Blog | Vintage Recipes and Cookery

Ways to Cook Old-Fashioned Oats

Angela Johnson Comments 3 comments

In these recipes from 1800s cookbooks, I was surprised to read oats had to cook from two to four hours! The recipes caution against cooking oats too quickly. They also don’t say to soak the oats overnight, which I found surprising. Groats take the longest to cook. Rolled Oats are groats that have been steamed and flattened. There are also steel-cut oats, ground oats (old-fashioned, quick-cooking oats, and instant oats), each one being processed more. This article on the Food Revolution…

Read More Read More

Good Flour Makes Good Biscuits

Angela Johnson Comments 6 comments

When I was young, my mother only made biscuits that came in a can. I’ve since eaten real homemade biscuits, and I can sure tell a difference. There were no canned biscuits or boxed mixes in the 1800s, though. Biscuits, breads, and other bakery items were made from scratch. INFORMATION BELOW FROM 1800s COOKBOOKS BISCUITS The word biscuit means twice baked, from the old way of cooking the cakes which is now no longer in use. Plain biscuits are said…

Read More Read More

Refreshing Beverages for Luncheon

Angela Johnson Comments 6 comments

With so many varieties of drinks available in stores and restaurants, I forget that people in the past had to make all their own drinks, both for family and guests. The drink recipes below sound delicious. INFORMATION BELOW FROM 1800s COOKBOOKS LUNCHEON BEVERAGES Inasmuch as coffee usually appears both at breakfast and dinner, it is well to bar it absolutely from the luncheon table. Too much coffee drinking is injurious, as the makers of imitation coffees assure us daily through…

Read More Read More

How to Make Blancmange (a Dessert)

Angela Johnson Comments 3 comments

Blancmange is a sweet dessert usually made with milk or cream, sugar, and thickened with gelatin, cornstarch, Irish moss or isinglass, and sometimes arrowroot and tapioca. Blancmange is usually set in molds, cups, or wine glasses and chilled before serving. Before commercial gelatin was produced, Irish Moss and isinglass were used. Irish moss is a reddish purple moss found in the Atlantic Ocean coastline, Ireland, and the United Kingdom. And Isinglass is a form of collagen made from the dried fish…

Read More Read More

Types of Fats Used for Frying

Angela Johnson Comments 1 comment

When I was a child, my mother made delicious fried potatoes and fried chicken in a large Cast Iron Skillet. She usually used bacon grease, but if she didn’t have enough, she used canned shortening. My mother never did use lard, but I knew people who did. INFORMATION BELOW FROM 1800s COOKBOOKS: SCRAPS OF FAT All scraps of fat—cooked or uncooked—as well as any drippings from beef, veal, pork, and chicken, should be saved and used in cooking. A careful…

Read More Read More

Making Horseradish Sauces

Angela Johnson Comments 4 comments

Horseradish is in the same plant family as broccoli, mustard, wasabi, and cabbage. The horseradish root has hardly any aroma when it’s pulled from the ground, but when it’s cut or grated, it produces an oil which affects the sinuses and eyes. Horseradish was brought to North America during the European colonization. George Washington mentions it in his garden accounts. INFORMATION BELOW FROM 1800s COOKBOOKS THE HORSERADISH This has been, for many years, a favorite accompaniment of roast beef, and…

Read More Read More

How to Cook Snails (Escargots)

Angela Johnson Comments 9 comments

I’ve read through dozens of old cookbooks from the 1800s and snails have only been mentioned in one of them. They have never been popular in the United States; and especially not during this time period. The information below is from: The Hand-Book of Practical Cookery For Ladies and Professional Cooks by Pierre Blot , New York, 1884 ================================================= SNAILS: A good many are now imported from Europe. CLEAN AND PREPARE SNAILS Throw them in boiling water, in which you have put some…

Read More Read More

Making Mushroom Ketchup (Catsup)

Angela Johnson Comments 6 comments

Many recipes from old cookbooks called for mushroom ketchup – especially meat recipes. I had never heard of mushroom ketchup before and haven’t found it in any health food or specialty food stores. I did discover that the Geo Watkins Company makes Mushroom Ketchup and you can order it online. INFORMATION BELOW FROM 1800s COOKBOOKS TO MAKE MUSHROOM KETCHUP Look out for mushrooms from the beginning of September. Choose full-grown mushroom-flaps and take care they are perfectly fresh-gathered when the weather…

Read More Read More