Food

Part of a nation's history lies in what people eat. Artifacts at the Museum document the history of food in the United States from farm machinery to diet fads.

More than 1,300 pieces of stoneware and earthenware show how Americans have stored, prepared, and served food for centuries. Ovens, cookie cutters, kettles, aprons, and ice-cream-making machines are part of the collections, along with home canning jars and winemaking equipment. More than 1,000 objects recently came to the Museum when author and cooking show host Julia Child donated her entire kitchen, from appliances to cookbooks.

Advertising and business records of several food companies—such as Hills Brothers Coffee, Pepsi Cola, and Campbell's Soup—represent the commercial side of the subject

Bellied-bowl porringer with angled rim and bossed bottom; cast crown handle with triangular bracket is pierced with 11 voids and struck on top with the incuse serif letters "LB" at center of a circular shield on indistinct support flanked by bossed foliate volutes below a five-pe
Description
Bellied-bowl porringer with angled rim and bossed bottom; cast crown handle with triangular bracket is pierced with 11 voids and struck on top with the incuse serif letters "LB" at center of a circular shield on indistinct support flanked by bossed foliate volutes below a five-pearl (ducal) coronet with textured ground. "Mason" and "10" scratched on underside of boss. No touchmarks. Diamond or lozenge linen mark with sink hole from tinker's dam used to burn handle on to bowl. Turning marks across entire bottom underside.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
late 18th or early 19th century
1770 - 1780
ID Number
DL.388320
catalog number
388320
accession number
182022
Bellied-bowl porringer with angled rim and slightly domed bottom having a small circle stamped at center inside; cast four-hearts-and-crescent handle with triangular bracket. No touchmarks. Small sections of linen mark faintly visible.
Description
Bellied-bowl porringer with angled rim and slightly domed bottom having a small circle stamped at center inside; cast four-hearts-and-crescent handle with triangular bracket. No touchmarks. Small sections of linen mark faintly visible. Gutter and boss are well defined with crisp turning marks on bottom underside.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1800 - 1825
ID Number
DL.59.2231
catalog number
59.2231
accession number
220211
Few products are more symbolic of household life in post-World War II America than Tupperware.
Description
Few products are more symbolic of household life in post-World War II America than Tupperware. Made of plastic, intended for service in the suburban kitchen, and with clean and modern design, Tupperware represented "tomorrow's designs with tomorrow's substances." The Museum's collections include over 100 pieces of Tupperware, dating from 1946 through 1999. This bowl and cover were made by Tupperware Corporation, Woonsocket, R.I. (bowl), and Farnumsville, Mass. (lid), 1946–1958 and donated by Glenn O. Tupper.
Beginning in the 1930s, chemist Earl S. Tupper (1907–1983) experimented with polyethylene slag, a smelly, black waste product of oil refining processes, to develop uses for it. He devised translucent and opaque colored containers that he first marketed in 1942 as "Welcome Ware," then added lids with a patented seal later in the decade.
Modeled after the lid of a paint can, the lid to a Tupperware container was to be closed with a "burp," to create a partial vacuum and make the seal tight. The product was designed to appeal to the growing number of housewives who worked in suburban kitchens with modern appliances, including large refrigerators that allowed once-a-week trips for grocery shopping at the supermarket. These women formed a market for new and effective methods of food storage. Tupperware's water-tight, airtight seal promised preservation of freshness and limited spills or spoilage.
Yet the capabilities of the new product were not obvious to consumers at first, and Tupper's containers did not sell well in retail stores. A Michigan woman named Brownie Wise thought of marketing Tupperware through the home-sales method. Wise developed the system of Tupperware parties, at which a demonstrator could show the uses and advantages of Tupperware. As Tupperware became a staple of many American kitchens, some women found job opportunities in Tupperware sales.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1949
manufacturer
Tupperware
ID Number
1992.0605.022
catalog number
1992.0605.022A,B
accession number
1992.0605
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
ID Number
DL.252318.0110
catalog number
252318.0110
accession number
252318
From the moment when, in 1963, Julia Child whisked up an omelet on the pilot for her new cooking show, The French Chef, Americans wanted that whisk for their kitchens, just as they came to want any tool or utensil that Julia used.
Description
From the moment when, in 1963, Julia Child whisked up an omelet on the pilot for her new cooking show, The French Chef, Americans wanted that whisk for their kitchens, just as they came to want any tool or utensil that Julia used. Certainly, egg beaters of all sorts were common in American kitchens, and they whipped up the heavy cream and egg whites (for meringues) as well as eggs. But they didn’t have the leverage offered by the European-style whisks that Julia introduced, and they were especially successful in getting air into those soufflés and omelets they were just learning how to cook.
Although whisks varied in sizes, from tiny to giant, people loved the gigantic balloon whisks Julia had used on television, almost like props, to dramatic and comic effect. Julia loved giant tools, the more outrageous the better. Audience remembered the lessons when Julia deployed her giant whisks, blowtorches, salad spinners, and they learned that some of these tools were actually useful. Still, they especially remembered Julia AND her whisk when next they went to the kitchen store, creating a whole new market for these useful tools. This whisk, a part of Julia’s batterie de cuisine, had served her well in her home kitchen and television kitchen, in some cases the very same space.
ID Number
2001.0253.0638
catalog number
2001.0253.0638
accession number
2001.0253
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1890
ca 1900
ID Number
DL.67.0785
catalog number
67.0785
accession number
269842
This shipping crate side originally contained embalming fluid manufactured by the Dodge Chemical Company of Boston, Massachusetts during the early 20th century. The Dodge Chemical Company was founded in 1893 by A.
Description (Brief)
This shipping crate side originally contained embalming fluid manufactured by the Dodge Chemical Company of Boston, Massachusetts during the early 20th century. The Dodge Chemical Company was founded in 1893 by A. Johnson Dodge, who also established a permanent embalming school called the New England Institute of Anatomy, Sanitary Science, and Embalming. The Dodge Chemical Company continues to this day as a manufacturer of embalming fluids.
Location
Currently not on view
referenced business
Dodge Chemical Company
ID Number
1979.0441.361
catalog number
1979.0441.361
accession number
1979.0441
This is a Baker's Cocoa tin. At one time, it would have contained cocoa powder for use as drinking chocolate. The tin is primarily yellow, with a brown band at the bottom and blue and yellow writing.
Description
This is a Baker's Cocoa tin. At one time, it would have contained cocoa powder for use as drinking chocolate. The tin is primarily yellow, with a brown band at the bottom and blue and yellow writing. On the front is the Baker's trademark, "La Belle Chocolatiere," which is based upon a painting by Jean-Etienne Liotard of a young woman carrying a tray of drinking chocolate.
In 1764, Dr. James Baker provided the financial backing for John Hannon to begin grinding and making chocolate in a grist & saw mill on the Neponset River outside Boston. Hannon, an Irish immigrant, learned chocolate making in England and brought it to the U.S. where chocolate making was still relatively new. After Hannon’s death in 1779, Dr. Baker bought out his heirs and changed the name of the company to Baker’s Chocolate. In 1824, when Dr. Baker’s grandson, Walter, took over ownership of the company, he renamed it to Walter Baker & Company (often simply called Baker’s Chocolate). During the course of his ownership, he expanded the business and made Baker’s Chocolate a household name. The company was bought in 1989 by Kraft Foods, where the brand still exists today (2013).
Chocolate had been known and treasured by Native Americans in Central and South America for thousands of years prior to the arrival of the first Spanish explorers in the late 1400s and early 1500s. Cacao beans were so highly prized by Mayans and Aztecs that they were used as currency in many areas of the Americas. When first taken back to Europe by the Spanish, the chocolate drink continued to be produced exclusively for the enjoyment of royalty or the extremely wealthy. As the cacao bean gradually made its presence known throughout Europe, it still remained trapped in this exclusive section of society well into the 19th century.
The chocolate trade to North America began more than 300 years ago, primarily centered in or near major port cities of the time, such as New York City, Boston, Philadelphia and Newport, RI. Due to lower transportation costs, chocolate was often less expensive in the Americas than in Europe and therefore had a broader consumer base. The Industrial Revolution radically changed chocolate production and helped propel it into the hearts and stomachs of the working class. Instead of being a labor intensive product, it became entirely machine made reducing costs even further in the late 19th and early 20th century. During this time, chocolate went from being something a person drank to being something to eat, finally becoming a treat for the masses.
Location
Currently not on view
maker
Walter Baker & Co. Ltd.
ID Number
AG.77-FT-15.0232
catalog number
77-FT-15.0232
accession number
283681
This shipping crate side originally contained embalming fluid manufactured by the Dodge Chemical Company of Boston, Massachusetts during the early 20th century. The Dodge Chemical Company was founded in 1893 by A.
Description (Brief)
This shipping crate side originally contained embalming fluid manufactured by the Dodge Chemical Company of Boston, Massachusetts during the early 20th century. The Dodge Chemical Company was founded in 1893 by A. Johnson Dodge, who later established the New England Institute of Anatomy, Sanitary Science, and Embalming in 1907 to teach the science of embalming. The Dodge Chemical Company continues to this day as a manufacturer of embalming fluids.
Location
Currently not on view
referenced business
Dodge Chemical Company
ID Number
1979.0441.318
catalog number
1979.0441.318
accession number
1979.0441
Sweet (chocolate) and savory (cheese) soufflés, made popular by James Beard and Julia Child in the 1960’s, became “company” dishes used to wow other Americans who’d never seen them unless they went to fancy French restaurants.Inspired by customer demands to have cookware just lik
Description
Sweet (chocolate) and savory (cheese) soufflés, made popular by James Beard and Julia Child in the 1960’s, became “company” dishes used to wow other Americans who’d never seen them unless they went to fancy French restaurants.
Inspired by customer demands to have cookware just like Julia’s, the white porcelain soufflé dish from the French company Pillivuyt was one of the first items Charles E. (Chuck) Williams brought to his customers through his stores in Sonoma, San Francisco, then his catalogues and ever expanding store empire, Williams-Sonoma. This particular soufflé dish is one of Julia’s many soufflé dishes, acquired in France but made by Pillyvuyt, just like all the others in America acquired through Williams-Sonoma and other upscale kitchenware stores.
maker
Pillivuyt
ID Number
2001.0253.0268
catalog number
2001.0253.0268
accession number
2001.0253
This is a Baker's Cocoa tin. At one time, it would have contained cocoa powder for use as drinking chocolate. The tin is primarily yellow, with a brown band at the bottom and blue and yellow writing.
Description
This is a Baker's Cocoa tin. At one time, it would have contained cocoa powder for use as drinking chocolate. The tin is primarily yellow, with a brown band at the bottom and blue and yellow writing. On the front is the Baker's trademark, "La Belle Chocolatiere," which is based upon a painting by Jean-Etienne Liotard of a young woman carrying a tray of drinking chocolate.
In 1764, Dr. James Baker provided the financial backing for John Hannon to begin grinding and making chocolate in a grist & saw mill on the Neponset River outside Boston. Hannon, an Irish immigrant, learned chocolate making in England and brought it to the U.S. where chocolate making was still relatively new. After Hannon’s death in 1779, Dr. Baker bought out his heirs and changed the name of the company to Baker’s Chocolate. In 1824, when Dr. Baker’s grandson, Walter, took over ownership of the company, he renamed it to Walter Baker & Company (often simply called Baker’s Chocolate). During the course of his ownership, he expanded the business and made Baker’s Chocolate a household name. The company was bought in 1989 by Kraft Foods, where the brand still exists today (2013).
Chocolate had been known and treasured by Native Americans in Central and South America for thousands of years prior to the arrival of the first Spanish explorers in the late 1400s and early 1500s. Cacao beans were so highly prized by Mayans and Aztecs that they were used as currency in many areas of the Americas. When first taken back to Europe by the Spanish, the chocolate drink continued to be produced exclusively for the enjoyment of royalty or the extremely wealthy. As the cacao bean gradually made its presence known throughout Europe, it still remained trapped in this exclusive section of society well into the 19th century.
The chocolate trade to North America began more than 300 years ago, primarily centered in or near major port cities of the time, such as New York City, Boston, Philadelphia and Newport, RI. Due to lower transportation costs, chocolate was often less expensive in the Americas than in Europe and therefore had a broader consumer base. The Industrial Revolution radically changed chocolate production and helped propel it into the hearts and stomachs of the working class. Instead of being a labor intensive product, it became entirely machine made reducing costs even further in the late 19th and early 20th century. During this time, chocolate went from being something a person drank to being something to eat, finally becoming a treat for the masses.
Location
Currently not on view
maker
Walter Baker & Co. Ltd.
ID Number
AG.77-FT-15.0312
catalog number
77-FT-15.0312
accession number
283681
Circular, ogee-stepped domed cover topped by a ball-in-ribbed-cup finial. No marks. Covers jar from pickle caster, 1979.0800.01-.04.Currently not on view
Description
Circular, ogee-stepped domed cover topped by a ball-in-ribbed-cup finial. No marks. Covers jar from pickle caster, 1979.0800.01-.04.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1880s
ca 1880
ID Number
1979.0800.02
catalog number
1979.0800.02
accession number
1979.0800
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
ID Number
DL.252318.0111
catalog number
252318.0111
accession number
252318
Cylindrical, clear, colorless pressed glass jar with plain rim, vertical S waves on its exterior, and a radiating star on bottom underside. Smooth interior has "PAT'D" in raised sans serif letters at bottom. Jar from pickle caster, 1979.0800.01-.04.Currently not on view
Description
Cylindrical, clear, colorless pressed glass jar with plain rim, vertical S waves on its exterior, and a radiating star on bottom underside. Smooth interior has "PAT'D" in raised sans serif letters at bottom. Jar from pickle caster, 1979.0800.01-.04.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1880s
ca 1880
ID Number
1979.0800.01
catalog number
1979.0800.01
accession number
1979.0800
"George III" pattern cheese scoop with long, concave, spade-shaped blade and asymmetrical upturned handle bordered by reverse C scrolls on front and back; the front terminal additionally has a pendant shell and an engraved script "R" in script, while the back terminal is engraved
Description
"George III" pattern cheese scoop with long, concave, spade-shaped blade and asymmetrical upturned handle bordered by reverse C scrolls on front and back; the front terminal additionally has a pendant shell and an engraved script "R" in script, while the back terminal is engraved "1869. / (flourish) / 1894." Back of shaft struck with trademark "W" in a circle flanked by three-dash flourishes, "STERLING" in sans serif letters, "GALT & BROTHER", and "PAT.JUNE 9.'91", all in incuse sans serif letters.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1894
engraved date
1869
1894
maker
Frank M. Whiting Co.
ID Number
DL.69.0295
catalog number
69.0295
accession number
220760
Circular stand with tall bracket handle segmented along its bow and fixed at bottom to a conical ring on four, ribbed, conical feet with round bottoms. Small hanging hook for tongs is attached at one side of handle and scroll bracket supports inside at bottom ends.
Description
Circular stand with tall bracket handle segmented along its bow and fixed at bottom to a conical ring on four, ribbed, conical feet with round bottoms. Small hanging hook for tongs is attached at one side of handle and scroll bracket supports inside at bottom ends. Underside of frame struck incuse "TAUNTON. / SILVER PLATE CO." in serif letters, "BARBOUR BROS. / SILVER / QUADRUPLE." in sans serif letters inside a circle, and "116"; "BARBOUR BROS." mark is overstruck with a sawtooth or zig-zag line. From pickle caster, 1979.0800.01-.04.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1880s
ca 1880
ID Number
1979.0800.03
catalog number
1979.0800.03
accession number
1979.0800
This shipping crate side contained chocolate produced by Walter Baker & Company Ltd. of Dorchester, Massachusetts during the early 20th century. The crate side features a central image of a woman carrying a tray with a mug and a glass of water.
Description (Brief)
This shipping crate side contained chocolate produced by Walter Baker & Company Ltd. of Dorchester, Massachusetts during the early 20th century. The crate side features a central image of a woman carrying a tray with a mug and a glass of water. The logo comes from the painting “The Chocolate Girl” by Jean-Étienne Liotard, which the company adopted as its trademark in 1883.
Location
Currently not on view
referenced business
Walter Baker & Co. Ltd.
ID Number
1979.0441.177
catalog number
1979.0441.177
accession number
1979.0441
Diminutive basin-bowl porringer with square rim and shallow bossed bottom; cast, modified crown-type handle with tongued or linguiform bracket is pierced with 3 voids and struck once on top with partial oval touchmark of a fleur-de-lis between the raised serif letters "RL" for Ri
Description
Diminutive basin-bowl porringer with square rim and shallow bossed bottom; cast, modified crown-type handle with tongued or linguiform bracket is pierced with 3 voids and struck once on top with partial oval touchmark of a fleur-de-lis between the raised serif letters "RL" for Richard Lee Sr. or Jr. Oval linen mark. Turning marks on underside of boss.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1788 - 1830
ID Number
1986.0027.48
accession number
1986.0027
catalog number
1986.0027.48
This handwritten recipe for pain de mie, or French sandwich bread, is from the kitchen of cookbook author and television chef Julia Child.Trained at the Cordon Bleu cooking school in Paris, Child brought the taste and techniques of traditional French cuisine into American homes.
Description
This handwritten recipe for pain de mie, or French sandwich bread, is from the kitchen of cookbook author and television chef Julia Child.
Trained at the Cordon Bleu cooking school in Paris, Child brought the taste and techniques of traditional French cuisine into American homes. Her first series, The French Chef, premiered on Boston public television in 1962. Over her forty-year career, she produced numerous cookbooks and television shows, including three filmed in her own kitchen in Cambridge, Massachusetts. In 2001, Child donated her famous kitchen to the Smithsonian.
Location
Currently not on view
maker
Stuart Hall
ID Number
2001.0253.0030
accession number
2001.0253
catalog number
2001.0253.0030
Julia Child occasionally used French bistro signs as props on the early episodes of The French Chef television series, which first aired in 1963.
Description
Julia Child occasionally used French bistro signs as props on the early episodes of The French Chef television series, which first aired in 1963. This sign, in red and black lettering, advertises a “Mystery,” perhaps an acknowledgment that many Americans found French cuisine mysterious and strange. Julia’s introduction of unfamiliar cuisine through humor and a sense of adventure brought the message home to viewers in an accessible and memorable way.
ID Number
2001.0253.0740
catalog number
2001.0253.0740
accession number
2001.0253
This small, brown and rectangular container with multi-colored design was used to store and market Lowney's drinking cocoa. The front and back of the product show a woman in half length portrait drinking chocolate, while the lid is stamped "Lowney's Cocoa."Walter M.
Description
This small, brown and rectangular container with multi-colored design was used to store and market Lowney's drinking cocoa. The front and back of the product show a woman in half length portrait drinking chocolate, while the lid is stamped "Lowney's Cocoa."
Walter M. Lowney learned the candy trade while working for the Philadelphia Candy Company, starting his own business in Boston in 1883. His business grew so quickly that by 1890, he was adding a third building to his plant. By 1900, he had opened another plant in Boston and one in Chicago. The same year he shipped 42,000lbs of chocolate to US troops in the Philippine American War. After Lowney passed away in 1921, his business passed on to his wife and children. By the 1930s, it was bank owned and sold to Rexall Drug Company.
Chocolate had been known and treasured by Native Americans in Central and South America for thousands of years prior to the arrival of the first Spanish explorers in the late 1400s and early 1500s. Cacao beans were so highly prized by Mayans and Aztecs that they were used as currency in many areas of the Americas. When first taken back to Europe by the Spanish, the chocolate drink continued to be produced exclusively for the enjoyment of royalty or the extremely wealthy. As the cacao bean gradually made its presence known throughout Europe, it still remained trapped in this exclusive section of society well into the 19th century.
The chocolate trade to North America began more than 300 years ago, primarily centered in or near major port cities of the time, such as New York City, Boston, Philadelphia and Newport, RI. Due to lower transportation costs, chocolate was often less expensive in the Americas than in Europe and therefore had a broader consumer base. The Industrial Revolution radically changed chocolate production and helped propel it into the hearts and stomachs of the working class. Instead of being a labor intensive product, it became entirely machine made reducing costs even further in the late 19th and early 20th century. During this time, chocolate went from being something a person drank to being something to eat, finally becoming a treat for the masses.
Location
Currently not on view
ID Number
AG.77-FT-15.0047A
catalog number
77-FT-15.0047A
accession number
283681
Julia Child kept this signaling mirror in her kitchen junk drawer as a reminder of her service in the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) during World War II. Such mirrors were issued to members of the military, merchant seamen, and others, like OSS personnel, serving abroad.
Description
Julia Child kept this signaling mirror in her kitchen junk drawer as a reminder of her service in the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) during World War II. Such mirrors were issued to members of the military, merchant seamen, and others, like OSS personnel, serving abroad. Julia’s OSS duties took her to India, Ceylon (Sri Lanka), and China in 1944-45.
This mirror is model 40653, manufactured by General Electric. Small and compact, it could be used to signal for assistance over a 10-mile distance. Instructions for using the mirror are provided on the device, which also includes a braided lanyard for wearing around the neck.
maker
General Electric Company
ID Number
2001.0253.0236
catalog number
2001.0253.0236
accession number
2001.0253
Basin-bowl porringer with single-reeded or incised rim and flat bottom; cast flowered-type handle with ballpoint tip and rounded triangular bracket is pierced with 13 voids and struck once on top with oval touchmark of a fleur-de-lis between the raised serif letters "RL" for Rich
Description
Basin-bowl porringer with single-reeded or incised rim and flat bottom; cast flowered-type handle with ballpoint tip and rounded triangular bracket is pierced with 13 voids and struck once on top with oval touchmark of a fleur-de-lis between the raised serif letters "RL" for Richard Lee Sr. or Jr. Diamond or lozenge linen mark.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1788 - 1830
ID Number
1986.0027.29
catalog number
1986.0027.29
accession number
1986.0027
Chocolate had been known and loved by Native Americans in Central and South America for thousands of years prior to the arrival of the first Spanish explorers in the late 1400s and early 1500s.
Description
Chocolate had been known and loved by Native Americans in Central and South America for thousands of years prior to the arrival of the first Spanish explorers in the late 1400s and early 1500s. Cacao beans were so highly prized by Mayans and Aztecs that they were used as currency in many areas of the Americas. When first taken back to Europe by the Spanish, the chocolate drink continued to be produced exclusively for the enjoyment of royalty or the extremely wealthy. As the cacao bean gradually made its presence known throughout Europe, it still remained trapped in this exclusive section of society well into the 19th century.
The chocolate trade to North America began more than 300 years ago, primarily centered in or near major port cities of the time, such as New York City, Boston, Philadelphia and Newport, RI. Due to lower transportation costs, chocolate was often less expensive in the Americas than in Europe and therefore had a broader consumer base. The Industrial Revolution radically changed chocolate production and helped propel it into the hearts and stomachs of the working class. Instead of being a labor intensive product, it became entirely machine made reducing costs even further in the late 19th and early 20th century. During this time, chocolate went from being something a person drank to being something to eat, finally becoming a treat for the masses.
In 1764, Dr. James Baker provided the financial backing for John Hannon to begin grinding and making chocolate in a grist & saw mill on the Neponset River outside Boston. Hannon, an Irish immigrant, learned chocolate making in England and brought it to the U.S. where chocolate making was still relatively new. After Hannon’s death in 1779, Dr. Baker bought out his heirs and changed the name of the company to Baker’s Chocolate. In 1824, when Dr. Baker’s grandson, Walter, took over ownership of the company, he renamed it to Walter Baker & Company (often simply called Baker’s Chocolate). During the course of his ownership, he expanded the business and made Baker’s Chocolate a household name. The company was bought in 1989 by Kraft Foods, where the brand still exists today (2013).
Location
Currently not on view
maker
Walter Baker & Co. Ltd.
ID Number
AG.F000844
catalog number
F000844
accession number
087176

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