Blog - Vintage Recipes and Cookery

How to Cook Rice, with Recipes

Angela Johnson Comments 6 comments

In the 1800s, rice was grown in the states of South Carolina, Georgia and Louisiana. Of course quick-cooking “minute” rice or packaged rice mixes weren’t available yet. Recipes below include Rice with Cheese, Rice with Cabbage and Cheese, Rice-Water, Rice Croquettes, Rice Soufflé, and Rice Milannaise. INFORMATION BELOW FROM 1800s COOKBOOKS TO BOIL RICE Wash half a pound of rice in water and drain it. Put it in a saucepan with one quart of broth taken from the top of the…

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Start With Plain White Soup Stock

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Cooks in the 1800s often made soup stock and used it for a base, adding various ingredients. Making homemade soup was a necessary skill because commercially prepared soups weren’t readily available until 1869. That’s when Joseph Campbell and Abraham Anderson began a company to produce canned foods (including soups). This was certainly a convenience! INFORMATION BELOW FROM 1800s COOKBOOKS White stock is an especially nice broth having a delicate flavor, made from veal and fowl. If allowed to remain…

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Cooked Celery Recipes, Vinegar, and Essence

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Celery is valuable for its mineral salts and bulk. The chief use of celery is as a relish when it is eaten raw, but it is also valuable for flavoring soups and making salads, pickles, and various other dishes. When celery is in season and can be purchased at a reasonable price, it should be cooked to give variety to the diet. INFORMATION BELOW FROM 1800s COOKBOOKS BAKED CELERY Cut two bunches of celery, the best stalks only, into inch-lengths,…

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How to Make Delicious Canapes

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A canape is half of a sandwich. Slices of bread are cut into fancy shapes, toasted or quickly fried in hot oil, or they may be spread with butter and browned in a quick oven. One slice only is used for each canape. The mixture is spread on top, the top garnished, and the canape used at once. INFORMATION BELOW FROM 1800s COOKBOOKS Cold canapes are placed always among the appetizers and served before the soup. They are made of…

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How to Make Potted Meat

Angela Johnson Comments 5 comments

When I was a child, my mother bought small cans of potted meat and spread it on bread to make sandwiches. I didn’t think much of it at the time, but I should buy some to try again, or make my own. In the days before electric refrigeration, if meat couldn’t be eaten right away, it had to preserved somehow. One way of preserving meat was by potting it. Essentially, to pot meat, cook it, cut in small pieces, pound…

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Make Homemade Gravy; With Meat or Without

Angela Johnson Comments 6 comments

Gravy is traditionally a sauce made from meat drippings and combined with some type of thickening agent. It was especially used in French cooking and became popular in the U.S. in the 1800s. Gravies other than those made from meat include cream or white gravy, mushroom gravy, onion gravy, giblet gravy, vegetable gravy, and more. INFORMATION BELOW FROM 1800s COOKBOOKS MAKING GRAVIESNever toss “that carcass” of fowl, or the ham, or mutton-bone, “with next to nothing upon it,” to the…

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Best Practices for Frying Foods

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Before commercialized fats were produced, people used beef suet, pork lard, dripping from cooked meats, and butter to fry food. FROM AN 1800s COOKBOOK: “Frying, though one of the most common of culinary operations, is one that is least performed perfectly well.” GENERAL RULES FOR FRYING Since fat, when heated, reaches such a high temperature, the kettle in which it is heated should be made of iron. The Dutch Oven is a very convenient utensil for small things. A Frying-Pan…

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Care of Cook Ware for Wood Burning Stoves

Angela Johnson Comments 3 comments

In the 1800s, you had to be careful of your cook ware or it might crack or warp. And if you used copper ware, it might even poison you! INFORMATION BELOW FROM 1800s COOKBOOKS NEW OVENS New ovens, before they are baked, should be heated half a day. The lid should be put up as soon as the wood is taken out. It should not be used for baking until it has been heated the second time. If not treated…

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