The diet in California during the Rancho period had very little variety, but after the annexation by the United States things changed quickly. The discovery of gold brought immigrants with different tastes, and the arrival of railroads and steamships brought imported and luxury items as well as the first convenience foods. This talk with Richard Foss, explains what we ate and how we ate it in the era before gas stoves, refrigeration, and packaged foods during a period of extraordinary changes.