Browsed by
Category: Miscellaneous

How to Make Meringue for Pies and Candy

How to Make Meringue for Pies and Candy

Comments 0 Comment

Meringue for pie or candy is made with egg whites, which have to be whipped enough to make them airy and light. Egg whites were whipped by hand in the 1800s and was a time-consuming chore. Hand-operated rotary egg beaters were introduced around 1860, but didn’t really become popular in the United States until the Dover Stamping Company created their own version. Between 1870 and 1890, Dover made 4 million egg beaters, mostly for family use. INFORMATION BELOW FROM 1800s…

Read More Read More

The Icebox (Non-Electric Refrigerator)

The Icebox (Non-Electric Refrigerator)

Comments 2 comments

To keep food cold In the 1800s, wooden boxes lined with tin or zinc and insulated with various materials. These boxes were called “refrigerators” until the modern electric refrigerator was developed. Then they were referred to as “iceboxes.” In 1915, the electric household refrigerator was introduced in the US, but it wasn’t until the 1920s that the market began to grow. This was due to a new refrigerant, Freon, which made them more reliable. By the 1930s, the average American…

Read More Read More

Raw peanuts in the shell
Peanut Recipes / Soups, Croquettes, Macaroons, and more

Peanut Recipes / Soups, Croquettes, Macaroons, and more

Comments 7 comments

Peanuts are the cheapest nuts to buy, for the reason that they are not really nuts but legumes. Peanuts contain a good deal of oil, and for this reason are recommended for consumptives. The peanut is also recommended as a cure for indigestion. Almost any kind of nut will cure the habitual indigestion induced by “bolting” the food, if only it be chewed until it is liquid.  INFORMATION FROM 1800s COOKBOOKS TO BLANCH PEANUTS To blanch Spanish peanuts the usual…

Read More Read More

Homemade Curry Powder and Recipes

Homemade Curry Powder and Recipes

Comments 2 comments

Curry powder recipes and dishes were popular in 1800s cookbooks. Prepared curry powder could be purchased, but making it yourself was considered superior. However, ingredients  were often hard to find at the grocer’s or too expensive. INFORMATION BELOW FROM 1800s COOKBOOKS CURRIES UNDER VARIOUS NAMES Curries can be made from anything. The ingredients indispensable to all curries is a very pungent powder called turmeric, which has a peculiar flavor of its own.  In India there is always something acid in…

Read More Read More

Cooking raw oats for breakfast
Ways to Cook Old-Fashioned Oats

Ways to Cook Old-Fashioned Oats

Comments 3 comments

In these recipes from 1800s cookbooks, I was surprised to read oats had to cook from two to four hours! The recipes caution against cooking oats too quickly. They also don’t say to soak the oats overnight, which I found surprising. Groats take the longest to cook. Rolled Oats are groats that have been steamed and flattened. There are also steel-cut oats, ground oats (old-fashioned, quick-cooking oats, and instant oats), each one being processed more.   This article on the Food Revolution…

Read More Read More

Frying a Pork Chop in Iron Skillet
Types of Fats Used for Frying

Types of Fats Used for Frying

Comments 1 comment

When I was a child, my mother made delicious fried potatoes and fried chicken in a large Cast Iron Skillet.  She usually used bacon grease, but if she didn’t have enough, she used canned shortening. My mother never did use lard, but I knew people who did. INFORMATION BELOW FROM 1800s COOKBOOKS: SCRAPS OF FAT All scraps of fat—cooked or uncooked—as well as any drippings from beef, veal, pork, and chicken, should be saved and used in cooking. A careful…

Read More Read More

Escargot (cooked snails)
How to Cook Snails (Escargots)

How to Cook Snails (Escargots)

Comments 9 comments

I’ve read through dozens of old cookbooks from the 1800s and snails have only been mentioned in one of them. They have never been popular in the United States; and especially not during this time period. The information below is from: The Hand-Book of Practical Cookery For Ladies and Professional Cooks by Pierre Blot , New York, 1884 ================================================= SNAILS: A good many are now imported from Europe. CLEAN AND PREPARE SNAILS Throw them in boiling water, in which you have put some…

Read More Read More

gathering fresh mushrooms
Making Mushroom Ketchup (Catsup)

Making Mushroom Ketchup (Catsup)

Comments 6 comments

Many recipes from old cookbooks called for mushroom ketchup – especially meat recipes.  I had never heard of mushroom ketchup before and haven’t found it in any health food or specialty food stores. I did discover that the Geo Watkins Company makes Mushroom Ketchup  and you can order it online.   INFORMATION BELOW FROM 1800s COOKBOOKS TO MAKE MUSHROOM KETCHUP Look out for mushrooms from the beginning of September. Choose full-grown mushroom-flaps and take care they are perfectly fresh-gathered when the weather…

Read More Read More