Cooking in Early Virginia Indian Society. Iconic foods in Virginia…where to even begin? Those that could afford it ate meat and shellfish. When the settlers arrived in America, they brought their own cooking traditions with them, but they had to adapt them to the harsh living conditions of the new colonies. Sumendi cibum modus (Their Way of Eating Food). Early Virginia Indians hunted, fished, and collected wild grains and berries, which they prepared in various ways.Meats were roasted, while grains and tubers were pounded into ashcakes and then baked. Visitors discover how food was gathered, preserved and prepared on land and at sea by Virginia's English colonists and Powhatan Indians. In fact, it was about the opposite. Diet in early Virginia Indian society changed significantly from the Ice Age to the English colonists' landing at Jamestown in 1607, from initially relying more on meat to over time increasingly combining wild game, fish, nuts, and berries. Colonists worked hard to carve out their lives and survive. Credit: alle12/E+/Getty Images In the southern American Colonies, the wealthy dined on roast beef and many other types of meat, while the poorer classes, servants and slaves ate more humble foods, such as corn bread, greens, pork, fried chicken and organ meats. African slaves made a major contribution to the Southern colonial diet. Virginia's economy, meanwhile, continued to be dominated by a handful of elite families, most of whom lived on isolated rural plantations. Contributed by Mary C. Rountree and Helen C. Rountree. Asked in History of the United States , Colonial America , Virginia What did the colonists in the Virginia colony eat ? Fictiliuvaforu in quibus cibucoquunt (The Beauty of the Earthenware Vessels in Which They Cook Food). Even in Virginia's critical early days, the settlers did not forget Christmas. Long before microwaves, electric stoves and refrigerators, food was prepared in clay pots and iron kettles over hot coals and preserved by smoking and salt curing. Yes, they typically ate three times a day. The colonists grew crops, hunted game, and fished for food. Contributed by Helen C. Rountree. The cuisine of the Thirteen Colonies includes the foods, bread, eating habits, and cooking methods of the Colonial United States.. Colonist usally at food more to there area. Some colonists brewed small amounts of barley into beer, but mostly the settlers drank water, which wasn't considered to be that healthy. As colonists grew their domesticated animal herds, dairy farming became more popular. "Most New Englanders had a simple diet, their soil and climates allowing limited varieties of fruits and vegetables. The average New Englander ate bread, cheese, milk, cornmeal mush and small amounts of fruits and vegetables. Farming and Crops When the colonists first arrived in … Sumendi cibum modus (Their Way of Eating Food). So far, researchers have found remains of horses, rats and snakes in a well that dates back to the Starving Time What Did People Eat in the Southern Colonies? Contributed by Helen C. Rountree. What kind of food did the colonists eat in Massachusetts? That food would have to last them, augmented by whatever they could hunt and any berries they could find. Cooking in Early Virginia Indian Society. For breakfast, they could eat milk and baked bread. Credit: alle12/E+/Getty Images In the southern American Colonies, the wealthy dined on roast beef and many other types of meat, while the poorer classes, servants and slaves ate more humble foods, such as … Once one has done it, it is easily understood why colonial cooks only did one major baking each week. Diet in Early Virginia Indian Society. The Virginia colonists had not prepared to stay for a long period of time. Milk was not usually for drinking but for making into cheese and butter, so even children drank ale when it was available.