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Crab feast

Maryland Historical Society

Tradition and transformation characterized twentieth-century Maryland cuisine. The early twentieth-century Tidewater diet resembled an English-based diet, enhanced by Native American and African-American influences found from the earliest days of settlement. Furthermore, the Pennsylvania Dutch (German) tradition in the northern and western regions of the state, implanted in the eighteenth century, remained intact into the twentieth-century. However, by the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, large numbers of Southern and Eastern European immigrants moved into Baltimore and transformed its cuisine into one accentuated by a variety of new ethnic influences.  Consequently, the twentieth-century Maryland culinary landscape was abundant with very distinct regional influences, as it had been for centuries.

Old favorites
The Chesapeake Bay’s bounty greatly influenced the twentieth century Maryland economy and diet. According to a 1950s recipe book called The Specialties of the Hunt, compiled for the Rossborough Tavern in College Park, Maryland, “a good Maryland cook should know 20 recipes for crab.” Crab cakes, Crab Imperial, crab soup, steamed crabs, deviled crab, and fried soft-shell crabs were just some of the crab preparations made by twentieth-century Marylanders. In addition, shad (often planked), trout, rockfish, blue fish, oysters, and Maninose (a clam-like bivalve with a soft shell) in addition to waterfowl, such as geese and ducks,1 are part of the twentieth-century diet.

Furthermore, as late as the early twentieth century, corn was a staple of the Tidewater diet; it was served as corn pone or hominy. Originally made by poor planters and enslaved workers, corn pone is a cornbread made out of cornmeal, hot water, and salt or lard. Improved access to a variety of groceries transformed the original pone into versions enriched with sugar, flour, milk or eggs, or both.  Hominy is corn soaked in hot water until the hulls fall off; the hulls are then discarded leaving just the inner part of the corn for consumption.  The hominy was mixed with either milk, butter, or some sugar; it was also made into a stew with vegetables and meat such as pork.    

Hominy’s popularity even sparked the development of a mass-produced canned product called Manning's Hominy. Mrs. Manning, a native Baltimorean, began canning her hominy in 1904 in her kitchen. She sold it door to door and then began to mass produce it in 1917.2  In addition, hominy was listed on the “light supper” menu of Ocean City’s Plimhimmon Hotel.3  Similarly, it was also found on the menus of some of Baltimore's finest hotels: for example, Baltimore’s Hotel Rennert (1885-1941) served hominy croquettes alongside elegant dishes of pheasant and grouse.4 

The northern and western regional Pennsylvania Dutch culture remained largely intact throughout the twentieth century. As a result, the culinary traditions in that region persisted (see Diet and Drink, Nineteenth Century).  In addition, the orchards in this region of Maryland date back centuries and are still producing a high quality of fruit. No trip to these regions is complete without sampling the apple cider and fruit preserves produced there in abundance. Pennsylvania Dutch (or Amish) markets, scattered throughout the state, make traditional Pennsylvania Dutch foods and fresh produce available to the larger market.  

Ethnic Additions
While culinary traditions persist over time in Maryland, twentieth-century Baltimore was a focal point of change because of its large influx of immigrants. Southern and Eastern Europeans brought to Baltimore Italian, Greek, German, Russian, and Polish culinary traditions, including a notable Jewish tradition.5  As a result, many Baltimore residents with German (not Pennsylvania Dutch) ancestry eat sauerkraut alongside their turkey at Thanksgiving.

In the Lombard Street section of Baltimore, Jewish-inspired corned beef sandwiches can still be found—Attman’s Delicatessen established in 1915 being the oldest. Similarly, pit beef barbeque is associated specifically with the eastern sections of Baltimore. Pit beef is a version of barbeque, most likely influenced by the Eastern European immigrants who settled in East Baltimore, whereby beef is grilled slowly over a pit of coals. The pit beef is sliced very thinly and served on a roll. Often topped with caraway seeds and, usually, horseradish, it can also be served with barbeque sauce.6 

Finally, many Italians settled Old Town, transforming that section of Baltimore to a still-vibrant Little Italy. In addition to olive oil, available since the eighteenth century, many Italian products, such as semolina, different varieties of pasta, and ravioli were available in early twentieth-century Baltimore.7  By mid-century pizza and pastries permeated the Italian-American culinary scene in Baltimore.

Iconographic Foods
Smith Island 10-layer cake (a cake with a lot of frosting and very little cake) is a generations’ old tradition baked for holidays, birthdays, or any day. It originated on Chesapeake Bay’s Smith Island and became more well-known in the late twentieth century when bakers began to market it on the mainland.8

Another unique Tidewater food found at fairs and special events is the lemon stick. To make a lemon stick, a peppermint stick of candy is inserted into a cut lemon. When the peppermint stick is sucked, lemon juice draws through it to create a sweet and sour taste. These are particularly refreshing on a hot, humid summer day.

Finally, Maryland’s brewing tradition was extended by the emergence of microbreweries after brewpubs were legalized in 1987 by the Maryland General Assembly. As a result, many well-known regional beers are produced in the state, such as Fordham, Clipper City, Capitol City, and  DuClaw, to name just a few.

—Joyce M. White

Riversdale House Museum