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…
Herb, spice, and flower essences sold in stores are usually made by distilling. But the instructions below from 1800s cookbooks say to use alcohol to dissolve the plant oils and resins. Although not mentioned in these old cookbooks, you can also make essences with food grade liquid glycerine, although the process takes longer than using alcohol. INFORMATION BELOW FROM 1800s COOKBOOKS ON ESSENCES The essences or essential oils sold for general use are, or ought to be, obtained by distillation….
It took more time and work to make sandwiches in the 1800s. People often made their own bread but they could also buy it from markets and bakeries if they could afford it. However, it wasn’t until 1928 that bread was pre-sliced by machine. And although people sometimes used jelly and marmalade for sweet tasting sandwiches, they usually used dried or fresh fruit and nuts, which took more time to prepare. INFORMATION BELOW FROM 1800s COOKBOOKS Sandwiches that have fruit…
Until the early 1900s, dressings for salads were prepared at home, using ingredients that were in season or able to be preserved without refrigeration. Dressing was prepared fresh before each meal unless the household had enough ice to keep it cool. Even with ice, salad dressing could only be kept about a week because there were no chemical preservatives. INFORMATION BELOW FROM 1800s COOKBOOKS SALAD DRESSINGTo one-half cup olive oil, add one teaspoon paprika, one teaspoon Worcestershire sauce, a…
The navy bean, haricot, pearl haricot bean, boston bean, white pea bean, or pea bean, is a variety of the common bean native to the Americas, where it was domesticated. It is a small, dry white bean which is smaller than many other types of white beans, and has an oval, slightly flattened shape. Wikipedia Cooking dried beans in the 1800s wasn’t much different from cooking them today except with no electricity, housewives had to keep a fire going the…