Food - Drink
George Washington's Favorite Breakfast Food
By KAREN HART
Even the president of the United States can’t start the day on an empty stomach, and while many presidents throughout history enjoyed fare like coffee and waffles, George Washington's favorite breakfast food was more unique. The first president's diet obviously lines up with old, bygone times, but the dish in question is still cooked today.
Washington’s usual breakfast was hoecakes or Johnny cakes, small pancakes made of cornmeal and fried on a hoe, another word for griddle. They are also called “journey cakes” because of their portability, and while their origins can be traced to the Caribbean, they later became popular in New England and the Southern U.S.
Slate says that these dense little cakes look like flapjacks at first glance, but they lack a fluffy texture; however, hoecakes are still fried to golden perfection and served with toppings. According to the Mount Vernon estate website, George Washington ate his hoecakes with butter and honey before polishing them off with a spot of tea.