The Fredericksburg home kitchen cook book. Fredericksburg: Public School Auxiliary of Fredericksburg, Texas, 1921. https://www.loc.gov/item/21004722/.
By examining Texas history, learners will discover the influence of immigration in Texas communities. In this cookbook, learners will experience the German influence of foods eaten in the community of Fredericksburg. Learners will receive a list of German influences in cuisine, will skim and scan the cookbook for recipes, and will craft a menu to reflect the mix of cultures during the 1900s era in Fredericksburg, Texas.
Written by the Fredericksburg Public School Auxiliary to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the founding of Fredericksburg, Texas. Image 8 in the collection shows a black-and-white photo of the Community Church and First School. Pages 7 and 8 of the book describe the cooking and culture on the Pedernales. Sections follow to describe relishes; soups; oysters and fish; poultry and game; meats, macaroni, rice, pancakes, eggs, potatoes, etc.; vegetables; salads; puddings; pastry, pies, tarts; bread, coffee, cake, doughnuts, etc.
- What do you notice about how food and culture connect?
- What do recipes tell you about life in a particular time period?
- By reading about what people ate, what else would you like to know?
ELA Standard
4.7B. Response Skills: listening, speaking, reading, writing, and thinking using multiple texts. The student responds to an increasingly challenging variety of sources that are read, heard, or viewed. (B) The student is expected to write responses that demonstrate understanding of texts, including comparing and contrasting ideas across a variety of sources.
Social Studies Standard
4.11C. History: The student is expected to identify the effects of exploration, immigration, migration, and limited resources on the economic development and growth of Texas.
Students read a wide range of print and non-print texts to build an understanding of texts, of themselves, and of the cultures of the United States and the world; to acquire new information; to respond to the needs and demands of society and the workplace; and for personal fulfillment. Among these texts are fiction and nonfiction, classic and contemporary works.
- Ask students the question: Would you eat that? Show images of pork sausages (wurst); potatoes (dumplings, Kartoffelknödel, Spätzle) ; breads (Brot, Brotchen, rye, yeast doughs and pastries); cabbage (sauerkraut); things with flavors of sweet and sour from vinegar, sugar, fruit; spices (of caraway, mustard, juniper berries, parsley, dill, marjoram, thyme, bay leaves, paprika, nutmeg, cinnamon, cloves, ginger, allspice, horseradish, and black pepper); cooked (by braising Sauerbraten), pickling, curing, smoking; desserts with apples, plums, cherries (cakes, tarts, cookies, Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte).
- These foods come from the German culture. A town in Texas, Fredericksburg, began to help German immigrants. Present the cookbook.
- Allow learners to skim and scan the recipes, looking for German influences. Ask learners to prepare a menu of German-influenced recipes from the cookbook, including appetizers, main dish, vegetables, breads, relishes, and a dessert.
- Allow learners to share their menus.
- Conduct a whole-class debrief about the experience using the instructional focus questions in this lesson.
Highsmith, Carol M. Built by Christian Herry in 1878, Gruene Hall in New Braunfels is one of the oldest dance halls in Texas. 2014. Photograph. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division. https://www.loc.gov/item/2014632377/.
Highsmith, Carol M. The 1872 Gruene Family Home, a Victorian-style house in the German-immigrant cotton-farming community of Gruene, now part of New Braunfels, Texas. 2014. Photograph. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division. https://www.loc.gov/item/2014632384/.
Highsmith, Carol M. A small, centrally located community building in the old German-immigrant settlement of Gruene, now part of New Braunfels, Texas. 2014. Photograph. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division. https://www.loc.gov/item/2014632392/.