Hardtack & Hell Fire Stew

[@BDylanHollis]

You mean to say there's a somewhat edible use for my Civil War Hardtack!? I'll stop using them as doorstops and try this now.

[@vivdaniel7433]

Wild to see you here. I love your videos!

[@vysharra]

No one send him recipes!! Think of his teeth!! _The teeth!_

[@Caeleinn]

Sure, Dylan, they would go great with that spaghettio gelatin ring from the 1960's. 🤣

[@TastingHistory]

Their best use is actually to level wobbly tables at restaurants

[@lachimiste1]

I feel like this is the intended accompaniment for your Perfection Salad.

[@jakedesnake97]

I love how hard tack has basically become a recurring character on this show

[@undertakernumberone1]

We should call him "Tacky"!

[@matthewferguson5312]

Every video I’m like “how is Max gonna fit in the hard tack clip” and now it’s ANOTHER hard tack episode? We’ve been blessed.

[@TastingHistory]

🤣

[@TastingHistory]

It so has!

[@SkipTheKip]

It's criminal how we don't have it as an individual clip yet I'd play it a million times and a couple more for good measure!

[@keefursabertooth952]

I do antiques as an avocation and do appraisal work for the local PBS station sometimes. I once had a lady invite me over to look at some things that she had. Included in her items were two hard tack biscuits from the Civil War. She also had a letter of provenance with them that was written in 1886. The original soldier had served in the Union army and when he was mustered out, was given a weeks ration for the trip home. He described the daily rations he received in the letter, as well as all the officers, etc that distributed the rations, etc. Daily rations consisted of a pound of bacon, a pound of coffee, and a hard tack. He went on to describe how the hard tack was prepared. At night, before going to bed, you were supposed to get a tin of water and put the hard tack in it and weigh it down with a stone. In the morning, you would skim the worms off the top of the water. You would cook your bacon and coffee, then you would drain the hard tack and put it in the pan with all the bacon grease, making sure it soaked up as much of the fat as possible before consumption. During his journey home, the locals treated him like a hero and fed him. When he finally made it home, he still had his hard tack left. He threw his haversack with the biscuits in a cedar chest and went to California to look for gold. He returned after the war and found that the cedar had preserved the hard tack. He threw the biscuits in his desk and forgot about them. When the letter was written, he was distributing the hard tack to different family members as an interesting memento of his time as a soldier. I thought you would appreciate this account.

[@oldfrend]

what does genuine civil war era hard tack appraise for these days? XD

[@Bloodletter8]

That's a fascinating story

[@Gutslinger]

I wish there were a bunch of first hand stories/records like this. It'd be cool to read a bunch of first hand accounts of that time. Maybe there's books that comprise of those types of writings? If not, there should be.. I should research and see if I can find something like that.

[@BSIII]

@@Gutslinger excellent idea. You should do it if not!

[@seronymus]

I used to watch Antique Roadshow a lot as a kid with my parents that's awesome, have you been on TV?

[@kernowman2768]

I served in the British Army in the 1980's & we had a form of hardtack in our ration packs. They were called Biscuits AB , the AB stood for Alternative to Bread. But we called them 'ard bastards!!!

[@dolphin069]

Still in the French rat packs.

[@huntclanhunt9697]

The US issues a hard white cracker in our modern MREs. Basically just extra salty hard tack.

[@dickJohnsonpeter]

@@huntclanhunt9697 I was going to say the same thing! Yea we're still given what is basically hardtack in our MRE's. I actually like those crackers.

[@billy56081]

@@huntclanhunt9697 With the cheese these were great.

[@Nomans_Nomen]

@Jonathan Fitzgerald I don't think MRE crackers were anything close to being as hard as hard tack, definitely related to it though.

[@Swindle1984]

Hardtack was used as paving tiles to make sidewalks in some Civil War camps, particularly in muddy conditions. A common joke was "I bit into something soft while eating hardtack today." "A worm?" "No, a nail." And Steve 1989 actually ate a piece of Civil War-era hardtack and said it tasted like mothballs and old books ("Nice!").

[@GonzoDonzo]

Love that guy

[@cameronpoptart]

I’ve always been curious how many of the two channels’ followings overlap

[@deltaraider87]

Let's get this out on a tray.

[@Swindle1984]

@@deltaraider87 Nice!

[@bilbo1778]

@@cameronpoptart Probably quite a bit - "historical food" is a pretty niche KZbin subgenre

[@amberdent651]

My mom told me that her father, who was born in the 20s, would stir saltines into his coffee as late as the 70s because he grew up needing to eat hardtack during the Depression, and one of the popular ways to manage hardtack at the time was to just stir it into coffee until it turned into mush. So even when he no longer needed to eat hardtack, he still liked the texture of mushy coffee, I guess.

[@hyr1972]

similar to how i love my horlicks: throw a piece of plain hard biscuit in and stir until it turns to mush. then drink the concoction down. thats my breakfast as a kid from a working class family before going off to school.

[@insultinsultan705]

Man I bout near vomit from the taste of crackers gone soggy in soup I cannot imagine

[@lisaspikes4291]

I have an uncle who does the same thing with Ritz crackers. Breaks them up in his coffee and eats them. 🤣

[@cassualtea2040]

my grandma does smth similar, but not biscuits, with egg crackers. We're Filipino so I think thats just how she likes to soften her crackers.

[@Chris-ut6eq]

We all have our comfort foods and they don't make sense to anyone but us as get older.

[@Pinely]

I usually have a hard time watching cooking videos because of how hungry they make me, but that's definetly not a problem with these hardtack videos

[@swettyspaghtti]

HAHAHAHAHAHAHa

[@subliminalphish]

That is so true for me as well. It's those dang desserts that get me every time. The more savory one just give me ideas for dinner!😁

[@Rpground]

Nothing like weevils to turn off your appetite.

[@Original_Tenshi_Chan]

Lol, I know this is meant as a compliment, but it feels like an insult.

[@ikitclaw7146]

We still eat a variation of hard tack in england, the Rich Tea biscuit.

[@cammobunker]

Common names for civil war hardtack included "sheet iron crackers" and "tooth dullers". Some guys excavated a civil war burn pile a few years back (from when they would break winter camp and move out for the spring campaigning season) and they literally found a couple of original hardtacks that had been in the ground for 150+ years. They were still recognizable and seemed not especially worse for being buried that long.

[@constancemiller3753]

Aged to perfection.

[@AdriannaDaFox98]

Jeez so they found possibly still edible smoked hardtack?

[@dravenocklost4253]

And our sugared chemicalled food spoils for being out for a few days. Smh, our forefathers were mich wiser than we give them credit for

[@bertilhatt]

@@AdriannaDaFox98 Edible? They barely had any worms, so… not really.

[@olstar18]

@@dravenocklost4253 I don't know about wiser. I think it was more about trying to find something that could fit certain definitions of edible and last for months at a time.

[@carlchapman4053]

"A single loaf of dwarf bead could keep a warrior marching for months on end because with every step he is thinking 'I have to find food soon or it's back to that that fu*king bread'" - Terry Pratchett

[@susanfarley1332]

I love how he described the dwarfs taking it out to look at it and deciding they really weren't that hungry.

[@weldonwin]

And then there's the other quote about it from The Lost Continent I think, where a Dwarf describes how a single loaf of Dwarf bread kept him fed on the long voyage across the ocean... because he was using it to batter sharks to death with and eating them.

[@susanfarley1332]

@@weldonwin I love Terry Pratchett's books.

[@channelofrandom7731]

Lol

[@thegermanfool8953]

🎉😂

[@Dohlenblick]

"We considered using hardtack in lieu of grapeshot and firing it upon the enemy, but on further reflection that seemed too cruel a thing to do to our fellow man." (Is what I imagine word around the campfire was)

[@vicroc4]

Such jokes were not uncommon concerning hardtack during the Civil War.

[@FrikInCasualMode]

Fun fact: Polish Army still uses (sometimes) kind of hardtack called "Suchary Specjalne" (Special Hardtack). Soldiers call them panzerwaffles, and joke they can be used as bulletproof inserts in their combat vests. But the best part is... they are good! Baked with caraway seeds and quite tasty. Still hard and will last decades if kept dry, but they do taste great.

[@GaldirEonai]

Nordic countries also still issue more or less the same crisp bread with their rations that they marched with in medieval times.

[@camillalundgren2914]

@@GaldirEonai in sweden there is crisp bread sold in every store :-) its so good with Kalles kaviar or pickled herring :-)

[@marmotarchivist]

Swiss army rations contain an very dry biscuits, that is like a mix between a zwieback and a Petit-Beurre. It’s a choking hazard but it tastes delicious.

[@genghiskhan6809]

😂😂😂

[@seonor]

German MRE also have similar biscuits, nicknamed Panzerkeks. You can either eat them on their own, with butter and/or jam, dunk them into coffee, or if you are feeling fancy make a cake out of them with milk powder, sugar, and jam.

[@daveryan6624]

My Dad was in the 81st infantry division. They had been eating dehydrated vegetables for weeks. They went into Pelau and K Rats was it for quite awhile. Then one day they got canned corned beef. They ate it until they were sick of it. Then one day they got in potatoes. My Dad was the mess sgt. He got busy and made potato salad. An officer happened by and saw they were eating potato salad. He asked my Dad where he got the mayonaise. He said I made it. Next thing he knew he was cooking for the officers.

[@DaggerWetzel]

Cool

[@persephone342]

Always good to hear how doing what you’re u do best is the way!

[@Chris-ut6eq]

Always good to hear about officers taking care of the troops!

[@FallacyBites]

My grampa was in the pacific theatre during wwii. He and his buddies where going to go sun themselves on the deck, and the cooks came and took the spot. A kamikaze attacked the ship and all the cooks died. Grampa and his buddies volunteered to take over cooking cuz they were grateful to still be alive. Grampa was a SoCal boy back when everything was fields and one of the things he did as a cook was introduce the Kansas farm boys and new york mobsters to the magic that is the avocado

[@seanhunter4297]

What a wonderful story about your dad!!! 😊

[@swapertxking]

This dish saved my grand father and his brother so during the Great Depression when all the grain they grew had to be sold and his father had been baking it every Sunday for decades since 1899. Of course, he called dry stone stew, or brimstone stew.

[@hollerinwoman]

Wow, you had a very clever great-grandfather. I wonder what event in his life motivated him bake hardtack for decades to prep for the future? I love stories like this.

[@subliminalphish]

I've heard of that. But honestly upon my growing up we didn't have a lot of men to share stories but occasionally my grandmother would tell of her Male family and my grandfathers stories. They did what they could during hard times like the dust bowl and or the depression era. You can bet we would to if it were in these times. I know I would. I bought foraging books for just that safety net. And now if I'm lost in the woods , all I'd need is a knife to survive. I'd say I'm to old for that but no I'm not if need be.

[@mwater_moon2865]

@@hollerinwoman My grandma lived on a farm, she passed away about a year ago. In her basement were canned foods from the 1980s, maybe some earlier. It's called planning ahead, and it's something farmers and country folk still do, but everyone else had to back then as well. You bought/put up food when times were good because you just don't know when trouble's coming, and if they got snowed in or had a bad year, they'd at least have something to eat. Stock up on what's on sale and over time you'll have a some of everything. Unlike Grandma I cycle my canned goods though, every year I check dates and we use it up or if it's something I really don't care to eat unless there's call, we donate it to the local food pantry. What we do use, we replace when it's a good deal. If it's perishable like milk, then get a back up version of non perishable ie. powdered milk and when you need to cycle it out, use it in cooking (creamy soups and mashed potatoes don't care between fresh, evaporated and powered.) One of my requirements when house hunting was a kitchen and pantry "big enough." I put up about 2 dozen jars of jam/jelly every summer/fall. I used to do 3 or 4 dozen and give some as Christmas gifts, but the last few years we haven't traveled to see family so I've scaled back. And that's just fruit.... When we lost power for 5 days last winter, I never touched the freezers or fridge so stuff stayed frozen. But I had canned goods to fall back on. When the pandemic first hit, we had more than enough pasta and rice despite empty shelves (though I did end up needing to replenish my stockpiles once things got back to normal) and I was even able to give some extra to a neighbor with cancer who couldn't stomach other foods or have the energy to do much more than boil water. I never have to worry about shortages, I just adjust a bit if need be. Like if bird flu mucks with getting canned chicken, I use more canned salmon to stretch what I have.

[@swapertxking]

@@hollerinwoman as best i can understand, he got it from his father, a union soldier, who didnt mind hard-tack. figured he'd have some rations since running a farm could be tennous should bad times come. learned how to make it from his company's mess hall as the civil war ended, taught his two boys, great grand-pap may have been a mean drunk, but nobody's perfect.

[@toastnjam7384]

My mom grew up on a farm during the depression and they also sold the majority of crops and animals. Most of their meat was quail the boys hunted.

[@Atamosk-bu7zt]

Fun fact, hardtack at 1/4" thick has been proven to be effective at acting like a ballistic insert for up to .38 rounds. It also proved to be a somewhat ineffective radiation shield, dropping rads by as much as 11.5% at smaller dosages. I learned this by actually googling "could hardtack stop a bullet"

[@jordanhicks5131]

Maybe a 38 short colt, no way its stopping a 158 grain 38 special.

[@martyshannon7542]

Better not let California, New York or New Jersey know this. They will call it GHOST ARMOR and outlaw it.

[@perryplayzzz]

Slightly concerning

[@TheGreatThicc]

You mean to tell me a bloody 1/4" cracker could stop a .357? I gotta call shenanigans on that.

[@perryplayzzz]

@@TheGreatThicc It’d probably crack the cracker + the bullet and stop it that way

[@Spetznatz01]

This reminds me of what I used to do with the crackers from our MRE’s in the Gulf War. I pounded the crackers while still in their package until they were pretty much powder. I then added the sugar packets and creamer from my MRE and then added about half the package of cocoa powder into it. I added a little water to mix it up until it was like dough. Then fold up the end of the cracker packets and flattened it as best I could. Then let it out on a rock in the sun for about 30 minutes. It makes a pretty good chocolate cake/cookie. It was so good that I had several friends making these in their foxholes!!

[@Chris-ut6eq]

Thank you for your service!

[@seanm7539]

Thank you for your service sir 🫡

[@seanm7539]

That sounds pretty good

[@lynx1710]

Did you ever use the instant coffee in it? Mocha cake...yum. Granted, I had an in with the cooks...lol.

[@Spetznatz01]

@@lynx1710 absolutely. I did use the coffee in mine after I had perfected the original cake. My “war-time” recipe was pretty popular with the other guys in my platoon. My platoon Sergeant came to me one day while we were out there sort of complaining that everyone around us had these packets sitting on rocks right next to their foxholes. I had to laugh!!

[@lou1958]

I love your last line of description, "If I was really, really hungry and hadn't eaten that much and had just gone on a 20-mile march, I'd gladly eat this." I get it, because it's always important to look at things in both context and perspective. Proper use of this is not as common as you might think. Thank you.

[@MrBottlecapBill]

I've been sitting on the sofa for three hours. I'd probably still eat it if someone handed it to me. Just saying. 😆

[@fenixiliusstrife1253]

@@MrBottlecapBill Foods taste is definitely effected by hunger, opportunity, cost and laziness.

[@archkull]

@@MrBottlecapBill sad

[@DanielleStJohn]

This reminds me of a thing we made from MREs when I was in the military. We'd grind up the crackers, add the powdered hot cocoa they'd sometimes have, then add water. They called it Ranger Pudding.

[@Maria_Erias]

I grew up eating MREs during the 80s that my dad would bring home from the commissary on base and we'd take hunting or shooting with us. These were the ones with the old fruitcakes and maple nut cakes, as well as the freeze dried fruit bricks (either mixed fruit or peaches). At night, when we were all gathered around the fire, we'd take all of our maple nut cakes and break them up, mix them with powdered cocoa and creamer, break up the fruit, and add water to make a fruity maple nut pudding. So tasty! (The fruitcakes got eaten on their own,, because they were delicious.)

[@Norbrookc]

MRE's had just come out when I was going through PLDC, and we were issued them during our field exercise. The initial ones didn't have the heater pouch that current ones do, and honestly, they were gawdawful cold. I remember when we were having our first one, and everyone was looking at each other, and finally one of the other guys said "You know, I never thought I'd say this, but I miss the C Rations."

[@AdaptiveApeHybrid]

Soldiers and inmates are peas in a pod apparently. We'd do stuff like this in jail. Mush up a honey bun, a fudge round and some oatmeal. Form it into a lump and we'd call it birthday cake.

[@subliminalphish]

My uncle was in the army during the Vietnam war and he told of hardtack and SOS being served when on a long field hike. I wish I could talk to him now about it but he is no longer with us.

[@allisin9743]

@@AdaptiveApeHybrid soldiers, inmates and apparently high schoolers? Because we used to do something very similar, mix our morning oatmeal, bit of a honey bun, and a fudge stripe

[@chikntendie]

I love the dry humor of the drummer boy around 9:09. It's these types of moments that really highlight the humans behind the conflict. My favorite instance of this type of moment is from a book called "A narrative of a Revolutionary soldier" by Joseph Plumb Martin in which he recounts an event where he was waiting in the line for mess and some commotion broke out elsewhere so the sentry had to go deal with it thus halting the line with Joseph P Martin stopped just near a biscuit barrel. Immediately Martin recounts how he "did as any good soldier would do" and stuffed every part of his uniform with as many as he could as quickly as he could.

[@ZimVader-0017]

I love stories like this, it just shows you that humans will be humans no matter when or where, especially military. They found weapons with rude carvings on them belonging to Roman soldiers and graffiti reminiscent of "[Name] Wuz Here" made by Vikings that lived as far back as the 12th century.

[@jamie.777]

😊agree 👍

[@Mordecrox]

Reminds me of a sad but with a good ending story of a soldier who got caught and basically every place he could put on his pockets or bunk was full of smuggled grits. His sarge saw what could be the issue, this man had low food security through his life and on top of it his parents used to punish kids by withdrawing food. IIRC his sarge let this slide and told him, "as long as you are in my regiment, I will never let a man go hungry. I promise you."

[@gwest3644]

​​​​​​@@ZimVader-0017I especially love stuff like that from children throughout history, like the birch bark carvings found in Russia that were effectively a medieval kid's homework that he'd doodled all over (including a drawing of himself as some kind of monster and a drawing of himself as a knight on horseback killing his teacher with a lance), or the graffiti found in Pompeii carved by ancient kids of their favorite gladiators, or the toy chariot found in a Bronze Age child's grave in modern day Turkey. On that soldier theme, ancient sling pellets were often carved with snarky quips, like "catch", "ouch", "you're an ass", or "I hope this hits you in the dick"

[@EphemeralTao]

There was a similar dish eaten by some soldiers, particularly in the Confederate army, sometimes called "sloosh". It was essentially the same ingredients as hellfire stew, although the hardtack would have been pounded into a course flour (and mixed with or replaced by flour when available), mixed with water and pork fat, salt and pepper when available, with the consistency of paste or dough (sort of like a pie crust or biscuit dough). That dough was wrapped around a musket ramrod, and cooked over an open fire.

[@DannyBeans]

I remember Shelby Foote talking about it in "The Civil War."

[@zacherybarger6591]

That actually sounds good.

[@mh2120]

Add a little cayenne and a touch of lime juice and you'd have ye olde takis

[@toomanyaccounts]

i hope they used an unused rod for that along with using skillets that weren't used for melting down used bullets to put in bullet molds. that would be one sure way to get lead poisoning.

[@kingofhisworld1]

I don't want peaky blinders to end! 😢😭😢😭

[@NotTheWheel]

9:00 As a Veteran this made me laugh. Good to see Military humor has been a common theme throughout our history. Gave me a good chuckle because it sounds like something me and my friends would have said.

[@huntclanhunt9697]

Dude the ancient Roman soldiers carved penises into their barracks walls. Soldiers have not changed in 2000+ years.

[@Babuiski]

Goes to show we're the same people all throughout history. You can just imagine Chinese soldiers from 3000 years ago complaining about their leadership, Roman soldiers from 2000 year ago complaining about having to move the camp 15' because someone said so, etc.

[@huntclanhunt9697]

@@Babuiski Can also see evidence of Ancient Egyptians carving penises into the walls of their armory. Also Roman soldiers carving penises into the walls of their barracks. English knights carving penises into the walls of their guard post. French soldiers under Napoleon carving penises into the walls of the house they were quartered in. Soviet soldiers carving penises into the iron curtain. And US troops carving penises into the bathroom stalls.

[@deusvult6920]

@@Babuiski what really solidified this perspective in my mind was them finding Roman sling bullets with penises engraved in the side.

[@TheBockenator]

@@deusvult6920 The Romans engraved a penis on everything.

[@alcatrazthatguyontheintern1465]

He cooks, he researches, he builds with Legos, he reviews. Max truly is a cultured man.

[@PratzStrike]

He has a giant Pokemon plush collection!

[@GiraffeFlavored]

He's so cultured he even knows it's pronounced "Lego" not "Legos" (something I learned somewhat recently, saying "I'm gonna play with my Lego" when you (obviously) mean plural is actually correct. Who knew! (Well Max did I guess :P ))

[@jaredbarhorst248]

He’s also very long winded 😂

[@NathanTAK]

He doesn't put recipes in the description, so he's disqualified

[@Stefubi]

Let us not forget his unlimited supply of themed PokéPlushies!

[@xassylax]

Honestly, I half expected this to just be 15 straight minutes of Hardtack Smack™. And I still would have watched it. 😂

[@TastingHistory]

🤣

[@alliewhitlock621]

Let's be honest, we all would have happily watched it if it was just the Hardtack smack 😂

[@tinyetoile5503]

HardTack Smack is a hilarious name for it

[@OlEgSaS32]

Somebody get on this and just make a 15 minute loop of the hardtack smack

[@jordanparker938]

LOL

[@carloshenriquezimmer7543]

My grandmother used to make something like this for her family. She used some very stale bread, and added some herbs and vegetables from her garden. Also the fat could be chicken or beef. She was a master at this style of "improvisation cuisine". It was indispensable to feed her 11 kids...

[@dontbefatuousjeffrey2494]

She sounds freaking legendary

[@WastedTalent-]

Sounds like it could make a delicious stuffing.

[@nethanelmasters5170]

My grandmother did the same she called it depression cooking she could make a lot with flour and water give her something to go with it and watch out something good was coming.

[@BrightWulph]

With the way how the world is going, this kind of cooking could make a comeback. 😕

[@fooferutter3001]

If this is the best you you could manage, when things get bad, you should probably learn some survival skills and just general life skills like gardening/hunting butchering/cooking etc.

[@wheresmymuffins]

I truly appreciate the poetic symmetry of Pikachu wearing the Team Aqua outfit for the Ships Biscuit video, and the Team Magma one for _Hellfire_ Stew

[@SonofSethoitae]

I'm a little sad that Max didn't use the "lesser of two weevils" clip from Master and Commander when talking about worms in hardtack. A good video though!

[@wolfgangspiper]

I just wanna say that as someone with less than stellar hearing, I really appreciate all of these videos have captions. Good ones too.

[@TastingHistory]

Credit to Jose for doing it every week

[@shaunacorrigan9372]

@@TastingHistory Yay, Jose!!🤗

[@jonesnori]

Yes, thanks as always to Jose!

[@craigbryant9925]

The captions are amazing.

[@clarantromillo]

In Spain it's called "migas". It's made with old bread instead of hardtack. It's delicious when well cooked and seasoned. In Galicia and the north of Portugal we made it with "broa", which is bread made from corn flour. If you add an egg , it becomes glorious. I'm quite sure there is a version of it in every country of southern Europe and Latin America.

[@NoJusticeNoPeace]

Historical accounts say sailors who ate the worms in their food tended not to suffer conditions of malnutrition as often or as harshly as those who didn't, so it became common practice to eat the maggots. If a substantial amount of your nutrition is being eaten by weavils and beetles, then you need to eat the weavils and beetles.

[@tomf3150]

That's a recipe from Crocodile Dundee isn'it ? Packed with proteins but taste like crap ?

[@anonperson3972]

Bugs are more nutritious than grain too. Basically upcycling your food...

[@elenavaccaro339]

The insects added protien... Many cultures still eat a variety of insects. I would have issues with the crunch...

[@katarh]

That's extra protein! The bread would supply the calories and some of the protein, and the fat supplied the rest of the calories, but they'd need those beans and some actual meat in their system to get the rest. Or the maggots, if there was literally nothing else available.

[@shaventalz3092]

@@elenavaccaro339 Good news! The mere presence of hardtack (clack clack) means you're used to the crunch already.

[@ginamandolina00]

This sounds so much like a traditional dish from my region (Extremadura, Spain). It's a traditional farmer's dish made with very old stale bread crumbs cooked with bacon and chorizo grease, olive oil and fried garlic and peppers. Then you also add the chorizo and bacon bits so it's extra tasty! It looks so similar too!

[@archerymidnight3422]

The name of the region definitely fits hardtack

[@CS-zn6pp]

Everything tastes better with pork fat, it's just one of life's little mysteries like everything tasting like chicken...

[@RealJohnnyDingo]

nice! ☺️

[@jensantos4542]

ngl this made my mouth water

[@sirenscalllntothedeep6306]

No problem with Cholesterol at all I'm sure.

[@marcusmoonstein242]

Here in South Africa we have a hard, dried bread called "rusk". The standard way to eat it is to dunk it for a few seconds into your hot coffee before biting into it. The hotter the coffee, the quicker it softens.

[@sudhanshumital5105]

Omg rusk is a popular snack here in India too! We eat it in the same manner, except with hot black milk tea. :)

[@deus_ex_machina_]

@@sudhanshumital5105 Townsends sends mentioned in his original video about Ship's Biscuits that the word biscuit, meaning twice-baked, also applied to rusk, regular bread that was sliced and rebaked. Given the commonwealth connection, rusk was invented in Britain and spread to the colonies, although now I get my crackers from Britannia, ironically an Indian company, meanwhile Hindustan Unilever is a British subsidiary.

[@jessicaconda4825]

I just love how honest you are about the results of what you've made. You have looks for when things are amazing, decent, just okay, never will I put that in my mouth again, and this is questionable. Even without you giving the review I know about what opinion you are based on your expression, and you don't lie. You don't give the 'I wish I never tasted that' look and then say it's amazing. Looking forward to the next episode.

[@judysocal8682]

My favorite is when he made the heart and on the first bite you knew he wanted to just spit it out....poor Max

[@michellebressette2210]

Meanwhile, after binging quite a few of Max's vids, I'm still waiting to hear "oh my goodness, that is awful!" Maybe I just haven't watched the right episodes yet! I'll have to find the heart video mentioned by @JudySoCal.

[@jessicaconda4825]

@@michellebressette2210 That would be the viking heart episode, there's also the gladiator gatoraid episode.

[@apathetk]

These videos always make my week! And I love how snarky the authors were. "[They] made griddle cakes with honey... Minus the honey." and "The wine was usually omitted and hunger inserted in its stead." are two wonderful lines!

[@RedMojaveBraveUSMC]

I wanted to say the same thing. They had such a good old fashioned sense of sarcasm. It reminds me of my grandparents. In hard times, sometimes all you can do is laugh.

[@idontwantahandlethough]

Lol I was laughing at that too. You wouldn't expect a Civil War diary to be all that funny, but those parts were surprisingly hilarious. I guess it makes sense; sometimes things suck so bad, all you can really do is laugh!

[@idontwantahandlethough]

@@RedMojaveBraveUSMC Whoa, we said the same thing. Neat!

[@Reddotzebra]

If I'm not mistaken this actually grew into almost a tradition in American military food culture. Every time something is missing from a dish and has to be omitted or substituted you just call the dish "Name of dish empathizing the lost ingredient - Minus ingredient".

[@OrcBro]

"If you don't like the food, you just sat down to eat a few days too early" - my grandpa (russian proverb)

[@Vicerion17]

Oh god this brings back memories camping with my great uncle as a kid, he was I guess what we'd call a homesteader these days except he all about the hunting, fishing and trapping, only keeping some chickens, though bless him as he made sure our big freezer was stuffed with enough venison, elk, bear, boar and fish to last us months even if that's all we'd eat. Every time we'd go camping though the only food he'd bring were pemmican, hardtack, jerky and lard while everything else we'd forage for with him teaching us what was edible or poisonous,, where to look and what was available for different times of the year.

[@kayerin5749]

You were really blessed. I would have loved to have learned that skill. I did have a friend who taught me how to eat some leaves that were nutritious and I can still see them and taste them in my minds eye, but her grannie wouldn't let her teach about mushrooms because she might make a mistake...

[@brewskimckilgore6796]

im eternally indebted to my hillbilly kin for similar excursions 😂 cant overstate the value of knowing how to fill the belly

[@koganusan]

wait... bear meat????

[@gnarthdarkanen7464]

@@koganusan Bear's a little stringy and strong... not for everyone's taste... BUT when you're cold and exhausted and hungry, it ain't half bad, either. The fat can be rendered down and used similar to mink-oil for weather proofing leathers... though there is a bit of an odor to it... OR like any other fat, it can be liquified to douse a wick and used for a light/heat source in a pinch, too... When you can kill something as large as a moose, bison, or bear, you're a fool to waste it in the wild... ;o)

[@Zerbey]

I love that most of the meals you make are surprisingly edible, maybe not haute cuisine, but edible. Just shows we humans have been trying to figure out how to make good food throughout history, even if we only have the bare minimum of resources.

[@billn8304]

Hardtack…the lesser of two weevils. As a veteran I would like to see the rations fed to our troops from all wars. I did C-rations and early versions of MRE’s, but I would like to see more of their history. Very good channel.

[@JRSofty]

Interesting that soldiers have such a history of trying to make their rations better than what they were issued. I remember how we used to "cook" different things from our MRE contents.

[@levoices]

My favorite was one year for my bday my Marines made me an MRE Birthday cake. They used lemon poppy seed pound cake and made a kind of frosting by adding strawberry shake mix, creamer, and a little bit of water to it. We didn't have candles so they used a lit cigarette

[@krankarvolund7771]

@@levoices It sounds good... until you put a lit cigarette on it that will put cigarette's ashes all over XD

[@alexsis1778]

I think anyone can only eat the same thing over and over and over without doing literally anything they can to break up the monotony. No matter how good it is (and most military food isn't) there's still only so many times you can eat it in a row.

[@Norbrookc]

We used to do that with the C Rations (before MRE's). There were a lot of different things you could do with the cocoa mix and creamer.

[@genghiskhan6809]

That reminds of all the various condiment and food mixing that we’d do in high school to make the food taste better.

[@AngryEggs231]

The Gingerbread man made his house of bread, and by the next day it had gone away. But now he's made it from hard-tack, and now it's here to stay.

[@diannt9583]

I always thought gingerbread was hardtack, just with some ginger flavoring!

[@HiddenEvilStudios]

@@diannt9583 No, those are very different things. Try some actual gingerbread, it's very tasty.

[@ShinoSarna]

I tried to do this with dried bread instead of hardtack (in Poland, we collect dry bread to use for meatballs etc) and turns out, it actually works pretty nicely!

[@TheCynedd]

I want Max to do another collaboration with "Townsends" at the Homestead with Max doing a cooking video with John in 18th century costume and being a live guest at "The Nutmeg Tavern!!

[@psalm91rdwlkfpgrl]

yessss!!!

[@StrangeScaryNewEngland]

With Joe Pera!

[@jesdadotcom]

Holy shit. That's a powerful combo, like the Mariah + Whitney single

[@ernestturner915]

I love Townsend's channel..

[@TheMeloettaful]

Omg that would be so cool 😆!

[@alegria101]

Andersonville's history is fascinating. My Prussian third great-grandfather fought for the Union alongside numerous brothers and cousins (they were with the 101st Pennsylvania infantry). My third great-grandfather was captured in Plymouth, North Carolina and he was sent to Andersonville. Unfortunately, he didn't survive his time there. My second great-grandfather was two years old when his father died. I now have a book about the 101st Pennsylvania infantry that has their names in it.

[@thomaslove6494]

I have visited Andersonville many times... There are still portions of the walls standing and several monuments....

[@keizoxd5623]

Loubscouse or as we say in Germany Labskaus is actually pretty good and tastes really nice. You can add an egg, potatoes, and fresh Fish to it too. It is a common dish in the northern part of Germany.

[@champo976]

Fun fact about Minnesota in the Civil war: in I believe Gettysburg, we managed to take control of a Virginia Battleflag, which back then was obviously a much bigger deal. It still sits as a trophy in a case in our state capitol rotunda. Every few years Virginia asks for it back for "state heritage" or something. Every time we've declined.

[@dragon12234]

It's capture is after all your heritage

[@theotherohlourdespadua1131]

It's becoming funnier in context considering that the original Battle Flag of Stonewall Jackson was destroyed in the arson attack on the United Daughters of the Confederacy building in Richmond back in 2019. Their request from that point onward sounds more like a plea to have a replacement flag ..

[@maireaddebruin9044]

it's not in the capital building anymore, it's in the fiber collections room of the minnesota historical society, which is basically across the road from the capital. i've seen it! it was a humbling experience. we are still not giving the damn thing back

[@clothar23]

I will never understand you white boys obsession with flags.

[@Shin_Lona]

@@theotherohlourdespadua1131 Not sure what is funny about arson... Wait, I thought you all were the ones that were engulfed in a mostly peaceful inferno... Is that why it's funny? The irony? I'm confusion.

[@LordTimothyOfGlencoe]

I made hardtack 15 years ago, it still has no weevils nor worms, it is so hard and can withstand a 762 round fired at 25 meters, tomorrow I will use a sledge hammer and try to turn one of them into crumbs, I used an old U.K.🇬🇧 recipe, if I fail I will gift it to the military, so they can upgrade the armour on battlefield tanks. Great job, kind regards tim

[@tamlandipper29]

You will forgive my being skeptical about hard tack defeating a 7.62 round at 25 metres. If true you should immediately patent your recipe.

[@LordTimothyOfGlencoe]

@@tamlandipper29 lmao bro, just indicating how you can bust your teeth on this stuff, and mine is really 15 years old, I was given to understand that it will be the same in 59 years time, I am gifting it to my great, great grand kids so they can have a go at eating it, kind regards tim

[@tamlandipper29]

@@LordTimothyOfGlencoe Hah! Fair play. Please share recipe soonest for shelter purposes.

[@LordTimothyOfGlencoe]

@@tamlandipper29 no worries I hope that you know how to play chequers! Take 3cups flour, wholewheat, 1 cup hot water and 1 Tbsp salt, mix until you have a thick dough. Rest for one hour, knead 2-3 mins adding more flour or water to get a pliable dough, rest 30 mins, roll our on a floured board to 1/2” thick. Cut into 4” squares, using a 1” rule make 3 cuts 1/4” deep north and south repeat for ease to west, use a chopstick or skewer to make holes at the intersections. You should be looking at 16 X 1” squares of biscuit. Repeat with the rest of the dough. Heat an oven to moderate, 190oC, 375oF, bake for 30 mins, reduce temp to warm,90oC for another 30 mins. Mean while take your square plate ( from where get the navel term “square meal” and use your rule to make 8 lines north and south and8 lines east to west, you should have 64 1” X 1”” squares! 2 men and 2 biscuits might be able to break up their hardtack ration and play chequers, whilst in the “doldrums”, key point if one’s suck’s upon a 1” square it stops thirst and works like “gruel” a slow release carbohydrate, kind regards tim

[@LordTimothyOfGlencoe]

@@tamlandipper29 forgot to mention that 1” square is to be used as a lozenge, you’d dissolve it it your mouth, it is not designed to be broken and eaten, it’s long term survival sustenance, kind regards tim

[@ProfaneGod]

In the british navy you would get your hard tack with your ration piled on top so it would soak up any moisture from your meal plus sailors would also pour some of their grog onto their meal to soften it aswell.

[@hiddendesire3076]

I used to make my own take on hardtack in College from leftover buttermilk biscuits, or cornbread, with crumbled up leftover breakfast bacon. Would form them into bricks and wrap them with foil. Keeps them warm and would taste good even two hours later if I hadn’t finished them by then.

[@bellablue5285]

That sounds amazing

[@EmpressoftheLoneIslands]

Max, you’re just so nice: amending it to “premium” dog food! You won’t even insult the cooks of the civil war. This is why we love you!

[@EmpressoftheLoneIslands]

Also: more costumes please!!

[@falx94]

Fun fact: I learned what hardtack was because I watched Seabiscuit when I was younger, and I wanted to know why the horse was called Seabiscuit (and his sire was Hardtack) so I looked it up at the library (I know, what's a library). Ever since then I've always been interested in hardtack even though it's so basic and not well-loved. It's really cool seeing how creative people can get to turn unpalatable foods into meals I'd genuinely like to try.

[@gorkok]

I looked at the thumbnail and said: "Wait, isn't that Migas?" (A popular dish in Spain) Then when you brought up the recipe, it's susrprisingly close to Migas. Those where done with hard or spoilt bread when the times where bad. But when the times are good, they are done with fresh flour and water and they are a delicacy. Anyway it's surprising how separated cultures manage to have the same ideas. Well, I mean both Spain and USA had a gruesome Civil War, but, other than that they are quite different. Edit: They are still done with stale bread, the flour ones are called "Migas blancas" and are from the south. My bad.

[@SEAZNDragon]

There would have been a fair amount of interaction between the Americans and Spanish with Spain's American colonies and trade.

[@Cypherwraith001]

It's amazing to see how universal some ideas are, that it's difficult to tell whether one idea was inspired by another or whether they arose independently. In any case, some manner of starch combined with excess fat and fried will generally make a decent meal for a long day of work.

[@Grams0ren]

Aragonese migas today are made with stale bread, not flour. Are you from the Spanish south?

[@edelgado94]

Came here to say this! It's migas!!! Without pimentón, or chorizo, or morcilla, or non-mummified bread, but... yep XD

[@Nikki-tx6kh]

From a Familia Soriana, I know right. My Grandma cooked that a lot. But she had 12 kids and 45 grandkids, it was an easy one for big family gatherings.

[@Astrih_Konnash]

(from Brazil) The hellfire hardtack looked a lot like a fatty "farofa" (cassava flour fried with some fat, usually with other ingredients like onions, egg, bacon or pork sausage bits and even plantains) I think it will go very nicely with cooked beans, white rice and cooked finely-shredded kale

[@kingeternal_ap]

Try amazonian açaí too!

[@raystinger6261]

Kinda, although I'd say it's more similar to croutons, given the hardtack would crumble into big pieces, or at least bigger than ground toasted cassava.

[@unclekanethetiberiummain1994]

Grounded hardtack is basically flour right?

[@karlajaeger2082]

I would love to see Max make pemmican. It was a hugely important "foodstuff" in the colder parts of north America.

[@dontbefatuousjeffrey2494]

YES! And I'm not even American! Reading about this years ago, I thought, "this sounds nutritious" How has he not covered this before?

[@craigbryant9925]

And it's absolutely delicious.

[@toomanyaccounts]

one channel had a guy eat pemmican from a military ration dating to the early 20th century. it was still edible being over a hundred years old

[@BankruptMonkey]

Isn't there an energy bar company that sells a modern version of this? I think it was native owned company, and the bars tasted pretty good.

[@thequ6503]

i hope he makes pemmican so i can see what i subject my rimworld colonies to

[@xXxDisplayNamexXx]

Man I’ve been following you since the less than 100k sub days and the end of the video, seeing how many patreons you have supporting you, made me really happy. This channel is so interesting and unique, and I have actually made a few of your showcased dishes that are a staple in my diet now. I have some dietary restrictions, so some things nowadays are tougher to eat, but with how simplistic these old time recipes are, I have yet to have any that disagrees with me. It’s tough, I have a lot of issues gaining/keeping weight (no you do NOT wish you had this problem) and the Irish stew has been my favorite so far and has helped me actually maintain/gain a little bit. And touching again on the simplicity, a lot of the recipes are super cheap to make, which is that much more helpful for someone financially struggling. I know that’s not the point of your channel, but it’s been a huge help for me, so thank you for what you do and I’m so happy to see you getting the support you deserve 🙏🏼

[@TastingHistory]

Thank you so much! I love that you enjoy the Irish Stew; it's definitely one of my favorites.

[@madyalvarez428]

What’s crazy is that the Civil War hard tack looks exactly like these crackers that I used to eat as a kid, except they were shaped like a circle. They were probably slightly softer, but still pretty hard, and really common in Cuban American households. When I was little, I would put rice and beans on top of them and use it like a spoon.

[@alicecarter9672]

if this was a show on netflix it would be so incredibly popular this show is informative, interesting, funny, really just very professional

[@jessicaconda4825]

Yeah, but they cancle it without warning after just two seasons and we can't do that to Max.

[@LastRoseOfWinter]

At this point, I swear I'll always hear the little double tapping sound every time I hear the word "Hardtack," and I love that

[@nat9303]

There should be a Tasting History set of sounds for phones. Hard tack could be a notification sound when you receive a message etc. The theme music could be the ringtone.

[@dontbefatuousjeffrey2494]

*chock chock*

[@elchjol2777]

One time my mother messed up a baking recipe and instead of light and soft cinnamon flavored treats we ended up with balls of cinnamon flavored hardtack. Was rathe good once you had hot coffee (the hotter the better) soften it up. She hasn't been able to recreate that but we joked that it would go right along with beef jerky and a tin of coffee if someone wanted to hike for a few days.

[@marmotarchivist]

This recipe reminds me of a dish alpine shepherds were still making in the beginning of the 20th century. They would heat flour and fat in a pan until it formed a crumbly paste, eating it straight or spreading it on a piece of bread. And I look forward to the coffee episode. I love learning about the history of food supply and the daily logistics. Keep up the good work.

[@Somesortadog]

I love that you give credit to John over at Townsends. I really enjoy both of your channels, a collab could be interesting!

[@tamlandipper29]

Collab with steveMRE1989 - modern military rations. Well, kinda modern.

[@ianhomerpura8937]

@@tamlandipper29 nice.

[@tamlandipper29]

@@ianhomerpura8937 Let's get that collaboration onto a tray.

[@omarnsimpson908]

@@tamlandipper29nice! Good hiss!

[@comrade_freddy]

I can cook but not bake but i made hardtack and i am ptoud of it.made it from self made flour and dried/baked them over my boyfriends woodfire oven thing .... with the slight smokyness and and also by using different grains . They tasted awesome and they are great to chew on while gaming

[@wfcoaker1398]

I'm from Newfoundland and here we have locally made hard bread. It's hard tack made with white flour and it's a different shape. We cover it in water and soak it overnight, on enough water that you have to drain it off afterwards. It changes the texture, and I don't know what soaking it longer in a lot more water would do. Worth a try though. But we don't drain it. Heat it up in water on the stove. When it boils, it's done. At that point, it's called brewis (bruise). And, we use salt pork to fry things, too. This looks to me like a wet version of what we call "fried up brewis" which is a way to use up left overs.

[@TheRoseAlchemist]

This reminded me of an article where family donated a Civil War hardtack. Their ancestor had not only used it as a post card. But it was a 100+ year old heirloom, and still found to be edible. Nothing surprises me anymore.😂

[@ckbee279]

Lobscouse is a word that reminds me of the german dish Labskaus. It‘s famous in the north and consists of beetroot, potatoes, onions and corned beef, garnished with pickled gherkin, herring and a fried egg. Apparently neighbouring countries have their own variation of this stew sharing this name. The mash looks quite scary if you don‘t know what it contains, but it‘s really a comfort dish.

[@AMKB01]

The worms reminded me of a story my late father told me. He'd spent the last years of WWII as a prisoner, slaved out to farms in Germany. When the war ended, he stayed until he was able to immigrate to Canada. During that period, he got a job as a cook for German military officers. One time, he made pea soup using dried peas imported from the US. At one point during the cooking, he checked the pot and found the top filled with little "worms", with black eyes, floating on the top. All he could see where these half curled grubs, looking at him. He didn't have time to make another soup, so he scooped them out as best he could. The problem was, every time he tried to scoop them, they'd sink down into the soup. He got out what looked like all of them, but was very, very nervous when the soup was served. No one said a thing until, a couple of weeks later, he was chatting with one of the officers, who made a passing comment of, "you know, there was something funny about that pea soup you made..." My dad just played innocent and surprised, and said "oh... really? I wonder why?" (all in German, of course)

[@looksirdroids9134]

I'll take "things that didn't happen" for 50 points please.

[@AMKB01]

@@looksirdroids9134 what a strange and bizarre thing to say. I suspect this is coming from either a privileged little snowflake, completely detached from the hardships of real world, or a narcissistic troll, trying to call attention to themselves. I'd go with both, actually.

[@ardenfaust2527]

@@AMKB01 nice one👍 also mad respect to your late father’s mad culinary skills, and the little treat he left for the krauts

[@AMKB01]

@@ardenfaust2527 :-D Thanks!

[@deletedwaffles]

Should have served the Germans the soup with all the worms in it.

[@FleaChristenson]

“I will just have to pretend.” I laughed so hard. I’m sure you could find some worms somewhere if you looked hard enough, Max. Pet stores sell them. 😂

[@TastingHistory]

I’m happy to pretend 🤣

[@SireForseti]

i mean, there's a difference between impossible to find, and impossible to "find"

[@lordgarion514]

Oh, they're there. We just do a better job at making sure they're ground up and not still alive. Fun fact, since insects are in fact animals, vegans literally eat more animals than meat eaters do. The FDA food defect levels handbook lists everything allowed in our food.

[@sarahallegra6239]

@@lordgarion514 Ok, now I need to know :)

[@octochan]

Depends on what kind of worms you're looking for. I think the pet store might have difficulty sourcing worms that "taste as strong as mustard"

[@colleencupido5125]

From The Teaching Company to The Great Courses to Wondrium, these lecture have been a major part of my life since the origins in early 1990s (all same thing) That Civil War course you mentioned was their biggest course that changed completely my life, majoring in American History and the Civil War. My hubby and I had lunch with this Professor at The Huntington, where he was doing research for the current book he was writing, The Union War. One of my first Civil War classes at University, was taught by a delightful Professor- who made his own hardtack at home in his kitchen, and brought to class. Tasting was optional. I liked it, and got the rest of the bag of remainders. I enjoyed it, and it wasn't bad tasting. You might want to try the recipe in the Little House on the Prairie cookbook, published in the 1970s ( based on her books, NOT television series).

[@evanbrown5489]

I made hellfire stew today. I forgot to soak the hardtack in water first, so it's still quite hard, and I burnt it, so it's not exactly appealing, but y'know what? it's edible, and if I were hard up for food, I'd not turn up my nose

[@camelliarains8866]

I've seen food shows where people had ancestors that fought in the civil war and had some hard tack left over that was passed down generation to generation. They'd share a piece of that hard tack with whatever celebrity was there and according to them, it was still edible. I believe it.

[@vysharra]

Lol, that sounds like what we do in the West with papi’s prized Jackalope.

[@drpibisback7680]

Not that it was exceptionally edible when it was new, of course...

[@stephengardiner9867]

Something surprisingly akin to hardtack is still used in some traditional Newfoundland (Canada) recipes. As far as I know, it is simply called hard bread. It is tough as armour plate in its dry state and I am sure that you could use a slab of it to give your kitchen knives a proper fine edge! It does need to be soaked overnight unless you wish to use it as shrapnel rather than whipping up a "fish and Brewis". Unlike hardtack, this is still being made commercially by at least one company.

[@Just_Pele]

Some in the South had an advantage in hardtack, they would add the "finest of iron filings" (like an iron dust) into the flour. About one ladleful per 50 pound bag would "strengthen the bones and blood and make for stronger muscles". And it was true, because many soldiers suffered from anemia, though back then they didn't really know what was causing it. IMO, it's one of the first instances of purposely attempting to enrich flour. After many months some soldiers noticed that their hardtack was getting noticeably darker and reddish, and had a stronger flavor.

[@krankarvolund7771]

Rusted hardtack is not something I thought woul've existed one day XD

[@soxpeewee]

The southern army also ate more of the local vegetation like wild rampion and puffballs, as well as game to supplement their diet. Some union boys did too but most of the poor southern farmers were used to it.

[@guadaatenea]

There's a very similar more modern recipe in Argentina, with exactly the same cooking process but instead of hard tack you use old-hardened bread (and the fat could vary according to what you have at hand, be it pork or beef fat, or vegetable oil). If you have eggs, you can add them, that's an optional. It's the kind of thing you eat in hard times. It's named reviro.

[@OneAccord1]

We softened elbow macaroni and coated in a bacon grease/corn meal mix and fry in bacon grease. Called it poor man's macaroni so hard times food but one of my favorite sides regardless.

[@Frykoo]

Como las migas en España... cuando el hambre aprieta, el ingenio se agudiza

[@mwater_moon2865]

That with minced and sauted onions and celery is pretty much how I make stuffing. Which is traditional side dish at Thanksgiving around here....

[@CptnSavage]

Thanks for the journey mate! I owned Puget Sound Pirates for a number of years out here in Washington State, and we had a Living History Tent with exhibits from the golden days of pirates including Hard Tack! I baked enough of the hard tack at the start of the season [February or March] and it would always last through until November at the end of the season. Some people were brave [ill advised?] enough to try it and they always remarked that it was near impossible to break it with your teeth. LOL Good memories. Thank you again for the trip down memory lane. I'll keep watching, love your shows.

[@loganl3746]

Sounds like something I'd cook up during college haha. In all seriousness, those soldiers had ingenuity with dried breads I've only seen in Passover cookbooks!

[@firefly5247]

I gotta say, Max, I consistently find myself engrossed and enraptured by every single episode of this show. Even with the ones where I go, "Bah, I wouldn't care too much about Civil War hardtack, it's just more stale bread!" I invariably get drawn in by your wit, charisma, and ability to pull fascinating facts out of nowhere. This is a wonderful show, thanks for making it.

[@Reddotzebra]

Oh I assure you it is no mere stale bread, hardtack is the baking equivalent of concrete!

[@Constantina.Valenti]

My Father used to make hardtack, and he would eat it, just as is. I remember him encouraging me to try and piece, and I tried to bite it and then was worried that I would break my teeth, so I refrained from attempting again, but he loved the stuff.

[@goosiechild]

you, sir, are as wholesome as a ship's biscuit with extra weevils. love your show!

[@musicofthedaysubstack]

There's no other channel where that would be considered a compliment, but it's absolutely true.

[@EphemeralTao]

@@musicofthedaysubstack Well, maybe Townsends, but yeah. 🤣

[@musicofthedaysubstack]

@@EphemeralTao Fair point! My apologies to him 🤣

[@panderson9561]

I can remember reading a magazine I bought at the Vicksburg battlefield park when I was a kid. Somewhere in it was a story about Civil War rations that mentioned hard tack. One soldier was writing a letter home. He wrote that he came across something soft in his hard tack, a ten penny nail.

[@joels5150]

Having made Hardtack a few times, the most basic way to actually eat it is to just let the saliva in your mouth soften it up in portions (the biscuits should be on the smaller side for this; otherwise, you’ll have a big chunk hanging from your mouth while you wait). I also found that by not baking them as thoroughly as most recipes call for, you can get what I dub Super-Saltines. They are quite tough, but still chewable without needing to be pre-moistened. Of course, they don’t have the staying power of authentic hardtack, but they will easily last for a month or two if kept dry in the pantry.

[@rociodelmasbenito7750]

This is so interesting! I come from a region in Spain called Murcia. One of the best regional meals of Murcia (imho) is called Migas. It is a dish made out of bread that has hardened. The bread is soak in water until it’s soft again, then it is squeezed so that most of the water is wrung out. The bread is broken into crumbs (the Spanish word for crumbs is “migas” hence the name of the dish!) and these crumbs are fried in a pan with olive oil, whole garlic cloves, lardons, chorizo, and longaniza (and salt and pepper of course). The bread is fried until all the water has been fried out and the bread is toasted but not dried out. And since Murcia is the lemon region of Spain, no true Murcian would dig into his/her plate without first squeezing a healthy amount of lemon juice over their dish! Tradition goes that migas are eaten only on rainy days. Murcia, being a southern region, doesn’t get many of those!! However, this dish is so delicious that most people ignore that tradition and simply dig in! (Me included -chuckle-) If you ever find yourself in Murcia, I definitely recommend ordering some Migas 🤤

[@binx2smooth]

There's a Mexican breakfast dish by the same name made with stale maize tortillas. It's especially loved as a hangover food. :P

[@rociodelmasbenito7750]

@@binx2smooth Ha! Amazing :D I might be going to Mexico next year; I’ll keep an eye out for it!

[@KDizzy6]

I made some of this today & I added some pemmican to it. It was like that corned beef hash you can buy in the can. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

[@CursedDepartmentEastOffice]

I love the honesty of Tasting History. If a historical meal was good, he really is gonna say it tastes good. If it's not, you're gonna know it's not lol.

[@Makulax]

Never thought about it, but I've had to make hard tack due to lack of money to buy food. Kept me fed and it's good. Not anything I'd eat day to day, but during hardships its great.

[@JulieWallis1963]

I hope life has improved for you now.

[@drudle]

"Griddle cakes and honey without the honey." Just like bell peppers and beef, huh?

[@justanotheryoutubeaccount0]

I understood that reference

[@kennethwaight9051]

My father served in 2 Motor Transport Brigade* (British 1 Corps) from March ‘15 to early ‘19. When I once asked him what they were given to eat the answer was “Bully beef and hardtack”! Tea, and of course their rum ration. Métis.troops in the Canadian Expeditionary Force showed how to pound them into a serviceable’ ‘flour’ and make bannock. As a lorry driver he was able to scrounge herbs and the occasional egg, even wild berries in season.

[@massanylon]

Fun fact. Sir Ernest Shackleton (I presume it was common practice at the time) used the same practice of randomly issuing rations when they were stranded in the Antarctic for over 2 years when their ship the Endurance was crushed by pack ice in the Weddell Sea. Awesome you still have the hard tack!

[@massanylon]

Nice! I haven't read that one, I'llhave to check it out. I read 'Endurance:Shackleton's Incredible Voyage' by Alfred Lansing that featured a bunch of their journal entries. There's also a great older movie with Kenneth Branagh about it. As well as a PBS special with pro climbers recreating their journey to the whaling station from PBS? Oh, also an ongoing expedition to check out the ruins right now using underwater drones 8D edit:Incomplete book title

[@mnels5214]

Very fun fact!

[@HootOwl513]

He got his whole ship's company back to safety, alive. Shackleton did not lose one man.

[@massanylon]

@@HootOwl513 “For scientific discovery give me Scott; for speed and efficiency of travel give me Amundsen; but when disaster strikes and all hope is gone, get down on your knees and pray for Shackleton.” Sir Raymond Priestly, Antarctic Explorer and Geologist. 8D Totally epic story.

[@HootOwl513]

@@Matt-xc6sp [Never had it TBH] As I understand it, basic Hoosh is Pemmican mixed with crumbled biscuit [hard tack], plus chocolate drink mix, and canned condensed milk. Eaten piping hot from a Nansen Boiler. Seal meat would be a welcome extra. The Nansen cooker was designed to fit around a Primus kerosene stove, and had an outer chamber for melting snow and an inner pot for stewing the Hoosh. The Endurance crew also feasted on penguins, roasted like turkeys. Pemmican was made in the UK from beef, berries, nuts and fat. [Like an energy bar.] Native Americans invented it.

[@warnerpaau3706]

What an amazing video. I love learning about wartime foods. My father was born during WW2 and grew up impoverished in the post-war years, East Asian region. His family was too poor to buy the pickled vegetables they used to sell on the street, but they could afford the left over brine from the pickling, so they bought the brine, made a very thin porridge with the rice, and splashed brine water onto the porridge as flavoring. His entire family subsisted on this for years. Insane, the stories. When they could afford it they could buy a jar of pork fat (left over from roasting) and splash that on the rice porridge. When any child was sick my dad's grandmother would gather all the family savings and buy a little strip of beef, and cook it in the rice porridge as nourishment.

[@williams091479]

I made some hardtack years ago just messing around. I actually ate it raw over the period of a year or two. Just would take a biscuit out and slowly gnaw on it. It was plain, but having that hard crunch satisfied something in me.

[@BigRoofus999]

Love when the hard tack taps happen! According to a former teacher who did civil war re-enactment, the tool of choice to break down hard tack was a cannonball!

[@carloshenriquezimmer7543]

You mean they had to shoot at it, rigth?

[@craigbryant9925]

I burst into laughter every time the "clack clack" clip slips in. I'm glad you found a way to work through the trauma of that episode 😂 I lived off of ration packs for a while and each one had a stack of hard tack in that you would break teeth on if they weren't soaked. Breakfast was often a porridge of hard tack and coffee.

[@geomod6850]

Hunger truly is the best spice. Very informative and amusing. Great work. Thank you.

[@zachvanslyke4341]

Facts brother🙏

[@morganandwong]

To think my great etc grandfather lived like this. Really makes me appreciate how hard daily life was for these people.

[@RobinT346]

lobscouse became "scouse" which is the term for a meat stew in Liverpool. Different families will of course argue about what is a "proper" scouse recipe, but in my family it was essentially minced meat, peas and potatoes in gravy and I adore it.

[@Maeglin7936]

That sounds amazing. I may make that in a couple of days.

[@JoshuaC923]

Makes you treasure the relatively good times we live in now doesn't it

[@DerDoctor69]

Fun Fact: Lobscouse sounds really similar to the German dish of Labskaus which is (depending on the variant) also a kind of stew ish dish, made with either fish or beef and other stuff you have around like potatoes and pickles

[@noahanthonylopez]

Dam crout

[@Sam-gw5pl]

There is a dish in Liverpool, England called scouse. I don’t know if there is any connection though.

[@horstguntherludolf6357]

You forgot the key ingridient: Beetroot (Rote Beete) According to Wiki Labskaus and Scouse are the same. The Danish, Norwegians and Swedes also have there variants.

[@MichaelMartin-eh6wl]

So, you just kept my attention for 16+ minutes on a recipe that consists of bacon fat and water soaked crackers. I truly salute you sir. As and aside, I made your hard tack recipe, and I actually liked it.

[@jameshuss1828]

This man is an ARTIST FROM HISTORY TO THE COOKING…….. thank you SIR. You made my day

[@adman7784]

Here in Spain we have a traditional dish called "migas" ("crumbs" in english) and its so similar to this hell fire stew. Migas it´s made with bread with a week or two cutted into small pieces and mixed with olive oil, in what previously we fried garlics, chorizo, pork fat and sweet pepper. I like migas, so i think i will like the hell fire stew :D

[@rockstarJDP]

I love that you're looking at more modern history, as fascinating as the ancient civilisations are, learning about more recent times makes it all so much more tangible! Awesome job Max, I'd love to see your take on how military rations evolved from hard tack to modern day MREs and context involved! :)

[@howardjohnson2138]

As long as United States Army and Marines used to eating ''Rations'' C, K, and things like MREs often tired of them so found all kindsa ways to mix and match and add other things to break the monotony. One of the ways they did that was to add Tabasco Sauce. This was done SO often that little bottles of it began showing up in MRE packages.

[@gpweaver]

I grew up in Gettysburg; I remember seeing genuine hardtack from the battle in one of the museums and wondering what it tasted like. Imma make hardtack and Hell Fire for our next Cub Scout camping adventure.

[@monkofdarktimes]

I think someone ate a civil war hardtack

[@heehokuzunoha7757]

When I was in school some teacher or someone's parent made hardtack and we got to try it. It's definitely very hard. You kind of have to suck on it for a while so it can sort of rehydrate in your mouth before it's safe to start chewing. It tastes like a regular cracker without any buttery flavor. Just slightly salty and nothing else.

[@dennisbishop3842]

The hard tack "clack clack" never gets old.