Sauces may be a little more trouble to add to a cooked meal, but they can certainly enliven a plain dish. Although we can buy ready-made or powdered packets of sauces at the grocery store, they can easily be made at home once you get the hang of it. It will not only be cheaper, but you can flavor it any way you want. INFORMATION BELOW COMPILED FROM 1800s COOKBOOKS RECIPES FOR WHITE SAUCEThree white sauces are commonly used for…
In the 1800s, milk products were not pasteurized, so cream was created by letting it rise from whole milk at room temperature. If you didn’t raise your own dairy cow, you could obtain cream by letting it rise from milk delivered by the milkman. But with no electrical refrigeration, cream didn’t remain fresh for long, so it was a luxury. Today we can buy refrigerated milk and cream at grocery stores and because they are pasteurized, they last much longer….
A poached egg is an egg that has been broken, gently slid into boiling water, and gently cooked. The egg should have a runny yolk, while the white stays attached to the egg and is thoroughly cooked. It takes skill to cook poached eggs that retain their shape and look appetizing. Poached eggs are often added to other dishes. INFORMATION BELOW COMPILED FROM 1800s COOKBOOKS POACHED EGGS If the eggs are fresh, they will look most inviting, but the way…
Making relish was a good way to preserve fruits and vegetables. Plus it added flavor to a plain meal and was especially welcome in the winter when produce was not in season. INFORMATION BELOW COMPILED FROM 1800s COOKBOOKS PICKLINGFoods preserved by pickling are known as either pickles or relishes. While both products are similar in many respects, relishes are distinguished from pickles in that, as a rule, they are made up from more than one kind of fruit or vegetable…
Until the mid-1800s, people made their own yeasts to use in baking bread. They made fresh yeast from hops, potatoes, pumpkin, and more. In 1868, Charles and Max Fleischmann created a compressed yeast cake and began selling it commercially. This was certainly easier than making your own! INFORMATION BELOW COMPILED FROM 1800s COOKBOOKS ON YEASTGood yeast is indispensable to good bread. Every housekeeper should make sure by her own personal attention, that the yeast is properly made and the jar well…
Anchovies is a name given to approximately 140 species of small “forage fish.” This means they are foraged and eaten by larger fish, sea birds, and marine mammals. Today, anchovies are mostly canned whole, bones and all. When cooked, they will almost completely dissolve, leaving only the flavor. I never realized the many ways you can use anchovies until I began reading through 1800s cookbooks. INFORMATION BELOW COMPILED FROM FROM 1800s COOKBOOKS BUYING ANCHOVIES These delicate fish are preserved in…
Eggnog (also known as milk or egg milk punch) was originally made of milk or cream, sugar, raw eggs, some type of alcohol, and various spices. Today you can buy many types of commercially prepared eggnogs including those that use almond, rice, or coconut milk. NOTE: Many of the recipes spelled Egg Nogg with two ‘gs’ at the end. I rather like it as it matches the two ‘gs’ in the word “egg.” INFORMATION BELOW COMPILED FROM 1800s COOKBOOKS: EGG-NOGG Beat…
In the 1800s, people often lived far from a doctor or couldn’t afford to pay one. So they treated illnesses by following advice from neighbors and family members, or by reading cookbooks or medical books. If a patient didn’t feel like eating, it was important to offer a variety of nourishing drinks. INFORMATION BELOW COMPILED FROM 1800s COOKBOOKS: The preparation of food and drink for the sick and convalescent person is even more important than the preparation for the strong…