Image by Jalyn Bryce from Pixabay

Cooking demonstrations from Lincoln’s time

SPRINGFIELD – Lincoln Land Community College Community Education is again partnering with the Lincoln Home National Historic Site and Springfield Convention and Visitors Bureau to present “History Cooks,” a series of free cooking and baking demonstrations of dishes from President Lincoln’s time.

Demonstrations, with the exception of May 27, will be on Fridays at noon at the Lincoln Home National Historic Site. Attendees will receive a souvenir recipe card so they can re-create the dishes at home.

“History Cooks presented by LLCC Community Education was an amazing addition to the Visit Springfield History Comes Alive program last year,” said Scott Dahl, director of the Springfield Visitors and Convention Bureau. “I am thrilled the program is returning to HCA this summer! Local celebrity chefs will provide a taste of the 1800s from Mrs. Lincoln’s Southern Cooking to Mr. Lincoln’s First Inaugural Ball.”

The lineup includes:

May 27, 10 a.m., Downtown Springfield Farmers Market: “Local foods: Then and Now” – Chef Michael Higgins, owner and executive chef of Maldaner’s Restaurant, will demonstrate recipes utilizing ingredients common to the Lincoln and Springfield gardens of the time.

June 2: “Mrs. Lincoln’s Southern Cooking” – LLCC Chef Instructor Lakesha Jackson will demonstrate some of Mrs. Lincoln’s Southern favorites. Note: This demonstration will also be held at 10 that morning in the rotunda of the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Museum.

June 9: “Food Preservation in the 1850s” – Peter Glatz, a food columnist who works at acclaimed Chef Sean Brock’s fermentation lab in Nashville, Tenn., will demonstrate how food was preserved in Lincoln’s time.

June 16: “Flour” – Bob Bunn and Charlyn Fargo will speak on how flour was being processed, demonstrate how it was used in baking and talk about where Mrs. Lincoln purchased it: Jacob Bunn’s grocery store.

June 23: “Mrs. Lincoln’s White/Almond Cake” – LLCC Community Education Culinary Coordinator Jolene Lamb will demonstrate Mrs. Lincoln’s recipe for this dessert. Mary baked the cake for Mr. Lincoln when they courted, after they were married and when she was First Lady.

June 30: “The Irish in Springfield” – Hallie Pierceall of D’Arcy’s Pint will prepare traditional Irish favorites of Lincoln’s time. The Irish comprised a substantial portion of the Springfield population in the early 1800s.

July 7: “Mr. Lincoln’s First Inaugural Ball” – Chef Augie Mrozowski will prepare some of Mr. Lincoln’s favorites served at the ball, including pâté, chicken and veal.

July 14: “Mr. Lincoln in New Orleans” – Chef Howard Seidel, known for his New Orleans cuisine, will prepare traditional dishes from the region. As a young man, Lincoln traveled to New Orleans on a flatboat where he witnessed the slave trade.

July 21: “Bones Found at the Lincoln Home” – Chef Ty Bergman will provide a cooking demonstration based on animal bones found during an excavation at the Lincoln Home which revealed what the Lincolns ate.

July 28: “Mr. Lincoln’s Gingerbread” – Sarah Adams, curator of collections and interpretation at Edwards Place and culinary historian, will prepare a gingerbread recipe. Lincoln spoke about gingerbread during the first Lincoln-Douglas debate, and gingerbread was said to have been served at the Lincoln wedding.

Aug. 4: “Mr. Lincoln’s Diverse Neighborhood” – Sangamo Club Sous Chef Marcus Holmes will prepare a sample of what some of Lincoln’s diverse neighbors would have eaten at this time.