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European-style food began to appear.
Cattle, hogs and sheep along with corn and
other small grains such as oats and rye
rounded off the diet. That limited menu
lasted for about 300 years and into the
early 1800s.
ALL RIGHT! TEX-MEX!
During those 300 years, Texas and Mexico
were a part of the Spanish colony known
as New Spain. Eventually, Texas won its
independence in 1836 and became part
of the United States in 1845. The term
Tex-Mex today refers to a style of food of
Mexican descendants living in Texas, but
back in 1875, the term was an abbreviation
for the Texas and Mexican Railroad. Tex-
Mex cuisine eventually made its way to a
larger group of people for the first time in domesticated, were considered too valuable
San Antonio in the 1880s. Chili con carne
is one of Tex-Mex’s signature foods and is
the official state dish of Texas.
The Anglo-Celts came to Texas in the early
1800s also and brought with them cattle,
hogs, sheep, white and sweet potatoes and
poultry. Early Texans consumed a lot of
corn which could be eaten fresh when in
PHOTO COURTESY OF UNIVERSITY OF NORTH TEXAS LIBRARIES abundant calories for the energy needed
Two men cook food on metal wire placed on wood columns over pits with
burning coals - Madison County, TX.
ONLINE: SCTEXAS.ORG
season, dried in the winter and ground
into cornmeal for year-round use. Texans
learned to soak dried corn in lime water
to make hominy which can be ground into
a type of corn flour called masa – a staple
of Tex-Mex cooking.
KEEPING IT FRESH
Life in Texas during the 1800s was a
constant struggle. Hungry coyotes and
other wild predators frequently helped
themselves to Texas homesteaders’
chickens. Texas longhorns, brought to
the New World by Christopher Columbus
and the Spanish colonists, were never
domesticated and had been roaming
freely for over 300 years. Other cattle
brought over from Europe, which were
to eat. They served as beasts of burden,
provided milk and were used in financial
exchanges since no reliable currency
existed then. Because of cattle’s multi-
purpose and value, pork became Texas’
dominant diet. Non-Texans referred to
Texas as “The Republic of Porkdom.”
In addition to the cattle’s value, Texans in
the early 1800s believed it was unhealthy
to eat fresh meat because it could easily
spoil, and pork was known to harbor
parasites. Meat had to be either cured in
brine or smoked before consuming.
Cultivating vegetable gardens by these
Texas homesteaders was not widely
practiced. Human and animal waste could
too easily be mixed into the soil, causing
serious and often deadly illnesses such as
typhoid fever or cholera. Three daily meals
consisted mostly of a varied combination
of cornbread and cured pork with milk,
eggs and coffee.
EATING FOR ENERGY
Nutrition and fiber as part of the diet
was not considered back then. It was
important to consume food that provided
for the long days of hard work. Eating
back then was not a social event; it was
for survival. Eating a meal lasted only
10 minutes. Historian Matilda Houston’s
study of Texas frontiersmen’s diet found
that the typical caloric consumption was
around 4,500 calories. Today, our calorie
intake is between 2,000 and 3,000 derived
from a variety of plant-based foods, grains
and good quality meats and diary, and we
enjoy lingering over a delicious meal with
family and friends.
Continued on the next page
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