Salem in the eighteenth century was a magnet for visitors.
People came to stay at its tavern during long journeys and to sip its notable
brandy. They came to buy food, pottery, tools and receive medical care. Salem’s
history teaches us that the quality of life we enjoy and take for granted today
has not been easily or quickly won. This eighteenth century town was
economically unusual in the fact that the church owned all the land and kept a
close eye on the quality, productivity, and moral character of businessmen. Pottery,
guns, saddles, furniture, cloth, and other goods made in Salem were of superior
quality. From the earth, the Moravians took clay for bricks, roof tiles,
stoves, and the manufacture of their jugs, plates, and bowls. The Moravians
made one of the first public waterworks systems in America. They piped water
from springs through hollowed logs joined with iron fittings to the town’s
tavern, pottery, and tanyard. Moravian holiday celebrations and traditions were
very important to their heritage such as Christmas and Easter. One of the
Christian rituals that the Moravians celebrated was called a lovefeast. The
lovefeast is signified as the sharing of meals and music. The meal consisted of
stewed pumpkin, cornmeal mush, sweetened milky coffee, and soft buns. This food
is passed along the pews at the Christmas Eve services held in all the Moravian
churches.
From 1800
to 1927 Winkler’s Bakery served the community of Old Salem. It was the most
familiar and most fragrant landmark in Old Salem. Christian Winkler began to
study baking in Germany at age twenty-five. He and his wife had six children
and moved to Salem. The family produced baked goods for the town residents for
thirty years. The building was a bake shop downstairs and a home for the baker
and his family upstairs. The same building still stands and preserves the
original characteristics and architecture in the construction of its
fireplaces, floors, doorways and thick walls. The Moravian love feast buns were
made here; as well as rich candies, cream puffs, cookies and sugar cakes for
everyday occasions. There was a formula for making love feast buns and it used
to take a few days to make it by hand in stone ovens. But today new machinery
and modern ovens replaced old stone ovens of the past and only takes a few
hours. The making of the buns for love feast began at 6 o’clock on Friday two
days before love feast began on a Sunday. The Moravians made a ferment which
was made of liquid yeast and potatoes. At 11 o’clock that Friday night the
sponge was made and put to rise in a bread trough. From 4 to 5 o’clock Saturday
morning, the dough was made and a layer of butter was put over the top of the
dough and worked into it, as it was then set to rise again. Everyone helped to
carry the dough over to a table to pinch off the dough, weigh it, and shape it
into buns. On the top of each dough an X or M was cut into it to prevent
blistering to happen during baking. This process of making dough lasted all
night long so there would be enough buns for a big love feast.
The
Winkler’s also made sugared pretzels for love feasts during the year. The
process of making the sugared pretzels was just as extensive in addition to
making the sugar. The sugar was boiled in huge copper kettles and then
afterwards poured on marble slabs to cool. White cochineal coloring was mixed
into it and then the candy was rolled and cut by hand into different flavored
sticks.
In addition
to his food business of making assorted cakes, stick candy, love-drops, puff
paste tarts, ginger, cakes, and ginger pop, Winkler also brewed and sold beer. The
Winkler Family guided its establishment through a new republic, the War of
1812, the Civil War, and the beginning of the great World War. The Winkler
tradition for delicious bread and cakes still survives in Old Salem today.
The bread in
the Winkler Bakery is baked in a dome-shaped brick oven. The bakers build a
fire in the oven using the wood they have stacked outside. Once the brick oven
gets heated the bakers rake out the coals. There is an order to baking the
food. First the bread is baked in the oven and then they bake the Moravian
sugar cakes. Afterwards they bake the sugar cookies because they require the oven’s
lowest temperature. No preservatives were used back then therefore, the bakers
today keep the tradition and authentically do not use preservatives either.
Long wooden paddles are used to take the bread and baked goods in and out of
the hot oven.
In addition
to food of Old Salem water was crucial for survivial. In 1766 most communities
still depended on wells or drew their water directly from springs or rivers.
However, Old Salem did not need to depend on that because their system was the
first of its kind in the Southeast. They created pipes that were ten-to twelve
foot long white oak logs that were joined by iron rings. Two springs were
placed at the base of the hill and trenches that were three feet deep and two
miles longs were dug from the water source. In Old Salem there is a
reconstructed Pump that sits on the Southwest corner of the Square for the
public to enjoy and imagine what it was like back then with water pumps.
Furthermore,
the Salem Tavern was another one of the most successful businesses in town. It had
become a favorite stopping place to rest and eat for merchants, traders, and
pioneers heading west as well as for local Moravians. It is special to know
that George Washington had stayed in Winston-Salem’s Tavern for two days during
his grand tour of the South. In the Tavern, meals were served to travelers in
the “common room” while wealthier guests dined in the “Gentleman’s Room”. The
wealthier guests ate more elaborate meals that were lit by candle light.
Lastly another
landmark that is famous in Old Salem which relates to the production of food is
The Coffee Pot. The Coffee Pot is associated with Moravian Lovefeasts because
they served coffee with the famous buns. The Coffee Pot had become the
unofficial symbol of Winston-Salem.
In
conclusion, Old Salem vegetable gardens were grown in need to produce the
ingredient for their production of food. The gardens would grow currants,
gooseberries, raspberries, apple trees, peaches, plums, and a quince tree for
jelly. An asparagus bed was considered to be a prized addition to some Old
Salem gardens. Mint, parsley, sage, and thyme were also commonly grown in
gardens. Lavender and rosemary were always included in a garden which can help
flavor any kind of food, especially breads.
~Following my essay, there is a powerpoint but I do not know how to upload it.
