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a red herring?
Mar. 4th, 2004 10:03 amFrom an antebellum Maryland slave's narrative: "Our food consisted of bread, hominy, black strap molasses and a red herring a day."
That made me do a double take and run to Google--almost everything I know about herrings is contained in the classic "red herring" routine, which I have taken pains to make sure both my children know--some things must be preserved for all posterity, ( and which I have put behind this cut tag for those who haven't heard it )--and found this. The short answer is, red, or smoked, herring was cheap protein. It wasn't quite the cat food of the day, but it was close. I should mention that judging from the food mentioned in other narratives I've read, this diet was about average for slaves.
That made me do a double take and run to Google--almost everything I know about herrings is contained in the classic "red herring" routine, which I have taken pains to make sure both my children know--some things must be preserved for all posterity, ( and which I have put behind this cut tag for those who haven't heard it )--and found this. The short answer is, red, or smoked, herring was cheap protein. It wasn't quite the cat food of the day, but it was close. I should mention that judging from the food mentioned in other narratives I've read, this diet was about average for slaves.
