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Category: Dairy

Butter cut in slices
The Creation of Margarine and Other Butter Substitutes

The Creation of Margarine and Other Butter Substitutes

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Margarine was created in the late 1800s as a cheaper substitute for butter, which is made from the butterfat of milk. Originally, margarine was made from beef fat, and then from lard and various seed oils. Margarine wasn’t accepted right away, and there was often deception in its manufacture. Today, of course, the food industry is much more regulated. INFORMATION BELOW COMPILED FROM 1800s COOKBOOKS BUTTER SUBSTITUTESIn about the year 1870, through a desire to procure a cheaper article than…

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Bowl of cream
The Wonderful Flavor of Cream

The Wonderful Flavor of Cream

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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….

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Whey made from homemade cottage cheese
Making Milk Curds and Whey

Making Milk Curds and Whey

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The first time I ever heard of curds was in the nursery rhyme “Little Miss Muffet sat on her tuffet, eating her curds and whey.”  Curds look similar to cottage cheese, but in the recipes from 1800s cookbooks, they used rennet for milk curds, but not for cottage cheese. Today, you can buy rennet powder and rennet tablets at stores or online. INFORMATION BELOW COMPILED FROM 1800s COOKBOOKS TO PREPARE A RENNET A rennet is the stomach of the calf….

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oven baked cheese
A Variety of Cheese Recipes

A Variety of Cheese Recipes

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“Cheese offers a valuable source of nutriment for the body because its food value ranks high. In addition to protein and fat, cheese contains ash and vitamins. The food value in one pound of cheese is equivalent to that in two pounds of beef, in 24 eggs, or in four pounds of fish.” — from an 1800s cookbook. INFORMATION BELOW FROM 1800s COOKBOOKS CAYENNE CHEESE STRAWSRub one-half pound of butter into one-half pound of flour. Add one-half pound of grated…

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milk bottle and glass
Keeping Unpasteurized (Raw) Milk Fresh

Keeping Unpasteurized (Raw) Milk Fresh

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It was hard to keep food cool in the 1800s, especially during the summer. Refrigerators were cooled by large blocks of ice, but  were small and weren’t able to maintain a constant degree of coolness. In the United States, electricity didn’t become common in homes until the 1930s and electric refrigerators not until the late 1940s.   Refrigerated pasteurized milk stays fresh longer than raw milk, but it wasn’t until 1947 that states in the U.S. began enacting mandatory dairy…

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Wheels or rounds of cheese
How to Preserve Cheese Without Refrigeration

How to Preserve Cheese Without Refrigeration

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Electrical refrigeration wasn’t available in homes in the U. S. until around the 1920s. Before then, people had to preserve cheese by other means. A large round or block of cheese was often purchased to store and use throughout the winter. Cheese was too expensive to allow to mold or dry out. INFORMATION BELOW FROM 1800s COOKBOOKS CARE OF CHEESEThe very strong odor and flavor that characterize cheese make it necessary to prevent it from coming in contact with other…

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Blocks of homemade butter
How to Make Butter

How to Make Butter

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When I was growing up, our family only used margarine and I continued to use it throughout adulthood until last year.  Now I only buy butter (from grass-fed cows). To make butter, you have to churn (shake up) cream or whole milk. In the past, people used milk churns to separate out the butter. Today you can make butter with electric mixers or food processors. I’ve never made my own butter, but I recently found where I can buy raw milk. You…

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Fresh cream cheese
Making Homemade Cream Cheese

Making Homemade Cream Cheese

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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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