Sweet corn (also called green corn) is harvested when the kernels are soft and sweet, making it ideal for eating. If you grab an ear of field corn and try to take a bite, you’ll probably break your teeth. It’s hard and dry (and only tastes good to cows, chickens, pigs, turkeys and some wild animals). INFORMATION BELOW FROM 1800s COOKBOOKS The seeds of the maize plant, or Indian corn, especially the variety known as sweet corn, are eaten as…
Bananas weren’t known in the United States until Captain Lorenzo Baker introduced them in 1870. They were expensive and only available to those living near port cities on the east coast. It took many years for them to become available and affordable to the average household. RECIPES BELOW ARE FROM MRS. WILSON’S COOK BOOK, 1920 BAKED BANANASThe simplest way to bake bananas is in the skins. It takes just twenty minutes in a moderate oven.* To eat, strip a piece of skin…
Oysters were plentiful along the U.S. east coast during the 1800s, and were cheap enough for the working class to buy. Over time, though, the demand for oysters depleted many of the beds. Their scarcity caused prices to rise and oysters became an expensive delicacy. INFORMATION BELOW FROM 1800s COOKBOOKS Oysters must be fresh and fat to be good and are in season from September to May. They are sometimes eaten during the summer months, but are not so palatable and…
Raspberries are a seasonal fruit and quite fragile. They won’t ripen after picking, so they can’t be stored fresh for very long. Back in the 1800s, with no electricity, berries had to be eaten quickly, bottled as drinks, or preserved as jelly. INFORMATION BELOW FROM 1800s COOKBOOKS RASPBERRY ACID Dissolve five ounces of tartaric acid* in two quarts of water. Pour it on twelve pounds of red raspberries in a large bowl. Let it stand twenty-four hours and strain it…
Today, some people just buy a can of ready-made frosting to ice a cake. But making your own frosting is not hard. You can try one of the many frosting and filling recipes listed below and perhaps be inspired to create one yourself. INFORMATION BELOW FROM 1800s COOKBOOKS ~~ CAKE ICING RECIPES ~~ HOW TO USE ICING Over large cakes, pour the icing by spoonfuls near the center on the top of the cake. Spread it all over the cake…
Mushrooms were a food people could forage for as long as they knew which ones were safe to eat. The flavor helped give variety to their meals. INFORMATION BELOW FROM 1800s COOKBOOKS PICKLED MUSHROOMSTake the small round mushrooms that are pale pink underneath, with white tops, and peel them. Put them in a jar with a little mace, white mustard seed, and salt. Cover them with cold vinegar and tie them close. If you put in black pepper or cloves,…
It was hard to keep food cool in the 1800s, especially during the summer. Refrigerators were cooled by large blocks of ice, but were small and weren’t able to maintain a constant degree of coolness. In the United States, electricity didn’t become common in homes until the 1930s and electric refrigerators not until the late 1940s. Refrigerated pasteurized milk stays fresh longer than raw milk, but it wasn’t until 1947 that states in the U.S. began enacting mandatory dairy…
Lobsters used to be cheap and plentiful during the Colonial era in the U.S. They were often fed to prisoners, apprentices, slaves and children. Around the 1800s, though, lobster began to be acceptable for discriminating diners, which caused the price to rise. Information from History.com Today, lobster is still expensive and the cost continues to rise. INFORMATION BELOW COMPILED FROM 1800s COOKBOOKS ABOUT LOBSTERS Large lobsters are not as good as small ones. From about one to two and one-half…