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Author: Angela Johnson

I’ve been interested in cooking since I was a teenager. Growing up in a small town in Illinois, I ate many home-cooked meals and tried out recipes (mostly cookies). Wherever I live or travel, I check out grocery stores for unusual foods, eat at local restaurants, and buy regional cookbooks. I’m also fascinated with learning how people in the past lived, and how they obtained food and prepared it.
Honey and honeycomb.
About Honey – Mead, Vinegar, Flavored…

About Honey – Mead, Vinegar, Flavored…

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Although honey was a desired sweetener in the 1800s, it was not common in many households. It cost more than sugar or molasses, and most people couldn’t afford it. Some cookbooks published during this time period included recipes on how to make your own (artificial) honey, which was supposed to taste like the real thing. INFORMATION BELOW COMPILED FROM 1800s COOKBOOKS Honey is sweeter than white sugar, and molasses is less sweet. When using either of these as a substitute…

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girl drinking milk
Healthy Drinks for Children

Healthy Drinks for Children

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INFORMATION BELOW FROM 1800s COOKBOOKS “Drinks for young children are best made of milk and water, whey, barley water, pearl barley water, apple water, and toast and water. All stimulating and fermenting liquors are not only unnecessary, but positively injurious. By increasing, to an improper extent, the circulation of the blood, they induce fever, indigestion, inflammation, or convulsions.” PREPARING DRINKS As all these preparations become flat and good for little by long standing, it is better to make only such…

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pan with fresh elderberries on stems
Unusual Catsups – Elderberry, Currant, Cucumber, and more…

Unusual Catsups – Elderberry, Currant, Cucumber, and more…

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Old cookbooks used the spellings, “catsup”, “ketchup”, and “catchup” in their recipe titles. For consistency, I used “catsup” for this post. The only catsups I’ve tasted were made from tomatoes. The catsup recipes below are quite interesting and made from what was plentiful during the 1800s. People were sure resourceful and wanted to make their foods interesting and flavorful. INFORMATION BELOW FROM 1800s COOKBOOKS ELDERBERRY CATSUP1 quart of elderberries1 quart of vinegar6 anchovies, soaked and pulled to pieces 1/2 teaspoon maceA…

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Gruel Recipes – Food For The Sick 

Gruel Recipes – Food For The Sick 

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These simple foods, the base of which is usually one of the grains, play an important part in the dietary for the sick, if properly prepared. Gruels are similar to porridge, but much thinner. Gruels may be varied with flavorings of cinnamon, nutmeg, almond, or a little grated lemon-peel, and sugar. Sugar is mentioned with great hesitancy, for a sweet gruel is an abomination, and yet a gruel with a very little sugar has a pleasanter flavor than one without…

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homemade marshmallows
Making Homemade Marshmallows

Making Homemade Marshmallows

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There is actually a marshmallow plant that usually grows wild in swamps and marshlands. The marshmallow plant (Althaea officinalis) is not the same as the common mallow plant (Malva sylvestris).  Marshmallow has a thick, sticky consistency similar to the okra plant.  Made into a candy, doctors often offered it to children to soothe their sore throats. But eventually, marshmallow root sap was replaced by other binding agents such as gum arabic and gelatin. Without the sap, the candy no longer…

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Roasting beef before a fire
Roasting Meat in an Open Hearth Fireplace

Roasting Meat in an Open Hearth Fireplace

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Years ago, meats were roasted in an open hearth, in FRONT of the fire, not over the fire like when  cooking outdoors. Roasting was a skill learned through practice. Cooks learned to build a clear, brisk, and steady fire. It was quite an accomplishment to cook a joint with a nice crust on the outside, yet tender and juicy inside.  INFORMATION BELOW FROM 1800s COOKBOOKS ~ Roasting is done before the fire, and should not be confused with baking, which…

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How to Cook Ox-tails

How to Cook Ox-tails

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Ox-tail in cooking refers to the tail of cattle. An ox-tail can weigh weigh 7 to 8 pounds, is jointed and bony, and each section has some marrow in the center. When sold, it is skinned and cut into short sections.  Ox-tail is rich in gelatin and takes a long time to cook; therefore, it’s usually used for soups, braising, or stews. You could also use a pressure cooker if you wanted to save time.  INFORMATION BELOW FROM 1800s COOKBOOKS OX-TAIL Cut…

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How to Cook Beef Brains

How to Cook Beef Brains

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You may have recently heard of eating “nose to tail,” meaning to eat the whole animal, not just cuts of muscle meat like we usually see at grocery stores. These parts of the animal are usually called “offal,” which includes the intestines, liver, heart, lung, kidneys, brain, etc.  In the 1800s, there were many recipes for cooking brain, usually beef brain. But brain from other animals can be used.  INFORMATION BELOW FROM 1800s COOKBOOKS TO PREPARE BRAINPut the brain in…

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