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Category: Miscellaneous

Honey and honeycomb.
About Honey – Mead, Vinegar, Flavored…

About Honey – Mead, Vinegar, Flavored…

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Although honey was a desired sweetener in the 1800s, it was not common in many households. It cost more than sugar or molasses, and most people couldn’t afford it. Some cookbooks published during this time period included recipes on how to make your own (artificial) honey, which was supposed to taste like the real thing. INFORMATION BELOW COMPILED FROM 1800s COOKBOOKS Honey is sweeter than white sugar, and molasses is less sweet. When using either of these as a substitute…

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Gruel Recipes – Food For The Sick 

Gruel Recipes – Food For The Sick 

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These simple foods, the base of which is usually one of the grains, play an important part in the dietary for the sick, if properly prepared. Gruels are similar to porridge, but much thinner. Gruels may be varied with flavorings of cinnamon, nutmeg, almond, or a little grated lemon-peel, and sugar. Sugar is mentioned with great hesitancy, for a sweet gruel is an abomination, and yet a gruel with a very little sugar has a pleasanter flavor than one without…

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How to Cook Beef Brains

How to Cook Beef Brains

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You may have recently heard of eating “nose to tail,” meaning to eat the whole animal, not just cuts of muscle meat like we usually see at grocery stores. These parts of the animal are usually called “offal,” which includes the intestines, liver, heart, lung, kidneys, brain, etc.  In the 1800s, there were many recipes for cooking brain, usually beef brain. But brain from other animals can be used.  INFORMATION BELOW FROM 1800s COOKBOOKS TO PREPARE BRAINPut the brain in…

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How to Cook Rice, with Recipes

How to Cook Rice, with Recipes

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In the 1800s, rice was grown in the states of South Carolina, Georgia and Louisiana. Of course quick-cooking “minute” rice or packaged rice mixes weren’t available yet. Recipes below include Rice with Cheese, Rice with Cabbage and Cheese, Rice-Water, Rice Croquettes, Rice Soufflé, and Rice Milannaise. INFORMATION BELOW FROM 1800s COOKBOOKS TO BOIL RICE Wash half a pound of rice in water and drain it. Put it in a saucepan with one quart of broth taken from the top of the…

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Toasted canapes with salmon
How to Make Delicious Canapes

How to Make Delicious Canapes

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A canape is half of a sandwich. Slices of bread are cut into fancy shapes, toasted or quickly fried in hot oil, or they may be spread with butter and browned in a quick oven. One slice only is used for each canape. The mixture is spread on top, the top garnished, and the canape used at once.  INFORMATION BELOW FROM 1800s COOKBOOKS Cold canapes are placed always among the appetizers and served before the soup. They are made of…

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Making a pan of gravy
Make Homemade Gravy; With Meat or Without

Make Homemade Gravy; With Meat or Without

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Gravy is traditionally a sauce made from meat drippings and combined with some type of thickening agent. It was especially used in French cooking and became popular in the U.S. in the 1800s. Gravies other than those made from meat include cream or white gravy, mushroom gravy, onion gravy, giblet gravy, vegetable gravy, and more. INFORMATION BELOW FROM 1800s COOKBOOKS MAKING GRAVIESNever toss “that carcass” of fowl, or the ham, or mutton-bone, “with next to nothing upon it,” to the…

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Frying Food in an iron Skillet
Best Practices for Frying Foods

Best Practices for Frying Foods

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Before commercialized fats were produced, people used beef suet, pork lard, dripping from cooked meats, and butter to fry food.  FROM AN 1800s COOKBOOK: “Frying, though one of the most common of culinary operations, is one that is least  performed perfectly well.” GENERAL RULES FOR FRYING Since fat, when heated, reaches such a high temperature, the kettle in which it is heated should be made of iron. The Dutch Oven is a very convenient utensil for small things. A Frying-Pan…

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Vintage Cook Ware on a Stove
Care of Cook Ware for Wood Burning Stoves

Care of Cook Ware for Wood Burning Stoves

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In the 1800s, you had to be careful of your cook ware or it might crack or warp. And if you used copper ware, it might even poison you! INFORMATION BELOW FROM 1800s COOKBOOKS NEW OVENS New ovens, before they are baked, should be heated half a day. The lid should be put up as soon as the wood is taken out. It should not be used for baking until it has been heated the second time. If not treated…

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