"frybread" "fry bread"

[Swain, Bill]

What are the circumstances?  Is your character cooking over an open fire, or
on a woodstove?  There are a number of traditional "frybread" type breads
that could be prepared either over an open fire or on top of a stove such as
johnny-cake or johnny-bread, corn-pone, doughnuts (or do-nuts) hush puppies,
or ashcake (probably the oldest and most widely known among early settlers
and frontiersmen - it can be prepared without a pan).   I'll check some
sources, but I remember the term frybread used in some very old Smoky
Mountain folk tales that my great granddaddy used to tell my Daddy.  These
stories were all in the oral tradition and not written down until Richard
Chase came along back in the 30's, but in accordance with North Carolina
hillbilly pronunciation if I were to transcribe it I would definitely spell
it "frybread" - one word.  Another pertinent question is of which ethnic
descent is your character?  Every culture in the world has some form of
fried dough.  Your character would probably call whatever is being cooked by
the term used by his/her parents/grandparents.  If your character is
Cheyenne there is probably an Indian term for fried dough that would be even
more authentic.

-----Original Message-----
From: Dan Goodman [mailto:dsgood at VISI.COM]
Sent: Tuesday, August 31, 1999 3:36 PM
To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
Subject: "frybread" "fry bread"


Can anyone help with this?

Dan Goodman
dsgood at visi.com
http://www.visi.com/~dsgood/index.html
Whatever you wish for me, may you have twice as much.

---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Tue, 31 Aug 1999 14:11:45 EDT
From: CherylStJ at aol.com
Reply-To: prock-research at mail-list.com
To: prock-research-d at mail-list.com
Subject: [prock-research] frybread and comfy

Generous listmembers--

I need immediate help with a line edit that I must return ASAP.

One:
The copy editor noted that Webster's says "frybread" didn't come into use
until 1950.  My characters are Cheyenne and the year is approximately 1885.
She also divided it into two words: fry bread
Can someone offer information?  And if I can't use frybread as a staple,
what
other dish made from grain would my character prepare for a meal?