And You Thought This Was A Modern Food

By Sophie Dawson

Food. We eat it and love it and are sure the products we know today are products of the modern world. Modern being defined here as post World War I. Well, you’ll be surprised with the foods we know today have there origins in earlier times.

I’ve been researching foods to be sure when I mention them in my books that they are accurate to the time. I’m continually surprised at the products that were invented or common in the 19th century.

Most of us know that Coca Cola was created in 1886. It wasn’t the first soft drink, however. Dr. Pepper beat it by a year. Earlier than that, in 1862, James Vernon invented Ginger Ale. The Civil War delayed it’s release but it soon became very popular in soda fountains around Detroit, Vernon’s hometown.

Soda water. It’s the carbonated water that makes soda pop pop. It’s found naturally but creating it is what made all the future soft drinks possible. That happened in 1767. I never realized manmade carbonated water was 250 years old. Lemon was the first flavored soda water.

Marshmallows came into being in 1850. I doubt they were jet puffed back then. Toffee or taffy as well as butterscotch became popular with lower cost sugar around 1800. What would Valentine’s day be without Conversation Hearts (1866)?

If you’ve read my book Pearl’s Will you’ll know that by 1910 Cracker Jack (1893) and Tootsie Rolls (1896) were favorites for Americans all over the country. Jello was first available in 1897.

I sure didn’t know that Saccharin was invented in 1879. Seems people wanted low calorie sweets back then too.

So what about non-candy foods?

As in much of Western culture, the Christian influence on society dealt with food also. One of these is Welch’s Grape Juice invented in 1869 by Dr. Thomas B Welch, a dentist. (Hence the brand name.) Being a devout Methodist, Dr. Welch didn’t approve of wine being served in Communion. He began bottling unfermented grape juice and soon the company was producing and selling quantities of the beverage.

One canned food was credited in reducing infant mortality in North America: Borden’s Sweetened Condensed Milk. Invented in 1856 to fight food poisoning and other illnesses related to lack of refrigeration, the Civil War helped make the product a household name. The military needed milk that wouldn’t spoil.

Can you imaging not having potato chips, that staple of the snack industry? They were the invention of George Crum, a chef at Moon Lake Lodge resort in Sarasota Springs, NY. When a customer sent back an order of French Fries (18th Century) which were sliced potatoes rather than the rectangles  we know today, saying they were too thick, he sliced them very thin, fried them brown and served them. They were a hit and the potato chip was born.

Angels and Singing Raisins

Television advertising wasn’t even dreamed of when Philadelphia Cream Cheese was invented in 1872. I doubt the creator was thinking of angels since the legend is that William A Lawrence eavesdropped a conversation about the recipe and ‘promptly went home and made cream cheese.’ This wasn’t the Brand name known today. It was named that because Mr. Lawrence sent the cheese to be packaged and shipped out in Philadelphia, PA.

The Dancing California Raisin came about 100 years after the product. Legend has it that in 1873 there was a severe drought in California and the grapes dried on the vine before they could be picked.

These products have seen a lot of change over the years, yet their popularity has lasted upwards of two centuries. Other products have gone by the wayside. I must say, I'm glad Celery Jello isn't one of the flavors that lasted into the 21st. century.

Sophie Dawson writes sweet romance, both historical and contemporary.

What did people drink in the 1800s?

Welcome, come on in and sit by the shady oak and have a glass if iced tea.               

So, what did people drink in the 1800s?

Water: But it wasn't always the healthiest. Cholera and typhoid were a danger and many people died from unhealthy water sources. This was a particular problem on the wagon trains headed west where water was scarce.

In the 1840s and 1850s, many of the largest USA cities piped in water from rivers or lakes but it still wasn't treated. Water from springs or wells had a better chance of being safe.

Milk: Before pasteurization, drinking milk was risky unless you owned the cow. Even then, you needed to make sure the cows didn't eat white snakeroot or it could be deadly. This was a real problem in the Ohio valley where the plant grew. It's most notable victim was Abraham Lincoln's mother in 1818. A frontier woman ~ Dr. Anna Pierce Hobbs Bixby, learned from a Shawnee woman that the plant was poisonous.
Canned evaporated milk came into production in 1884.



Coffee and Tea: Staples for early Americans thanks to the Dutch and British. The percolator was invented in 1865. So at least, with drinking hot tea and coffee - the water was heated.
Chicory was often used as a coffee substitute. And of course, herbal teas such as dandelion tea. And if you were ailing - a healthy dose of beef tea which was more a broth and was supposed to strengthen the weak and ailing.

Iced tea didn't come about until later in the 1860s and 1870s where it made it's first appearance in cookbooks. It caught on and was served in hotels and railroad stations. It was introduced during the 1904 World's Fair in St. Louis and the popularity increased dramatically.


Lemonade was a favorite.



And of course, the saloon staples - whiskey, rye, even champagne. Warm beer. And Sarsaparilla - which in the USA was made from birch oil and sassafras.

Interestingly enough, sodas made it on the scene earlier than I thought. "Soft" drinks were named because they weren't hard liquor.


Dr Pepper was invented in Waco Texas in 1885


and Coca Cola in Atlanta in 1886.



AS the heat of summer pours over you, sit back and enjoy a refreshing drink and think back to the struggles that early Americans had to just get something safe to drink.

Thanks for dropping by, enjoy that tea and keep cool.
You can find more about me and my books on my website.

http://www.pacjaccarroll.com/