History of Photography Fall 2019

The part that I feel interesting about a soldiers diet was their unique food, hardtack. Hardtack is a big, thick cracker. The process was very easy for them, and it only required 3 main ingredients. Hardtack was very fulling for the soldiers as well as nutritious, and very convenient that something simple can be used as a full meal. The food I can’t live without is pizza. There are many toppings you can put it on it so its not just the same old slice, many other foods you can not do that with. I like the taste of the sauce and cheese together.

Soldiers during the war had some food issues, or ration problems, where the food was  meant to last three days while on active duty.  The meat that they had were usually salted pork or fresh beef.  The meat was boiled, broiled or fried over open campfires.  As for the bread they were eating it was a flour biscuit called hardtack.  Most soldiers preferred to toast them over a fire and crumble them into soups sometimes even crumbling it up and frying them with their pork and bacon.  Some other food that was given to the soldiers included items such as rice, peas, beans, dried fruit, potatoes, molasses, vinegar, and salt.  Sugar and coffee was more important to the soldiers than anything else it was a most desirable staple.  One of my favorite food I cannot live without are the traditional Mexican tacos especially when it is made with cecina (salted meat), it is always a go for me after classes or just something to snack on when I don’t have any other options and when you add a beer preferably Corona or eat it after drinking Tequila it just makes it even better,

What I found interesting about the soldiers food during the Civil War was the Hardtack. This is very interesting to look up because it can be preserved to last for many years and it is very simple to make. Some flour, water, and a small amount of salt. I find it difficult to function with basic foods that the soldiers ate. Pork or beef, coffee, dried fruits and vegetables and sometimes the hardtack. I can see the pork of beef providing the essentials but the rest is hard to see how it provided for the soldiers.

The food that I enjoy is Quesadillas. I cannot live without these ever since I first had one. Having the tortilla and also with chicken, cheese, and different toppings(differs from restaurants). Having one of these is truly amazing and its something that will make me always come back to it.

I honestly find the diet for the soldier during the civil war really strange. I say this because if you compare modern-day soldiers vs civil war soldier’s diet it will be day and night difference. I understand why soldiers couldn’t live without their coffee since in war you have to be alert for anything at any time. The fact that sometimes they used dirty water and mud water to make that coffee which shows the importance of it to the soldiers. 

My favorite food is Sushi. I don’t have any favorite type of Sushi because I love all types of Sushi. I can have Sushi at any time anywhere.

My favorite food.

The most fascinating thing about a Civil War soldier’s diet is the fact that they depended on only small portions of coffee, meat, and the most surprising, hardtack. Since they were war soldiers I would have expected them getting fed much better than they did during the Civil War. These soldiers were risking their lives for their country and all they got fed was a rock-like saltine cracker. They definitely did not get enough nutrients from that to be able to fight in a war.

The food I can’t live without has to be the Peruvian dish Leche De Tigre which translates to Tiger Milk in English. It is not literally tiger milk, I actually have no idea why they call this dish that, but all it is is mixed fish, shrimp, lemon juice, and seasoning blended into a cold soup-like consistency, trust me it tastes better than it sounds.

 During the war, the diet of the soldiers was very interesting because of the fact while reading it, I thought about the present and how it had stated in this mini article “Union side half-jokingly believed coffee helped fuel their soldiers”. Nowadays so many people cannot function without it for the entire day, many use it to keep them awake so they can continue on with their work. Its so similar although so very different. What was also very interesting was the hardtack, they made something out of nothing during a time like that which is very smart. If I had to choose between coffee and food, I’m definitely picking food because that is just correct answer I assume. Coffee “fuels people up” but you can turn really weak without eating properly and no one wants that and although I love coffee, I don’t care to have it more than food, food is whats actually important. A food I can not go without is my traditional Bengali food, it has such a different taste than the food here and I love the food here but when it comes to what I can’t live without, it is definitely  Bengali food and everything that comes with it.   https://mail.google.com/mail/u/1/#inbox/FMfcgxwDrtvgBVxMLcvPwhNPLltGLjfn?projector=1&messagePartId=0.1

I find the diet of a Civil War’s soldier a bit strange. I would say so because a person should be getting alot of meats and pasta in their diet to have energy to perform. Though, this seems to not be the case as the soldiers get skimp portions of meat to eat everyday. The hardtack seems to me to be a pretty cheap piece of food seeing as it only has two ingredients. This raises the question; Did they not have enough funds to provide the soldiers with better food? If I were a soldier risking my life to fight for my country I would at least like a decent meal everyday that provides me with nutrition.

Pasta is my absolute favorite food. I could eat pasta everyday for breakfast lunch and dinner everyday for the rest of my life. Fettuccine Chicken Alfredo pasta is my favorite and Olive Garden is my favorite place to get it from.

It’s very surreal to read about how soldiers during the civil war could not survive without their coffee. However as surreal as it may be, it is also very relatable since I too can not function properly without coffee; yet there is one food item that I will be devastated if I end up growing an allergy to, or just cannot have for whatever reason, and that would be seafood. I love seafood: from oysters, clams, shrimp cocktail and lobster; to sushi, chowder, and etc. nothing compares to sashimi.

        The most fascinating thing about a Civil War soldier’s diet is they have a very limited amount of food. Union soldiers were fed pork or beef, usually salted and boiled to extend the shelf life, coffee, sugar, salt, vinegar, and sometimes dried fruits and vegetables if they were in season. Hardtack, a type of biscuit made from unleavened flour and water, was commonly used to stave off hunger on both sides. After baking, hardtack was dried to increase its shelf life.

         In my opinion, the food I can’t live without are white rice and soup.  As we know that white rice is the best source of carbohydrate which can offer energy to our body. And also, In china, Cantonese is attention to health care and they are good at making Chinese medicine soup to keep their health.

What I found the most interesting about a soldier’s obsession and need for coffee during the Civil War was that even when coffee wasn’t available they would aim to find a substitute; Going as far as grinding up corn or beets to brew their fix of ‘coffee’ sounds absurd to me. The Civil War obviously being traumatic to the many who served, makes me believe coffee served as something regular and ‘positive’ to them, and helped give a sense of safety or motivation in different scenarios whilst having to deal with the terror of war.

My favorite food is pasta; I love spaghetti, lasagna, baked ziti, etc. and couldn’t imagine living without all these different noodles