If I had to choose between food or coffee, I would choose food. The most interesting thing I found when it came to Civil War soldiers diets was the fact that they wanted to drink coffee so badly that they would use dirty or muddy water to make coffee. They would even use the water that their horses wouldn’t drink. If that doesn’t say something about their dedication to their caffeinated beverages I don’t know what does. I also find it fascinating that the hardtak could last for literally a hundred years if not longer when stored properly. Looks like that’s what we should be stocking up on for the next nuclear Holocaust haha. If I was a photographer during the Civil War for the Civil War, I most certainly would not be able to tolerate the conditions, especially the food.
On a side note though, I also found it interesting how during the “good times” the soldiers would have Oysters along with their coffee and I assumed that that was only during the winter months because that’s the only time of year that oysters would stay good when being distributed by the trains. Also back in those days there used to be a traditional meal they would make called oyster pie, a savory pie dish similar to chicken pot pie and stuffing mix together, specifically to celebrate Christmas. Just thought someone might find that interesting.
The food that I could not live without I’d have to say is biryani, which is an indian steamed rice dish with many spices and meat.
