Barley Lemonade

Generally found in the foods for the sick section, barley water was often flavored with lemons and sugar, but this recipe was actually named lemonade by famed chef Alexis Soyer.  The pearl barley is boiled in water, strained and added to the sugar water and lemon. Then the lemonade is strained.

Nott's Barley Gruel

John Nott's The Cook's and Confectioner's Dictionary went through four editions from 1723-1733.  His gruel is enriched with cream, wine, sugar, currants and egg yolks. A rather fine gruel!  Other barley recipes in Nott's book are broth, cream, pottage, posset, pudding, and barley sugar.

Melting snow with salt - in Victorian England

"Persons can do few more silly or injurious things than to sprinkle salt upon snow before their doors. The result is to change dry snow or ice at the temperature of 32°, to brine at 0°. So low a temperature affecting the feet of passengers is a prolific source of colds. If, then, any one does sprinkle salt upon snow in the street, he ought to feel it a matter of conscience to sweep it away immediately."

Geometry in food

In the 1841 book The Childs Pictorial Geometry a slice of cake is an equilateral triangle and a sugar loaf is a cone.