From hoe cakes to fast food, U.S. presidents’ tastes and diets varied widely

From haute cuisine to humble home cooking, American presidents — like their fellow citizens — have embraced a wide range of foods and culinary traditions.

Their tastes were shaped by childhood experiences, personal health, the customs of their era and their own individual quirks. Some presidents were true connoisseurs, others were unpretentious eaters, and a few viewed food merely as fuel.

A 19th century gourmet once wrote, “Tell me what you eat, and I will tell you who you are.” The culinary habits of U.S. presidents offer an unexpected but revealing dimension to the character and personality of those who have held the nation’s highest office.

By the time he became president, George Washington had lost all but one tooth and wore uncomfortable dentures, leading him to prefer soft, simple dishes. According to “The Presidents’ Cookbook” by Poppy Cannon and Patricia Brooks, Washington “ate heartily, but was not particular in his diet, with the exception of fish, of which he was excessively fond.” He enjoyed dessert, drank a homemade beverage and regularly consumed four or five glasses of Madeira wine.

Washington’s breakfast of choice was hoe cakes — corn cakes fried in a little grease and topped with butter and honey. At the presidential table, Martha Washington served meals typical of the young nation: game, fowl, fruits, vegetables and fish, along with British-inspired puddings and trifle.

Thomas Jefferson stands as the nation’s earliest culinary enthusiast. While serving as minister to France, he embraced Parisian epicurean traditions, recording recipes so he could replicate them at home. Although he loved French cuisine, the Sage of Monticello remained loyal to Virginia staples such as sweet potatoes, turnip greens and shad.

Jefferson helped popularize several foods in America. He grew fond of ice cream in France and later served it at the executive mansion. He also encountered macaroni and cheese during his travels, purchasing an Italian pasta machine upon returning to Virginia. He made one of the earliest American references to french fries and famously helped dispel public fears about tomatoes by eating them publicly.

If Jefferson was a connoisseur, Abraham Lincoln was his opposite. Raised on a frontier diet of cornmeal cakes and wild game, Lincoln viewed food primarily as sustenance. One writer observed, “Lincoln relied on food to feed the furnace.” He enjoyed honey and his mother’s gingerbread, and in Washington he was known as a frequent customer of a local baker’s pecan pie.

Mary Lincoln, accustomed to more elaborate cooking, often tried — unsuccessfully — to broaden her husband’s diet. At meals, he frequently picked at his plate, leaving much untouched.

Teddy Roosevelt brought the same gusto to food that he applied to everything else. Though not pretentious in his tastes, he knew exactly what he liked and expected hearty portions. Fried chicken with gravy, steak and oysters were among his favorites. He enjoyed sweets but drank less alcohol than many of his predecessors. As Barry Landau notes in “The President’s Table,” Roosevelt treated meals “less as an occasion for fine dining than as a springboard for conversation,” a pattern echoed by several later presidents.

William Howard Taft entered the White House after Roosevelt in 1909, and the executive kitchen was expanded during his tenure — fitting for what one writer called a “giant of presidential gourmands.” Weighing 332 pounds, Taft enjoyed a wide variety of foods, with few exceptions beyond eggs. One dish that made headlines was baked possum with sweet potatoes, which he adored when served the meal in Georgia as president-elect.

Taft’s successor, Woodrow Wilson, was largely indifferent to food. He often ate a breakfast of two raw eggs stirred into grapefruit juice. During World War I, he instituted “Meatless Mondays” and “Wheatless Wednesdays” to support troops overseas — an easy sacrifice for a man with modest culinary interests.

Calvin Coolidge approached meals with unusual formality. He referred to all meals — breakfast, lunch or state dinner — as “supper.” Even without guests, the Coolidge family dressed formally each evening and dined in the State Dining Room. A compulsive nibbler, “Silent Cal” was often quietly handed a plate of roast beef during meals, regardless of what was scheduled on the menu.

The cuisine of the Franklin Roosevelt era is remembered less for flavor than for frugality. Eleanor Roosevelt sought to model economical, nutritious meals in solidarity with Depression-era Americans. The result, however, was fare widely considered unappealing — even by staff.

More recent presidents continued the tradition of distinctive tastes:

• Dwight Eisenhower enjoyed cooking oxtail soup.
• Richard Nixon liked cottage cheese topped with pineapple and ketchup.
• Jimmy Carter favored a molded cheese ring but notably didn’t care for peanuts.
• Ronald Reagan kept jars of jelly beans close at hand.
• George H. W. Bush snacked on pork rinds with Tabasco.
• George W. Bush preferred peanut butter and honey sandwiches.
• Bill Clinton and Donald Trump share an affection for fast food.

From Jefferson’s gourmet enthusiasm to Lincoln’s functional simplicity and Eleanor Roosevelt’s Depression-era practicality, presidential plates provide a flavorful window into both private lives and public eras.

Jonathan L. Stolz is a resident of James City County, Va.