Instructions:
Read and analyze the source by completing the Analysis Routine below. When you have finished, select the BACK TO KITCHEN button to explore the other sources provided.
Daily Kitchen Schedule, 1790s
| 4:00AM | Lucy, the cook, and her husband, Frank Lee begin their day. Lucy meets Nathan, the other cook. They get the fire going and begin to get water. They will need both all day. |
| 5:00AM | Lucy starts breakfast. She also kneads the bread she started last night. Mrs. Forbes, the hired housekeeper who lives above the Kitchen, comes down to direct. |
| 6:00AM | Martha Washington comes down to the Kitchen to make sure breakfast has been started. Kitty stops by to drop off fresh cream and butter from the dairy. They are stored in the larder to keep cool. |
| 6:45AM | The “Great Bell” is rung to announce that breakfast will be served soon. Lucy and Nathan finish cooking. They also prepare coffee, tea, and chocolate. Frank Lee supervises moving the meal from the Kitchen to the Dining Room for the 7:00 AM service. |
| 7:30AM | The gardener stops by the Kitchen with the day’s basket of fruits and vegetables, including cherries. |
| 8:00AM | Martha Washington goes back to the Kitchen, where she, Nathan, and Lucy discuss the dinner menu. They base the menu on foods available in the larder. They also look at Martha’s cookbook to see how certain dishes should be prepared. When Martha sees the fresh cherries, she includes ice cream in the menu. |
| 9:00AM | Lucy and Nathan begin preparing dinner. They also make a small meal for George Washington to take on his daily rounds through his five farms. Fruits and vegetables are cleaned and chopped. Sall arrives to stone (or pit) the cherries. |
| 10:00AM | Frank Lee directs Marcus (an enslaved serving man) to deliver ice and salt to the Kitchen to be used in making ice cream. |
| 11:00AM | While preparing the other dishes for dinner, Lucy also mixes the cream and cherries for the ice cream. To sweeten it, she also adds sugar. She places them in the basin surrounded by ice and salt in the larder to stay cool. Then she has a few minutes to sit down. She knits as she rests as per instructions from George Washington. She finishes a pair of stockings that will keep someone’s feet warm in the winter. |
| 12:00PM | After checking on the roasting meats, Lucy goes into the larder to mix the ice cream. She takes off the lid and carefully combines the cream and fruit mixture inside. |
| 1:00PM | At a break in preparing the vegetables, tarts, and other dinner dishes, Lucy takes a moment to stir the cream mixture again. It is getting much colder. The ice has begun to form in the cream. Lucy adds more ice and salt to the outside container. |
| 2:00PM | Martha Washington stops by the Dining Room and the Kitchen to see how dinner preparations are coming. Lucy is baking. Nathan takes care of the iron and copper pots in the fireplace. The temperatures on the hearth can reach 170˚F. The ice cream must be kept cool with more ice until service in one hour. Lucy quickly opens and stirs it one final time. |
| 2:45PM | The plantation bell rings for the first time, letting everyone know that dinner will be served in 15 minutes. Frank Lee and enslaved serving men, Christopher Sheels and Marcus, are in the Kitchen helping Lucy and Nathan. They transfer the foods prepared for dinner onto serving dishes and platters. The ice cream is transferred into drum-shaped dishes called iceries. These dishes allow the ice cream to be surrounded by ice until it is ready to be served. Then the three serving men carry the dishes to the Small Dining Room and finish setting the table. |
| 3:00PM | Lucy and Nathan eat their dinner in the Kitchen, while the Washingtons and their guests are served in the Dining Room. |
| 5:00PM | Lucy gives Frank some food scraps, which he takes to feed the dogs. Then she goes with him to throw a pail of trash into the South Grove. |
| 6:00PM | Lucy and Nathan are busy in the Kitchen. They are making tea and slicing bread and leftover cold meat in preparation for the next meal—tea. It will be served at 6:30. They also get serving dishes ready with cheese, butter, fresh fruit, and cookies. |
| 7:30PM | Martha Washington goes to the Kitchen to watch Lucy as she mixes bread dough and prepares the hoecake batter for the next day. |
| 8:00PM | Lucy and Nathan clean the Kitchen one last time and cover the fire for the night. Finally, they head to their separate living spaces. |
Complete the Analysis Routine
1. What time did Lucy begin preparing meals for the Washington family?
2. Which tasks, related to making ice cream, did Lucy do?
3. List the names of the people who contributed to the planning and making of the meals.
4. Compare and contrast Lucy’s work to the work of other people who planned and made the meals.
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