Mrs. Beeton's Corks with Wooden Tops

Instead of sealing a corked bottle with melted resin or wax, the corks with wooden tops were easier to remove and able to reuse.
There is a newly listed talk this Thursday on "Malinda Russell, the author of the First African American Cookbook" 1866. Also, spaces have been added for the Mrs. Raffold (Before Mrs. Beeton) talk on Wednesday.

Corks with Wooden Tops. These are the best corks to use when it is indispensable that the air should not be admitted to the ingredients contained in bottles which are in constant use. The top, which, as will be seen by the accompanying little cut, is larger than the cork, is made of wood; and, besides effectually covering the whole top of the bottle, can be easily removed and again used, as no corkscrew is necessary to pull it out.
Beeton, Isabella. The Book of Household Management. London: 1863

Corks in Beeton's recipe "To Bottle Fresh Fruit" -
Have ready some perfectly dry glass bottles, and some nice new soft corks or bungs; burn a match in each bottle, to exhaust the air, and quickly place the fruit in to be preserved; gently cork the bottles, and put them into a very cool oven, where let them remain until the fruit has shrunk away a fourth part. Then take the bottles out; do not open them, but immediately beat the corks in tight, cut off the tops, and cover them with melted resin [or wax – second recipe].
Beeton, Isabella. The Book of Household Management. London: 1863

Cork videos (Ted talk, Cork Forests of Spain, more) Cork Forest Conservation Alliance TAPES HERE


Apr 27 Thu 12 In the Kitchen with Malinda Russell, Author of the First African American Cookbook. A Domestic Cook Book: Containing A Careful Selection of Useful Receipts for the Kitchen by Mrs. Malinda Russell, An Experienced Cook 1866. Pamela Cooley. Recipes: Muffins, raspberry tea cake and allspice cake. Kitchen Lab online. Birgitte Kampmann. parallel to the Oxford Food Symposium. ZOOM Meeting ID: 814 3501 8336 Passcode: 749624

Malinda Russell free PDF of her 1866 cookbook and the project HERE

Apr 26 Wed 2-3:30 The Extraordinary Life of Elizabeth Raffald. More spaces added - it had filled quickly. “The Experienced English Housekeeper. Published in 1769, it ran to over twenty editions and brought her fame and fortune. But then disaster; her fortune lost, spent by her alcoholic husband. Bankrupted twice, she spent her final years in a pokey coffeehouse in a seedy part of town.” Neil Buttery author Before Mrs. Beeton: Elizabeth Raffald, England’s Most Influential Housekeeper. HERE

THIS WEEK'S TALKS

Apr 24 Mon 1:30 From medicine to botany: the hidden history of 16th century herbaria. “New plants arriving as curiosities from the New World helped in this realization. 16th-century botanists collected and press-dried plants among paper sheets, mounted and bound into books, creating the first herbaria.” Anastasia Stefanaki. British Society for the History of Pharmacy HERE

Apr 24 Mon 6 Cooking with the First Ladies: Mamie Eisenhower. Sarah Morgan. National First Ladies' Library HERE

Apr 25 Tue 6:30-8 Paddington and the Marmalade Sandwich. “whimsical story and how it evokes themes of immigration, and of the comfort of food.” Laura Kitchings. Culinary Historians of New York $10 HERE

Apr 25 Tue 7-8:30 Endangered Eating: America’s Vanishing Food. Sarah Lohman. Chelmsford Public Library HERE TAPE may be HERE

Apr 26 Wed 12 The Politics & Science of Cocoa Fermentation. Dr. Kristy Leissle and panel. Heirloom Cacao Preservation Fund HERE TAPE may be HERE [Ap 6 specialty cocoa]

Apr 26 Wed 12 Foraging Wild Edibles 101. Crystal Bradford, Liam Kijewski in Southwestern Ontario. McDougall Cottage Historic Site HERE

Apr 26 Wed 12-1:30 Spices 101: Pepper. “history, botany, lore, and culinary uses.” Eleanor Ford, author of The Nutmeg Trail. Smithsonian Associates $30 HERE

Apr 26 Wed 2-3:30 The Extraordinary Life of Elizabeth Raffald. More spaces added “The Experienced English Housekeeper. Published in 1769, it ran to over twenty editions and brought her fame and fortune. But then disaster; her fortune lost, spent by her alcoholic husband. Bankrupted twice, she spent her final years in a pokey coffeehouse in a seedy part of town.” Neil Buttery author Before Mrs. Beeton: Elizabeth Raffald, England’s Most Influential Housekeeper. HERE

Apr 26 Wed 6:30 Great Wines of Napa Valley. William Schragis. AARP not have to be member HERE

Apr 27 Thu 10AM-12 Caliphate Cooking in Medieval Baghdad (10th century AD). Eight Meals that Changed the World. Dr. Laura Carlson. Lifelong Learning Mississauga, Canada. Apr 13 to June 1. Tape for one week. Must register by Apr 2 HERE

Apr 27 Thu 12 In the Kitchen with Malinda Russell, Author of the First African American Cookbook. A Domestic Cook Book: Containing A Careful Selection of Useful Receipts for the Kitchen by Mrs. Malinda Russell, An Experienced Cook 1866. Pamela Cooley. Recipes: Muffins, raspberry tea cake and allspice cake. Kitchen Lab online. Birgitte Kampmann. parallel to the Oxford Food Symposium. ZOOM Meeting ID: 814 3501 8336 Passcode: 749624

Apr 27 Thu 1 Decolonizing Seeds to Revitalize Lifeways: regeneration through tallgrass prairie and bison, heirloom seeds, and food sovereignty. Daniel Maher. Iowa state & State Historical Society of Iowa. HERE TAPE may be HERE

Apr 27 Thu 2:30 American Menus. virtual lecture on the exhibition A Century of Dining Out. Henry Voigt. The Grolier Club HERE

Apr 27 Thu 6:30 Working the Sea: An illustrated talk on National Fisherman Magazine. Michael Crowley author of the forthcoming book Working the Sea. Camden Maine Public Library. Hybrid HERE

Apr 28 Fri 1 Venice and the Rialto Market: History, Symbols, and Local Flavors. Cecilia Sitran. Context. $26.50 HERE

Apr 28 Fri 2 Between Boston & Bombay: Cultural & Commercial Encounters of Yankees & Parsis, 1771–1865. Jenny Rose. Massachusetts Historical Society HERE TAPE may be HERE

Apr 28 Fri 8:30 Legends of Tiki: Trader Vic. “man behind the Mai Tai, how we got his start, and the role he played in popularizing Tiki. Plus you’ll learn to make a bunch of Trader Vic drinks.” Tammy’s Tastings $19 HERE also 7-8pm class

CALENDAR OF VIRTUAL FOOD HISTORY TALKS HERE

©2023 Patricia Bixler Reber
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