Layers Of History
Layers Of History
Almost every year, I hear tell of another story about the origins of Memorial Day.
Mostly, I've always heard about its roots in Decoration Day, and Dinner On The Ground (in the cemetery). That is a fairly old Appalachian tradition, still practiced today, and wasn't directly associated with remembrance of war dead.
It was a time to assemble at the graveyard, spruce things up, and decorate the graves with flowers. And then to eat there, in the cemetery. Appalachian cemeteries weren't always just for one church, or any church, so it was more of a community thing.
One thing for sure, you didn't leave a Dinner On The Ground hungry, and there would be Stack Cake to eat. A lot of variations in that, too, but mostly I recall it being thin buttermilk layer cakes, sweetened with sorghum or molasses (almost like pancakes, more like gingerbread cookies) with ginger spiced apple sauce/apple butter in between the layers, and being set aside for at least a couple of days to set up altogether, before serving.
There's a book I've been meaning to read that has been quoted a fair bit about this: Decoration Day in the Mountains: Traditions of Cemetery Decoration in the Southern Appalachians by Alan Jabbour and Karen Singer Jabbour.
Here's a recipe that looks about right:
https://blog.kingarthurflour.com/2017/10/12/appalachian-stack-cake/
Almost every year, I hear tell of another story about the origins of Memorial Day.
Mostly, I've always heard about its roots in Decoration Day, and Dinner On The Ground (in the cemetery). That is a fairly old Appalachian tradition, still practiced today, and wasn't directly associated with remembrance of war dead.
It was a time to assemble at the graveyard, spruce things up, and decorate the graves with flowers. And then to eat there, in the cemetery. Appalachian cemeteries weren't always just for one church, or any church, so it was more of a community thing.
One thing for sure, you didn't leave a Dinner On The Ground hungry, and there would be Stack Cake to eat. A lot of variations in that, too, but mostly I recall it being thin buttermilk layer cakes, sweetened with sorghum or molasses (almost like pancakes, more like gingerbread cookies) with ginger spiced apple sauce/apple butter in between the layers, and being set aside for at least a couple of days to set up altogether, before serving.
There's a book I've been meaning to read that has been quoted a fair bit about this: Decoration Day in the Mountains: Traditions of Cemetery Decoration in the Southern Appalachians by Alan Jabbour and Karen Singer Jabbour.
Here's a recipe that looks about right:
https://blog.kingarthurflour.com/2017/10/12/appalachian-stack-cake/
Me, too. It's kind of fancy/not fancy. I have yet to try to make one, but I've eaten more than a few.
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