I‘ve only eaten crab at restaurants, but I sure love it. I have bought imitation crab meat to use in salads and eaten it in restaurant buffets. It does has a crab taste and is less expensive, but it lacks some of the nutritional benefits that real crab has. About imitation crab. INFORMATION BELOW FROM 1800s COOKBOOKS CRABS Crabs are in season during the months of May, June, July, and August. They may be had at other times, but are…
Ham was an important food as it could be cured and preserved for the winter months. It was heavily salted, so it needed to be soaked many hours before cooking to remove most of the salt taste. INFORMATION BELOW FROM 1800s COOKBOOKS TO CURE HAMS To make good hams, the pork must be of the best quality. No animal tastes so much of its food as the pig. For one hundred pounds of fine pork, take seven pounds of coarse…
When I was young, my family lived near St. Louis, Missouri. Each summer, we took a vacation to southern Illinois, where most of our relatives lived. My Aunt Helen had a good-sized vegetable garden and canned most of the vegetables. She always cooked a big lunch for us when we visited and I loved her green beans cooked with onions and bacon grease! INFORMATION BELOW FROM 1800s COOKBOOKS: VARIETIES OF STRING BEANS There are two general types of string beans:…
I never tasted a soup made from fruit until a couple of years ago. I was at a local restaurant in southern Illinois, and they had cantaloupe soup on the menu. Since I like to try new things, I ordered it and was surprised at how good it was. Many of the recipes below are from Mrs Mary Wilson’s Cookbook published 1920. Even though this blog is based on 1800s cookbook recipes, I thought you might like to try…
Salsify (oyster plant) was a popular vegetable in the 1800s, but people didn’t seem to use it much in the 1900s. Salsify is supposed to taste slightly like an oyster, but some people say it tastes more like an artichoke. You use the roots of salsify just like parsnips or carrots. Peel or scrape the outside and then you can boil, bake, or fry it. Many people add it to soups and stews. There’s also a similar plant called Scorzonera…
I had never heard of sweetbreads until I began reading old cookbooks. Sweetbreads are what the thymus gland or pancreas of a calf or lamb are called. Offal or organ meats are the parts of the animal that are not muscle. INFORMATION BELOW FROM 1800s COOKBOOKS TO PREPARE SWEETBREADS The sweetbread belonging to the breast of the calf is far superior to that which is found about the throat, being larger, whiter, more tender, and more delicate. Always buy them…
To keep food cold In the 1800s, wooden boxes lined with tin or zinc and insulated with various materials. These boxes were called “refrigerators” until the modern electric refrigerator was developed. Then they were referred to as “iceboxes.” In 1915, the electric household refrigerator was introduced in the US, but it wasn’t until the 1920s that the market began to grow. This was due to a new refrigerant, Freon, which made them more reliable. By the 1930s, the average American…
Back in the 1800s, tomatoes were a seasonal food since there was no refrigeration. People could only have tomatoes out of season by canning, drying, or making them into preserves. I rarely buy canned soups, but I make my own tomato soup when fresh tomatoes are available at farmer’s markets. The recipe for tomato croquettes sounds interesting, too. INFORMATION BELOW FROM 1800s COOKBOOKS: TOMATOES Tomatoes are a fruit vegetable that may be either cooked or prepared raw. While tomatoes appeal…