Blog - Vintage Recipes and Cookery

Making Homemade Cream Cheese

Angela Johnson Comments 4 comments

In the 1800s, cheese was made from unpasteurized raw milk. The first commercial pasteurized milk was produced in 1882, but the first law to require milk to be pasteurized wasn’t passed until 1908. (source). Cream cheese was a popular cheese to make in the 1800s since it doesn’t have to be aged. For more information on making cheese in modern times, you may want to visit the New England Cheese Making Supply Company website. INFORMATION BELOW FROM 1800s COOKBOOKS PENNSYLVANIA CREAM…

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Making Homemade Cottage Cheese

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Before electric refrigeration, milk often soured before it could be used, But sour milk was not wasted. Often it was allowed to clabber or get thick, and then made into cottage cheese. Cottage cheese was also called Dutch, Curd, Sour Milk cheese or Smearcase. The milk you buy from grocery stores in the U.S. is pasteurized (heated). When pasteurized, many of the beneficial bacteria are killed. The beneficial bacteria is what causes raw milk to sour naturally. When pasteurized milk…

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Never Waste Stale Bread

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“Never waste stale bread, as it may be used to advantage in many ways. The economical housewife carefully inspects the contents of her bread box every morning before planning her meals for the day.” INFORMATION BELOW FROM 1800s COOKBOOKS SAVORY FRIED BREAD Cut slices of stale home-made bread about half an inch thick. Soak the slices in a rich, well seasoned vegetable stock until nearly saturated with it, but don’t allow them to become too soft. Then dip them in…

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How to Make Walnut Catsup, Sauce, and Pickle

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Black walnuts should be gathered while very young and tender, so that you may pierce them through with a needle. Make walnut catsup, sauce, or pickle from the beginning to the middle of July, when walnuts are in perfection for these purposes. INFORMATION BELOW FROM 1800s COOKBOOKS BLACK WALNUT CATSUP Gather them green, prick them with a large needle, and let them lie three days in an earthen pan, sprinkled with a handful of salt, and very little water. Mash…

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Cooking with Clams

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Clams were abundant along the U.S. east coast in the 1800s, and many of the old cookbooks included recipes for cooking them. Clams were only eaten by people who lived near where they were harvested, though. Electricity wasn’t available yet, so they couldn’t be kept long without refrigeration. INFORMATION BELOW FROM 1800s COOKBOOKS BOILED CLAMSWash clean with a scrubbing-brush and put them in a kettle. Set on a good fire and leave till they are wide open. Then take them…

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A Variety of Ways to Cook Apples

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Apples were introduced to North America by colonists in the 17th century, (the 1600s). The only apples native to North America are crab apples which were once called “common apples.” Apple trees are large if they are grown from seed, but most apple trees are grafted onto rootstocks, which control the size of the resulting tree. Source INFORMATION BELOW FROM 1800s COOKBOOKS NOTE: There were no oven thermometers in the 1800s. Cooks learned how to heat their ovens and how…

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Home Canning: Fruits, Juices, Mincemeat, Cider

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Commercial canning (in tin cans) was fairly common in the U.S. by the mid-1800s. In 1858, John L. Mason invented a glass jar that had a screw thread around the outside rim. This allowed a reusable metal lid to be screwed on, rather than having to use sealing wax. It became much easier for people to preserve their own pickles, relishes, sauces, and fruit. Later, people also began to can vegetables and meats. INFORMATION BELOW FROM 1800s COOKBOOKS TO STERILIZE…

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Interesting Ways to Cook Chicken

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In the 1800s, people raised chickens for food or purchased them whole from the butcher. It took a lot longer to prepare chicken in those days, especially having to cook on wood burning stoves and without oven thermometers. But people still wanted variety in their meals, and looked to cookbooks for recipes. RECIPES BELOW FROM 1800s COOKBOOKS SPANISH CHICKEN STEW Clean and joint two spring chickens. Brown in butter and add five sliced onions, a can of tomatoes, four cloves…

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