by Richard Barons
Food trails are fascinating to ramble because they take one to the heart of ancient food fashions. And corn-based samp is certainly one of North America’s most ancient food stuffs. Corn has its own tale that includes a ramble. Corn seems to have come to the Northeast from South America. Corn’s sweet kernels moved up the East Coast as the Indians began their migrations and strengthened their communications. When the first Europeans arrived at, what we call, “Manhattan” they were impressed with the oysters, venison, squash and corn, that made-up the diet of the local Native Peoples. Since corn was unknown in Europe, it became quite the delicacy for the new arrivals. Corn’s versatility lead cooks into much experimentation, from ground flour to popcorn.
In some of the oldest documented references to the foods first consumed by the Long Island English, there are notations to “samp.” Sometimes called “seaump” or “suppawn,” this corn-based food was first introduced to the Europeans by the native people, but as to who first combined it with meats and vegetables we may never know. It may have been just an improvisation of a clever settler cook. Whatever the derivation, the food called samp was a staple of East End families from the very beginning of East Hampton’s settlement in 1648.
From the Rattray family Click to enlarge
The early East Enders counted samp mortars as an important farm tool.
These were tall mortar & pestles that were often made by the Indians from a tree stump. Once hollowed-out, to form a deep bowl, a club-like pounder was carved from a thick branch to make a pestle for grinding. The corn kernels were soaked, for several days, and then placed into the trunk and mashed into a pulp.
Some clever settlers learned to attach the pounder to a nearby sapling so as to create a simple machine that automated the process into a rhythm that used the sapling to lift up the pestle.
The product that was made by the samp mortars was baked in a beehive oven or hearth cooked in a pan until it was firm enough to be cut into blocks for instant use or storage. Rather like a thick dry brick, samp could be stored indefinitely. In an age of little refrigeration, dried samp was a very practical food source especially during winter and spring.
So what did the typical East Hampton family do with their warehoused chunks of dry flavorless amber-colored samp? Certainly to consume it, samp needed to be cooked in water or broth. Samp became a very popular one-pot meal with meat and stored root vegetables used with plenty of salt and other spices to make a more palatable dinnertime stew. In the morning porridge was made from the boiled samp, milk, butter and brown sugar.
In Mary Mooney Getoff’s charming “Samp: A Traditional Food of Eastern Long Island,” she relates the story of Albertson’s Store. This general store was on Main Street in Southold and carried commercially made samp into the 1950’s. For years the store ordered samp in 100 pound bags for its hungry customers. Mrs. Marian Regent, of Southold, gave Mrs. Getoff one of her mother’s old family recipes. Here is a start for anyone who would like to add samp to their holiday menu:
Mrs. Albertson’s Samp Porridge
1. Put into a large bowl
2 cups of samp
1 cup of marrow or pea beans
2. Cover the samp and beans with about
1 ½ qts. water and let soak overnight
3. When ready to cook the samp, drain off the water from it and the beans
4. Put the samp and beans into a large pot and add
2 to 2 ½ quarts of water
2 or more pounds of loin of pork or 2 or more pounds of chicken, cut-up
1 ½ teaspoons salt
¼ teaspoon pepper
5. Cover the pot and simmer the mixture gently for several hours, maybe 3. This depends on the softness desired. Add water when necessary.
6. Taste and correct seasonings
7. Serve the samp in soup bowls, making sure each guest is given some meat.
Sherrill Foster, East Hampton’s co-Town Historian, remembers samp as a scary side dish,
served once a year in the school cafeteria. She also remembers that few of her fellow
students would even put a fork into it. And certainly that fork didn’t touch ant student
lips. Since we are all so sophisticated about cuisine, these days, maybe samp would
not receive such an unhappy reception. Who knows, could samp become the new polenta?
Enjoy!
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