Eating Habits.

American eating habits, which were quite different than those of Europe, captured the attention of European visitors to the United States during the early years of the republic. Most visitors made note of the eating practices they observed in their journals, and some visitors, by publishing their observations, presented them to a wider audience. They were interested not only in the type and quantity of the food, but also in the way it was prepared, served, and eaten.

Ashe.

One description of American dining habits during this period comes from Englishman Thomas Ashe, who in 1806, in a story of a fictitious journey to America, wrote about dinner in a Kentucky cabin.