"I don't know why, but the meals we have on picnics taste so much
better than the ones we have indoors." -- Enid Blyton
The season of picnics is upon us in full force! From spring to late autumn, Americans take to the outdoors, enjoying a variety of foods, fruits, and vegetables while flocking to the shore, a mountain lake, or a neighbor's pool. We celebrate the unofficial start of summer by picnicking on Memorial Day, Father's Day, graduations, Fourth of July, vacations, and Labor Day. Autumn finds us tailgating at football games, soccer matches, harvest festivals, and impromptu evening gatherings around a firepit.
There's something about eating outdoors that brings out the child in all of us!
In the 19th-- and early 20th century the word picnic was define as "an assembly of young people of both genders, at a tavern where everyone pays his club."
In Victorian America, and especially on the prairie and Western territories, these community picnics were major social events, involving informal sport, games, and people dressed in their Sunday finery. Schools, churches societies temperance groups, and businesses all held annual picnics. The food for the picnic was usually prepared at home and taken to the community grove down by the river, to a neighbor's farm, or a town park.
There were many families, in both city and country, who could not leave their homes, farms, or ranches for an extended period of time, but could afford to lose a day's work now and then for an excursion.
Picnic Proprieties
As you might expect, picnic etiquette was expected at these gatherings. The following came from the San Francisco Chronicle of San Francisco, California in 1869...
"...We do not allow children just learning to walk to wander unguarded at the edge of precipices, and we ought not to allow young people just acquiring a knowledge of the world to be exposed to perils of the nature which they are ignorant.
...Picnics where the party is largely made up of young girls, should be properly "matronized" and governed by a code of proprieties calculated to prevent even the appearance of evil. There should be no straying in couples from the main body of the party especially when champagne or other vinous beverages have been consumed.
...There is a certain class of fast, young men who make a practice of attending all picnics that are not of a strictly private character for sinister purposes."
The Picnic Basket
The success or failure of a picnic depended mainly upon an ample supply of the right kinds of food and drink. When several families participated in picnic, each family offered to bring a dish, practicing the old adage "many hands make light work".
A sturdy square or rectangular basket, or a wood crate was preferable. A length of toweling or a fancy napkin was nestled on the bottom and up the sides of the basket or crate. Food was then wrapped in paraffin paper and placed inside.
In addition to good manners, each family brought their own plates (paper plates were not invented until 1903!), and flatware along with a sharp knife and a
Picnic Foods
Cold fried or roasted chicken, ham biscuits, boiled eggs, and pickled vegetables were all welcomed foods at a prairie picnic. Some picnics had "made dishes" which were as good when cold as when warm. Croquettes, fish balls, Saratoga Potatoes (potato chips!), baked beans, and meat pies were favorites. Seasonal vegetables like cucumbers, tomatoes, and fruits like strawberries, blueberries, huckleberries (a Montana favorite) containing a large proportion of water were very much appreciated on a hot, dry afternoon.
Homemade desserts were the highlight of every picnic. Doughnuts dusted with cinnamon and sugar, hand pies, turnovers, cookies and cakes were all well-adapted
to outdoor eating.
As important as food was for a successful picnic, the availability and preparation of something to drink in the hot weather months on the dry prairie was paramount. Where water was abundant, folks brought lemons and sugar to make lemonade. No matter the temperature, coffee was a necessity. Someone always thought to bring a pot and coffee and built a campfire to serve the brew.
Today, picnics in America are a celebration of human spirit, culinary diversity, and adventures. They are personal. We choose the foods we serve, the guests we invite, and the venue. Planned or impromptu, they are not so very different from picnics of picnics on the prairie. We still enjoy eating outside on a summer's night or sampling regional foods at a community feast (New England clambakes, Texas barbecues, or New Orleans shrimp boils), or at trendy al-fresco bistros, central city cafes, and food fairs.
Let's Go on a Picnic!
Last September, author Pam Crooks extended sent me an invitation to be part of a MAPs project. Enthusiastically, I said "YES!" On July 15th, "Ainsley" Book 8 in the Love Train series released. Thanks to all who read and reviewed Ainsley and Lucas's romance.
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