Aspic is a savory stock made from cooking meat slowly, creating a natural gelatin that thickens, then turns to a jelly when it cools. In the past, aspics were used to preserve meats because the gelatin helped keep out air and bacteria. In the late 1800s, Charles Knox created a commercial gelatin, which saved a lot of time. Aspic can be used as a glaze, garnish, or prepared in a mold with foods such as meat, fruits, or vegetables set…
LARD is white fat from a pig, used for cooking and flavoring. This fat is called lard whether it’s been tried out (rendered) or not. Trying out is melting fat to skim out the impurities so it is clean to cook with. When lard is rendered rather than used directly from the pig, it rarely has any odor or particular tasts. A similar fat from cattle or sheep is called tallow. INFORMATION BELOW COMPILED FROM 1800s COOKBOOKS: PRESSED LARD Every…
In the 1800s, there were two varieties of eggplant – white and purple. I’ve never seen a white eggplant, which is round rather than oblong. I’ve always wondered where the purple eggplant we see in stores got its name. Eggplant was definitely a seasonal vegetable since it was so tender, it couldn’t be stored. I’ve never come across any information that it was pickled or dried. One recipe, though, said that eggplant is sometimes eaten at dinner, but generally at…
The drink recipes on this post come from the book “MODERN AMERICAN DRINKS, How to Mix and Serve All Kinds of Cups and Drinks” by George J. Kappeler, copyright 1895, which can be found on Project Gutenberg. Many of the drinks contain alcohol, but not all. It’s interesting to read the names of some of the drinks; I have read of some of them in historical novels. BOOK’S PREFACEThe recipes contained in this book are for the proper mixing of…
Many recipes in older cookbooks assume you know the basics. For instance, these recipes for mushroom pie assume you know how to make a crust. They also assume you know how long to bake a dish. They either just say “bake” or else give general information such as a slow, moderate or quick oven. Although some people did gather their own mushrooms, mushrooms were available in tin cans or bottles. INFORMATION BELOW COMPILED FROM 1800s COOKBOOKS MUSHROOM PIEIngredients—Puff, flaky, or…
Before U.S. Food Inspections became law, it was “buyer beware.” It was important to find a grocer or food supplier you trusted. But it was also necessary to know how to tell if your food was adulterated. Some foods had extra ingredients or fillers that were harmless, but not always; some were dangerous to ingest. INFORMATION BELOW COMPILED FROM 1800s COOKBOOKS COFFEE SUBSTITUTES AND ADULTERATIONSGround coffee is extensively adulterated, and mainly with the much cheaper. Rye, beans, peas, acorns, carrots,…
People in the 1800s usually ate a hearty breakfast because they worked hard physically. They didn’t waste any food, either. Food left over from the night before was often used for breakfast. Note that none of these recipes use eggs as the main dish. Chickens lay less eggs in autumn and winter, so eggs were scarcer during those times. INFORMATION BELOW COMPILED FROM 1800s COOKBOOKS AUTUMN BREAKFASTS DURING the early part of the autumn, and indeed until late in the…
Although you could dry or can vegetables for winter, it was nice to have some fresh ones, too. Vegetables both had to be protected from freezing winter conditions, but also stored so they wouldn’t spoil before spring. People usually had a cellar underneath their house or a root cellar outdoors for food storage. INFORMATION BELOW COMPILED FROM 1800s COOKBOOKS SQUASHES should never be kept down cellar when it is possible to prevent it. Dampness injures them. If intense cold makes…