Chapters 16 through 20 of "The German Research Companion" by Shirley Riemer are:
16) German education & universities,
17) Language,
18) German life,
19) Naming practices, and
20) German military resources.
Food has been a topic in recent comments. Here is the menu on a "cruise ship," meaning an immigrant ship of about 1850, after more than a century of German emigration.
Sunday: salt meat, meal pudding, and prunes.
Monday: salt bacon, pea soup, and potatoes.
Tuesday: salt meat, rice, and prunes.
Wednesday: smoked bacon, sauerkraut, and potatoes.
Thursday: salt meat, potatoes, and bean soup.
Friday: herring, meal and prunes.
Saturday: salt bacon, pea soup, and potatoes.
In 1822, Louis Jüngerich, who had recently immigrated to America, wrote home to his mother, brother, and sister, in Hessen, and gave them specific instructions on what to do if they decided to come to America. He advised signing on for passage without including provisioning. He advised buying their own food, enough for the 90 days that the passage might take. His recommendations per person were:
55 pounds of ship's zwieback or hardtack,
from 6 to 12 pounds of butter,
2 bushels of potatoes,
salt,
15 pounds of flour,
8 pounds of rice,
4 pounds of barley,
"any amount of peas, beans, and some meat stock for a fresh soup,"
vinegar to drink (absolutely necessary),
tea, sugar, chocolate, and brandy ("as you wish"),
20 pounds of well-salted beef,
6 pounds of bacon for fat,
lemons, dried plums, pepper.[Three tin kettles were recommended, two for cooking and one for liquids. And do not forget your spoons, knives, forks, and cups. The vinegar was to take the place of the ship's water which was not considered safe (it wasn't).]
Louis reported that the best meals were as follows, "I took the ship's zwieback or hardtack that was handed out to us, and butter, soaked the zwieback so that it became spongy, and cooked it in water, adding the butter. This was our best dish . . ."
He explained that the zweiback was not the familiar twice toasted bread, but rather a biscuit-like bread product baked especially to travel well and remain palatable.
Shirley Riemer gives many references as to where she obtained her material. In the case of the letter home from Louis, the modern source was "The Pennsylvania Mennonite Heritage," Vol. XIX, No.3, July 1996.
We gratefully acknowledge the work of John Blankenbaker who published over 2,500 Germanna History Notes via the Germanna-L@rootsweb.com email list from 1997 to 2008. We are equally thankful to George Durman (Sgt. George) for hosting the list and republishing the notes via rootsweb.com.