Common garden sorrel has a tart, lemon flavor and was popular in the 1800s. The larger leaves were used for soups and sauces and the young leaves for salads. I haven’t been able to find out why people quit using it, but it now seems to be making a comeback. You probably won’t find sorrel in a grocery store because it doesn’t ship or store well, even when refrigerated. It doesn’t tolerate heat well, so try growing it as a…
Molasses is a thick, sticky liquid sweetener made from refining sugarcane or sometimes sugar beets. I’ve always loved the taste of molasses. When I was a child, my mother would sometimes let me eat a spoonful of it from a jar (we didn’t get many sweets). Of course, I like it in baked beans and molasses cookies, too. There are different types of molasses depending on the amount of time it’s refined. INFORMATION BELOW FROM 1800s COOKBOOKS: MOLASSES CANDY Boil…
FROM 1800s COOKBOOKS ~ Cabbage is a succulent vegetable with a high flavor. In fact, its flavor is so strong that in many cases it disagrees with persons. When cabbage is cooked, the cover should be removed from the kettle. This plan permits the evaporation of much of the strong flavor which arises in the steam, which would otherwise be reabsorbed by the cabbage. It is the retention of this flavor, together with long cooking, that causes this vegetable to…
INFORMATION FROM 1800s COOKBOOKS “Spinach requires close examination and picking, as insects are frequently found among it and it is often gritty. Nothing is worse than spinach when gritty, so likewise there is nothing more troublesome to get quite clean, from its growing so near the earth. Spinach should be picked a leaf at a time, and washed in three or four waters. Then drain it and put it in boiling water. Fifteen to twenty minutes is generally sufficient time…
In reading through 1800s cookbooks, I was amazed to see recipes for fried, boiled, stewed, and stuffed cucumbers, as well as cucumber catsup and vinegar, and soup. I’ve only eaten cucumbers raw, but these recipes sound interesting. INFORMATION BELOW FROM 1800s COOKBOOKS CUCUMBERS AND THEIR PREPARATION In food value, cucumbers are very low, comparing closely with celery in this respect. However, as they contain a large amount of cellulose, or bulk, and mineral salts, they should not be disregarded in…
“Many kinds of meat which are very lean and dry are improved by the addition of some kind of fat. Larding is accomplished by cutting strips of salt pork lengthwise with the rind two inches long and one quarter inch wide, and with aid of the larding needle, drawing these pieces through the surface of the meat, taking a stitch an inch long and a quarter inch deep. The tenderloin or fillet of beef, the thick part of the leg…
The brisket is a cut of beef from the lower chest area of the cow, located between the front legs and beneath the chuck (shoulder). It supports much of the cow’s body weight, making it a tough, well-exercised muscle. Due to its toughness, it should be cooked slowly and at low temperatures. Brisket is especially popular in the western states. Brisket cookng in a smoker or over a fire smells and tastes wonderful! INFORMATION BELOW COMPILED FROM 1800s COOKBOOKS: BRISKET OF…
“Any systematic housekeeper will hail the day some enterprising yankee or buckeye girl shall invent a stove or range with a thermometer attached to the oven so that the heat may be regulated accurately and intelligently.” Quote from “Buckeye Cookery: With Hints on Practical Housekeeping, by Estelle Woods Wilcox, 1881.” Imagine what it was like to cook food using only a wood burning stove. Oven thermometers hadn’t been invented yet, so recipes often said to cook until done, or to use…