Welcome to NC Eats, an online resource for the history of food and eating in North Carolina. This website is designed for students–both young and old–to explore primary and secondary sources related to the revolution in eating that occurred in the United States and North Carolina between the 1910s and 1960s.
During this half-century-long period, Americans radically changed their relationship to food: nutrition became a matter of scientifically balanced diets designed by nutrition specialists; scientific developments allowed for industrial production of foods that were once grown locally or even in the family backyard; advances in preservation allowed far-away foods like pineapples and grapefruits to be shipped to supermarkets and bought by families in North Carolina; and the spread of kitchen appliances like electrical refrigerators, blenders, ovens, and freezers changed the role of women in the family. So, too, did eating preferences change.
One look at old recipes for foods like “Jell-O horseradish relish” or “jellied ham in ring” show just how much has changed since the days when peanut butter and mayonnaise were delicacies of the upper class.
