Focus On Cooking
Blog Posts
- The Journals of Abby and Mattie Sanderson of Whately Glen
In the winter and early spring months of 1874 and 1876, Martha “Mattie” Ann Sanderson (1854-1933) and her mother, Abby H. Rice Sanderson (1829-1902), kept a journal of their work schedules, domestic cookery, farm production and inventories, sewing projects, daily weather reports, church and prayer meeting attendance and numerous other tasks… - It’s Fall! It’s Time for Cooking with Pumpkin
This is not a blog about pumpkin spice. While today we decorate our yards and front steps with pumpkins and gourds and drink coffee flavored with pumpkin pie spices, long ago the pumpkin and its relatives — winter squashes — were a staple and necessary food item that were stored and eaten over the long and cold New England winters.
- What’s for Dinner?: Examining the Tools of Hearth Cooking
Generations of cooks have known the daily chore of putting food on the table for anxious mouths. Today, we have little trouble readying and preparing food—even if the result might not be perfect. Few modern American spend time butchering hogs, plucking feathers off chickens, grinding corn, or milking cows to make a meal.
- Baby It’s Cold Outside: A Sweet History of Chocolate in New England
Although cacao trees don’t grow in our climate, chocolate has a long history in New England, given our close economic connections to the West Indies. New England merchants supplied barrel staves, lumber, onions, salt fish, salt beef, and horses to the Caribbean in exchange for sugar, molasses, rum, and cacao.
- Pass it Round: Festive Drinks for Holiday Cheer
In this installment of Maker Mondays we want to treat you to some recipes for holiday drinks that were popular in early New England.
Cooking Events
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Free Winter Lecture Series – Tempus Fugit/Time Flies: Measuring, Perceiving, and Living Time in Early America
2025 Winter Lecture Series Tempus Fugit/Time Flies: Measuring, Perceiving, and Living Time in Early America Taking place on Zoom from 2-3pm on the following Sundays: January 26, February 23, March […]
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Woodworking Featuring Furniture Making and Carving with Craig Farrow
Woodworking Featuring Furniture Making and Carving with Craig Farrow October 12 and 13 from 10 a.m.–4 p.m. each day. Join us at the for woodworking with Craig Farrow. Included in […]
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Historic Trade Demonstration: A Gown in a Day with Emily Stringham
A Gown in a Day with Emily Stringham November 9, 10 from 10 a.m.–4 p.m. Hall Tavern Join Emily Stringham, owner of At the Sign of the Golden Scissors, and […]
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Historic Trade Demonstration: Gravestone Carving with Allison Steel
Gravestone Carving with Allison Steel November 16, 10 a.m.–4 p.m. Hall Tavern Watch and learn about the historic trade of gravestone carving, in a demonstration from expert stone-carver, Allison Steel. […]
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Historic Trade Demonstration: Tailoring with Henry Cooke
Tailoring with Henry Cooke October 6, 10 a.m.–4 p.m. Hall Tavern Join us for tailoring with Henry Cooke. Included in general admission.
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Reawakening Materials: American Art, Empire, and Material Histories in Historic Deerfield’s Collection
Needlework: “Death of General Wolfe,” Margaret Ansell, Tottenham, England, c. 1774-1776. Textile: worsted wool, linen; wood: pine; gesso, bole and gold leaf; glass framed: 22 1/8 x 29 x 2 […]
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Illustrated Lecture by Claire Carlson: “Old Deerfield’s Old Graveyards”
Illustrated Lecture by Claire Carlson October 26, 10 a.m.–4 p.m. Hall Tavern Join Claire Carlson, Historic Deerfield’s Director of Archeology for an illustrated lecture, titled “Old Deerfield’s Old Graveyards.” Included […]
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Building a Collection: Recent Acquisitions at Historic Deerfield
Image: Sally Hale, American. Needlework and painted picture on silk: Scipio Restoring the Captive Lady to Her Lover, circa 1815 (HD 2024.5). Featuring special acquisition highlights from the past five years in the areas of furniture, ceramics, metalwork, paintings, prints, textiles, and rare books, the exhibit includes four sections that explain why and how the…
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In Pursuit of the Picturesque: The Art of James Wells Champney
Image: James Wells Champney, Young Woman in Red, ca. 1890, pastel (63.366). Through an array of paintings, pastels, photographs, and material culture, In Pursuit of the Picturesque takes a fresh perspective on the New England artist, James Wells Champney (1843-1903) and how he shaped late 19th-century perceptions of nostalgia and beauty. This exhibition explores how…
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Open Hearth Cooking Demonstration: Indigenous Foods, The Three Sisters, and the Fall Harvest
Come visit our open-hearth cooks as they prepare “traditional” New England dishes made with Indigenous ingredients such as corn, beans, and squash.