This is an article from American Kitchen magazine, a home economics rag from the Victorian times. It’s a very simple article about a group of women going on a LONG camping trip– it focuses mostly on the cost of the trip and the food they had. I thought it was interesting because of two things: first, that it was a group of women going (and no men?), and second, the menu for the first week of meals had some very intriguing foodstuffs on them (“Washington pie”?).
I transcribed this article myself (no AI). Enjoy!
🌟 More Camping / More Victorian Era / More Outdoors
👉 Related: “A Woman’s Camping Outfit” (1909)
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A Civilized Camping Party
A PARTY of ladies, most of whom were teachers in the public schools of a town near Boston, wished for a few weeks’ outing, and having tired of country hotels and boarding places decided to accept an invitation to join a camping party at one of the most delightful spots on Lake Winnipiseogee.
The camp, which was situated one mile from the village across the lake, and nestled among the trees along the shore, consisted of a cottage, cook house, a boat house containing three rooms, and two tents, all of which furnished ample sleeping accommodations and as good as are found at any summer cottage. The campers thus had all the freedom and seclusion of camp life with many of the comforts of home.
Not wishing to do all the work themselves they took with them to do the cooking an assistant, a graduate of a cooking school in Boston.
They ordered a good variety of canned goods and groceries from the city. Fresh milk, eggs and butter, which were to be had near by, were used freely. Fresh beef and berries could be procured when wanted, and thus the table was always well supplied with a good variety of wholesome food.
The party, which numbered nine, arrived in camp Monday noon, July 1, for a two weeks’ stay, but the life proved so delightful that the time was extended to four weeks. During this time the number of the party varied from twelve to four. It was with many regrets that each one took her departure all uniting in pronouncing the spot most enchanting and the summer one of the pleasantest ever spent.
The following statistics may be interesting:
The cost to each person, including all expenses, was, for the first week, $3.27; second week, $2.63; third week, $2.96; fourth week, $3.03; making an average for the four weeks of $2.95. This covered food, lights, fuel, assistant’s wages and traveling expenses.
The actual cost of food material for the four weeks, deducting material on hand at the end of that time, was $53.96, making an average of two dollars a week for each person.
Below are given the bills of fare for the first week, the rest being equally good and varied.
MONDAY
Dinner.
Blanquette of Chicken (canned). Hot Biscuit. Tomatoes. Rice Pudding. Tea. Coffee.
Supper.
New Bread. Prune Sauce. Sponge Cake. Tea.
TUESDAY
Breakfast.
Corn-cake. Meatloaf. Creamed Codfish. Coffee. Cocoa.
Dinner.
Roast Lamb. Potatoes. Boiled Macaroni. Tomato Sauce. Cold Bread. Rice Pudding. Tea. Lemonade.
Supper.
Rolls. Fish (left over). Peach Sauce. Sponge Cake. Tea.
WEDNESDAY
Breakfast.
Hash. Fried Corn Mush. Cold Bread. Coffee. Cocoa.
Dinner.
Left Over Soup. Cold Roast Lamb. Potatoes. Tomatoes. Bread. Tapioca Cream. Tea. Cold Drinks.
Supper.
Bread. Canned Cherries. Soft Sugar Gingerbread. Tea.
THURSDAY
Breakfast.
Cereal. German Toast. Coffee Cocoa.
Dinner.
Cold Sliced Corned Beef. Mashed Potatoes. Corn. Ice Cream. Cake. Tea. Lemonade.
Supper.
Cold Bread. Pineapple Sauce. Hot Molasses Gingerbread. Tea.
FRIDAY
Breakfast.
Cottage Pie. Bread. Toast. Fried Mush. Coffee. Cocoa.
Dinner.
Creamed Codfish. Baked Potatoes. Corn Cake. Steamed Plum Pudding. Lemon Sauce. Tea. Cold Drinks.
Supper.
Bread. Apricot Sauce. Sugar Gingerbread. Tea.
SATURDAY
Breakfast.
Hominy. Corn Cake. Cottage pie and other leftovers. Escalloped Potatoes. Coffee. Cocoa.
Dinner.
Boiled Potatoes. Baked Macaroni. Cabinet Pudding, Plain Sauce. Cheese. Tea. Cold Drinks.
Supper.
Luncheon Rolls. Blanc-Mange. Cake. Tea.
SUNDAY
Breakfast.
Cereal. Chicken (warmed over). Fried Potatoes. Hot Biscuit. Coffee. Cocoa.
Dinner.
Salmon. Potatoes. Tomatoes. Apricot Sponge. Custard Sauce. Tea. Lemonade.
Supper.
Cold Bread. Sardines. Apricot Sauce. Washington Pie. Tea.
MONDAY
Breakfast.
Wheatlet. Corn Cake. Omelet. Coffee. Cocoa.
Transcriber’s Notes
Formatting for the menu changed from original, to make it more web-friendly. “Meat-loaf” changed to “meatloaf.”
Regarding finances:
- $2.95 (weekly average cost of this trip per person) in today’s money is about $117.64
- $53.96 (cost of groceries) in today’s money is about $2,151
The grocery bills honestly seems a bit shocking for only one month, BUT it’s split between upwards of 9-10 people so I suppose it’s not TOO terrible.
Sources
American Kitchen Magazine, “A Civilized Camping Party,” Volume 5 (April-Sept 1896), pages 126-127. PDF from HathiTrust: https://hdl.handle.net/2027/nyp.33433007728870
Inflation calculator: https://www.in2013dollars.com/
