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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.
old cookbook and wooden spoon
Cooking Hints and Advice from the 1800s

Cooking Hints and Advice from the 1800s

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Most cookbooks published in the 1800s also contained cooking and household advice along with their recipes. Remember that these were the days before electricity and refrigeration in homes. Some of the advice may not be recommended today according to modern food safety standards, but I find them interesting to read. COOKING ADVICE BELOW COMPILED FROM 1800s COOKBOOKS To keep pie bottoms dry after baking a squash or pumpkin pie, never put it on a flat surface. Set it on a…

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Dried Mushrooms in a Bowl
Dried Mushrooms, Mushroom Powder, and Mushroom Liquor

Dried Mushrooms, Mushroom Powder, and Mushroom Liquor

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I love mushrooms, but only buy them fresh. Of course, I have to use them fairly soon so they don’t get slimy. Having some dried mushrooms on hand would be handy for making soup. And the taste of mushrooms in powder or liquid form would enhance many other dishes. TO DRY MUSHROOMS Wipe mushrooms clean, take away the brown part, and peel off the skin. Lay them on sheets of paper to dry in a cool oven, when they will…

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bowls of various nuts
Nut Loaf as a Meat Substitute

Nut Loaf as a Meat Substitute

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These nut loaf recipes contain no flour. I’ve never eaten a nut loaf, but they seem to be a dense food. According to one 1800s cookbook, “A nut loaf can take the place of meat at dinner.” The first two recipes are written narrative style, which was normal during the first half of the century. Later, cookbooks began putting ingredients in a list. Since people cooked on wood burning stoves, cooking times are vague. You were supposed to know how…

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Bread yeast fermenting
Adding a Sponge to Dough to Make Bread

Adding a Sponge to Dough to Make Bread

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A sponge or yeast starter is similar to sourdough, except a sponge is make from all fresh ingredients. A sponge is allowed to ferment and increase in volume before it is added to bread dough. In the 1800s, cooks used wood burning stoves, which had no thermometers. So not only did they have to learn how to cook various foods, they also had to learn to gauge the oven’s heat temperature. Baking was definitely an important skill! INFORMATION BELOW COMPILED…

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A sauce to flavor meat.
Sauces for Meat, Fish, Poultry and Game

Sauces for Meat, Fish, Poultry and Game

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It’s often hard to give cooked meat a good flavor, especially if it’s lean. Although it’s easy to open a packet or jar of gravy or other prepared sauces, I don’t like eating preservatives and artificial ingredients. When I make my own sauce, I know what ingredients are going into it. And if you don’t eat much meat, you might experiment and try some of these sauces on vegetables. RECIPES BELOW COMPILED FROM 1800s COOKBOOKS SAUCESAll sauces should be sent…

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Onions, garlic and herbs
Flavorings to Enhance Foods

Flavorings to Enhance Foods

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I have a variety of spices in my kitchen but seldom use more than salt and pepper .And when I do decide to use spices, onion, garlic or other flavorings, I tend to add too much, overpowering the dish rather than enhancing it. INFORMATION BELOW COMPILED FROM 1800s COOKBOOKS When our sense of taste is not benumbed or destroyed by harmful accompaniments, we are in a condition to keenly enjoy the thousands of fine, delicate flavors that can accompany wholesome…

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Recipes Using Fresh Oranges

Recipes Using Fresh Oranges

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During the 1800s, oranges were a seasonal crop and not available year-round.  INFORMATION BELOW FROM 1800s COOKBOOKS:Oranges may be kept fresh for weeks by placing them in a vessel of cold water in a very cool cellar or ice house. Change the water every day. The usual method employed by growers for keeping these fruits is to wrap each one separately in tissue paper, and put in a cool, dry place. Another way ~~ Dry and bake some clean sand…

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Rhubarb is an early spring fruit.
Ways to Cook Fresh Rhubarb

Ways to Cook Fresh Rhubarb

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Rhubarb has a sharp, tart taste, but only the stalks are edible; the leaves are poisonous. Rhubarb is usually considered a vegetable, but in 1947, a New York court in the United States ruled that it counted as a fruit for the purposes of regulations and duties. (Tariffs were higher for vegetables than fruits). RECIPES BELOW COMPILED FROM 1800s COOKBOOKS STEWED RHUBARBWhen rhubarb first comes into season it is small, tender and of a bright red color. When stewed, it…

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