"Picnic. Originally, A fashionable social entertainment in which each person present contributed a share of the provisions; now, A pleasure party including an excursion to some spot in the country where all partake of a repast out of doors: the participants may bring with them individually the viands and means of entertainment, or the whole may be provided by some one who 'gives the picnic'. "
---Oxford English Dictionary [Clarendon Press:Oxford], 2nd edition, Volume XI (p. 779)
[NOTESS: (1)The OED traces the oldest print evidence of the word picnic in the English language to 1748. The word was known in France, Germany, and Sweden prior to becoming an English institution. (2) Meals where participants contribute food are also sometimes called pot luck.]

"The earliest picnics in England were medieval hunting feasts. Hunting conventions were established in the 14th century, and the feast before the chase assumed a special importance. Gaston de Foiz, in a work entitled Le Livre de chasse (1387), gives a detailed description of such an event in France. As social habits in 14th century England were similar to those in medieval France, it is safe to assume that picnics were more or less the same. Foods consumed would have been pastries, hams, baked meats, and so on...Picnicking really come into its own during the Victorian era, and enters into the literature of that period. Dickens, Trollope, Jane Austen all found pleasure in introducing this form of social event into their fiction. One can see why: a rustic idyll furnished an ideal way of presenting characters in a relaxed environment, and also provided an opportunity to describe a particularly pleasant rural spot. Painters have also been drawn to the subject...Monet, Renoir, Cezanne..."
---Oxford Companion to Food, Alan Davidson [Oxford University Press:Oxford] 1999 (p. 602)
[NOTE: This passage sites several sources for further study, including one for Japanese picnic customs.]

"The French might have invented the word "picnic," pique nique being found earlier than "pic nic." (The meaning, aside from the probably connotation of "picking," is unknown.) It originally referred to a dinner, usually eaten indoors, to which everyone present had contributed some food, and possible also a fee to attend. The ancient Greek "eranos," the French "moungetade" described earlier, or modern "pot luck" suppers are versions of this type of mealtime organization. The change in the meaning of the term, from "everyone bringing some food" to "everyone eating out of doors" seems to have been completed by the 1860s. The impromptu aspect, together with the informality, are what the new meaning has in common with the old; there is a connotation too of simple food, which may be quite various, but which is not controlled, decorated, or strictly ordered into courses. Picnics derive, also, from the decorous yet comparatively informal sixteenth-century "banquets" mentioned earlier, which frequently took place out of doors...Not very long ago, picnics were rather formal affairs to our way of thinking, with tables, chairs, and even servants. But everything is relative: what was formal then made a trestle-table in the open countryside seem exhiliaratingly abandoned. The general feeling of relief from normal constraints..."
---The Rituals of Dinner: The Origins, Evolutions, Eccentricities and Meaning of Table Manners, Margaret Visser [Penguin:New York] 1991 (p. 150-1)

"Picnic. An informal meal in which everyone pays his share or brings his own dish,' according to the Littre dictionary. That was probably the original meaning of the word, which is probably of French origin (the French piquer means to pick at food; nique means something small of no value.) The word was accepted by the Academie francaise in 1740 and thereafter became a universally accepted word in many languages. From the informal picnic, the outdoor feast developed. In Victorian Britain picnics may not have been as formal as country-house dinners, but they were often elaborate affairs. Weekend shooting parties and sporting events were occasions for grand picnics, with extensive menus and elaborate presentation."
---Larousse Gastronomique , completely updated and revised edition [Clarkson Potter:New York] 2001 (p. 883)

Recommended reading:
The Picnic: A History, Walter Levy English Picnics, Georgina Battiscombe

What is an American picnic?
A celebration of human spirit, culinary diversity, and adventure. Picnics are personal. We choose the foods we serve, our dining partners, and the venue. Planned or impromptu, they are very different from public outdoor dining events: community feasts (New England clambakes, Texas barbecues, New Orleans shrimp boils), al-fresco dining (trendy waterfront bistros, central city cafes), and fair food.

What do we eat? That depends upon who we are. As true with most holiday meals, family favorites reign supreme. Impromptu picnics are meals of happenstance. Thus defined: a American picnic can be:

• "traditional American foods" prepared at home and served on a blanket in a local park
• ethnic cuisine celebrated by an extended family in an urban riverfront location
• an artfully presented basket of gourmet delights served on fine linen and china
• box lunch obtained from a convenience store consumed at the beach
• bread, cheese, and grapes shared by best friends in a canoe
• a family passing peanut butter crackers and bottled water at a highway rest stop
• a child serving imaginary cakes to stuffed animals beneath the protective branches of the family's backyard tree.

American picnic bills of fare through time

[1877]
"For the Picnic," Buckeye Cookery and Practical Housekeeping, Estelle Woods Wilcox

[1892]
"Picnic dinners," Science in the Kitchen, Ella Eaton Kellogg

[1900]
"Picnics
If the party is to drive or ride, let not the distance be too great. There should be a stream or spring of pure water, materials for a fire, shade intermingled with sunshine, and a resonable freedom from tormenting insect life. Charming as is the prospect of picnicing in some grand dell, some some lofty peak, or in some famous cave or legendary ruin, there are also other considerations which whould not be fortotten. One does not feel too comfortable when banqueting in localities where Dame Nature has had her queer moods, and has left imprinted certain too observable evidences of her freakiness. Such places may be included within the excursion itself, but let the feast and the frolic take place where weird effects are not the prevailing characteristic of the locality.

"Be careful to dress for the entertainment, after consulting the barometer and the thermometer, and after learning the geography of the objective point of the day. A woolen dress that is not too heavy nor yet too new, or a cotton one that is not too think, whith short, trim skirts, solid, easy shoes, that have a friendliness for the feet because of prolonged intimacy with them; pretty, but not too fine or thin stockings; a hat that has a broad brim; a large sun-shade or a sun-umbrella; at least two fresh handkerchiefs; some rings, and needle and thread stowed away in ones portemonnaie or chatelaine-pocket; easy gloves, with ample wrists; a jacket to wear when returning home; and a rug or traveling-shawl to spread upon the ground at dinner time, are among the requisites of personal comfort and prettiness.

"Two or three hammocks, providing the picnic be in a forest; a few closely-folding camp-chairs, and a spirit-lamp or two for extra tea or coffee, are comforts that require no space worth considering, and only a little remembrance when packing up, while they really increase to a large degree the agreeable flavor of a day in the woods. Don't forget two or three books that have brief, bright poems or narratives in them, for inactive or half-dreamy members of the party, upon whom the spirit of romance and rhythm is sure to fall after dining, provided they do not drop asleep entirely. When providing food for the party, pray do not forget to supply at least double the quantity which would be served at home for the same number of people, and then be sure to add a little more. To be hungry, ravenously hungry, while in the woods, proves to us that fresh air is wholesome and that nature encourages vigorous appetites. Therefore, even if they were convenient of transport, soups would not be a necessary stimulant to digestion.

"Of fish, cold boiled salmon, upon which a mayonnaise may be served at pleasure from a wide-mouthed bottle; or sardines, accompanied by sardine-scissors, are the easiest to manage, and althogether the most satisvactory--but don't forget their intimate friends, the lemonds. About meats, there are many varieities that may bes ered in the woods, but they should always be sude as can be arranged for finger, rather than fork eating. Nature did not make forks, as is frequently asserted; and, therefore, a picnic is just that agreeable sort of free and easy entertainment that is the most charming to people who are already wearied with pomps and forms, ceremonies and things generally spectacular, and who fleeto the woods in print dresses and plain uniforms, in order to escape such exactions for a little while. In fact, they long to eat food by the aid of their fingers. Tiny lamb or veal chops, closely and carefully trimmed, dipped in egg and then in crmbs and delicately browned, after which their stems are ruffled with paper are delicious when cold, and are easy to manage. Chickens, cut up after roasting or broiling, are excellent and appropriate, but they are not so dainty nor so convenient to handle as the papered chops.

"The best and most convenient of all out-of-door edibles, is the sandwich. Not the one with slips of meat laid between slices of buttered bread, so that when a bit of bread is taken, all the enclosed meat is dragged out, unless a serious contest takes place in its behalf between the teeth and fingers, which, to confess the truth, is not an attractive conflict...To make sandwich that leave none but pleasant memories and provoke no temper while in transit from the basket to the gastric regions, always grind the meat or chop it whne cold to very nearly a pulp. Make a thick mayonnaise, and mix it with the meat until it is about the consistency of marmalade. Store and carry this most agreeable preparation in a covered dish or close jar. If it be rich with good oil, no butter is needed. Sometiems, however, butter is beaten in with the meat before it is married to the mayonnaise, which gives to the sandwich a delicious flavor. Carry along with the meat biscuits or uncut loaves of good bread, with sharp knives to slcie them evenly and thinly; and don't fail to remember what intensity the appetite may posses by mid-day, nor yet that, when it is appeased at that hour, it frequently renews its strength and comes back again about 4 o'clock in the afternoon and is as exacting as if it had not been appeased for a whole week. These best-of-all sandwiches are made ready when they are wanted. They are thus preserved from that taste of staleness that comes over them when they have been made a journey after the meat was joined to the bread. Cold tongue, cold roast veal, cold roast beef and cold ham are all of them excellent for sandwiches, but the flavoring of salt, mustard, etc., is varied to suit the peculiar qualities of each. Tongue and ham possess decided qualities of their own, but the other two meats require toning-up to suit the palate. Grated pine-apple-cheese, mixed with a thick mayonnaise and placed between very thinly cut slices of bread, is very much liked by gentlemen. Olives, pickles and jellies are easily carried, and prove agreable additions.

"For desserts, there are many things, but beware of articles that will not bear traveling without lookng dejected and sullen. Candied fruits with macaroons, sponge or pound cakes, are about the most agreeable of all the sweets which are adapted to journeys. Small sugared fruits may be purchased of the confectioner, but grapes, currants and oranges are easily prepared at home... Fresh fruits are also agreeable at an out-door feast, without coating them with sugar. For drinking, tea that has been made, seasoned while hot and then bottled directly, is delicious; so, also, is coffee; but both these liquids may be made fresh by the fire if one is made in gypsy fashion. For lemonade roll the fruit in granulated sugar that is spread upon a marble or other hard survace, then squeeze them over the sugar and remove their seeds; the juice, thus obtained, may be bottled for the journey and added to water at pleasure. If ice must be carrried, select, a clear solid piece, and wrap it in a heavy flannel. Carry an ice-pick with it, so that it may be broken up when needed, with a little waste as possible. One really requires no wine at an al-fresco feast, even if accustomed to use it at a home dinner. The exhilaration of the air is quite sufficient for the needs of digestion. If wine must be carried, claret is vest, because it is never served with ice, the most fastidious of wine-tasters insisting that its flavor is injured if it is not drank while of the same temperature as the atmosphere.

"For the feast, forget not the napkins, forks, spoons and the luncheon-cloth. Also carry tumblers, plates, salt, pepper, sugar and a bottle of cream or can of condensed milk. Cups with handles, but no saucers, are desirable for tea and coffee...The following bill of are may be selected from, with such changes as suit the locality or general surroundings. Bill of fare for a spring picnic. Cold Roast Chicken. Sandwiches of Potted Rabbit. Bewitched Veal. Small Rolls with Salad Filling. Cold Baked Ham. Egg Salad. Buttered Rolls. Hard Boiled Eggs. Crackers. Chow Chow. Bombay Toast. Pickles. Orange Marmalade. Quince Jelly. Sugared Strawberries. White Cake. Almond Cake. Cocoanut Jumbles. Lemonade. Tea Cakes. Raspberry Vinegar. Bill of fare for a summer picnic. Cold Boiled Chicken. Tongue Sandwiches. Spiced Beef. Sardines. Jellied Chicken. Piclked Salmon. Spanish Pickles. Sweet Peach Pickles. Boston Brown Bread. Beans. Fresh Fruits. Imperial Cake. Neapolitan Cake. Small Fancy Cakes."
---Queen of the Household, Mrs. M. W. Ellsworth [Ellsworth & Brey:Detroit MI] 1900 (p. 566-570)

[1904]
"Suggestions for School, Picnic, or Travelling Lunches.
In boxes, or pretty baskets of suitable size and light weight, may be found in our stores; some of them fitted with compartments and receptacles for the various articles which are usually prepared for such occasions...For a travelling or picnic party of any large number, and particularly if there is to be some conveyance to and from the place for luncheon, it might be advisable to provide one's self with a hamper elegantly fitted with every needful or imaginary article. They are marvels of convenience and help greatly in keeping everything separate and in perfect condition and really tempt the appetite. Their cost is generally equal to their convenience,, but for those whose purses will not permit such a luxury, a steamer cooker with its various compartments will be found a fair rival, as far as convenience goes. For the traveller on a short journey, and where dining cars are not to be found or patronized, there is nothing better than a paper box and some bottles or jars of convenient size, which may be left when their usefulness is ended, in some waste bin by the way. There will be but few ounces of extra or useless weight, which is not the case with the imported hampers. These often weigh, when empty, more than some persons could well carry. The following menus will show the great variety one may arrange for either of the occasions when such meals are needed:
No. 1. Spiced beef sliced, rye muffins, cup custard, bananas.
No. 2. Roast beef or cold steak sandwiches, canned fruit, hermits.
No. 3. Stuffed eggs, buttered rolls, oranges.
No. 4. Chicken sandwiches, tiny rice puddings, peaches, milk.
No. 5. Cheese sandwiches, gingerbread, prunes.
No. 7. Fishballs, Graham bread and butter, prune whip, lemonade.
No. 8. Baked bean sandwiches, potato salad, apples, gingersnaps.
No. 9. Jelly or jam sandwiches, sliced ham, little plain cakes, milk.
No. 10. Lettuce sandwiches, stem strawberries with sugar, cream cheese balls, cookies.
Formerly such lunches were confined to sandwiches, cakes, etc., with perhpas a bottle of cold coffee or lemonade; but as cakes and rich sweets are often the things least to be desired, it is wise to provide some receptacle in which a greater variety of foods may be carried. Small fruit jars, with glass covers and rubbers, which may be tightly sealed,--tiny tumblers for a small portion of stewed fruit, or soft pudding, tiny custards, puddings and timbales, meat or fish, salads and many other foods, will all find a place in the luchh box prepared by one who is willing to give some thought and time to this duty. Waxed paper is almost a necessity, if things are to be kept separate and in attractive condition. Plates made of wood as thin as pasteboard are cheap and especially convenient for picnics and travellers, where no table is procurable; and a cheap knife, fork and spoon add little to the weight, but much to one's comfort."
---What to Have for Luncheon, Mrs. Mary J. Lincoln [Dodge Publishing Co.:New York] 1904 (p. 41-44)

[1905]
"Picnic lunches," The Times Cookbook, Los Angeles Times

[1908]
"Picnic menus. Many a housewife who finds no trouble in devising dainty and attractive menus for the home table declares herself feazed when it comes to the preparation of the picnic basket. Yet it is not a difficult undertaking when one gets on to the "pull of the ropes." Even in the home meals there must be forethought to see that all necessary materials are on hand. Even more so is this essential in putting up luncheon for half the pleasure of a picnic depends on the efficiency of its commissary department, and any serious oversight when one is twenty miles from a lemon or any other desired edible is a misfortune hard to bear. Picnic luncheons should vary according to the prospective stage setting and the mode of journey thither. If the party is to motor, sail or drive to its destination, with pleny of room for hampers and accessories, the bill of fare may be much more varied and comprehensive than when one goes on trolley or wheel or expects to tramp to the picnic ground. In the latter case it is necessary to go in light marching order, everything as compact as possible, and things must be stowed away in boxes instead of baskets, that may be thrown away when the meal is finished. Individual drinking cups should be included in every luncheon outfit, and the new paper collapsible cups that now come for three or four cents apiece solve the question that was erstwhile a perplexing one. Paper napkins and table cloths, a whole set of the latter consisting of fancy cloth 42X56 and a dozen napkins to match, put up in stout envelope cases, may be bought at ten cents for a set.

"Picnic sandwiches. It goes without saying that sandwiches are the backbone of all out-of-door luncheons, and the roster of delightful ones is long. The "binding" may be a light tender wheat bread, at least twenty-four hours old and cut wafer thin; may be brown bread or whole wheat bread cut thicker; may be a two story affair, with both white and brown bread in amicable relations; may be substantial slices of rye or pumpernickel, a tender baking powder biscuit, a fluffy, melt-in-your-mouth roll, or conbread or gems that are not too crumbly. The filling must accord with its binding and its name is legion. With the dainty slices of wheat bread comes first a spreading of sweet butter applied with a light hand. Then comes a the heart of the sandwich, which may be caviar mixed with a little lemon juice, anchovies pounded to a paste and mixed with equal quantities stoned and chopped olives and a sprinkling of minced parsely, a slice of chicken breast salted and prepared with a protecting leaf of crispy lettuce moistened with mayonnaise, nasturtium leaves, blossoms and stems lightly salted, sprigs of watercress seasoned, minced chicken moistened with own stock, gravy or mayonnaise, equal quantities chopped chicken and ham, with a few minced truffles thrown in a mince of ham and veal in combination, of tongue and veal, wafer thin slices of boiled tongue, or tongue in aspic cut in delicate slices and laid with equally thin slices of tomato salad and peppered between rounds of buttered bread.

"Tasty additions to the luncheon. Tasty additions to the luncheon are a souse of pigs' feet, veal loaf, broiled chicken, smoked salmon sliced thin, boned herring, baked beans, chicken salad, put up in little individual paper cases, then packed in a large box and carried "right side up with care." Swiss cheese sliced thin never goes begging. Saratoga chips are tasty and easy to carry and serve. A pigeon pie is extrememly English and extremely nice, as also lamb cutlets in aspic jelly.

"Relishes for the picnic basket. Among the tasty relishes for the picnic basket are olives (opening the bottle and pouring off the liquor before packing), pickles, salted peanuts, radishes (not forgetting to put in the salt shaker), popcorn, young onions for those who are especially fond of them and tomatoes.

"Sweets for topping off. Among the sweets best for topping off the luncheon are currant tarts, carrying shells and jelly separately and putting together before service; apple or berry tunovers, a glass of bar-le-duc or other jelly, chocolate and sponge cake, cookies and crullers, preserved ginger, crystallized fruits, and if there is to be a camp fire plenty of marshmallows for toasting.

"Liquids. As a large amount of liquid is awkward to carry it is usually better to take a small bottle of something concentrated that may be diluted with cold water when ready to serve the lunch. The juice of lemons may be squeezed out and made as sweet as desired; then bottled. Raspberry of cherry shrub is refreshing, allowing a couple of tablespoonfuls to each glass of cold water. Team may be made quite strong, so as to bear reducing, carrying along lemons and block sugar to be added when serving. Grape juice is always appreciated. Ginger beer has its adherents, and a couple of bottles of claret add cheer and refreshment. If coffee is carried, it is better sweetened and "creamed" before starting, then poured into bottles with patent stoppers.

"Fruits. Anything from watermelon down to strawberries unhulled with a little paper of powdered sugar to assist in their serving goes well at a picnic."
---New York Evening Telegram Cook Book, Emma Paddock Telford [Cupples & Leon:New York] 1908 (p. 623-4)

[1911: frugal vegetarian]
"Picnic and Travelling Lunches
Collect boxes of different sizes as you have opportunity. Save waxed paper from cracker boxes and other sources and have a certain place for it so as to know just where to find it. Quite a large roll can be bought in the stationery stores for five cents. Keep small tin boxes for packing strong flavored sandwiches, and vaseline bottles and cold cream jars for salad dressings, or for sandwich fillings which must be spread upon the bread the last thing. For a picnic or a long journey, be sure to take everything that may be needed, corkscrew, can opener, nut picks, paring knives, spoons, a case knife, a knife large enough and sharp enough to cut bread, cups for drinking, and a small saucepan or large cup for heating drinks or anything necessary. As far as possible, carry dishes that may be thrown away, as wood or paper plates and cups. A spirit lamp is very desirable. Rich cakes, jellies and all sweets are especially objectionable for travelling. Be sure to take plenty of lemons and other fruits, as the trains will not often stop long enough for one to buy them at the stations, and they may not be at the proper stage of ripeness and the price will be high. Carry salt in a vaseline bottle, or if in a salt shake, screw a piece of thick paper under the top and wrap well. Have sugar in a wide-mouthed bottle or jar, also ripe olives. Rice or custard puddings can be carried in cups. Bottled fruit juices are invaluable. Lemon juice sufficient for one day may be bottled. A jar of cold cereal coffee or of tea-hygiene with cream would be highly prized by many. Trumese in Tomato or Sauce Imperial, well dried in the oven, is excellent. Fruit buns retain their moisture nicely. Wrap sandwiches, buns, cakes, eggs and nut foods in waxed paper, and if there are different kinds of sandwiches mark them. For a simple luncheon without a knife or spoon, pare oranges and break them into sections, and pare, quarter and core apples, and wrap all in waxed paper. These fruits with a trumese and egg sandwich (p. 472) make an ideal midday luncheon when spending the day in the city on business. One lady who has travelled a great deal tells me that she has found a small white apron with a pocket a great convenience in serving and eating lunches on trains, and a gentleman suggests that a short apron with a bib and strap and a pocket for the napkin would be a great convenience for those of his sex. Some of the strong pasteboard boxes that package foods come in, make good lunch boxes. We have one about 22 in. long, 9 in. wide and 6 in. deep that we can carry in a shawl strap, which we prize. The dining car has no attractions campared with the comforts of a nice home luncheon for travelling."
---The Laurel Health Cookery, Evlora Bucknum Perkins [Laurel Publishing Company:Melrose MA] 1911 (p. 504-505)
[NOTE: Trumese was a high protein combination of gluten and nuts. Description, instructions and recipes begin on p. 154.]

"Outing Supplies," The Grocer's Encyclopedia, Artemas Ward

[1913]
The Box Lunch: No. 1: Two Roast Beef Sandwiches, One Tomato Sandwich, Two Stalks of Celery (heart), Six or eight Dates stuffed with with Nuts and Ginger. No. 2: Chopped Egg Sandwiches (two), One Lettuce Sandwich, Four Raisin Cookies. No. 3:Two Cream Cheese and Red Pepper Sandwiches (made of brown bread), One cup Fruit Gelatin, Two Sponge Cakes. No. 4: Four slices of plain Bread and Butter, One small jar of Meat Salad, Two Fruit Turnovers. No. 5: Two slices Graham Bread or Lemon Butter, Two slices of crisp Bacon, One minced Ham Sandwich, Two slices of Raisin Loaf, One Apple. No. 6: Two Chicken Sandwiches, One Currant Jelly Sandwich, Two Stalks Celery (heart), Raisins and Nuts." (p. 229)
[NOTE: "The box or wrapped lunch should be most carefully planned and prepared. Provision should be made, if possible, to reheat some dish or to purchase a hot one to supplement that which is carried. Have ready paraffine paper for wrapping, a folding box, a screw top bottle for milk, cocoa or soup, a covered cup or jar for soft materials, such as custards, salads or jellies."
---The Economy Administration Cook Book, edited by Susie Root Rhodes and Grace Porter Hopkins [W.B. Conkey Co.:Hammond IN] 1913(p. 227-228)

[1922]
"What Shall We Take on the Picnic?
SANDWICHES: American Cheese, American cheese and Anchovy, American Cheese and Chili Sauce, American Cheese and Nut, Anchovy, Banana and Nut, Beef and Dill Pickle, Beefsteak, Boston Brown Bread and Chopped Peanuts, Boston Brown Bread and Grated Cheese, Bread and Butter (no filling), Calve's Liver, Canton Ginger, Caviar, Celery, Celery and Uncooked Cabbage, Chicken and Nut, Chicken Salad, Chopped Fig, Chopped Meat and Pickles, Chopped Nuts and Dates, Chopped Olives and Walnuts, Club, Crab-meat and Grated Cheese, Crab-meat and Pimento, Cream Cheese and Peanut Butter, Cream Cheese and Pimento, Cream Cheese and Olive, Cream Cheese and Stuffed Olive, Cream Cheese, Pimento, and Shredded Pineapple, Corned-beef, Cucumber, Cucumber and Radish, Date and Nut, Deviled Beed, Deviled Chicken, Deviled Crab Meat, Deviled Egg, Deviled Ham, Egg, Egg and Sardine, Frankfurter, Fried Egg, Green Pepper, Green Pepper and Pimento, Ham, Jam, Jelly, Lettuce, Lettuce and Cucumber, Lettuce and Radish, Liverwurst, Lobster and Lettuce, Lobster and Chopped Egg, Malaga Grape and Nut, Minced Chicken, Minced Chicken and Ham, Minced Chicken Livers and Lobster, Minced Chicken Libers and Shrimp, Minced Ham, Minced Turkey, Nut and Celery, Oyster and Lettuce, Peanut Butter, Pimento, Roast Beef, Roast Pork, Roquefort Cheese and Tomato, Salmon and Lettuce, Sardine, Sardine and Tomato, Shrimp and Lettuce, Sliced Chicken, Sliced Turkey, Stuffed Olive, Swiss Cheese, Tomato and Cucumber, Tomato and Egg, Tomato and Green Pepper, Tomato and Horseradish, Tomato and Lettuce, Tongue, Tuna-fish, Waldorf Salad, Watercress, Watercress and Cucumber, Watercress and Tomato. THERMOS BOTTLE: Buttermilk, Chocolate, Cocoa, Coffee (hot or cold), Egg and MIlk, Grape Juice, Grape Juice Lemon Juice Orange Juice mixed, Lemon Juice with Sugar, Milk, Orangeade, Posatum, Fruit Punch, Soup, Tea (hot or cold)."
---What Shall We Have to Eat?, Jennie Ellis Burdick [University Society:New York] 1922 (p. 54-55) [NOTE: this book does not offer recipes.]

[1924]
"Outdoor meals. From time immemorial the outdoor meal has been a real fete; probably because in the earlier days there were not so many large buildings as now, so when groups were to get together it was necessarily to occupy the out-of-doors. It was undoubtedly because of this that barbecues became so popular, and because a real outdoor fete is nowadays a rarity, that they are so popular...There is no reason why the outdoor meal should not become a habit with everyone except in very stormy weather; children should be encouraged to take their luncheons outdoors on Saturdays. There is nothing so wonderful as the adventures of playing "camping out" in the spring, summer, or late fall...During the warm weather the family can frequently eat outdoors, on the piazza, roof, in the backyards, or in a near-by park. A delightful way for a city woman to entertain her city friends in the summer is by means of a picnic lunch in the park, because it is a novelty, and because, after all, everyone loves the out-of-doors."

[1932] The impromptu picnic
"There is no jollier way to spend a summer day than picnicking, even if you do not always have time for long, involved preparations. Indeed, the most successful picnics are often proposed at the last moment. The menu can be assembled from whatever the ice-box offers and quickly packed, tucked into cars along with the family and friends, and enjoyed picnic-fashion a few miles away.

[1940] Picnic Lunches or Suppers
"The question what to eat at a picnic meal depends entirely on where the picnic is to be given. Should it be on the beach, a fire adds to the charm of the occasion: Steaks or chops can be broiled or eggs and bacon can be cooked in a frying-pan. Morever, all trash can be burned up afterwards, as one of the first lessons a good picnicker learns it to leave no trace of his visit behind him. On the other hand, if the picnic is to be given in the woods, a large fire is extremely dangerous. Therefore all the hot food should be carried in Thermos bottles and jars.

[1953] "Picnic menus

1. Wieners or hamburgers rolled in pancakes, chilled tomatoes, rye crisp, cheddar cheese, gingerbread in cup cake pans, pears and grapes, coffee.
2. Sauteed Canadian bacon on hard rolls, snap bean salad with lettuce, onions and French dressing or potato salad with lots of lettuce, deviled eggs with liver sausage, watermelon, poppy seed cake, coffee.
3. Baked ham, Italian salad, bran muffins, Roquefort cheese balls rolled in chives, sour cream apple pie, berry pie, coffee.
4. Broiled steak, canned French fried potatoes, picnic salad, soft buns spread with butter, pickles, white cake I or II with chocolate icing, salted nuts, coffee.
5. Sauteed eggs with bacon or sausages, baked beans or jambolaya, olives, toasted buttered French bread loaf, apples, gold layer cake with caramel icing, coffee.
6. Fried fish or chicken, baked potatoes, potato chips or green corn, cole slaw, dill pickles, beaten biscuits, banana chocolate cake, peaches, coffee."

[1954] "Picnics, Clambakes & Big-party dishes
I was brought up in a household famous for its fabulous cooking, and the memories of my childhood are full of one fine meal after another. But the most exciting of all were the magnificent family picnics. Huge hampers and baskets were filled with an endless array of delectable tidbits to be consumed in the great outdoors--on a wide sandy beach by the Pacific, or high in the mountains where blue and red huckleberries grew in abundance, or along some winding road deep in a canyon beside a rushing stream. For the cold food and drink, we stopped at an ice-house and picked up a large cake of ice which sat on the floor in the back of the car with the perishables on top. If we wanted anything hot, and we usually planned on coffee at least, we'd build up a fire in the open or if we were near woods that might catch from fire, we'd manage with a little alcohol stove...Today's picnicker has no such problems. He can take along a small portable cooking grill that is easy to set up and use. The Skotch Grill...serves as a container to carry its own charcoal...or some of your picnic supplies....Then there is the old reliable portable gasoline stove, the Coleman, which has served campers and outdoor enthusiasts for years. For heating coffee or soup, a little folding Sterno stove can be used wherever you stop. And if you're heading for one of the wayside picnic groves that are found along many of our great highways, you can usually find an outdoors fireplace...Carrying hot or cold food and drink is a simple matter today. There are small portable ice boxes which will hold about 12 pounds of ice, and large Thermos jugs for hot or cold food or drink. Or you can use one of the handy Skotch Koolers packed with ice cubes and your food and it will keep cold for hours...If you use paper plates and cups for serving, be sure they're the kind that don't get soggy. Plastic dishes are much more serviceable, though of course not so easily disposable. If you do any amount of picnicking, it will be worth your while to invest in one of those wonderful picnic baskets that are equipped with a Thermos bottle or two, plastic dishes, stainless steel cutlery, and salt and pepper shakers, all held in place and with room left for sandwiches and other supplies. You might also look into the many sets of portable cooking equipment designed for campers and for the use of the armed forces, available respectively at sporting-good stores and war-surplus dealers...In planning your picnic meals, you'll do well to plan a simple menu of hearty grub that will satisfy appetites sharpened by fresh air and the tang of woodsmoke. Stick to three or four items, have them of the best quality, and serve plenty of em...One classic dish for a picnic is fried chicken, cooked beforehand and reheated or eaten cold. It has a superb flavor and goes wonderfully well with the other traditional picnic foods: stuffed eggs, potato salad, baked beans and chocolate cake."
---Complete Book of Barbecue & Rotisserie Cooking, James Beard [Bobbs-Merrill:Indianapolis] 1954 (p. 80-1)

[1955]
"Outdoor Meals
If you like outdoor meals, you begin the picnic season as soon as weather permits and carry on through the cool, crisp days of fall. The simplest type of picnic meal calls for the making of a varity of hearty sandwiches and hard-cooked or devlied eggs which, accompanied by a thermos bottle of coffee and bottles of milk, needs only fruit or cookies for dessert. The children will be satisfied with a meal of this type just so they can eat it outdoors. For a more elaborate picnic, cold fried chicken may be served. There are many picnic kits obtainable on the market, containing silver, cups and plates, salt and pepper shakers, and vacuum jugs. The latter will keep food hot or cold for some time. The men of the household, generally prefer a cooked meal and will gladly do their part in making the fire and superintending the cooking of hamburgers, hot dogs, ham, or steak. A charcoal stove which can be purchased for a small amount of money is a good investment as in this case you are independent as far as fuel is concerned and anyone can get a bed of glowing coals in a short time. A folding stove with a bag of charcoal or briquets can be kept in the luggage compartment of the car ready for use...

Broiled Steak, Smothered Onions, Roasted Corn-on-the-Cob, Toasted Rusks, Mixed Green Salad, Watermelon, Coffee.
Broiled Ham, Hashed Browned Potatoes, Sliced Tomatoes, Hot Rolls, Rich Devil's Food Cake, Coffee.
Kabobs, Grilled Sweet Potatoes, Mixed Green Sald, Buttered Toast, Ginger Cake, Coffee.
Carolina Corn, Country Fried Potatoes, Hot Rolls, Cucumber Salad, Apple Pie, Coffee.
Barbecured Spareribs, Fried Apples, Baked Potatoes, Toasted Rolls, Cole Slaw, Mixed Fruit, Coffee.
Grilled Frankfurters with Bacon, Rolls, Stewed Potatoes, Mixed Vegetable Salad, Cookies, Fruit, Coffee."
---Silver Jubilee Super Market Cook Book, Edith Barker [Super Market Publishing Co.:New York] 1955 (p. 43-45)

[1960]
"Picnics and Trips
Watteau's paintings of the French court at play establish very nicely, I think the air of carefree elegance that produces a memorable picnic. Every outing, however small, would have one or two luxurious touches, an echo of the formal dining room in a pastoral setting. Among the warm memories of my childhood are the beach breakfasts and picnic suppers we used to have in the West. Some were small fmaily outings, but the memorable ones were the great repasts for 20 or more. The ladies brought salads, or desserts, or cuts of meat to be cooked. The men toted the hampers and buckets and camp chairs; they gathered the wood and built and tended the fire. Somehow my mother was always the cook--probably because she was acknowledged to be a great one. Her outdoor pancakes, with ham and sausage, were notable. Her clam fritters superb. Her hamburgers--I'm sure she used a half-pound of meat in each one-were pan-broiled to ] perfection in a huge iron skillet over the hot embers of a driftwood fire. The salt breeze freshened the appetite--or the coll pine forest half off the midday sun--or the scent of summer lay on the meadows, and in all these places and times the food and drink was beyond compare. Today, of coruse, the same opportunities offer, although it may be harder to discover the private, untouched glade or stretch of beach than it used to be. The picnic may be a romatic dejuener sur l'herbe for two, or a gathering of the clan; it may be simple as a sandwich in wax paper, or as elaborate as appetite, inclination, and purse will allow. In the Edwardian era, at the turn of the century, the landed gentry thought nothing of sending servants on ahead to the picnic site to establish an outdoor drawing room. By the time the picnickers arrived, rugs had been spread, tables set, flowers arranged in vases, the gramophone was playing, and the food was ready. And what food! Caviar, foie gras, quenelles, larks, grouse, pheasant, several salads, red and white wines, molded desserts, coffee, congnac, and champagne were the least the well-to-do picknicker could expect. Surely, this was overdoing it, but the impluse was a gay one. Even today I feel strongly that picnics should have touches of luxury and elegance. For my own picnics I always take the largest linen dinner napkins I have. I prefer good china plates to paper ones. And if wine is to be served I take the Baccarat. Few things are more detestable than good wine in paper cups. Let the circumstances of your picnic be your guide, but include the quality touch wherever you can.

"Snack Picnic: Thermos of Bloody Marys, Sliced Corned Beef, Roast Beef, Turkey, Virginia Ham, Switzerland Swiss or Bel Paese Cheese, Cheddar Cheese, Tin of Anchovy Fillets, Boneless Skinless Sardines, Hard-Cooked Eggs, Variety of Mustards, Sweet Butter, Re, French, Pumpernickel Bread, Fruit, Angel Food Cake, Pickles, Coffee.

"En Route to a Weekend: Thermos of Chilled Martinis, Olives, Nuts, Celery Sticks, Cold Broiled Chicken Halves, Bermuda-Onion Sandwiches on Homemade Bread, Chilled Peeled Tomatoes, Sliced Cucumbers, Apples or Peaches, Thermos or Espresso Coffee.

"A Luxury Picnic For Two: Champagne in Cooler, Box of Pate in Cooler, Tin of Prosciutto, Cold Melon, Container of Lobster Newburgh, Patty Shells, Crisp Rolls, Camembert Cheese, Basket of Fruit, Thermos of Espresso Coffee.

"A Beach Picnic: Grilled Italian Sausages, Italian Bread, Ciopino, Tossed Green Salad, Zuppa Inglese, Red Wine.

"Tailgate Picnic for Four: Chicken and Rice Paella, Crisp Green Salad, Blue Cheese, French Bread, Beer.

"First Picnic in Spring: Chilled White Wine, Shrimp 'n Shells with Mustard Mayonnaise, Scallions and Radishes with Sweet Butter, Old-Country Meat Loaf, French Bread and Butter, Roquefort-Cognac Spread, Strawberries in Kirsch, Iced Coffee with Cream, Kirsch.

"Picnic for Children: Tomato or Pineapple Juice, Hero Sandwiches with French Bread, Peanut Butter and Mayonnaise Finger Rolls, Cream-Cheese and Strawberry Jam Sandwiches, Ice Cream, Old-Fashioned Chocolate Cake, Sliced Oranges with Cinnamon, Milk.

"Rich, Elegant Picnic for 10: Magnificence in this degree cannot be constructed casually. Somebody should be sent on ahead in a station wagon (or station wagons) to set the stage properly. Further, you must choose a spot with a spectacular view. You will need folding tables and folding chairs, protable ice boxes, champagne coolers, good cloths and napkins, good silver, china and crystal, and the back of one or two of the station wagons for serving the buffets. Rigorous attention to these niceties will recreate great Edwardian picnic with perfect service and perfect food--and the discreet music from a good FM station in the background. MENU: French Champagne, Caviar, Toast, Onion, Sour Cream, Chopped Egg, Double Consomme with Chopped Parsley, Chaud-Froaid Chicken, Baked Ham in Crust, Asparagus Vinaigrette, Tiny French Rolls, Frozen Raspberry Mousse, Small Cakes, Demitasse. It is my feeling that if you are going to serve caviar you might as well go deeply into debt and have a lot of it-on ice. Serve it with toast or melba toast, or dark bread. I like mine with lemon juice only, but you had better have some chopped onion, chopped egg, and sour cream for those who think otherwise. Naturally, serve champagne or chilled vodka. Do not rush. Relax. Enjoy yourself. Take your time. When the caviar is cleared, small cups of hot, double-strength consomme with chopped parsley and more melba toast will give a pleasant contrast."
---James Beard's Treasury of Outdoor Cooking, James Beard [Ridge Press:New York] 1960 (p. 214-226)

[1960]
"Special Picnics: The Picnic menus we remember best were highly repetive and reassuring. There was plenty of cold fried chicken, potato salad, piclkes, several kinds of bread, oranges, bananas, cold lemonade, cake and watermelon. If we built a fire, there would be weiners and baked beans. This chapter does not belittle such ceremonial food. Here, however, we divorce ourselves form the expected and report the discovery that food which is generally associated with snow white linen, silver, candlelight, and faultless service tastes even better in forest shade beside a brook. Why not toast the scolding jay with champagne? Why not an epicuran picnic? Preparation for such special events is but little more demanding than if menus were prosaic. Your special picnic might be planed around a foreign theme--a Cantonese Picnic prepared over a hibachi, served in baskets on straw table mat, and brough to a pleasant close with Chinese fortune or almond cookies, litchi nuts, and Chinese tea; or a Mexican Fiesta Picnic set against a gay Mexican cloth and featuring Taquitos and Chili Beans. Or it mahy be a spicnic served on the tailgate of a station wagon en rout to a football game or a week end in the snow. It is to be noted that if a picnic is not on your calendar, the food ideas here are worthy of many backgrounds. Elegant Trout Picnic: Chicken Liver-Mushroom Pate, Sesame Water Crackers, Wine Poached Trout, Salad Relish Skewers, Marinated Asparagus Tips with Lemon, Russian Rye BRead, Baba Au Rhum. Champagne Picnic: Strawberries with Stems, Pink Champagne on Ice, Chicken Breasts in Ham, Avocado Halves with Garlic French Dressing, Herb-Buttered Bread, Lemon Velvet Tarts. Cantonese Picnic: Shellfish Tidbits, Bacon-Wrapped Chicken Livers, Sweet and Sour Pork, Picnic Fried Rice, Condiments: Preserved Ginger and Soy, Sliced Tomatoes, Cucumbers, and Turnips or Green Onions, Chinese Cookies, Candy, Nuts, Sparkling Apple Juice, Chinese Tea. Fiesta Picnic: Taquitos (Mexican Sandwichies or Little Tacos), Salda de Tomatillo, Chili Beans, Avocado with Lime Wedges, Fresh Fruit, Mexican Chocolate. Beach Picnic: Broiled Oysters or Clams Mariniere, French Bread, Shoestring Potatoes, Cabbage Slaw, Apple Crisp, Coffee. Soup and Salad Picnic: Fresh Tomato Soup, Wheat Crackers, Potato Salad Caesar, Open Face Sandwiches, Chocolate Cream Cups, Chocolate Refrigerator Cookies. Barbecue Picnic: Hot Tomato Bouillon, Charcoal Broiled Steak, Orange Marinade, Toasted Hamburger Buns, Grilled Peppers, Potato Chips, Fruit Basket of Pears and Grapes, Hot Coffee. Game Day Picnic: Weiner Schnitzel on French Rolls, Hot Mustard, Catsup, Hard Cooked eggs with Capers, Gruyere or Port Salut, Saltines, Coffee. Cool-Weather Picnic: Finger-Food Spareribs, Hot Lima Bean and Pear Casserole, Celery Sticks, Gingerbread with Sugar Glaze, Coffee. Roadside Smorgasbord: Assorted Breads, Butter, Cold Cuts, Cheese Slices, Sardines, Wilted Cucumbers, Tangy Macaroni Salad, Fruit Compote, Cookies, Coffee."
---Sunset Cook Book: Food With a Gourmet Touch, Annabel Post, editor [Lane Book Company:Menlo Park CA] 1960 (p. 155-166)

[1961]
"Old Fashioned Basket Picnic
Old-Fashioned Potato Salad, Ham Sandwiches, Cold Fried Chicken, Pickles, Olives, Celery Hearts, Small Loaf Cake, Fresh Peaches and Cherries, Vacuum Bottle Hot or Cold Drinks.

"Vacuum Jar Cold Drinks, Olives, Midget Pickles, Cocktail Snack Crackers, Baked Stuffed Chicken Breast, Smoked Beef Tongue Sandwiches, Very Small Stuffed-Tomato Salads, Stuffed Celery, Assorted Fruit Tarts, Hot Coffee.

"Giant Cheeseburgers, Grill-Toast Buns, Boston Baked Beans, Tomato and Onion Slices, Mustard Pickles, Small Frosted Cupcakes, Peppermint Candy Ice Cream, Hot Coffee.

"Hamburgers on the Grill, Roast Corn in Husks, Cups of Jellied Fruit Salad, Sliced Black Walnut Buttered Bread, Watermelon, Coffee, Lemonade.

"Vacuum Bottle Cold Fruit Juice, Broiled Steaks (T-bone, cubed, or hamburger), Scallions, Stuffed Endive, Celery With Roquefort Cheese, Ash-Roasted Potatoes, Chocolate Ice Cream, Coconut Macaroons, Hot Coffee."
---Amy Vanderbilt's Complete Cookbook, Amy Vanderbilt [Doubleday & Company:Garden City, NY] 1961 (p. 705-7)

[1965] "Picnics
The English are the greatest of picnickers and have led the field for hundreds of years. They have hampers for the races, outdoor teas for the amusement of children, and all sorts of occasions for sitting and eating in the countryside. In France along the roads one sees families seated in collapsible chairs around a collapsible table eating and drinking with gusto. In Japan elaborate picnic boxes may be purchased to be take to the football field or to a spot beside a placid pool. Here in America there are picnic tables along the roadside where one may set up a simple meal or sandwiches or do a barbecue. Wherever it is done, picknickng can be one of the supreme pleasures of outdoor life. At its most elegant, it calls for the accompaniment of the best linens and crystal and china; at its simplest it needs only a bottle of wine and items purchased from the local delicatessen as one passes through town...The color and charm of the countryside can make the most modest meal taste superb. Have a picnic at the slightest excues. It is even fun to have a box lunch and a hot drink in the car on a wintry day, while you look out at a dazzling stretch of landscape...A Festive Country or Beach Picnic--Without Sandwiches: Stuffed Tomatoes, Veal or Pork Terrine, Beef a la Mode ed Gelee, Potato Salad or Green Salad, French Bread, Butter, Cheese, Fruit, Angel Food Cake...A Champagne Picnic for 4 or 6: Macadamia Nuts, Potage Germinty, Roast Fillet of Beef, Potato and Hearts of Palm Salad, Cherry Tomatoes, French or Italian Bread, Sweet Butter, Fresh Fruit, Cream Cheese or Roquefort, Petits Fours Squares...A Beer Picnic for a Large Gathering: Sausage Board, Westphalian Ham, Boiled or Baked Ham, Cold Meat Loaf, Deviled Eggs, Caviar Eggs, Pungent Eggs, Cole Slaw, Senfgurken, Dill Pickles, Emmenthal Cheese, Rye, Pumpernickel and Butter, Apple Kuchen...An Antipasto Picnic: This is eminently easy to prepare. In fact, the whole picnic may be assembled by shopping at the Italian delicatessens and the vegetable market..."
---James Beard's Menus for Entertaining, James Beard, c. 1965 [Dell Paperback:New York] 1986 (p. 288-303)

[1965] "Picnics and Barbecues
Keep special picnic equipment packed in a basket. A wire broiler and long handled forks and tongs are essential for broiling over a fire. A bag of charcoal for the fire avoids the necessity of finding wood at the picnic site. A basket with an ice compartment is excellent for cream, milk, butter, salads and relishes.

"Cooking out of doors is increasingly popular the food tastes superb and work is simplified. Out-of-door appetites are apt to be huge, so plan on at least 1/2 pound of boned meat or one pound with the bone for each person. Sandwiches will be at their best if you wrap them tightly, freeze, and carry them without defrosting. Make them without lettuce--you can add lettuce when you are ready to serve them, if you like, or serve crisp carrot or celery sticks instead.

"Hot foods are always welcome. Heat thoroughly and pack in vacuum jars or in heavy casseroles wrapped in a thick layer of newspapers, or reheat them over the fire, rubbing the underside of the pan with soap so that it will be easier to clean after using. Some good hot foods for picnics are vegetable soup or minestrone, Boston baked beans, chicken fricassee, creamed or buttered vegetables, goulash, pot roast, smothered chicken and spaghetti. Salads and other cold foods. Green salad (the dressing carried separately in a jar, ready to add), chicken salad, mixed vegetable salad, potato salad, baked ham, sliced roast meat loaf, savory cottage cheese, whole peeled tomatoes, carrot curls, celery, olives, pickles.

"Grilled foods. ..There are manys suggestions in the chapters on meat, fish and poultry. Among the best are steaks, broilers (split in half), and lamb chops (marinated in French dressing). Fish, hamburg or chopped lamb patties, sausages and frankfurters are easier to turn in the greased folding grill or a well-salted pan. As a variation, sandwich two thin hamburg patties with a slice of tomato or dill pickle or with a bit of cheese, relish or chopped onion. Press firmly around the edges. Split frankfurters and stuff with relish or a slice of cheese or wrap in bacon. Shish Kebabs.

"Brush vegetables with salad oil seasoned with salt and pepper. Good vegetables for broiling are halved tomatoes, slices eggplant and potatoes, and wedges of zucchini and carrot. Fresh or canned pineapple wedges, halved peaches and apricots and quartered apples are tasty as relished with broiled meats and are delicious as dessert. Sprinkle with sugar or not as you prefer. Brown evenly on both sides and serve hot.

"Foil cooking is successful for many foods. Wrap in aluminum foil and cook on the grill. Potatoes take about 1 hour, corn 15 minutes, frozen vegetables (with a dab of butter and a sprinkling of salt) about 30 minutes. Dip small whole fish in salad oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and roll in corn meal. Sprinkle fish fillets and sliced fish with salt and pepper and dot with butter. Cook about 10 minutes on each side. Serve wrapped in the foil."
---Fannie Farmer Cookbook, revised by Wilma Lord Perkins, 11th edition [Little, Brown and Company:New York] 1965 (p. 28-9)

"Everybody's Favorite Picnic: Barbecued Spoonburgers, Radishes Raw Cauiflower, Dill Pickles, Cellery and Carrot Stick, Date-Oatmeal Squares (from a mix), Bananas aand small bunches of Green Grapes, Fresh Lemonade.
Picnic in the Back Yard: Relish Tray (black and green olives, cherry tomatoes, cucumber sticks, green onions, radishes), Chili con Carne in Red Wine on Polenta Squares, Herb-Buttered Zucchini and Carrots, Caramel Corn, Lemon Fluff with Raspberries, Iced Tea or Iced Coffee.
All-America Picnic: Sliced Ham or Sliced Tongue Sandwiches on Cheese Swirl Bread, Fresh-Apple Slaw, Quick Fudge Cupcakes, Hot Coffee, Milk."
---McCall's Picnic and Patio Cook Book, [Advance Publishers:Orlando FL] 1965 (p. 26-28)

[1969]
Nika Hazelton's Picnic Book [New York:Atheneum] is *the manual* for hosting interesting, elegant theme picnics. Each has it's own setting; foods and wines selected carefully reflect the location and event. These picnics reflect the grand European tradition of combining outdoor food and entertainment. Hazelton also includes literary selections to be read aloud during the repast. Practical notes are well heeded: "Finally, picnic or note, you've invited people to eat with you and are under the obligation to produce food at a reasonable time. And if you cannot face this, follow my friend Norbert Muhlen's advice. He says the best restaurant is the best picnic of all. If you like fresh air, choose a restaurant that has a garden." (P. 11). Sample menus:

[1974]
"Picnics
To make a picnic really enjoyable the food should be as well prepared as though it were served at home. The food may be either hot or cold, but should be taken in thermos jugs so that it will be as advertised. Also take along all the equipment needed for everyone's comfort and convenience: gay tablecloths and table accessories that are disposable, yet will not disintegrate in use. You might want to pack a complete individual lunch for each person, complete with sandwiches, salad, beverage, dessert, and so on in a gay package. Or not pack sandwiches at all, but just bring the makings and spread them out attractively on platters...This is one time when your best homemade layer cake will be greatly appreciated. A big cake can usually be counted on to appease the last of the outdoor appetites. And take along plenty to drink in the way of coffee, lemonade, or iced tea, if you will be in a place where drinking water or cold soft drinks are not available. Don't forget plenty of fruit."
---America's Cook Book, Marguerite Dodd [Charles Scribner's Sons:New York], Revised Edition, 1974 (p. 256)

[1975]
"A Cool Weather Family Picnic
Quick New England-Style Clam Chowder, Crackers, Boston Baked Beans, Cocktail Sausages, Crisp Apples, Chedder Cheese Wedges, Gingerbread, Spiced Orange Tea Mix.

"A Warm Weather Family Picnic
Circassian Chicken, Marinated Tomatoes and Artichokes, Dill Pickles, Ripe and Green Olives, Buttered rolls, Thelma's 1,2,3,4 Cake, Beer, Easy Lemonade Mix.

A Cool Weather Gourmet Picnic
Hot Buttered Rum, Mugs of Minestrone Milanese, Savory Meat Balls Served from Chafing Dish, Ripe and Green Olives, Garlic Buttered Italian Bread, Ripe Pears, Brie and Port du Salut, Espresso.

A Warm Weather Gourmet Picnic
Iced Vodka, Chilled Champagne, Chilled Billi-Bi, Caviar Stuffed Hard-Cooked Eggs, Sausage and Pastry Rolls, Assorted Danish Sandwiches, Vanilla Pots de Creme, Petits Fours, Coffee."
---The Doubleday Cookbook: Complete Contemporary Cooking, Jean Anderson and Elaine Hanna [Doubleday & Company:Garden City NY] 1975 (p. 71)

[1983]
"Classic Summer Picnic
Old South Fried Chicken, Barbecued Ribs with Back Bay Sauce, Early Dutch Coleslaw, Heritage Baked Beans, Dilled Potato Salad, Buttermilk Custard Pie."
---Bon Appetit Dinner Party Cookbook [Knapp Press:Los Angeles CA] 1983 (p. 229)

GARDEN PARTIES (AKA LAWN PARTIES)
Anyone can eat a meal outdoors. Over-the-top catered outdoor meal events are reserved for the privileged. Elegant American garden parties descend from European wealthy families entertaining guests in ancestral summer country homes. American print instructions for garden parties first surface in early 20th century texts. Completely understandable, given the social-political-economic booming years some folks enjoyed between the Civil War & WWI. Decadent, leisurely, social and delicious: these early 20th century fetes raised the American social entertainment bar a few notches. DuPont family's Garden Parties at Longwood set the gold standard for this entertaining genre.

[1900]
"Out-Door Parties and Picnics: Garden and Lawn Parties
One of the most agreeable forms of summer entertainments in the country, or at suburban residences, where the charm of nature spreads over the whole scene, is the garden or lawn party. In remote country localities these parties are very delightful, particularly if city friends are guests for the summer, as the perfume of roses, the odor of clover blossoms, and the rustic surroundings, are charming and diverting to the denizens of the busy world who are tired of the artificial life of society. When properly conducted a garden party may be given with very little trouble, and made very simple and informal, but if desired may be quite elaborate and ceremonious. When only neighbors are to be entertained, a hasty invitation, so as to be sure of fine weather, may be sent 2 or 3 days in advance, but when guests are expected from any distance it is customary to send invitation 8 or 10 days in advance. These invitations are usually engraved on handsome, plain note paper, and may be in this form:

MR. AND MRS. CHARLES LEIGH
request the pleasure of
MRS. MORTONS'
Company on Thursdya, the Fifth of August,
at 3 o'clock.
Garden Party. Maple Grove.

"Ladies wear hats or bonnets at a garden party, and would dress otherwise appropriately. If a plain, informal affair, the dress should be simple and becoming, and if games like lawn tennis or archery are among the amusements, light flannel dresses are suitable. But if invited to a ceremonious lawn party, where style will previal, handsome though simple toilets are required. Picturesque costumes may be made very effective on the grass and under the trees, and ladies of taste have a fine field for displaying it upon such occasions. Many very fashionable people conduct the garden party in the style of an afternoon tea, receiving and entertaining guests in the open air until ready to serve refreshments, when all are invited to the dining-room to partake of them.

"When the refreshements are to be served in the garden or lawn, of course the dishes must all be cold, and may consist of salads, pates, pressed meats, Charlottes, jellies, ices, cakes, lemonade and iced tea. A cup of hot tea should always be in readiness in the kitchen for those ladies desiring it. Numbers of small tables, with pretty, fancy covers, and colored napkins, should be set around under the trees, near fountains and other suitable places, with camp-stools for the accommodation of guests when partaking of the refreshments. Gentlemen may help the ladies, if they prefer, and wait on themselves, requiring the servants only to remove the dishes, and replenish the pitchers with lemonade, milk, or water. Fruits and berries are served at garden parties, and should be of the finest quality. Ices are a very acceptable addition to an outdoor entertainment, being light and refreshing for warm weather; they are served in fancy paper-cups, laid on ice plates. For ladies desiring to give garden parties, the following bill of fare will be found sufficient:

Cold Rolls. Mixed Sandwiches.
Brown Bread. Pickled Tongue.
Jellied Chicken.
Cold Birds. Lobster Salad.
Charlotte Russe.
Biscuits Glaces. Fancy Cakes.
Fruits.
Lemonade. Ice Tea.

[1905]
"A Few Lawn Suppers:
Creamed Chicken Salad in Tomato Cases, Olive Sandwiches, Apple Cup, Fruit Parfait, Almondines.
Fruit Salad, Nut Sandwiches, East India Punch.
Chicken in Aspic, Mayonnaise, Brown and White Bread, Cress Sandwiches, Olives, Salted Nuts, Raspberry Sherbet, Small Cakes.
Lamb Salad, Nasturtium Sandwiches, Peach Mangoes, Mint Sherbet, Wafers."
---Mrs. Rorer's Every Day Menu Book, Mrs. Sarah Tyson Rorer [Arnold & Company:Philadelphia] 1905 (p. 258)

[1905]
"Garden Parties
A garden party is nothing less than a reception held out-of-doors. The only modifications are those which the place entails. There is much in favor of making the most of the gardens, flowers, trees, and lawns on days when the weather permits. Every one enjoys the cool shade and the abundant room on these occasions. If hostesses, in their summer residences, realized the greater comfort to their guests, they would utilize these accessories more than they do. The fickleness of the weather is the only contingency for which the hostess must be prepared, to meet which only reasonable foresight is necessary. When preparations are made for a gsarden party, or fete champetre, there must also be ample provision for transferring the reception easily and quickly from the garden to the house in case of bad weather. If the occasion is formal, engraved invidations must be used. They are in block letters or black script on white paper or cards, and may be worded thus:

Mrs. Charles Edmund
requests the pleasure of
--(insert name of guest)--
company on Thursday afternoon,
July third,
from four until seven o'clock.
Garden Party. The Bower.

"If the place is large enough to afford room for games of croquett, tennis, or golf, all of these opportunties should be offered to the guests. The chief amusements are of a social nature, the guests moving freely about, and partaking of refreshment. It is, therefore, not necessary to provide a chair for each guest; but comfortable lounging places, whicker or rustic chairs, benches, and settees are always acceptable. It is all well to spread rugs here and there where the ground may be damp. Especial attention must be paid to the comfort of the delicate or old. The refereshments will include such berries and fruits as may be in season, with ices, cold drinks, cakes, sandwiches, salad, claret, or other cup, and lemonade. These are served under an awning, tent, or bower decorated with flowers, and dispensed by servants at the call of the guests. Or this may all be inexpensively and effectively served from the shade of the veranda.

"Punctually on the hour the hostess should order the musical programme begun. She should be ready on the lawn to greet each arrival. She may enjoy the shade of either a hat or her parasol. As the guests arrive the are greeted by shaking hands, and are introduced to strangers. If the attendance is very large, she will have little time for anything but greeting and adieus. Then she must rely upon the help of her friends. If the party is a small one, she will be able to mingle with her guests and not run the risk of failing to see a new arrival. The guests, on their arrival, enter the house, where rooms on the ground floor are set aside for their convenience. Wraps, veils, and coats are there laid aside before boing out to greet the hostess on the lawn. After this guests largely entertain themselves. It is quite proper to remain during the entire afternoon, but no call should be shorter than half an hour, during which time the guest should be as prominent as good taste allows. This is out of deference to the hostess. If one is obliged to make only a short stay, it is well not to take formal leave of the hostess, but to slip away as quietly as possible. When the party is very large it is customary for the quests to leave cards, either upon entering or leaving the house.

"There is absolutely nothing to be prescribed in the way of dress for either ladies or gentlemen at a garden party. Ladies may indulge their tastes in the lightes dresses for afternoon wear in and and every direction. Gentlemen may wear frock coat with silk hat, or a yachting or flannel or serge suit with straw hat. Gentlemen do not wear gloves on such occasions. While in England, and in the ultra- fashionable sets in America, gentlemen dress de rigueur, the greater inclination is towards an informal dress."
---Consolidated Library of Modern Cooking and Household Recipes, Volume 1: The Modern Hostess, Christine Terhune Herrick, editor and chief [R.J. Bodmer:New York] 1905 (p. 204-208)

[1905]
"Indoor Lawn Party
Our social committee, of which I was then chairman, wanted very much to have a lawn party; but the season for such things was quite over, as the evenings were too cool. However, a bright idea occurred to one of our number, and we decided to have an indoor lawwn party. The Saturday afternoon before it was to take place, four of the committee took a team, went out into the woods, and secured a lot of pine boughs, autumn leaves, tec., and Monday evening, which was the evening before it occurred, we increaszed our force of workers, and went to the vestry to turn it, as far as possible, into an outdoor scene. We trimmed the chandeliers, posts, and every available spot with boughs, strung Japanese lantersn all across the room, made a beautiful bower in one corner for the orchestra, for which we had three pieces, a piano, a violin, and a cornet. In the opposite corner of the room we had a canvas tent where fortunes were told at five cents each (by palmistry) by one of your young lady gypsies. Hammocks were swung from the large stone posts, and a standing double swing was placed on one side of the room, where the younger people enjoyed themselves hugely. Small tables were put into odd corners of the room, where ice cream and cake were served by ten young ladies in pretty summer costumes. Lemonade was served from an old well, which was a large square box or packing case, covered with canvas, painted to represent a stone wall. To this we attached a well-sweep made form a branch of a tree, tied on a large new tin pail, and served the lemonade in small glasses at two cents a glass. During the eveningwe had a male quartette gather around the well and song 'The Old Oaken Bucket,' and other selections. The orchestra played the whole evening with very short intermissions. One one side of theroom was aranged an artistic corner where peanuts were sold at the usual price of five cents a bag."
---Bright Ideas for Entertaining, Mrsa. Herbert B. Linscott [George W. Jacobs:Philadelphia] ninth edition, 1905 (p. 98-99)

Automobile lunches & motor picnics
We Americans love our cars. As soon as we could drive, we took our picnics "on the road."

[1920s]
Thomas Edison's automobile camping trips

[1924] "Automobile luncheons.
These may be easily packed in ready-made kits obtained at almost any price, or in a suitcase partioned off at home for the purpose. All dishes should be of paper, folding knives, spoons, and forks may be carried. The points to be considered in planning the menu are to select foods thay may be easily transported and to balance the meal. A course meal may be provided if desired, soup carried in a hot-cold bottle. Meat loaf, fried chicken, broiled chicken, sliced roast beef or ham may act as the main course, or a meat or egg salad may take its place, lettuce being carried separately. If desired, a substantial course may be made of sandwiches. (For suggestions see chapter on Sandwiches.) The dessert may consist of fruit and any cake or pie that is not sticky. Or use cookies, gingerbread, plain or jelly doughnuts."
---Mrs. Allen on Cooking, Menus, Service, Ida C. Bailey Allen [Doubleday, Doran & Company:Garden City] 1924 (p. 907-8)

[1926]"Picnics--Motor Lunches Cold Ham and Tongue, Potato Salad, Pickles, Buttered Rolls, Hot Coffee, Fruit, Cake."
---The Art of Cooking and Serving, Sarah Field Splint [Proctor & Gamble:Cincinnati OH] 1926 (p. 233)

[1936] "Summer renews the stage for the picnic: Elaborate Hampers or Simple Boxes May Hold the Feast,"
--- New York Times, July 26, 1936. This article details at length the contents of a picnic basket for a "motor picnic."

RV & Camp cookery
Extended road trips eventually produced a new set of cooking techniques and menu options. "Car camping" evolved into more elaborate RV cooking. Horace Kephart's Camp Cookery: Outdoor Cooking Secrets c. 1910 is an excellent guide for early 20th century camping techniques and recipes. Boy Scout and Girl Scout Handbooks are also excellent guides for creative low-cost outdoor cooking techniques.

[1937] RV cooking

"Wholesome food, well prepared, is a basic requirement in the lives of all of us, and the needs of the human body do not vary in this resepect when we go vacationing. The only real difference between appetites at home and 'in transit'is that appetites on vacation usually are more robust. Appetites in trailers are no exception. Three meals a day can be well executed with a minimum of effort in the snug convenience of a trailer kitchen. Adventuring in a trailer opens opportunities for adverturing in new foods, to anyone who will explore the possibilities of this vagabond existence; and for summer camps and kitchenettes, these menus are equally convenient. Meals for the trailer need not be drab or uninteresting. Fresh food on every roadside stand, wholesome food in cans challenging the homemaker to feed her traveling companions interesting food, well prepared. Good food which is adequate and appetizing need not be elaborate or intricate to prepare. It is hoped that the martyr spirit dominating homemakers of an earlier day will not reappear in the trailer. Some of the same spirit of adventure that prompted the pioneer homemaker to feed her family well as she swayed across the continent in her covered wagon may still be required of today's trailer homemaker. New frontiers are hers without the same hardships and hazards. Today's trailer homemaker, if she has taken a step in the fashionable direction of keeping up with the times, will dominate her meals--not be dominated by them. She will plan each day's meals carefully, with the assurance that her family is adequately fed. She will reduce their preparation to a minimum of time and effort, so that most of her day will find her free to revel in the day's adventures in carefree, holiday mood."
---Meals on Wheels: A Cook Book for Trailers and Kitchenettes, Lou Wilson and Olive Hoover [Modern Age Books:New York] 1937 (forward)

Cooking Equipment
"One of the first hazards to be overcome by the trailer cook is her desire to take too much cooking equipment. It is so much easier to empty out the kitchen drawer into the trailer drawer; the pan closet into the trailer closet, then to sit down and question herself about each piece, 'Do I need this? Can I use this pan for a roaster as well as a frying pan?' The most important point is to take the minimum amount of equipment with a place for every bit of it! For example, if you want to take your electric roaster, your pressure cooker and your waffle iron, do please find a place for them in one of the cupboards. Do not let them set out to catch dust. it is difficult enough for two or more people to live in small quarters, keeping the trailer neat and orderly, without adding incidentals to the task....New Equipment. Look for new ideas in utensils. There are some now on the market with new ones continually being added. Many of them are ideal for the trailer, if new equipment has to be purchased. There are pans which come two or three to a set, with individual covers. The nest together and will fit over one burner. If an oven is needed, and a portable one is not desired, there are ovenettes now available which are quite satisfactory. They fit over one of the the top units on the stove, and bake in the same way as an oven. A little practice is needed, however, to learn to regulate theheat. Recently an aluminum manufacturer of Wooster, Ohio, brought out a very useful utensil kit. The price is about nine dollars and the kit contains: 1 percolator, 3 different size saucepans with lids, 2 different size frying pans with lids. The lid of the largest frying pan fits a large water pail. All of the utensils pack completely into the water pail. There are two handles which fit all pans. The new self draining saucepans are worth the extra pennies they cost."
---Meals on Wheels (p. 6, 8) [NOTES: (1) Buckeye Aluminum Company, Wooster OH, manufactured the cookware referenced above. (2)This book offers supply lists, cooking tips, menus & recipes. Happy to share.]

[1940] "Articles Needed and Menus for a Motor Picnic
Small hamper, 1 box for sandwiches, 1 box for cake, 1 box for cold meat, 2 Thermos bottles, one-quart size, 12 paper napkins, 1 roll of waxed paper, 1 salt-shaker, 1 pepper-shaker, 1 small glass jar for sugar.

[1956] "Hamper picnic for a roadside lunch.
Jug of coffee or lemonade, baked ham sandwiches, cheese-rye sandwiches, deviled eggs, whole tomatoes, cupcakes or brownies, fresh fruit."
---Betty Crocker's Picture Cookbook, second edition, revised and enlarged [McGraw Hill:New York] 1956 (p. 259)

What is a "Swiss picnic?"
Swiss National Day, est. 1891, is celebrated August 1st with a variety of outdoor activities. One of the most popular activies is eating, including picnics. This festive holiday is sometimes likened to the USA's Independence Day celebration, July 4th. We find no specific connotation/definition for the term "Swiss Picnic" apart from the general allusion above. Several Swiss-American organizations hold annual picnics. According the information uploaded to the Internet, these are festive celebrations welcoming family, friends and community. Perhaps this was the allusion Larry David meant in his quote from the show Curb Your Enthusiasm: "It's no Swiss Picnic for me, either."

About culinary research & about copyright
Research conducted by Lynne Olver, editor The Food Timeline. About this site.