Historical Nibbles

1841 Cider Vinegar Recipe

/ sandramervillehart

Sarah Josepha Hale, the author of an 1841 cookbook, wrote that vinegar was “perpetually wanted” by families yet was expensive to purchase. Frugal housekeepers prepared their own vinegar.

There were several varieties of vinegars used by early cooks including celery vinegar, horseradish vinegar, and cucumber vinegar.

They also used cider vinegar, as we do today. It is surprisingly easy to prepare.

Add a cup of white sugar into a half gallon of apple cider. Stir well.

This liquid needs to ferment for 4 months. I am storing mine in the original plastic container.

I will update this post at the end of that time. I’m uncertain whether buying refrigerated cider affects the fermentation process, but I’ll let you know if I have cider vinegar in 4 months.

Stay tuned!

-Sandra Merville Hart

Sources

Hale, Sarah Josepha. Early American Cookery: “The Good Housekeeper” 1841, Dover Publications, Inc., 1996.

 

1841 Mustard Recipe

/ sandramervillehart

Sarah Josepha Hale, the author of an 1841 cookbook, wrote that mustard is best when freshly made. I occasionally like mustard on my sandwiches so this seemed like a fun experiment.

As is so often the case with old recipes, no ingredient amounts were supplied.

Hale suggests using the best ground mustard. I used 2 tablespoons of ground mustard. A “little salt” became 1/8 teaspoon of salt.

Mix this together. Add 2 teaspoons of warm water and stir. You will probably need a little more water (I used 3 teaspoons) until it is spreadable consistency.

I tried this mustard on a ham sandwich. It has VERY STRONG taste, similar to horseradish mustard. I did not like it.

Hale included a recipe for Mild Mustard, where milk is substituted for the water. This made a creamier consistency, but the taste was even stronger.

Having grown accustomed to the popular mustard brands available today, this old recipe was too spicy for me. I don’t believe that greatly watering down the mustard would have improved the taste.

Did our ancestors use mustard more sparingly in their cooking than modern cooks? Or did strong spices improve the taste of poor quality meats?

I’d love to hear if you try it.

-Sandra Merville Hart

Sources

Hale, Sarah Josepha. Early American Cookery: “The Good Housekeeper” 1841, Dover Publications, Inc., 1996.

 

1841 Powder of Fine Herbs for Soups and Sauces

/ sandramervillehart

I found a Mixed Spices and Seasonings, used for soups and sauces, in an 1841 cookbook and decided to make it.

This recipe calls for summer savory, a new spice for me. It has a pungent, peppery flavor.

The 1841 cook used lemon-thyme, which smells and tastes like lemon. I was unable to find this seasoning so I substituted thyme for it.

I adjusted the amounts yet maintained the proportions in the 1841 recipe because it made too large a batch. For instance, the cook used 2 ounces of dried parsley and an ounce each of the other seasonings. This is way more than I need to store for the next few months.

Select a small mixing bowl.

2 tablespoons dried parsley

1 tablespoon lemon-thyme (I used thyme)

1 tablespoon summer savory

1 tablespoon sweet marjoram (also called marjoram)

1 tablespoon dried basil

1 tablespoon dried lemon peel

1 tablespoon celery seeds (optional)

Mix ingredients together. Though the celery seeds are optional, I added them.

Store in closed container until needed for soups or sauces.

To try out the seasoning blend, I made vegetable soup. At first, I added 2 teaspoons of the seasoning mixture to the soup as it cooked. Then I added another teaspoon because I made a large stockpot of soup.

Yum! I loved the flavors this seasoning blend added to vegetable soup. Winter is the perfect time for soup and this addition made the dish even more comforting. I will make this again.

I’d love to hear if you try it.

-Sandra Merville Hart

Sources

Hale, Sarah Josepha. Early American Cookery: “The Good Housekeeper” 1841, Dover Publications, Inc., 1996.

“Marjoram Leaf,” Spices, Inc., 2018/01/21 https://www.spicesinc.com/p-95-marjoram-leaf.aspx.

“Summer Savory,” Spice Islands, 2018/01/21 http://spiceislands.com/products/summer-savory.

 

Spiced Peach Pie, Anyone?

/ sandramervillehart / 4 Comments

Photo © Catherine Castle

Today’s post is written by fellow author and dear friend, Catherine Castle. I’m looking forward to making this peach pie and reading her newest novel. Welcome, Catherine!

I’m going say upfront that although I like pie, it’s not a dish I serve at our house much due to dietary constraints. But when I was first married, pie was a regular addition to the dinner table. My husband loved lemon meringue pie, and I learned to make a pretty good one, if I do say so myself. Today any pie I bake, or eat, leans toward fruit pies that are lightly sweetened, if at all. (Remember those dietary constraints I spoke about.)

So, imagine my surprise when Chip Vandermere, the hero of my newest book, Bidding on the Bouquet, decided he loved pie—any kind of pie. Having just done some research about pies and their role in Early American weddings (they were the original wedding dessert of choice back then), Chip’s pie fetish became a recurring motif in the new book.

Suddenly, I found myself writing about this sweet dessert, and craving it. To help alleviate that craving, and provide a valid reason for baking, I decided to include Chip’s love of pies in the book’s promotions. The first result of that decision is an original recipe I named Emelia’s Spiced Peach Pie.

Chip’s housekeeper, Emelia, is a pie baker extraordinaire and the one person in his home to whom he can spill his heart. For Chip, a slice of Emelia’s pie is a comfort, a reward, and a little piece of heaven. When Emilia begins to play matchmaker between Chip and a pie-loving young lady Chip suspects of being a gold digger, their shared love of pie becomes an irritation. Face it, what other reason would a down-and-out-on-her-luck girl want to bid for a bridesmaid spot in his sister’s wedding, if not to worm her way into the life of the rich and famous Vandermeres?

Emelia’s Spiced Peach Pie

© 2018 Catherine Castle

Ingredients:

  • One, 2-crust pie pastry, homemade or store bought
  • 7 cups sliced peaches, fresh or frozen, thawed
  • ¼ sugar
  • ½ tsp. ground cinnamon
  • ¼ tsp ground nutmeg
  • 1 Tbs. cornstarch
  • 1 Tbs. finely minced orange peel. Remove the white membrane from the peel before mincing.

Directions:

  • In a large bowl, sprinkle ¼ cup sugar over peaches and mix well.
  • Combine cinnamon, nutmeg, cornstarch and orange peel in a small bowl and add to peaches, mixing well.
  • Place bottom crust in a glass pie pan and pat against the sides and bottom of the pan.
  • Pour peaches onto crust and arrange evenly in the pan.
  • Trim bottom crust leaving pastry about ½ inch from the edge of the pie pan.
  • Top with second crust, turning top crust under bottom crust. Crimp or flute crust edge as desired, making sure you have sealed the two crusts together to prevent leakage.
  • Cut several slits in top crust to allow steam to escape.
  • Cover the edges of the pie crust with aluminum foil to prevent burning.
  • Bake 10 minutes at 450 degrees.
  • Turn oven down to 350 degrees and bake pie for 70 minutes longer or until crust has browned and filling is bubbly.
  • Remove pie from oven, take off aluminum foil strips, and let pie cool completely before slicing. This pie will cut better after is has been refrigerated.

Note: If you prefer a juicer pie, let the peaches sit after sugaring them, stirring several times, until juice has formed in the bottom of the bowl. If you do this you may want to protect the bottom of your stove from filling leakage.

-Catherine Castle

About the Author:

Multi-award-winning author Catherine Castle loves writing, reading, traveling, singing, theatre, and quilting. She’s a passionate gardener whose garden won a “Best Hillside Garden” award from the local gardening club. She writes sweet and inspirational romances. You can find her books The Nun and the Narc, A Groom for Mama, Bidding on the Bouquet  and Trying Out for Love boxed set on Amazon. Connect with Catherine on her website: website, Facebook, and Twitter  @AuthorCCastle.

Buy link for Bidding on the Bouquet on  Amazon.

 

1841 Seasoning and Spice Blend for Gravies and Forcemeats

/ sandramervillehart

I found a Mixed Spices and Seasonings, used for gravies and forcemeats, in an 1841 cookbook and decided to make it.

Forcemeat is lean, ground meat mixed with fat. The most common of these are sausage and deli meats. This type of food has been around for centuries and were found in a collection of Roman recipes from the 4th or 5th century.

I adjusted the amounts yet maintained the proportions in the 1841 recipe because it made too large a batch. For instance, an ounce of black pepper was used by the cook to prepare a jar of the seasonings for months ahead, whereas I used far less–2 tablespoons.

Select a small mixing bowl.

2 tablespoons black pepper

1 tablespoon nutmeg

1 tablespoon ginger

1 tablespoon cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon ground cloves

Mix ingredients together. This made less than ½ cup.

Store in closed container until needed for gravies or forcemeats.

To try out the seasoning blend, I mixed a small amount (1/8 teaspoon) with mayonnaise and ate it on a ham sandwich. Because so many spices that I associate with pies are included in the blend, it was an odd flavor to me.

No doubt our tastes have altered over the years, but that doesn’t mean it’s not worth a try.

The next time I make beef or turkey gravy, I will try to remember to set aside a half-cup and add this seasoning. I’d love to hear if you try it.

-Sandra Merville Hart

Sources

“Forcemeat,” Wikipedia.com, 2018/01/21 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forcemeat.

“Forcemeat Preparation & Equipment,” The Culinary Cook, 2018/01/21 https://sandramervillehart.wordpress.com/.

Hale, Sarah Josepha. Early American Cookery: “The Good Housekeeper” 1841, Dover Publications, Inc., 1996.

 

Banana Bread

/ sandramervillehart / 2 Comments

Today’s post is written by fellow author, Lindsey Brackett. Her debut novel, Still Waters, released in 2017. Looking forward to reading this book, Lindsey!

Her granddaughter lifted the wicker tray with its bounty of porcelain and banana bread.


“Found yourself a snack, did you?” Annie followed her over to the glass doors that welcomed sunlight and ocean views into her home at every meal.

Cora Anne bent her head over the tray as she inhaled. “Banana bread might be my only weakness, Nan.”


“Oh, sweetheart, if only we all had but one.” –Still Waters, Lindsey P. Brackett

Growing up in a household full of kids (I’m the oldest of seven) run by a southern cook (my mom has every issue of Southern Living Best Recipes from the ’80s), I learned my way around the kitchen. My mom needed to feed a large family economically and efficiently. No wonder so many of her recipes were recreations of what her mother cooked in the post-WW II days when my grandparents were scraping out a living on the Colleton County, South Carolina tobacco farm.

Banana bread has long been a staple of southern households, dating back to the Depression era days when no scrap of food would be wasted. Creative cooks discovered the mashed banana improved the flavor, texture, and quality of a quick bread—and it could feed a family.

Nan’s Banana Bread (adapted from Land of Cotton)

1 stick unsalted butter

1 ½ cups sugar

2 eggs

1 cup ripe bananas, mashed (usually 2 bananas)

2 cups flour

½ tsp baking powder

¼ tsp baking soda

½ tsp salt

¼ cup buttermilk

1 tsp vanilla

1/2-1 cup nuts (optional)

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Cream butter and sugar, add eggs one at a time, mixing well each time. Add bananas. Sift dry ingredients together (yes, sifting is worth it.) Add flour mixture alternately with buttermilk. Stir in vanilla and nuts if desired. (My mother favored pecans or walnuts.) Bake in a greased 5×9 inch loaf pan (or two smaller pans) for 75 minutes. Check for doneness in the middle with toothpick or knife. If wrapped in plastic, this will keep for several days. Make it a dessert by topping with cream cheese frosting.

This is a very forgiving recipe. I’ve used all sorts of flours, plain milk, half and half, and twice the bananas. So far it’s been impossible to mess up except for one key—don’t over bake.

–Lindsey P. Brackett

Bio:

Award-winning writer, Lindsey P. Brackett “just writes life” in the midst of motherhood. Her debut novel, Still Waters, a Lowcountry story about the power of family and forgiveness, released in 2017. Called “a brilliant debut” with “exquisite writing,” Still Waters also received 4-stars from Romantic Times.

Lover of all things literary and Southern, Lindsey makes her home—full of wet towels, lost library books, and strong coffee—at the foothills of Appalachia with her patient husband and their four rowdy children.

Connect with her at her blog or on Facebook: Lindsey P. Brackett, Instagram: @lindseypbrackett, or Twitter: @lindsbrac.

 

The Problem with Teacups

/ sandramervillehart

My blog is called “Historical Nibbles” for the historical recipes shared on Mondays and the “A Peek into Our Past” historical articles shared on Thursdays. My desire is to bring to light little-known facts from American history so this knowledge our ancestors attained will not be forgotten.

I love to try old recipes from over a century ago, but these can be difficult to follow. Ingredient measurements are one of the challenges.

For instance, recipes from an 1877 cookbook can call for a tea-cup of raisins, a small half cup of butter, three cups of flour, or one and a half tea-cups of sugar.

The same recipe may call for one cup of brown sugar and a half-pint of molasses. A half-pint in modern measurements is one cup. If one cup was the same as a half-pint for the 1877 cook, why didn’t she say, “one cup of brown sugar, one cup of molasses” when writing the recipe?

Another cook wrote that “a tumbler and a half of sliced citron may be added.” How big was a tumbler in 1877? Did tumblers vary in size?

Another recipe calls for one cup of sugar and two small cups of flour. Is a “small cup” different from a tea-cup? Was “one cup” perhaps 12 ounces and the “small cup” 8 ounces?

It’s a guessing game. Sometimes I guess wrong and have to prepare the recipe a second time.

I went shopping for one last gift on Christmas weekend and found a Festive Tree Collection of 3 measuring cups at Macy’s. My thoughts immediately flew to the old recipes calling for a “small tea-cup” and “half tea-cups.”

The collection’s historic flair appealed to me and, on a whim, I bought a Christmas gift for myself. You may see a photo now and then using these measuring cups as I struggle to read the minds of historic cooks!

-Sandra Merville Hart

Sources

Compiled from Original Recipes. Buckeye Cookery, Applewood Books, 1877.

 

Blackberry Blanc-Mange Recipe from 1877

/ sandramervillehart

I found a recipe for Raspberry Blanc-Mange in an 1877 cookbook that had been submitted by Mrs. J.P. Rea of Minneapolis, Minnesota. Mrs. Rea suggested that other fruit could be substituted for raspberries. Since I had fresh blackberries in the fridge, I used blackberries.

Blancmange is a new dessert to me. I’d never made or eaten it. This sweet dessert is usually made with milk and sugar. Cornstarch, gelatin, and Irish moss—a seaweed found near Ireland—are used to thicken the blancmange.

The dessert is traditionally white, but this fruity recipe is a rich burgundy color.

As with most of the recipes in the 1877 cookbook, there is a lot of guesswork. It didn’t suggest how much fruit to “stew” in the first step.

I washed 12 ounces (1 ½ cups) of fresh blackberries and put them in a medium saucepan. I added a cup of water, which ended up being a good amount for this amount of fruit.

These cooked on a medium heat. After they began a slow boil, I cooked them around 8 – 10 minutes, long enough to extract the flavorful juices from the blackberries.

Strain the fruit. Discard the blackberries and return the juice to the pan. There will be a little more than the amount of water added in the beginning.

In a small bowl, add 2 tablespoons of cornstarch per pint of juice. Mine made a little over a cup, so I used 1 tablespoon of cornstarch. To this add twice the amount of water—2 tablespoons of water for mine. Stir and set aside.

Mrs. Rea suggested sweetening the juice to taste. Having no idea how sweet blancmange is, I stirred in ¼ cup of sugar. When this mixture begins to boil on a medium heat, drizzle in the reserved cornstarch mixture. It thickens immediately.

Whisk constantly while it continues to boil for another minute or two. Remove from heat.

Rinse molds in cold water and add the blancmange. Chill for at least 2 hours to allow the dessert to set.

Twelve ounces of blackberries made 2 servings. Adjust the quantities for the number of servings desired.

Turn the mold onto a serving plate. Mrs. Rea suggesting eating it with cream and sugar. I liked it plain.

Though it didn’t turn out overly sweet, I will reduce the amount of sugar next time to 2 tablespoons for 2 servings.

I loved the rich color of the blancmange. I like blackberries and the refreshing taste took me back to summer days of eating cobblers and jams. I will reduce the amount of sugar next time to 2 tablespoons for 2 servings.

I’d love to hear if you try this recipe with other fruits.

-Sandra Merville Hart

Sources

“Blankmange,” Wikipedia, 2018/01/13 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blancmange.

Compiled from Original Recipes. Buckeye Cookery and Practical Housekeeping, Applewood Books, 1877.

 

 

 

Mulligan Stew Recipe

/ sandramervillehart / 2 Comments

 

One of my favorite meals that my grandmother made was Mulligan stew. She had no patience to teach anyone how to make it. Fortunately, my brother also liked it. He observed her preparations for the stew and then wrote them down.

3 pounds stew beef

6 to 8 medium-to-large potatoes

2 medium onions, chopped

1 cup tomato catsup

3 to 4 tablespoons chili powder

Salt to taste

Butchers often slice beef into two-inch square chunks. That’s too large for a spoon and gave me lots of trouble as a child eating this in my soup.

One thing I do (that my grandmother didn’t) is cut the stew beef into bite-sized portions before cooking.

Rinse the meat and add to a large pot. Cover with cold water. Add a teaspoon of salt or season to taste. Cook over medium heat until almost done, about 45 minutes.

I use 8 potatoes because I love them in this stew. Peel and cut potatoes into spoon-sized portions.

When the meat is almost done, add potatoes and onions. Stir in a cup of catsup. If you add too much, the stew has a sweet taste. (You may prefer that taste. I modify recipes all the time. I’d suggest trying this amount of catsup the first time and see what you think.)

Add 3 to 4 tablespoons of chili powder. I used closer to 4 tablespoons in mine. Stir well.

Continue cooking until the potatoes are tender.

If you cook this in a crock pot, add all ingredients at the beginning and stir well.

I served the stew with rolls.  My grandmother served them with bread. Some people prefer crackers.

My brother asked me to make this stew on a recent visit. He said it was seasoned perfectly. High praise from someone who remembers my grandmother’s stew!

I’d love to hear if you try this recipe. Enjoy!

-Sandra Merville Hart

 

 

Black-Eyed Peas for New Year’s Day

/ sandramervillehart

Growing up, my dad insisted we eat black-eyed peas on New Year’s Day. I didn’t like them. He said we had to eat them for good luck in the New Year.

Of course, forcing down a spoon of the peas seemed a small price to pay for a year’s worth of good luck so I always ate them.

This year I decided to search for a more exciting way to cook them than just seasoned with salt and pepper.

I made Black-eyed Peas and Rice, a recipe found on the Food Network.

I didn’t have any curry powder so I didn’t add that seasoning. I also used a whole 15-ounce can of black-eyes peas instead of making 8 ounces from dried peas. I just wanted to try out the recipe ahead of time to see if I wanted to make this on New Year’s Day. Otherwise I followed the recipe as is.

Using canned black-eyed peas worked great. I love rice dishes and this one didn’t disappoint me. I tasted the peas along with the strong flavor of the soy sauce.

I will be making this dish for supper.

What traditional dish will you eat to begin the year?

-Sandra Merville Hart

“Black-eyed Peas and Rice,” Food Network, 2017/11/26 http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/black-eyed-peas-and-rice-recipe-1937541.