New Amsterdam New Year's

New Year’s Calls started by the Dutch in the 1600s compared to the New York socialites of the 1870s. 

Georgian holiday dessert table

Merry Christmas!









©2013 Patricia Bixler Reber
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Mince Pie alert!

"Very fashionable mince pies are made at Strasbourg, in France, from the diseased livers of geese, or other animals. These pies are now brought, in some instances, to this country, especially to Philadelphia, and our other large cities." with Robert May receipts, 1685..

Cranberries on the English moors, 1814

'The Cranberry Girl' picks cranberries on the moors of Regency Yorkshire.  Though smaller, the cranberries tasted better than those imported from America and Russia...

Food History Symposiums, Exhibits 2014

11 activities in Amsterdam, York and Oxford UK, Greensboro NC, New York City, Chicago, Virginia and more   -

Thanksgiving leftovers

How do you eat the turkey after Thanksgiving dinner... sandwiches, pour heated gravy over cold slices, curried turkey?  Some 1877 recipes to ponder: hash, escalloped turkey, and croquettes.

Turkey in Scotland

This charming cookbook cover from 1862 Scotland includes a turkey, and within, detailed instructions to truss, roast, boil and debone...

WWI Pumpkin Pie

On the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918 an armistice [ceasefire] on the Western Front took effect.  Some countries commemorate Armistice Day, but in the US we remember our fallen and vets on Veteran's Day.  During World War I bakers and cooks were recruited who used the Army manual for cooking, including a recipe which made 15 pumpkin pies.

Fall Fashion Trend - leaves

Not any fallen leaves, but maple, beech, willow oak, hickory and aspen were worn by Americans "... in Europe, formed into wreaths for the hair, or trimmings for ball-dresses, and the effect was considered beautiful." ...

Colcannon Night

As you prepare for Halloween think of an Irish tradition for that evening called Colcannon Night.  On that night "...a gold ring was concealed somewhere in the dish" of potatoes and cabbage... 

Snap-apple Night

Trying to bite into an apple. on a string.  revolving.  with candles.  what could go wrong??  Snap-apple was one of the games played on Halloween in Ireland and Scotland...

Sugar Mills on Sugar Plantations

A wonderful wind mill sugar mill!  Other ways to power the rollers which pressed the sugar cane included slave labor, water wheels and farm animals.  Close-ups of mills from 1665 to 1835... 

National Angel Food Cake Day

While I can’t find out if this is an official day or just put out by a person, company or trade organization, Angel Food does deserve a day of recognition.  And it got October 10^th.  The name appeared in print in the US in the 1870s, and the cake itself was created in the US by the 1830s… egg whites, flour and sugar, but no butter.  ...

Rat and mouse traps in Art 1270-1869

Gerrit Dou painted "The Mousetrap " circa 1650.  (Musee Fabre)  This closeup of the mousetrap also shows the mother peeling carrots.   Different types of traps appeared in sketches and paintings over the decades and a recipe from 1795. 

Food History Symposiums 2013 pt. 3

4 food symposiums and conferences for the fall of 2013. 

Sandwich Carrots

"Sandwich-carrots! - dainty Sandwich-carrots." The 1796 print by satirist James Gillray portrayed John Montagu, 5th Earl of Sandwich (1744–1814) putting money in the pocket of a street vendor. (British Museum online).  Sandwich Carrots did not take their name from the Earl, but from the town.  They were called red carrots but actually were "a very deep orange...and the most esteemed."  [Hale, 1758]  Recipes below are for boiling and for soup.

Lady Baltimore Cake

Described in the novel Lady Baltimore (1906) as "all soft, and it's in layers, and it has nuts,"  the Lady Baltimore Cake has more to do with Philadelphia than Baltimore or even Charleston (before the book was published).   ...

Young cooks in a French kitchen, 1890s

Joseph Bail (French, 1862-1921) painted many views of kitchen helpers and young cooks. 

On this Labor Day, I’ve included some of his paintings depicting children working in a kitchen c.1893 ... a few of the scenes are playful, others poignant. 

Pickled and Stuffed Olives

Stuffing olives with capers or truffle pieces?  Yes, in 1818.  Grocery stores now sell all sorts of stuffed olives.

Cooking and Dining onboard 19th century railroad cars

Pullman "Hotel Cars" in 1882 contained many ingenious devices such as a compact kitchen range/oven and temporary dining tables from "well-polished mahogany planks."