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Category: Vegetables

How to Cook Salsify (Oyster Plant)

How to Cook Salsify (Oyster Plant)

Salsify (oyster plant) was a popular vegetable in the 1800s, but people didn’t seem to use it much in the 1900s. Salsify is supposed to taste slightly like an oyster, but some people say it tastes more like an artichoke.   You use the roots of salsify just like parsnips or carrots. Peel or scrape the outside and then you can boil, bake, or fry it. Many people add it to soups and stews. There’s also a similar plant called Scorzonera…

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Tomato Recipes – Pie, Stuffed, Croquettes, Preserved…..

Tomato Recipes – Pie, Stuffed, Croquettes, Preserved…..

Back in the 1800s, tomatoes were a seasonal food since there was no refrigeration. People could only have tomatoes out of season by canning, drying, or making them into preserves. I rarely buy canned soups, but I make my own tomato soup when fresh tomatoes are available at farmer’s markets. The recipe for tomato croquettes sounds interesting, too. INFORMATION BELOW FROM 1800s COOKBOOKS: TOMATOES Tomatoes are a fruit vegetable that may be either cooked or prepared raw. While tomatoes appeal…

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Pickled Tomatoes, Chutney, Mince, Catchup & more

Pickled Tomatoes, Chutney, Mince, Catchup & more

In the 1800s, people could only eat food in season unless they preserved it. Around 1860, home canning become popular because a tin smith, John L. Mason invented a glass jar with a threaded lip and a reusable metal lid: the Mason Jar. This new canning jar allowed people to safely can fruit, pickles, relishes, and sauces like ketchup. However, canning low-acid vegetables and meat was still too dangerous.  SOURCE INFORMATION BELOW FROM 1800s COOKBOOKS PICKLING TOMATOES Scald* and peel a…

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Delicious Ways to Cook Asparagus

Delicious Ways to Cook Asparagus

“All persons that have a garden should have an asparagus-bed; it is valuable as being one of the first vegetables in the spring. Asparagus from hot houses and the South begins to come into the market in March and April. It is then costly, but in May and June is abundant and quite cheap. About the last of June it grows poor, and no matter how low the price, it will be an expensive article to buy as it has…

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Delicious Onion Recipes

Delicious Onion Recipes

I often use onions in tuna, egg, and chicken salad, to flavor soups and meats, and I especially like fried potatoes and onions. But I’ve never made stuffed onions, onion soup, sauces, or any of the other recipes listed below. They all sound delicious. If you ever get a chance to buy Vidalia onions, grown in the state of Georgia, be sure to give them a try.  They are a sweet tasting onion. INFORMATION BELOW FROM 1800s COOKBOOKS: ONIONS FOR…

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Spinach Recipes – Spinach Balls, Cream, Fried, Dumplings….

Spinach Recipes – Spinach Balls, Cream, Fried, Dumplings….

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…

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Pumpkin Loaf, Indian Cakes, Marmalade, Pie, and Tart

Pumpkin Loaf, Indian Cakes, Marmalade, Pie, and Tart

Pumpkins were a popular crop in the 1800s. They were easy to grow and if stored properly in a warm, dry place, could be kept all winter. Recipes from old cookbooks used fresh pumpkins, but if one called for stewed pumpkin, it’s like the plain canned pumpkin we buy today. Recipes often did not include baking times or how hot to make your oven.  You were supposed to know or learn through experience.  INFORMATION BELOW FROM 1800s COOKBOOKS Deep colored…

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Winter Squash Recipes

Winter Squash Recipes

I never ate any kind of squash when I was a child, but I’ve eaten summer squashes like green zucchini and yellow squash as an adult. It’s only been in the last couple of years that I’ve tried any of the winter squashes: Butternut Squash, Spaghetti Squash, and Delicata Squash. When people in the 1800s cooked foods in their wood burning stoves, there were no thermometers. So recipes referred to the oven temperature as a slow, moderate, or hot oven. The cook…

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