Blueberry Batter Pudding 1839

Batter puddings are a lighter cake-type 'pudding'. The following recipe is by Sarah Josepha Buell Hale (1788-1879) best known for her poem "Mary had a little lamb" and promoting Thanksgiving.  Also general instructions from 1827.

Watermelons - Italy 1810 and Cincinnati

When the British traveler Mrs. Trollope first tasted water-melon she "thought it very vile stuff."  She also felt the men, women and children who were sitting on the streets of 1830 Cincinnati, spitting the seeds "to the great annoyance of all within reach" and the juice pouring out of their mouths... looked "very unpleasant."  The delightful image is from Italy, 1810.

Mrs. Goodfellow - Lemon Pudding before the Meringue

Mrs. Goodfellow (1767-1851) made a lemon pudding (pie) at her cooking school and shop in early Phila. (more HERE).  I've not found any proof that she created the first lemon meringue pie, as some claim - unlikely since she used whole eggs and first claim (no source) was in a 1987 book. Her lemon pudding was popular and copied into several local authors' cook books.  More details and three recipes are below.

Mrs. Goodfellow - raves from Miss Leslie and others

Mrs. Goodfellow (c1767-1851) was a renowned baker, confectioner and founder of a cooking school for wealthy young ladies. She changed the paragraph format of recipes to list the ingredients first, and her lemon pies, Spanish buns and cocoanut pies were locally renowned. Using her class notes, Eliza Leslie, a student, wrote the first of her many popular cook books, passing on Mrs. Goodfellow's recipes and ideas to future generations of cooks.

Red, white and blue boiled hams for the 4th of July

At Mercersburg, Pa., before the Civil War, the town folk and farmers would go out to President James Buchanan's birthplace and share a picnic.  One lady brought "boiled hams decorated with cloves and red, white and blue paper."

Esther Allen Howland - "The New England Economical Housekeeper," CPR, Valentines

The mother of the "Mother of the American Valentine," (both named) Esther Allen Howland, wrote the small cookbook in 1844 which sold 1500 copies in it's first 15 weeks! The next year it was expanded and later the regional cookbook, with a more national name The American Economical Housekeeper and Family Receipt Book, was reprinted many times until 1875.  Receipts economical (tainted beef), medicinal (early CPR), New England (chowder in dinner-pot)... 

Battle of Waterloo 200, Magna Carta 800

June 18 is the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Waterloo and the defeat of Napoleon. The Duke of Wellington celebrated his victory with an annual dinner.

Strawberries washed in milk

In the first recipe, berries were to be washed in skim milk (the milk which remained after the cream was skimmed off) "to take off any grit and sand."  Recipes for berries in cream and whipped cream Whips... 

Strawberries in Pottles and Punnets

What's a pottle? a punnet?  50 to 60 of the long conical baskets were placed in a HUGH basket, weighing 30-40 pounds! then carried on the head from the field to London... up to 10 miles.  The street vendor looks so charming in the painting. Women carriers caused less damage to the fruit than men carriers. A pottle was an old measure for 2 quarts, but by the Regency period, it held half that amount, and in Boston the baskets were pint sized and packed into square hampers.  A deposit fee of one cent was refunded if the basket was returned. Cries of London and other images...

Memorial Day - Remember their sacrifice

Civil War soldiers cooking and dining "in the field."

Syllabub - Whisking for exercise

 "Whisking with all your might and main... is good exercise for young ladies" and, the author quipped, might be added to gym classes.  The recipe below called for osier twig whisks, but there were other ways to whip up a froth, such as chocolate mills, syllabub mills, milking cows, or tin-tube churns. And then, for cat lovers, store the tray of syllabubs in "the coolest nook you have, that is free from dust, draughts, and intrusive cats."

Syllabub under the Cow, without a Cow

As late as 1878, a book by Doctor Delamere, Wholesome Fare, used milk straight from a cow, or as a substitute for a cow: one could use a large syringe or stand on a table. Start milking a calm cow, then near the end when the milk is richest, milk "the strippings" into the bowl.

Syllabubs - Red and white wine

Pink and white syllabubs, just in time for Mother's Day.  Mrs. Raffald, 1769 pours some extra wine in the glass and topped with sweetened cream flavored with brandy or Madeira whipped in a chocolate mill. 

Angel Food Cake

Made with beaten egg whites and no butter, Angel Food Cake is a sponge cake NOT a white butter cake (like Silver Cake, Lady Cake, Snow Cake, Snow-drift Cake, or Cornstarch Cake).  And the first printed recipe was in 1878.

A Pyramid of Cakes

Layer cakes became very popular in the 1870s and continued for a century. They featured different colors, flavors, and even a variety of fillings on each layer.  An early description from 1839 is for a special occasion cake - tiered like our wedding cakes.  In 1907 an entire book  One Hundred and One Layer Cakes by May Southworth was published.

Eating Through Time: Food, Health and History

The New York Academy of Medicine Library in NYC has been collecting since it opened in 1847 and has over 10,000 food/health related items.  And what a collection! The library owns one - there are only two - Apicius’ De re coquinaria, a Roman cookbook. HERE   Also books by the greats: Scappi (man and cauldron image, left), Careme and others. Throughout this year there will be a series of lectures and an all day event on October 17. Recap HERE

Shish ka bob or cubbub

Get out the grill!  An 1815 encounter with the dish was described by an American cookbook author who pondered "does he mean that the skewers run through the meat?"

Lolling and the "boarding house reach"

Reaching across 3 or 4 people for a dish "is not only vulgar, but inconvenient."  FOUR persons - what a loooong boarding house reach!  Before there was 'lolling about' there was lolling. The American edition of Chesterfield's contained several new rules written by a Philadelphia lawyer in 1828.  

Pasch or Easter Eggs - Scratched, Waxed, Gilded, Dyed and Onioned

Get out the Paas dyes or go natural.  Here are some 1830 decorating ideas for eggs to give, roll or throw. Past posts on Easter Monday Rolls HERE and onion skin eggs HERE

Food History Conferences, Symposiums, Exhibits. 2015 pt 2

7 conferences and exhibits in the US and Portugal, with 9 other 2015 food history conferences on a previous post.