Blog - Vintage Recipes and Cookery

Black Walnut and English Walnut Recipes

Angela Johnson Comments 2 comments

There are basically two types of walnuts in the U.S. – English walnuts and black walnuts. Black walnuts grew wild in the southeast and midwest sections of the country and still do. Cracked black walnuts are expensive to buy because they are so labor-intensive to crack. They have a totally different taste from English walnuts, and are used mostly for candy and ice cream. Read more about black walnuts here. INFORMATION BELOW FROM 1800s COOKBOOKS CRACKING WALNUTS It is more…

Read More Read More

How to Make a Perfect Cup of Tea

Angela Johnson Comments 4 comments

Only loose tea was used up until the early 1900s. People used a strainer before pouring the tea into cups, or a tea ball if only making tea for one or two people. Around 1908, Thomas Sullivan, an American, made an accidental invention – the tea bag. Sullivan was a tea merchant and started sending tea samples to his customers in small bags made of silk. They put the entire bag in the pot, thinking the tea was to be…

Read More Read More

How to Make Soup Stock

Angela Johnson Comments 8 comments

So many recipes from 1800s cookbooks call for soup stock and all good cooks kept a supply on hand. INFORMATION BELOW FROM 1800s COOKBOOKS MEANING AND USE OF STOCK Soup stock may be regarded as a liquid containing the juices and soluble parts of meat, bone, and vegetables, which have been extracted by long, slow cooking and which can be utilized in the making of soups, sauces, and gravies. Keep stock in small jars in a cool place. It makes…

Read More Read More

Cooking Pigs’ Feet

Angela Johnson Comments 9 comments

When people butchered a pig in the 1800s, no part of the animal went to waste. I’ve never seen fresh pigs’ feet in the grocery store, but I have seen pickled pigs’ feet in glass jars. INFORMATION BELOW FROM 1800s COOKBOOKS FRIED PIGS’ FEET Thoroughly burn all the hairs off with a poker heated to a white heat. Then scald the feet and wipe them dry. Put them over the fire to boil in cold water, with two ounces each…

Read More Read More

A Good Cook Never Wastes

Angela Johnson Comments 4 comments

“A GOOD COOK NEVER WASTES” “It is her pride to make the most of everything in the shape of food entrusted to her care, and her pleasure to serve it in the most appetizing form. In no other way can she prove her excellence, for poor cooks are always wasteful and extravagant. The day has passed for regarding cooking as a menial and vulgar labor; and those who give some thought to their daily food usually gain in vigor and…

Read More Read More

Roast Goose and Christmas Goose Pie

Angela Johnson Comments 4 comments

“A goose must never be eaten the same day it is killed. If the weather is cold, it should be kept a week before using. A goose, from its profusion of feathers, looks like a large bird when walking about, but when plucked and prepared for the spit, it will be found very deceptive. It is much more hollow than a turkey and except for the breast, there is but little eating on it. In large families, it is usual…

Read More Read More

Ways to Preserve Meat Without Refrigeration

Angela Johnson Comments 4 comments

Without electric refrigeration, people had to find various ways to keep meat fresh, especially in summer. Some methods could keep it fresh a few days or perhaps a week, and other methods could preserve it for much longer. INFORMATION BELOW FROM 1800s COOKBOOKS TO KEEP MEAT FRESH Where persons live a distance from market and have no fresh meat but what they kill, it is important to know how to keep it fresh. Hang up joints of meat if not…

Read More Read More

How to Make Cordials (Liqueurs)

Angela Johnson Comments 0 Comment

A cordial (liqueur) is a sweetened alcoholic beverage made from a distilled spirit, and sweetened with various fruits and spices. Most cordials aren’t aged long. In the 1800s, some cordials were also used as family medicine. INFORMATION BELOW FROM 1800s COOKBOOKS MINT CORDIAL Pick the mint early in the morning while the dew is on it. Do not bruise it. Pour some water over it and then drain it off. Put two handfuls of mint in a pitcher with a…

Read More Read More