Peter Cooper's gelatine

Although Peter Cooper (1791-1883) of New York City may be more well known for designing 'Tom Thumb', the first American steam locomotive that lost a race with a horse in 1830 on the early B&O Railroad line from Baltimore to Ellicott Mills (now Ellicott City, MD). But there is more... Cooper Union, glue, iron and ... gelatin.

Maryland Peaches: Baltimore Peach Cake & Ellizabeth Ellicott Lea's Peach Marmalade

The fluffy, yeast cake topped with peaches existed by 1910 when it was mentioned in a poem by a Baltimore Sun writer.  It was and is sold in Baltimore bakeries during peach season.  Recently, marmalade is spread over the cake as a glaze. Maryland cookbook author Elizabeth Ellicott Lea's 1846 marmalade recipe is easy and delicious.

Left over jelly made into drinks

Two jelly drink recipes made when "jams or jellies are too old" for "table use" contain vinegar and soda for effervescence - Beecher, 1850 or the later, 1884 recipe is just jelly stirred in water and sugar.

Flowers on the table - in Jelly

Jelly made from boiled flowers - violets, roses, orange flowers -  are a step beyond grapes or strawberries.  And also recipes to suspend flowers in jelly...

Jellies whipped or with whipped cream or ice cream

Three recipes to beat jelly to a froth, like the old Jell-O dessert - except from two centuries ago, and the jelly is made from isinglass, hartshorn, or calves' feet. Or just fill with whipped cream or ICE cream...

Jelly and fruits

Three centuries of fruit in jelly and jelly shaped as fruit.  The early receipts used a base of jelly from calves feet, issinglass or hartshorn.  One jelly using "a Gang of Calf's Feet" from 1769 is given at the end of this posting.  Powdered gelatin, created about 1840, made the process less laborious. 

Cochineal

The tiny purple shells of the Cochineal (found on cactus - see last section of this post) was used as a dye.  The scale insects were generally dried in the sun or oven.  In food, it's pink/red/purple color enhanced jelly, marmalade, blanc mange as well as pickled Eggs, "Golden Pippins to look like Apricots," collared Beef,  icing (as described on the Christmas or Black Cake HERE ) and other foods.

Oranges filled with Jelly

Filling emptied orange rinds with jelly was a surprising change in serving 18th and 19th century jellies.  Here are a few recipes...