Back in the 1800s, codfish was plentiful along the east coast in the U.S. and cookbooks often had recipes for fish balls. Fish balls are no longer popular here, but quite common in Scandinavia, China, Hong Kong, and Southeast Asia. INFORMATION BELOW FROM 1800s COOKBOOKS COMMON FISH BALLS Pare six medium-sized potatoes and put in boiling water. Boil half an hour. Drain off all the water, turn the potatoes into a tray with one pint of finely-chopped cod fish, and…
Fudge is expensive when you buy it in candy stores, but it’s easy to make. The hard part is beating the mixture because it gets so thick. Electric mixers make the job easy for people today, but years ago, fudge was mixed by hand. Candy thermometers became available to household cooks in the early 1900s, but they were expensive. Prior to that, people determined the temperature of their candy mixtures by dropping a bit of the syrup into cold water….
Cake recipes in 1800s cookbooks provided ingredients and amounts, but no real cooking instructions. Stoves were fueled with wood and cooks had to determine which types of wood would provide the heat they needed. They basically had to learn by trial and error – even oven thermometers were not invented yet. Some recipes did offer advice such as cooking in a slow, moderate, or hot oven, but that’s certainly not the detailed advice given in today’s cookbooks. INFORMATION BELOW COMPILED…
Cookbooks published in the 1800s often contained household hints and medical advice. Of course, this advice is from over 200 years ago! I discovered a comprehensive online document called “Glossary of Medical Terms Used in the 18th and 19th Centuries“ to help me identify some of the diseases mentioned below. In the 1960s, our mother used to dose us with Father John’s Cough Syrup when we were young. It was made of cod liver oil. I remember it being thick…
Cheesecake is made with a soft cheese and usually with only a bottom crust. It contains no yeast, so the flavor is more like a dessert, similar to a custard. The earliest cheesecakes were made from curd or by using rennet to make milk sour. In 1872, modern commercial cream cheese was developed by William Lawrence in New York. This cream cheese was heavier and creamier than most homemade versions. Later, other dairymen created their own versions. Cheesecakes were baked…
I’ve seen a whole fish for sale in grocery stores, but not just the fish’s head. I never heard of a fish sound and didn’t even know they had tongues. The things I learn from reading old cookbooks! The Sound is the swim bladder of many of the bony fishes. Fish that have a skeleton made of cartilage instead of bone don’t have bladders. Fish Tongues are almost always attached to the bottom of the mouth, so they don’t protrude….
In the 1800s, most fruits were only eaten while in season unless they were canned or dried. Fresh bananas and oranges were often shipped long distances, but not other fruits. 1800s cookbooks never mention eating dried fruit as a snack, like we do today. Instead, dried fruit was mostly used to flavor bread or desserts. INFORMATION BELOW COMPILED FROM 1800s COOKBOOKS VARIETIES OF DRIED FRUITS There are a number of fruits that are dried before they are put on the…
Farina is made from the germ and endosperm of hard wheat. It’s finely ground and sifted to become similar in texture to flour. Usually cooked as a hot cereal, it has a bland taste, although other ingredients are often added for flavor. Farina can also be used to make flummeries, puddings, and other dishes. Three popular brands of farina in the U.S. are Cream of Wheat, Malt-O-Meal, and Farina Mills. Click to read an interesting article on “What is Farina?” INFORMATION…