The first time I ever heard of curds was in the nursery rhyme “Little Miss Muffet sat on her tuffet, eating her curds and whey.” Curds look similar to cottage cheese, but in the recipes from 1800s cookbooks, they used rennet for milk curds, but not for cottage cheese. Today, you can buy rennet powder and rennet tablets at stores or online. INFORMATION BELOW COMPILED FROM 1800s COOKBOOKS TO PREPARE A RENNET A rennet is the stomach of the calf….
“Hash is a peculiarly American institution. In no other country is every remnant of cold meat turned into that one unvarying dish. When English people speak of hash, they mean something quite different—meat warmed in slices. Our hash, made with nice gravy, garnished with sippets of toast and pickles, surrounded with mashed potatoes or rice—is dignified abroad by the name of mince, and makes its appearance as an elegant little entrée.” (from an 1800s cookbook) INFORMATION BELOW FROM 1800s COOKBOOKS…
“The method of preparing poultry by boiling is not strongly advocated. There is seldom a time when better results cannot be obtained by cooking meat at a lower temperature than at the boiling point. The method of boiling depends on if you want to make a broth or soup stock, or if you want to eat the meat.” INFORMATION FROM 1800s COOKBOOKS VINEGAR OR LEMON All kinds of poultry can be cooked quicker by adding a little vinegar or a…
Mush and porridge were cheap, nourishing meals in the 1800s, but the grains had to be cooked many hours. There were no instant hot cereal mixes like there are today. Mush and porridge were often cooked the night before in order to be ready for breakfast. INFORMATION BELOW FROM 1800s COOKBOOKS MUSH AND PORRIDGE Mush is meal or grain cooked in water to the consistency of rather thin pudding. The most important point connected with the preparation of these is…
In cookbooks from the 1800s, corn meal was called Indian corn (maize). Corn was native to America (U.S.), and was used for many recipes. In Great Britain, however, Indian corn was considered only fit for feeding animals. INFORMATION BELOW FROM 1800s COOKBOOKS CORN CAKETake a pint of sour milk or buttermilk, break an egg into it, stir in a spoon or two of flour, and add Indian meal enough to make a thick batter. Put in a teaspoon of salt,…
Thomas Jefferson was the US Minister to France from 1785-1789 and enjoyed the many pasta dishes served there. He brought back macaroni and other noodle recipes, plus a pasta machine. When he became president, he served macaroni and cheese at an 1802 state dinner. Macaroni was sold in long tubes, then broken into smaller pieces when ready to cook. Kraft Foods introduced its boxed macaroni and cheese in 1937, during the Great Depression. With rationing in effect during World War…
“Cheese offers a valuable source of nutriment for the body because its food value ranks high. In addition to protein and fat, cheese contains ash and vitamins. The food value in one pound of cheese is equivalent to that in two pounds of beef, in 24 eggs, or in four pounds of fish.” — from an 1800s cookbook. INFORMATION BELOW FROM 1800s COOKBOOKS CAYENNE CHEESE STRAWSRub one-half pound of butter into one-half pound of flour. Add one-half pound of grated…
“Liver is usually much despised, but when well cooked, it is very palatable and it is the cheapest of all animal food. Veal liver is by some considered the best. Liver should be cut across the grain.” (from an 1800s cookbook). FRIED BEEF LIVER Cut it in rather thin slices and pour over it boiling water, which closes the pores of the meat, makes it impervious to the fat, and at the same time seals up the rich juice of…