How Gold Rush Miners Ate in the Wild West

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Subtitles: Jose Mendoza | IG @worldagainstjose
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Cornish Pasty: By User:Gvjekoslav, CC BY-SA 3.0, commons.wikime...
#tastinghistory #goldrush

[@TastingHistory]

Don't forget to Like/Subscribe and check us out on Reddit: www.reddit.com/r/TastingHistory/ and thank you for tuning in every Tuesday 8AM PST.

[@jeffbrady9448]

Max - we'll be needing Grandpa's biscuits and gravy recipe! :)

[@isaisa967]

Max can you do a what Queen Elizabeth and cleopatra ate video?

[@TastingHistory]

@@isaisa967 both are on the to do list

[@eropis]

Sort of reminds me of shit on a shingle.

[@JohnLeePettimoreIII]

what do you get when you drop a piano into a mine? A-flat miner.

[@thehunzz]

Gold Miner Menu - Successful day: Whiskey - Unsuccessful day: Whiskey

[@spartanalex9006]

What's the Old Joke, Liquor is the only steady business because when people are happy they drink and when they're down on their luck they still drink?

[@jorgelotr3752]

To be more precise: -Succesful day: celebratory whskey -Unsuccesful day: good ol' pain relieving whiskey If something is not broken, don't fix it, as they say.

[@lmpeters]

It's like Alton Brown said about champagne: "In victory, you deserve it. In defeat, you need it."

[@hailexiao2770]

@@jorgelotr3752 Successful day: Johnny Walker Blue Label Unsuccessful day: Black Velvet

[@MissLMND]

perhaps i am a gold miner

[@mirandamom1346]

My husband’s family discovered a mine in Montana in the 1880s. They promptly sold it and opened a general store in Butte. My grandfather in law once told me that the smart move wasn’t to dig for gold, it was to sell shovels to men who dug for gold.

[@ezraclark7904]

Only some win the lottery but all bought a ticket

[@michaelf.2449]

Butte? Very unfortunate lol just joking but that towns so sad

[@rootdoc1997]

Yes, that is what I read too. The people that owned the stores and sold the miners everything are the ones that made out

[@sugarrrfree]

Kinda like Instagram and influencers.

[@JustSomeBridgeTroll333]

My condolences for having anything to do with that freaking town. (As a Montanan, would know.)

[@The_Kentuckian]

"Stewed jackass rabbit" had me rolling. I'm sure it's the long name for a jack rabbit, but I like to imagine the writer just has a beef with rabbits.

[@einarhornraiser9019]

He was sleighted by a rabbit 12 years ago in some illicit activity in which he never should have involved himself and he's *still* pretty salty over it. Meanwhile, there's a family of rabbits somewhere that ask Pawpaw Rabbit at every family gathering to re-tell the incredible story of how he successfully managed to "pull one over" on a human in a saloon all those years ago.

[@jwalster9412]

Probably from a time where people weren't as sensitive to swearing..

[@Eric-vs2he]

Napoleon definitley wrote that book

[@biohazard724]

A grey rabbit with a white belly mocked him

[@liberalsockpuppet4772]

Beef with rabbits. That’s just putting a hat on a hat.

[@calisweete]

4th grade teacher in California here! You don’t understand how excited this video makes me! I will be making biscuits and gravy with my students during our gold rush unit next school year. To analyze the gold rush through a gastronomist lens is absolutely exhilarating. I know my students will love it. Thank you max!

[@fiastylie]

4th grade was a crazy year for me. My parents split up but I loved school. My teacher got together with 2 others and spray painted rocks gold for us to pan out of a little creek in a local park. Almost 90 kids walking down the street dressed like miners! Almost 40 yrs later and I have great memories thanks to dedicated educators just like you!

[@toneenorman2135]

Oysters! Hangtown hash…

[@trenae77]

For years our 6th grade classes (two in a smaller country school) would devote the whole 2nd semester to studies of the Middle Ages. History, English, even math and science revolved around the period. Throughout we would play 9 Man’s Morris - the teachers broke up a map of England into portions and each student started with one. Throughout the semester as we won and lost properties, we culminated in a feast and each received rank based on how much property we retained. I was a Marquess and my brother was a Duke.

[@Enolagay1945]

Teachers ALWAYS have to tell everyone they're a teacher. Losers

[@GeraldWalker-p6l]

What a true and excellent teacher I had a few of those

[@robroaring7175]

The Cornish pastie was designed especially for the English miners. It was shaped the way it was, so it could be placed in the helmet of said miner, so it would be quite warm when eaten. Also, the original pastie, had a turned piece of pastry at each end, so the coal miner could hold the pastie with his filthy fingers and eat it, then discard those end bits. I’m a 54 yo Pastry-chef, and when I was a 16yo apprentice, I had a teacher who was from Cornwall in England. His Da, and Grand da where miners. This came straight from him. Such an amazing man he was.

[@obnoxiouspedant]

Never knew this about one of my favourite snacks, cheers for sharing mate

[@zerogee768]

If I recall also, they sometimes had a jam section in one half, partitioned by a slice of pastry. The pasty was a fine invention

[@j.d.e.7416]

@@zerogee768, gotta have dessert.

[@balls9420]

Cornwall isnt English.

[@TimidLecher]

my fat butt would still eat the coal coated corners 😁

[@ling_zip]

The Chinese coin shown at 15:53 says 乾隆通寶 ("Circulating Currency of the Qianlong Reign")! The Qianlong Emperor (that's a regnal title, not a name) ruled from 1739 - 1796, so it's probably a lot older than any of the miners that might have used it!

[@dannork1240]

That’s awesome, thank you for the translation 👍🏼

[@lenabreijer1311]

Old coins are frequently used as a good luck piece in the west so maybe that was a miner's hope. And he lost it...

[@010101110100]

It’s also been found that much of the gold taken from South America after 1492 went - via Spain - to China, making this something of a full circle :-)

[@gussie88bunny]

​@@dannork1240 agreed, epic little addition. Love the nuance of history

[@mistformsquirrel]

That's super cool!

[@bustedkeaton]

0:59 [Cookie from 'Atlantis: The Lost Empire' voice] I got your 4 basic food groups! Beans, bacon, whiskey, and lard!

[@heatherjasper97]

Lettuce? Lettuce?!

[@TheGallantDrake]

What in tarnation...

[@jokodihaynes419]

It's a vegetable cookie the men need their four basic food groups

[@melissahughes4205]

Sy-lan-trow? what the cockadoodle is sy-lan-trow?!?

[@tannerknighton]

Was going to comment this! 😄

[@ardenlorken]

The hard tack joke will never grow old and I can't wait when Max mentions it and I can go Clack-Clack myself with a smile.

[@ozmagirl84]

Same same….we love the hard tack joke in this house 😂

[@MossyMozart]

However, as they say in architecture, "less is more".

[@cprestia]

@@MossyMozartor, as they said in architecture in Victorian times, “too much of a good thing is never enough,” and “nothing succeeds like excess.” 😊

[@flowertrue]

I feel the same way! It makes me laugh every time.

[@dragonqueenarts]

Hardtack jumpscare! lol

[@Duskets]

“And how would you like your steak cooked?” “Evil”

[@ellenjampole1905]

😂😂

[@UncleCharlie2.0]

With a side of deviled bones. “Hot Wings”

[@keithbarlow9701]

The most metal way to have your steak cooked.

[@RogueWave2030]

😂

[@FelisImpurrator]

To be fair, that is how I'd describe steak that well done.

[@nicoles9373]

As a Canadian who is fond of our neighbours to the south, I can honestly say that biscuits and gravy is the best thing to have ever come out of the United States.

[@mudotter]

Funnel cakes are pretty amazing too.

[@jamesrbretz]

KFC

[@Your-Least-Favorite-Stranger]

We are likewise happy with your poutine, but as is our nature: We're prone to making it our own way. (In the southwest US I've had it with green chile country gravy - not a favorite tbh, but it was interesting).

[@mudotter]

@@prehistorymystery In Canada, Yes, meatloaf is a staple of home cooking and you can buy premade ones. And Shepherd's pie, meatloaf with mashed potatoes baked on top.

[@kingalphawerewolf]

@@mudotter Premade meatloaf :

[@mil_enrama]

Fun fact relating to the Chinese prospectors: the original Chinese word for California is 金山 gam saan (pronounced "gum sawn") which means "gold mountain" or "gold mine"! California was so synonymous with the gold rush that when you were going to california, you just said "I'm going to the Gold Mine".

[@michaelmurphree4972]

My Mandarin Chinese textbook from the early 2000s still called San Francisco 旧金山、 Old Gold Mountain!

[@vilhelmlin1]

@@michaelmurphree4972 I'm fairly confident that most Chinese speakers still use the name Old Gold Mountain when referring to the city of San Francisco

[@Blumpkinthehobbit]

@vilhelmlin1 We do

[@hoilst265]

Funner fact: After California got played out, they started calling Australia New Gold Mountain.

[@thanakonpraepanich4284]

@@hoilst265 Some said Queenstown, New Zealand was the third one. And after the mines were petered out, they crossed the Southern Alps to settle in Otago operating green grocers, the precursor of Kiwi's dairies. One of them open a shirt factory.

[@Great_Olaf5]

The reason for mixing the baking soda into the milk first is that old baking soda wasn't as good as it is today, it could take some time to activate, and often needed to be hydrated before it was put into whatever you were making.

[@jamesellsworth9673]

Thanks for posting. I never knew that!

[@flamingspinach]

Isn't baking soda just sodium bicarbonate? How could it have worked differently in the past? Was it adulterated, or not ground finely enough, or something?

[@Great_Olaf5]

@@flamingspinach You might be right, I might have mixed up baking soda and baking powder. Alternatively, it might have to do with how it was made, how pure it was, either from production or intentional additions for varying possible purposes.

[@Chef_PC]

​​@@flamingspinachIn the same way that modern baking powder gets old and loses its effectiveness. Hence the expiration dates. But it was very possibly cut with something else to stretch it.

[@jonored]

@@flamingspinach My guess would be simply "it was not reliably ground into a flour-like powder", if it's bigger grains and/or clumpy you'd do better dissolving it into the liquid.

[@AR-ln7ip]

Crazy to think that since tortoises can live almost (possibly more than) 200 years, some of those tortoises killed in the mid-1800s could have been still alive today.

[@anthonytuccillo6274]

I bet a lot of them that were killed were the large ones that were already around 100 years old or more.

[@manicmuffin]

@@anthonytuccillo6274 Galapagos tortoises are fully grown by 25 years old.

[@anthonytuccillo6274]

@manicmuffin They reach maturity around that age but usually don't stop growing for another 10-20 years.

[@ratemisia]

I'd love to think the tortoises that outran the terrible tortoise hunters are still munching cluelessly on leaves and grass to this day.

[@anthonytuccillo6274]

@@ratemisia haha, me too ❤️

[@frugalprepper]

My dad grew up in Appalachia with 11 brothers on sister and his mother. He grew up by a town called Hanging Dog in North Carolina, in a one room cabin without electricity or running water. His dad left when he was 4. The lived on biscuits and gravy. The grew the wheat harvested it and trashed it by hand. Carried into Murphy on there backs and the mill kept half and milled the other half into flour for them. Some of them worked on a dairy farm so the got milk for free and churned there own butter. The also grew green beans and canned them in old wire bail mason jars. My dad had to watch the fire and keep the water boiling for them. One year they had bologna for Christmas and it was a big deal, he had never had it before. My dad saw his first electric light bulb when he was 14 and the moved to Ohio.

[@wmluna381]

Thank you for sharing these details and admire the way you commemorated your father. Loved it 😊

[@CrazyJaketheTerrible]

Hey Max! Fantastic episode! As an historic archaeologist, I love the episodes on historic miners and saloons! Be sure to let folks know, don't take artifacts if you find them while out on the range, just take pictures - and stay out of old mines, they're deathtraps now. 😁

[@jayviescas7703]

My guess for why she mixed the salty baking soda into the milk is that they didn't have access to anti-clumping agents like silicon dioxide back then and dry sodium bicarbonate mixed with sodium chloride probably clumped more than either salt compound would by itself and moisture would help them to un-clump resulting in a smoother mixture. Just a guess based on years of cooking and having worked in a chemistry stockroom while an undergrad in college.

[@angelface925]

I thought it would be because maybe they didn't have a lot of the dry mixture. Like, when I make pancakes, I add more dry ingredients to thicken it. If the dry was a finite resource, I'd add it to the smaller amount of liquid. Your guess sounds better than mine lol😅

[@orionriley5154]

Another reason would probably be to check that it was actually active as food quality regulation barely existed. Therefore it was entirely possible that you didn't get what you were sold, hence why a lot of marketing materials for packaged ingredients such as flour tended to tout how pure their product was.

[@giraffesinc.2193]

That's a very educated guess! Thank you!

[@JoaoPessoa86]

"I don't need to make that many biscuits" well that's quitter talk

[@wisecoconut5]

😂😂😂

[@USNVA11]

Words never uttered in a southern household. 😁

[@MrOstereier]

well there might not be need, but desire

[@jenniferalexander920]

🤣🤣🤣

[@bdavis7801]

🤣👏

[@josepholiveira2873]

I grew up in gold rush country, not far from Placerville and Angel's Camp. My class went on a camping trip along the banks of a creek where we did a small Gold Rush LARP. The kids would pan the river for black sand; we'd then turn the sand in to the teachers running the 'bank', who would give us play-money based on the quantity and purity of the sand. The play-money could be used to buy candy and snacks at a store. Every kid was allowed to have one turn as a shopkeep at the store, keeping the play-money they got while working. Inevitably, the shopkeeps would make far, far more money than the 'gold'-panners, which wound up being the Big Lesson of the trip--that the people who got rich off the gold rush were the people selling supplies, not the miners. We also, of course, had a dinner of pork and beans.

[@elizabethtatum-soprano]

I went to college in Stockton so I learned a lot about Angel's Camp, Placerville, and Sutter's Fort.

[@tikamajere316]

Hello!! I grew up in the area too!! Small world! lol

[@b4ptist]

Sounds like a lot of fun! what a great way to learn! kudos to your teachers.

[@Your-Least-Favorite-Stranger]

I like the idea that your teacher took the black sand home, fully panned it, and got a decent amount of gold dust out of the lesson (owing to how many classes get to do this over the years). The shopkeepers made money off miners, and the history teacher made money off minors.

[@pilsplease7561]

My family actually came over from italy, and struck it rich one of very few in the Angels Camp area that actually succeeded in striking gold and ran a mine successfully before pivoting to winemaking that died during prohibition but my grandmother remembers as a child helping her grandfather make wine as they had tried to restart the winery but it failed after prohibition. They still owned and planned to reopen the mine but the family member who was in talks with investors to open the mine back up died in a horrific plane crash as he was a pilot and that killed the mine being reopened the family still owns it but it has never been mined again.

[@lordflashheart3706]

Alot of people disparage biscuits and gravy but man, there is nothing quite like greeting a cold, frosty morning with a plate of it and a mug of hot black coffee

[@MsLeenite]

So we got to see 3 Maxes in this episode: Cerro Gordo Max, Editor Max, and Clack-Clack Max. Groovy!

[@DonnaDaughertygps]

I live in the Galapagos Islands and wasn’t expecting a Galapagos story. The population of tortoises has not returned to the numbers in the 1850’s they have made some great progress in returning the Giant tortoises population.

[@MossyMozart]

@DonnaDaughertygps - Have you read Nathaniel Philbrick's 2001 history, _In the Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex?_ As a resident of the Galapagos, it will infuriate you and cause heartbreak. >_

[@fmcdomer]

Were they tasty?

[@flowertrue]

Good to know. I was horrified to hear people used to eat them!

[@simonmeeds1886]

@@fmcdomer kzbin.info/www/bejne/sIHKmHVqgsuDpM0si=owItfzPM8rAba9eQ

[@susantumblety6003]

They still eat turtles. Big ones. Super sad. Not sure which country, but there are still barbaric countries. Including our own. Killing rabbits and frogs. Ugh. I love being a vegetarian

[@catherineoneal1030]

When I lived in Maine, I always made Biscuits and Gravy (used sausage instead of salt pork, THAT was for N.E. Clam Chow-dah) for my late husband on the first day of hunting season. It was a very early rise for us and it was one of the few days we actually ate breakfast together as the winter weather was setting in. For the women that day it was shopping at the local department store where they offered 40% off from 6 am till 7 am, 30% off from 7 am till 8 am and so forth till they ran out of %. I always got there before 6 so that I could do my Christmas shopping that day. I relished that day every year till he died in January of 2005. I still try to have biscuits and gravy every year in his memory, though I have to honestly say I have missed a couple here and there.

[@MossyMozart]

That's a sweet story.

[@hisnameisiam808]

Thank you for this story. We have similar traditions. What did he hunt? Jesus loves you! ❤️

[@claire8011]

I really appreciate you sharing such a beautiful story

[@vaughnsadekni665]

I really love reading people's stories and memories. Thank you so much for sharing 🙂

[@catherineoneal1030]

@@hisnameisiam808 He hunted for deer. We had venison in the freezer for much of our winter meat. We also had some bear, but that was gifted to us. We also used to make a pot of either venison stew or chili during the snowmobile rally in the winter for any of the ralliers that might want a bite to eat during the rally. We met and became friends with a few hungry folks that took us up on the offer. We did that for as many years that the rally route passed by our house. Another great memory I carry with me. I thank the Lord for giving us this opportunity to do his work. Thank you for your blessing!

[@juniperlau]

I'm so conditioned that when Max says "biscuits" I automatically think of ships' biscuits and pause what I'm doing to wait for the clack clack. 😂

[@nanoblock6602]

Max admitting his mistake and not blaming the recipe made me like him even more.

[@ScholarlyScalawag]

0:10 quite possibly the rawest, most primal and honorable description of a group of men ive ever heard

[@komradechampa348]

Sourdough is a term used during the Klondike gold rush in the Yukon as well. If you are new to the Yukon you're a "cheechako" but once you've survived all 4 seasons you're a "sourdough".

[@Kit-vb5rm]

My Grandfather was Scottish. He would make Scots pancakes, a mix of flour, a little baking powder, milk 😊with a little water, salt and a handful or two of dried fruit. He would make this into a dough and form several small flat patties and cook them in the cast iron oven alongside the fire grate. Coming in from school on a cold day, we were greeted with a cup of tea and a plateful of these delicious cakes. And they were delicious.

[@happycook6737]

That sounds so yummy!

[@hansmemling2311]

That’s an awesome grandpa.

[@daviddebroux4708]

Sounds delightful.

[@christinegraham2579]

You were so lucky to have such a wonderful Grandpa! 💖💖💖

[@Your-Least-Favorite-Stranger]

​@@jollygoodshowWe renamed things because for quite some time we werent exactly on speaking terms with the British. Call it a silly little misunderstanding regarding taxes and sovereignty.

[@DOSBoxMom]

The location recordings for your "waiting for renovated kitchen" videos add depth to the historical backgrounds you provide for the recipes. I like them!

[@terminallumbago6465]

Right. How fitting to do a video about the gold rush while you’re actually in California (or were)?

[@SugarBooger10]

Yes 🙌 I luv it ❤️

[@PamelaVidler]

I know I've written this about a hundred times, but I'm going to write it again. I LOVE YOUR VIDEOS!!!! They are so interesting and informative. I know you want your kitchen back, but I am really enjoying these new "Out of kitchen" adventures. I grew up camping all over California, and exploring these places before they were taken over by the government. I've found old coins and equipment in mines and gone into old buildings left by miners and their families with personal items still in them. We never took anything from those. My father said it was disrespectful to them, and to future people who might want to see how people lived back then. You bring that same kind of respect to all your videos. I too love biscuits and gravy. Yours looked delicious!

[@otterwench]

we have corn allergies in the house. most baking powder (cream of tarter and baking soda) has corn starch in it. We mix up our own, and without the corn starch it is hard and lumpy, thus we add the home made baking powder to the liquid instead of the flour when making biscuits or quick breads.

[@theeddorian]

Some pasties were meat, potatoe/turnip, and onion on one end and on the other, across an internal divide, was fruit filled. One of my friends who is descended from emigrant Cornish miners explained that this was a treat for a "good" husband.

[@1224chrisng]

I saw this on Jamie Oliver, he made a pasty called a Bedfordshire Clanger I think

[@adreabrooks11]

I wonder how they told which end was which. :)

[@brettevill9055]

@@adreabrooks11 The baker marked her husband's or son's initial or other mark on the sweet end. All the pasties got lowered into the pit in a basket, then each miner took the one with his mark on it and ate the savoury end hot. And then you saved the sweet end for later, with your mark still on it to prevent "confusion". It was the mark of a good baker then to make a pastry that didn't break despite robust handling - none of your light and flaky pastries but a good hot-water crust.

[@anthonyjackson280]

I was going to comment the same thing. The sweet or desert end is what makes it a 'Cornish Pasty'. Also called 'Tiddy (or Tiggy) Oggy.

[@adreabrooks11]

@@brettevill9055 Interesting! One more personal touch on an already lovely care package.

[@DopaminedotSeek3rcolonthree]

I love exposing my non-American friends to biscuits and gravy! Their confused (And often disgusted) initial reactions are unusually pleasant to see, and then the moment where it clicks that it's completely different to what they were imagining!

[@hansmemling2311]

The gravy reminds me of vol au vent. Is it similar?

[@hilarylonsdale608]

You're right, it is the same recipe for vol au vent filling. Thick white sauce with a bits of whatever is flavouring it.

[@harvestmoon_autumnsky]

I've eaten gravy all of my life only to kind of realize that it's flour sauce.

[@andersjjensen]

I eat left over sauce/gravy with potato chips, so the first time I heard of the concept my immediate though was "that makes sense". But I always figured you'd scoop up the gravy with the biscuits until I saw a picture of a serving. I also didn't imagine it would be a white gravy... But as a base concept of "a thick-ish savoury sauce with or without meat in it, eaten with something starch based that is crisp" it makes total sense and isn't even that far off, say, french fries and sauce bearnaise.

[@Luneowl]

@@andersjjensenI have a small craving for poutine now, with all this fried potatoes in various forms and gravy. I wonder if poutine is ever made with white gravy?

[@Tadicuslegion78]

Gold Rush General store 1849: Your total comes up to a gazillion dollars. Miner: I only have a T-Rex and a go fish card

[@girlkisser]

animal crossing type inventory

[@gussie88bunny]

😂

[@Mr_Amit]

The Hardtack joke never gets old 🤣

[@FowlFolk]

Now that you mention sourdough and the west, I recall it being a part of the tall tails I read as a child. I once read a few of the Pecos Bill stories. One talked about his dog losing his tail (I think it got cut off). Bill tried to glue it back on with a piece of sourdough, but his dog was so happy, he wagged the tail right off again.

[@borland8513]

I don't know about anyone else, but I really appreciate you adding the little clip about the mistake you made. Thank you for the honesty.

[@edwardphillips8460]

It is my opinion that little mistakes like that in a kitchen are what truly evolves cooking. The lack of baking sofa here, did not make the biscuit so hard they couldn’t be ate. Which means that when hard pressed you don’t need the baking soda.

[@ingriddaniel766]

Yep - I also appreciate your honesty! Mistakes happen, and it is good to know that even famous folks like yourself goof sometimes. Hang in there - you are doing great- and keep sharing recipes, even if something gets forgotten!

[@elizabethtatum-soprano]

Agree!

[@ConstantChaos1]

Fun facts: The oysters used to fill protect and filter the New York harbor and there are currently projects to restore the oysters as living storm breaks that will grow with sea level rise and to clean the harbor an oyster can filter 50-200 gallons of water a day and save lives from increasingly eradicating weather.

[@TastingHistory]

I touch on that a bit in my NY oyster episode: kzbin.info/www/bejne/Zqm1ZGmZpbpke68si=XBOlZJawvAPejasP

[@joshuaabe4832]

I teach history in Placerville. This warmed my heart. Sutter's Mill was just outside of town and Gold Rush history saturates our curriculum. Come up for a long weekend! The area is full of history

[@MR2spyder100]

I really enjoyed visiting the State Park there! Very interesting history.

[@WastrelWay]

When I was a kid, my parents took a vacation along Highway 49 that I'll never forget. We found a place run by an old prospector who had figured he'd do better by not doing the work himself. Instead, he had a pile of gold-bearing material that he dug up with a backhoe, He charged $5, I think it was, for you to dig up a shovelful, and he would teach you how to pan gold. You got to keep what you found in a little glass vial that he provided.

[@cygnata]

The hometown of the guy who owned Sutter's Mill is just across the river from me! Lambertville, NJ.

[@dmbalsam]

My husband has an Aunt from there and has a long family history there. She claimed that the real main vein of gold has never been found. We visited one Easter decades ago.

[@juliabaum8832]

He said Placerville correctly, too, I'm so happy!🤣

[@comcastjohn]

I have enjoyed your videos a lot over the past six months. I saw one where you had published a cookbook and I have just purchased it and it will arrive tomorrow. Thank you very much for what you do. I have learned so much and can’t wait to try the recipes. Keep up the great work sir! 😇😎👊

[@TastingHistory]

Thanks for the support!

[@ronlussier8570]

Best history episode! Thanks for the video - I learned a lot. I grew up in California and I didn't know about the popularity of sourdough bread with miners or the alternate name for Placerville. Thanks Max!

[@marylist1236]

Pasties. I live in Michigan, and we had Cornish miners worked the copper mines in the Upper Peninsula, and they brought pasties to the mines for their lunch. Cornish women were Cousin Jennies

[@janjkey]

Can confirm. I grew up on them.

[@a.m.7877]

Yep. Didn’t realize they weren’t a nationwide thing until I moved out of state and couldn’t find pasties in the freezer aisle of grocery stores anymore! lol

[@mattpowell06]

Excellent video! While not a miner, I made biscuits and gravy yesterday for breakfast! Here’s two tips: when cooking in a cast iron skillet, preheat you skillet by placing it in the oven while it preheats as well. Also, crowd your biscuits making the edges touch to make them rise a bit more. Enjoy!

[@TheoRae8289]

It hurts my soul a little when people don't let their biscuits touch.

[@rainydaylady6596]

How does the biscuits touching make them rise more? Is this a euphemism? 😃🖖💕

[@gussie88bunny]

​@rainydaylady6596 you gotta let your biscuits hold hands. It improves their morale, and thus the rise. Slightly more seriously, I've only made biscuits n gravy once and they were not crowded and turned out low and hard. So I'm giving that touching shenanigans a whirl to see if it doesn't improve things. On a side note, Grandma said the same about scones .... they gotta touch, her explanation being they would expand into each other and force upward rise, which in her estimation was better than horizontal 'rise'. That's all I've got. A good day to you Madam, Gus

[@carriertone]

Also, don't twist the biscuit cutting tool. Just press it down. Twisting makes them not rise as well.

[@nininoona]

As a southerner, Biscuits and Gravy have been a mainstay in my life since I was a child (for over four decades). It is a dish that we had regularly, think 3-4 times a week, for breakfast. I once asked my mom, now in her 70s, where the recipe came from and all she could tell me was that it was something that she had almost every morning growing up. My grandparents were sharecroppers and had a brood of ELEVEN children (Back in the day when "You didnt hire farmhands, you made 'em.") And biscuits and gravy was one of the MOST economical ways of feeding everyone. To this day, my grandmother's biscuit recipe is a family secret passed down to the generations. I have never met anyone outside my family that could make a biscuit as good as hers. Note: "If you ain't using lard to make your biscuits, you ain't making biscuits." (according to my grandmother.)

[@polarbearsaysyummy5845]

😊 Lard is definitely the way to go.

[@thenovicenovelist]

I'm from the Appalachian Mountains in the South and last year I was curious about where biscuits and gravy came from. I looked it up and it turns out supposedly they were created by southerners in the southern Appalachian area of the US 😮. I originally thought it was brought over from the UK or Ireland but supposedly it's more American than apple pie 😊.

[@joshuafletcher598]

Yup mom and aunt and memaw were from the south and they made me and my cousin homemade biscuits and gravy all the time it was so good!!

[@spinstercatlady]

​@thenovicenovelist it's definitely a Southern thing bc if you go up north and order biscuits and gravy they'll look at you like you're crazy lol. I'm also from the Appalachian region of Kentucky, and B&G has been.a staple of our diets for as long as I can remember.

[@marcilk7534]

I love biscuits and gravy, but being from Wisconsin it wasn’t a food tradition here. I don’t remember my mom making homemade biscuits ever. I’ve struggled to learn to make biscuits with that good rise to them. I finally found a recipe that worked for me, non-traditional but came out nearly perfect (just needed less salt). It’s something I can only eat on rare occasion because my stomach can’t take too much. There is a recipe in southern Illinois that had the best biscuits and gravy I’ve ever tasted, gave them free with breakfast. I wish I could remember the name of the restaurant.

[@Brucoms]

First time commenting on your videos, and I gotta say, as a cornishwoman myself it's awesome to hear us get a mention in! Perhaps a look at some Cornish recipes in the future? Maybe pasties, or hevva cake, or saffron cake? Regardless, I love watching your videos; you do awesome work. You manage to tap into my love of cooking and history at the same time.

[@jezkell]

As an Ecuadorian I'm glad Caspar was a pretty terrible turtle catcher, we're still going through it in recovering them, they're absolutely gorgeous and definetly huge! Great video as always Max

[@Nunyobidne55]

I wanna see a Max Miller and Kent Rollins collaboration on Chuck Wagon Cooking and its role in the westward expansion of the USA.

[@z2ei]

Seconding this! Two of my favorite KZbin food channels.

[@Watervampire1]

Saaaaame!! I want more collabs

[@Hollowminder]

This is a brilliant idea

[@jeghaterdegforfaen]

I bet Max can't dance like Kent Rollins XD

[@Nunyobidne55]

@@jeghaterdegforfaen i bet he cant jitter-bug like ole Kent either. I’d love to see Max try!

[@arisgaliatsatos595]

7:32 Holy shit The sign on the right shop in the picture of San Francisco says "Coffee House :The Constantinople" in Greek!! I had no idea Greeks were present at that part of the world around that time period! What a nice detail😊

[@firefighter1c57]

The US has been a melting pot of people, culture and food since before it's existence. There are still Russian Orthodox Churches in parts of Alaska to this day, and unofficial food of Nebraska is a German bierock, also called runz, to the point Nebraska has its own chain of Runza restaurants.

[@PeggyKTC]

8:00 There is currently a project to try and rebuild native wild oyster reefs in the San Francisco Bay, in part because they filter the water.

[@pepsdeps]

In Mexico, the Cornish miners that came to work the mines also brought Pastys, which we ended up calling Pastes. They are now popular in the mining state of Hidalgo, and it is said there that the harder crust rim of pastys were made that way, so the dirty sooty hands of miners had a handle for the food, and then they disposed of the nasty hard crust.

[@furrycircuitry2378]

Yep I ate a bunch of pastes in my various trips around Mexico after ending up in Hildalgo I saw pastes kikos plastered everywhere and had to try one they were great especially the hawaiian one which as you may already know is pork ham with cheese and pineapple. Very delicious I liked those also tried the ones for sell on the side of the road and in the tianguis. I forget what the town is called but near the Cerro de los Frilès they sell some really great pastes overall 10/10 would eat again

[@robertojosedgzmoro]

There is a town around there called Arenal, the make a mean barbacoa!

[@furrycircuitry2378]

@@robertojosedgzmoro all of hildalgo makes splendid Barbacoa mmm thank you for the memories I miss those delicious kilos of Barbacoa

[@frejaboo]

As a Cornish person I love to read comments like this 😊

[@hoilst265]

Yeah, the original ones were savoury in the main part - but with a little pocket of fruit in a separate corner for desert - perhaps a figgyhobbin. The pastry was basically the aluminium foil of the day - tough and inedible, maybe just flour and water and maybe a little lard to give it some flex just so it didn't crack open in the miner's pocket. You did not the pastry, which would've been like leather, but less tasty. Only the filling.

[@karlbrundage7472]

Whenever friends and family visit our mountain home I always do at least one breakfast of biscuits and sausage gravy. I also do eggs to order and usually have hash-browns and/or home fries, and the bride always has a nice fruit plate cut up for the continental breakfast aficionados. We've never had a complaint about our breakfast spread.

[@weldonwillingham5626]

The salt pork was not cut up. The rind was simply removed then fried like bacon after the salt was removed. The gravy is the same but the presentation eliminated black pepper. This same recipe was used for breakfast throughout the depression and even after the rationing with the exception of adding a splash of sweet milk to the gravy and biscuit mix which had become more widely available but was still spared in its uses.

[@k80_]

Funny about these mines (and the Owens valley itself) building LA: I’ve explored a few of the abandoned mines in the area with my dad and in one of them we found a ton of artifacts including clothing and newspaper clippings ….for apartment listings in Los Angeles! The “new construction” listings were built around the early 1940s. It was really cool to find

[@uk-hon5769]

Junket is not made with curdled milk, it uses what's left over from making clotted cream (made by slowly heating high fat milk) rennet is then added after the cream is skimmed off. So it's made more much more like a cheese. My maternal grandmother always used to make her own clotted cream, often made junket but also she and grandpa used to put the effectively skimmed milk half and half with fresh milk in their tea or for baking .It's texture? A bit reminiscent of really cheap low fat set yoghurt. It's pretty tasteless so sugar and a grating of chocolate on top were her preferred flavourings.. Think you are going to have to make both and some scones, Max. Oh and to end the cream or jam first debate, jam goes on first if the scones are warm (to stop the cream from melting too much, cream first if the scones are cold (more aesthetically pleasing).

[@hogwashmcturnip8930]

I have never heard that explanation for the jam/¡cream debate before. I don´t think it will convince anyone in Devon or Cornwall. I am diplomatic. I eat my scone in 2 halves. I do Jam/cream on one and cream/jam on the other. And you know what? It makes no damn difference!

[@uk-hon5769]

Does if the scones are warm/cold. one maternal unit Devon, the other Cornish my mum born and raised in Truro. Umm and are those with Mc or Mac in their surnames even allowed an opinion in this (spurious) Devon v Cornwall 'debate'?@@hogwashmcturnip8930

[@chrism7395]

The explanation I was told is that the cream goes on top if it's high quality clotted cream (i.e. stuff with a high fat content and therefore more expensive) as you want to show that you're serving the good stuff

[@hilarylonsdale608]

While agreeing about junket, I must respectfully disagree about jam and cream. I have friends from both Cornwall and Devon.

[@susannewcomer9614]

In the 1960s, my mother used to buy a sort of pudding mix called Junket. She said that doctors recommended it for children. I am assuming it still contained rennet.

[@Life_Hays]

the serotonin boost I get every time Max says hard tack and the video pops up!!! I long await the moments of hard tack striking each other 😊😊

[@HowIMetHelen]

Oh how I miss growing up in central California along the American River! Folsom area still has my heart, even 25 years later, and I still make biscuits and gravy in a similar fashion, the way my dad taught me. Sourdough is in my blood❤

[@walkingTANK]

As someone who lived in Placerville, thanks Max for saying it correctly! You can still get a proper "Hangtown Fry" at the Buttercup Pantry in Old 'Hangtown' right off US50 on Main St. I've never tried one, but there's a warning on the menu saying to order at your own risk!

[@antiisocial]

Editor Max seems like a smart dude. You should keep him around.

[@johnbaker6125]

One thing I learned after 40+ years of cooking biscuits and gravy is that you can also control how thick the gravy will be by how long you simmer the roux. Cooking it longer makes the gravy thinner. Of course you can go too far! From what I have read is that Saleratus was easily found in dried western lakes along the Oregon trail, so it was easy to get as people moved west.

[@Gutslinger]

The roux, which is the fat and flour. Interesting. I've personally never noticed it. I like to cook mine a while until it starts to brown a little. Then add the milk.. I always been of the belief that the thickness of your gravy is primarily determined by your milk/roux ratio.

[@jacktingey7886]

I work in teaching Old West history in Utah, and it is so fun to see it represented through food! We tell people about Tasting History all the time at our visitor center.

[@lightspeed4596]

I frequently visit the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, which is famous for their pasties, as many of the copper miners in the U.P. were Cornish. I tried a venison pasty last summer, with a side of wonderful, hot, dark brown gravy. Wow. I highly recommend this to you folks.

[@brooklynnchick]

I make cooking mistakes often and part of what I love about your channel is that you’re honest about mistakes just being part of life. When we acknowledge our mistakes we give others the safety to be imperfect as well. Thank you for also cooking up some safety alongside biscuits and gravy! ❤

[@bebopblah3995]

As an Australian I've long known what you call Busicuts and Gravy is NOT the same as what we use those terms for, but it was nice to finally see what exactly is being made under those names. While also learning why they became popular in the first place. Very informative.

[@andreagriffiths3512]

Hi fellow Aussie! I made some but I made a cheese sauce (gravy) like you’d make for Mac Cheese, and fried some nice sliced sausages and added them to the sauce. It was very odd eating plain scones with it and it kinda looked like vomit but it tasted just fine. It was an interesting meal that I doubt I’ll ever make again.

[@zoogie980]

@@andreagriffiths3512 whatever you just described is not biscuits and gravy LOL

[@andreagriffiths3512]

@@zoogie980 yes well, my tastebuds are offended by a pale, washed out, gravy that looks about as tasty as clagg (a primary school glue paste) so I made an acceptable cheese sauce which doesn’t remind me of glue and won’t trigger my gag reflex because I taught a few too many five year olds who’d snack on clagg if left unsupervised for a blink of an eye. If I were to make this again I’d maybe make it a seeded mustard white sauce or a blue cheese sauce - and skip the scones altogether for a nice piece of scotch fillet steak… and save the snags for a sausage sizzle. 🤣🤣🤣 I love some American recipes but I can’t get onboard with a thin, white sauce being called gravy. Gravy should be a rich brown colour, not too thin (that’s a jus) and not too thick (unless you’re having roast meat and gravy sandwiches with leftovers). Pale like that and thin means it ought to be a brandy sauce and served over Christmas Pudding…maybe after a few slugs of brandy I might not care 🤷‍♀️

[@andreagriffiths3512]

@@zoogie980 and your comment made me laugh 💕💕💕

[@Your-Least-Favorite-Stranger]

​@@andreagriffiths3512its basically bechamel. Adding ground pork breakfast sausage and scrambled egg is common; its also common to use black pepper, white pepper, and a decent amount of salt in the "country gravy". It should taste creamy, peppery, salty, meaty, and be thick enough to stick to your spoon but not quite to the point of being custard. Adding parsley or diced onion is also 100% acceptable, just cook the onion with the pork if you do add it; a bit of ground mustard powder is also a pleasant addition in my opinion. The biscuit/"plain scone" is more a vessel to help pad out the thick, flavorful gravy than the star of the show (because otherwise you just have a bowl of meaty bechamel; perfectly acceptable to eat, but not as filling without the fluffy carb component). Another thing: Biscuits and gravy is regularly accompanied by red tabasco hot sauce - the vinegar cuts through the richness and brings it all together.

[@Sam-lm8gi]

What about the FOUR B's?… Beans, Bacon, Biscuits, and BUTTER?

[@PhantomObserver]

Shouldn't that last one be beer?

[@jwalster9412]

​@@PhantomObserver what about beer butter?

[@billyt.7306]

Sounds like B for Bariatric, except the beans those are pretty healthy every day. I say this as a man who can devour 4 biscuits and half a pack of bacon 😂

[@soyjoyy]

They didn't have access to fresh butter so far away from the major farms and cities without refrigeration. The forth B is Beer.

[@nigelis2345]

Butter also tends to go rancid and without refrigeration, it would not keep well. That is why ghee was invented in Ancient India as it could keep well for a long time.

[@0xTJ]

I'm Canadian, and had never had biscuits and gravy, so it was a surprise when I was at a hotel breakfast on a road trip through the States and found this white sauce all over the biscuits I ordered. I had always thought that the gravy in biscuits and gravy would be a brown sauce.

[@kyleo1236]

Cowboy Kent Rollins has a video making biscuits with only self rising flour and heavy cream made in a cast iron dutch oven over a fire. The heavy cream would take the place of butter and buttermilk/milk. It's an easy thing for cowboys or ranchers to make at camp.

[@stevejacques6585]

What a treat this segment is 😊 I love history and I follow the place you're at very fascinating mine history thank you both for sharing your time ❤

[@ulrike9978]

You know, occassionally there is a topic that really doesn´t interest me on paper, but when I watch anyway the twenty minutes are over before I know it. You really have a talent for making anything interesting!

[@MossyMozart]

Mr Miller is a great story-teller.

[@jodidavis6595]

Biscuits and gravy was a staple in my family growing up. We didn’t have a lot of money with my dad being a asst principal and a stay at home mom. It was such a treat to have this for supper. Thanks Max you’re always so informative and entertaining ❤️🇺🇸

[@townsville69]

A lot of the US gold miners, as the Californian fields dried up, moved to the Australian gold fields. Particularly North Queensland's Palmer River. Finding food there was incredibly hard. Not uncommon to die of starvation in the wilds with bags full of gold. I bet they had some weird and wonderful recipes.

[@MarkLinJA]

Notably, a lot of the Chinese miners would end up moving! It’s actually because of the Californian gold rush that San Francisco can still be called “Old Gold Mountain” in Chinese, whereas the fact that the mining rush moved to Australia meant that Melbourne became “New Gold Mountain” (which is a name that’s significantly less used than the former)

[@charliefox7482]

I’ve been doing research on the different gold rushes & found a book titled “Gold Rush Grub”. It’s centered around the California gold rush and has recipes as well as anecdotal stories sprinkled throughout. Included were all of the canned foods and how that type of canning happened. I’ve made some of the recipes with things I could find that were as close to the different foods. Also, my grandparents, who lived in Tennessee & Alabama, had gardens, chickens, & hunted wild game. They canned most foods for the winter. I made my first pan of biscuits when I was 5. We ate a little of bacon gravy & biscuits which I still love and cook to this day.

[@ImInLoveWithBulla]

I grew up in a little town called Grass Valley in central Cali. We had a great Cornish pasty shop that our mom would always take us to for lunch. Many fond memories of that, the old timey toy store, and of course, the Empire mine. Loads of old rusty mining machinery that we kids could clamber on to our heart’s content.

[@teafx3]

I appreciated Max from editing clarifying the situation. And as a biscuit-and-gravy-lovin' boy, I appreciated the entire video. I love sausage gravy, but it's hard to find sausage these days that yields enough grease. I suppose I could cook bacon and sausage together. That might not be a bad flavor combination. Here in the KC area, you can sometimes find a roll of Farmland's bacon and sausage mixture, and that yields plenty of grease.

[@veronicavatter6436]

I save my bacon grease after making bacon and fry my sausage in it for gravy. Makes it taste like sausage since every sausage is so dang lean nowadays. Health nuts have ruined my fatty foods! 😂

[@firefighter1c57]

​@@veronicavatter6436I grew up in Oklahoma from Arkansas parents. I save my bacon grease for biscuits and gravy, for green beans, for collard greens, for polk salat, for waffles, for potato salad, for fried potatoes, for cornbread... I'm not sure I could cook if I didn't have bacon grease now that I think about it

[@youmukonpaku3168]

as a pizzeria veteran, check if you can get some crumbled sausage from a pizza supply place. We used that stuff to make biscuits and gravy several times, it yields a shocking amount of grease when you heat it in a pan.

[@susandickerson2663]

I have added butter or bacon grease to the sausage grease and either works fine.

[@Gutslinger]

I think it's unnecessary to desire more fat in the sausage for gravy. The flavor of the sausage itself is so overpowering, you wouldn't be able to tell which kind of fat is in it. So just use oil, or any kind of fat. 🤷🏽‍♂️

[@MmntechCa]

I recently toured the AJ gold mine in Juneau, AK. By the time that site was in its heyday in the early 20th century, they had moved to pneumatic drills. But they did demonstrate the earlier equipment. You'd have to bore into hard rock with just hand tools. One guy would be on sledge, other guy would hold the chisel. If you were the second guy, you hoped your sledge man had good aim. Even then it was bone rattling work. These guys had no concept of PPEs. Once the hole was made, you set the dynamite and ran like hell. They'd then send a guy in with basically a big stick to poke at the ceiling to dislodge anything liable to come down on someone's head. They'd also reinforce the tunnel with metal strapping as needed. In a lot of these mines, they weren't finding big, ol' nuggets. It was embedded with other minerals. The rock debris would have to be "mucked" out into carts for crushing and further processing to extract the gold, silver, and lead from the quartz. How to Make Everything recently did a video, from Cero Gordo in fact, about how this was done with silver. With powered drills, it's a tough job. By hand, it must have absolutely wrecked those guys bodies. No wonder they all ate such high calorie diets. Also kind of makes you understand why they spent so lavishly too. Especially given the dangers of the job. At least with the gold mines, gas wasn't quite the issue it was for coal. But the dust was still bad. Lot of them developed lung cancer later in life.

[@PokhrajRoy.]

Babbit’s Salaratus is either a crafty euphemism or a realm in Elden Ring

[@QueenOfTheNorth65]

It would make a great band name, too.

[@KetchupwithMaxandJose]

Good luck to the Tarnished

[@lactofermentation]

​@beekeeper6063 It is a happy thought! Shadow of the Erdtree comes out Friday.

[@esmeraldajacobo9436]

Never expected to find fellow Tarnished in Tasting History, but may the golden order shine through you all!

[@belisarius6949]

​@@esmeraldajacobo9436 May chaos take the world 😈

[@allenbanks3280]

Thank you for all the Great videos. Tasting History / Goast town living . Both these Chanels peek my interest. Going camping and looking for gold, eating is the biggest part of the experience. Sitting around a campfire makes food that much better. Keep up the good work. Thanks to Brent for having such a place for this to live on

[@katmandudawn8417]

There is a kid’s book ” Sody Sallyratus” that is the Appalachian tale of a family trying to get baking soda to make biscuits. It’s a very cute with colorful illustrations. I used to read this to my kids and once we got to see a puppet show of the story. Sallyratus was one ingredient that families had to buy so sour dough was something they could make themselves.

[@GaldirEonai]

1:00 "I've got your four basic food groups right here: Beans, bacon, whiskey and lard!"

[@whymihere86]

And here I thought it was beans, bacon, whiskey, and lard. But I'll take the bacon and biscuits. RIP Cooky from Atlantis.

[@ph1shstyx]

The 4 basic food groups

[@mohammadabdulazim5499]

*proceeds to hold up 3 fingers*

[@cwg73160]

Hear, hear

[@AkhierDragonheart]

That is basically the biscuit recipe I use for biscuits and gravy. Though I use a food processor and frozen butter. Oh, and instead of a specific amount of milk, I slowly pour in the milk while the food processor is on the knead setting until the dough begins to get pebbly. Edit: And for the gravy I don't bother taking the meat out. I just add the flour in with it. As for the milk. Don't just stream it in. At the start, you need to add a little bit, mix it in completely, repeat. Once the gravy has taken on a more liquid consistency, you can stream in the milk, but not until then. I've seen so many recipes saying this or that. The milk needs to be cold, it needs to be hot, let the pan cool, keep it hot. While some things do seem to work better, mainly getting the milk and the pan temps closer to each other (I normally turn the stovetop down to the lowest it will go and microwave the milk a little), nothing saw as much improvement as adding the milk in slowly to start.

[@robertbeisert3315]

For anyone trying to make Gluten Free biscuits, this is the best way. No two GF flours work the same, but this way'll generally do ya.

[@AkhierDragonheart]

@@robertbeisert3315 Adding milk like that is honestly the best no matter what type of flour you're using because for biscuits, you are really trying for that "just came together" amount of liquid in it and all flours will have more or less water content depending on not just type, but how humid it is. So the perfect amount of milk one day might end up with a soggy dough another.

[@erzsebetkovacs2527]

Even if this gravy is not a béchamel sauce, it's kind of a similar technique, and with the béchamel, it helps if boiled, hot milk is used.

[@medicinemanboxing3222]

You’re a Gem, and my Wife and I really appreciate your passion for cooking and history. I’ve made plenty of recipes from your channel, and also many of them with my own twists to them. Your attitude, energy, and enthusiasm, is contagious and much appreciated. Thanks for all the history lessons, and all the great ideas for meals/recipes.

[@cakeunit9012]

2 favorites combined.... Love it!!! I have been watching Ghost Town Living for awhile, I was so surprised to see you there!!!! Luv you both keep up the fun!!!!

[@DOSBoxMom]

The railroad surveyors whose cabin the Ingalls family used in "On the Shores of Silver Lake" had left behind a substantial stash of canned foods, including canned oysters, so the Ingalls family was able to have oyster stew for Christmas dinner that year.

[@kpNov23]

Oyster soup with small crackers and a little bit of milk.

[@MossyMozart]

Did this happen in life or was the story part of the "Little House on the Prairie" series?

[@DOSBoxMom]

@@MossyMozart The oyster stew meal was described in one of the chapters in Laura Ingalls Wilder's book "On the Shores of Silver Lake", one of the "Little House" series of books, which were a (very slightly fictionalized) series of autobiographical novels for children, describing the author's life from about the age of 5 (?) or so through the first 4 years of her marriage to Almanzo Wilder. It may or may not have been included in the related TV series, but it was definitely in that book.

[@MariaMartinez-researcher]

The Original Kung Fu TV series was shot in California, set in the times post-Gold Rush. Many of the stories have to do with mines, miners, ghost towns, etc., and a lot about the Chinese working in mines or the railroads. A couple of episodes have Chinese cooks involved; one has a Sheriff ordering Chinese food to be delivered to his office!

[@pz48128]

Boy, does this comment take me back to my childhood! My older sisters loved that show. I was just fascinated because it wasn't a cartoon!😁 (I think I was around six or seven when it 1st aired in the '70s...)

[@bigjohnsbreakfastlog5819]

I see biscuits and gravy, I'm immediately going to make this recipe. I assume that although bacon was common for fat purposes (though it's fallen out of favor for sausage), sawmill or pepper gravy were alternatives when you were trying to stretch things.

[@Objective-Observer]

Sawmill gravy needs saw dust to be accurate. That was used as a thickener.

[@21stcenturyrambo16]

I assume bacon was cheaper

[@RebelCowboysRVs]

As I understand it, original sawmill gravy was lard, ground corn, pepper an water. The people of the Appalachias that started this didn't have a lot to work with. Good flour, pork, an milk came later. I didn't have it with pork other than lard until I left the mountains for the first time as an adult.

[@Dlt814]

My grandma made what grandpa always called “bulldog gravy.” It’s what they fed the bulldogs and apparently what got them through the Depression.

[@tinngglyone]

My mom made sawmill gravy with margarine. Tasted like liquid popcorn. Sausage gives a lot of flavor, but relatively little fat. Bacon is the opposite. I usually brown sausage to add and use bacon grease to actually make the gravy.

[@lizardwanderer]

I just discovered this channel and I'm addicted!! So much fun! This should be a TV show!

[@crystalclear6864]

So encouraging when the expert has an ooops and so comforting to hear honesty and ownership. Great video as always

[@pamelamays4186]

As a culinary arts student who's just starting out, I'm finding your content informative and educational. Also, I love history!

[@jamonpeariso5459]

From my understanding, most of the Turtle's for San Francisco's Turtle Soup and other dishes came from Tulare Lake which, back then, was the largest freshwater lake west of the Great Lakes. Tulare Lake no longer exists (although it made an appearance last year).

[@IvanIvanoIvanovich]

Not to mention all the waterfowl, fish, and tule elk. They would ship everything from Hanford by rail to SF.

[@garymorgan3443]

Love seeing you at Cerro Gordo. I have been following Ghost Town Living for a long time. Awesome to see two of my favorite channels have a "crossover" as it were. Very cool.

[@jramsay100]

Thank you Max, for another great video. At 17:37, Newfoundlanders call those rendered salt pork bits Scruncheons. Used in many dishes, one most popular is Fish and Brewis. The "Brewis" (you'll like this) is Hard Tack, these days, Purity Hard Bread Biscuits. Usually, a breakfast dish. Coffee is a must! Separately soak salt cod, and hard tack for 8 hours or so. Boil the fish, bring the Brewis just to the boil. Drain, and combine gently with the scruncheons. Mashed potatoes can also be added. Some, fry onions in the fat, then proceed as you did to make a gravy. I prefer to serve the fish, boiled potatoes, and Brewis separately, with a sprinkle of finely diced raw onion. I spoon the fat with scruncheons over the brewis, like gravy, Brewis with scruncheons and onions make a great anytime side dish. 😋

[@ImInLoveWithBulla]

If you want some fun slice of life stories about the gold rush, I suggest the comic series The Life And Times of Scrooge McDuck. Yes, It’s a cartoon duck, but Don Rosa was always meticulous with keeping his stories historically accurate and informative.

[@7i4nf4n]

I just love that little snippet of you every time you mention hard tack. Love from Germany ♥️

[@TastingHistory]

😊 thank you

[@grabtharshammer2085]

I grew up 10 minutes from Sutters Mill, where they first found gold. Lived right over an old mine! A bunch of places around Placerville and Auburn still sell some version of the old foods and lean into the old west vibe for the tourists. It's a quaint, but fun place when it's not on fire!

[@tikamajere316]

Yes! I grew up in the area too. Murphys is my favorite for visiting.

[@odonnell1218]

Always cool to hear mention of Placerville, my hometown! Awesome video as always!

[@stonebay2111]

Pasties are still very popular around Butte Montana. There are 2 populations.. with ketchup or with brown gravy. Actually there are a couple pastie shops in Butte

[@vikingbushcraft1911]

Interesting factoid - The really traditional Cornish Pasty’s have meat and one end and something sweet at the other end - something seasonal cooked into a jam. The crust on the top is so that you can hold it and eat and you don’t end up ingesting a shed load of coal dust and silica…..

[@williamowens5144]

My grandmother made the best biscuits and gravy I've ever had, though she used crumbled and browned sausage instead of bacon for it. Being interested in cooking at a young age, I asked her to show me how she made it, and I make a pretty good plate of biscuits and gravy, but it was never as good as hers.

[@firebert123]

never though biscuits and graby would be an old west food! I'm from the south (Georgia) so it's always been a southern staple in my mind!

[@Objective-Observer]

I thought that, as well; however, folks came from all over the states to the Gold Rushes. Folks bring their cusine with them.

[@firebert123]

@@Objective-Observer very true! I hope Max leans into that wit hteh food history, and how it and the people came from everywhere!

[@firefighter1c57]

Very common as an old west food. Flour and salt pork keep for a long time, and milk and butter could be obtained daily from a dairy cow. Chuck wagon cooks would often make huge batches of biscuits in the morning, and the extras would be in saddle bags to eat through the day. A good cookie would milk a cow in the morning, the milk be in jars in the wagon, and the trip cross rough terrain would churn butter for you to obtain in the evening.

[@studporkchop]

“Are these the best biscuits and gravy I’ve ever tasted no. But if I was exhausted, starving, and possibly near death they’d be delicious.” You’re really selling the recipe max 😂

[@susannehubbell2799]

My dad grew up in logging farms as a kid and he would call this kind of food "stick to your ribs" kind of food!