boundary between Pennsylvania and Maryland, surveyed (1763-67) by the English astronomers Charles Mason and Jeremiah Dixon and extended (1779) to present-day West Virginia. Before the Civil War it was popularly designated as the boundary between the slave states and the free states, and it is still used on occasion to distinguish the South from the North.