Source: Pennsylvania State Grange Cook Book (1926)
Some foods just seem to go together: bacon and eggs, fish and chips, grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup. Similarly, a hundred years ago, people often ate certain food combinations. A hundred-year-old cookbook contained a list of suggested foods to serve with various types of meat and fish.
Some of the old-time food combinations were similar to common combinations today; others were quite different. Apples and pork went together both a hundred years ago and now. The list said that applesauce should be served with both post roast and pork croquettes. I’ve seen recent recipes that call for serving cooked apple slices or rings with pork chops and other types of pork.
Other food combination recommendations in the old cookbook seemed more unusual. I can’t quite picture serving olives stuffed with cream cheese with cold tongue – though who am I to say? I can’t remember ever serving cold tongue, so maybe the olives would be lovely with it.
I’m still enjoying locally-grown watermelon, but know that the season will end soon. I came across a lovely hundred-year-old recipe for Watermelon Salad that bridges the summer and fall seasons, and decided to give it a try. This salad contains watermelon cubes that are coated with sugar, warm fall spices (cinnamon and nutmeg), and orange juice.
The Watermelon Salad was delightful. The cozy, warm cinnamon and nutmeg on the refreshing, juicy cubes of watermelon reminded me a bit of the apples in apple pie – though the texture was different. This salad is a lovely fall treat, though it would also work well during the summer (and, during any season, since watermelon can now be purchased year-round).
Here’s the original recipe:
Source: The New Winston Cook Book of Guaranteed Recipes (1926)
When I made this recipe there was a lot of liquid, so I drained the salad before serving. Additionally, I skipped lining the bowl with lettuce.
Impromptu home entertaining has changed a lot over the years. Today if someone is planning to stop by my house, especially if they are hoping that I will serve them a meal, they will text or email to see if it is convenient.
A hundred years ago, people often didn’t have phones (or if they did, phone companies often provided extremely limited service), so friends and relatives just stopped by with no advance notice. The hosts were expected to be hospitable and often provided the guests with a meal.
A hundred-year-old magazine had lots of suggestions for how to quickly and easily pull together a lovely meal with a cold meat platter for unexpected guests:
The woman who can with equanimity view a motor full of hungry persons pulling into her yard just at luncheon or dinnertime, is a woman in a thousand. And yet, if she is hospitably inclined, and has had the forethought to make certain plans for this informal but delightful sort of entertaining, there is no reason in the world why she should feel the slightest anxiety.
In my own refrigerator I always keep a few cans of such viands as crab meat, salmon, tuna fish, sardines, Vienna sausage, veal loaf and chicken, with perhaps a jar or two of some tasty piquant cheese, one of mayonnaise, a head of lettuce and several bottles of a refreshing beverage. In addition to these stand-bys, I select once a week from a fine delicatessen shop an assortment, such as sliced cold boiled tongue, baked ham, several varieties of summer sausage, and Swiss, American Roquefort or Dutch cheese.
On my pantry shelf may be found a jar of pickled walnuts, a bottle each of plain and stuffed olives, one of tiny gherkins, and several kinds of homemade relishes, such as watermelon rind or cucumber rings.
From these good things I can prepare at short order an appetizing main dish which, with rye or white bread and butter, a generous pot of good coffee or hot canned soup, and a salad which is easily managed in summer, makes a most tempting meal. As to the sweet course, fruit either fresh or canned, or a delicate jelly with sweet crackers of which it is well to keep several varieties on hand if one dwells out of town.
Ladies Home Journal (August, 1926)
Whew! It almost sounds like the typical family got unexpected guests frequently. The author of the article seemed to think that cooks had an awfully lot of foods on hand that could be used to quickly prepare a cold meat platter and other dishes to feed unexpected guests. I can’t imagine buying lots of deli foods every week just in case someone happened to show up.
As someone who often finds it difficult to organize a coffee gathering or a meal for guests, in some ways I wish that people today felt free to just informally stop by. In other ways, it seems a little impolite for someone to just show up at my door, and they’d be lucky if they got any food. At most, I’d order a pizza.
A hundred years ago (and throughout much of the 20th century) promotional cookbooks distributed by food companies were very popular. Pre-internet and social media, companies frequently used them to publicize their products.
In 1926, the Corn Products Refining Company published a cookbook by Ida Bailey Allen called The Modern Method of Preparing Delightful Foods. The cookbook contained recipes that used Karo Corn Syrup, Mazola Corn Oil, Argo Cornstarch and other products made by the company. At the time, Mrs. Allen was a popular cookbook author. She later became a radio cooking celebrity, as well as an editor of Good Housekeeping magazine.
Source: The Modern Method of Preparing Delightful Foods (1926)
I wanted to make some bar cookies for a pot luck picnic, so decided to try a recipe in the book for Butterscotch Squares.
I have mixed opinions about this recipe. If I set aside my preconceived notions about what these squares would be like (dense bars with a rich butterscotch flavor), and just enjoyed the squares I ended up with, I’d say that the Butterscotch Squares were tasty.
However, I couldn’t detect any hint of butterscotch when I nibbled on the squares, so I feel like I need to lower my rating of them. Also, the base of the Butterscotch Squares had a cake-like texture, rather than the typical more substantive, dense, moist texture of bar cookies. This base was topped with a thin layer of corn syrup and chopped nuts. (I used pecans.) The only sweetener that the recipe called for was the corn syrup in the topping, which resulted in the squares not being very sweet.
Here is the original recipe:
Source: The Modern Method of Preparing Delightful Foods (1926)
The recipe says that the dough should be put in a “medium-sized dripping pan.” I’m not sure what that is or how large it is, so I used a 9″ X 13″ rectangular baking pan. I didn’t measure the thickness of the dough, and it may have been slightly thicker than 1/2 inch. If I had used a pan which was a little larger, the texture may have been a little less cake-like.
The recipe calls for 4 teaspoons baking powder. This seems like a lot of baking powder, so I used 2 teaspoons baking powder.
I used olive oil instead of the Mazola Corn Oil, but any vegetable oil would work in this recipe.
1 cup dark or light corn syrup (Karo, etc.) (I used dark corn syrup.)
1/3 cup chopped nuts (I used pecans.)
Step 1. Preheat oven to 375° F.
Step 2. Sift together flour, cornstarch, salt, and baking powder.
Step 3. Add olive/vegetable oil and milk; stir until combined.
Step 4. Grease a rectangular 9″ X 13″ baking pan, and put the mixture in the pan. (A pan that is a little larger could be substituted for the baking pan, if a less fluffy bar is desired.)
Step 5. Place in oven and bake.
Step 6. In the meantime, put the corn syrup in a sauce pan, and bring to a boil using medium heat. Reduce heat and cook until the syrup reaches the thread stage (230 – 235° F).
Step 7. When the bars are lightly browned, remove from oven and spread hot syrup on top, then sprinkle with the chopped nuts Press lightly to help ensure that the nuts stick to the top of the bars. (Depending upon the size of the pan, there may be a little more syrup than needed. It should be thinly spread and not gloppy.)
Step 8. Return to pan to oven and bake for an additional 5 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool, then cut into squares approximately 1 1/4″ X 1 1/4.”
Ovaltine powdered drink mix has been around for more than a hundred years. I remember stirring the malt-flavored powder into milk when I was a child. I preferred the chocolate milk powders, but my mother insisted that Ovaltine was better for me because it had lots of vitamins.
Apparently Ovaltine has always be considered a health drink. A 1926 advertisement emphasized how it could improve sleep quality:
Taken at night, a cupful of Ovaltine brings sound, restful sleep, quickly and naturally.
The word-heavy advertisement was aimed at women and contained testimonials. It included persuasive text and highlighted how Ovaltine would improve the lives of women who used it:
When you go to bed do your nerves stay up? Leaving you dragged out on the morrow –your morning logy, your energies drained by afternoon?
Modern science has found a natural way (a way without drugs) to overcome this; a way to restful sleep that quickly restores your tired mind and body.
Morning finds you a new woman. You are fresh, clear-eyed, buoyant. Youthful in looks and spirit. And, you have the energy to carry you right through the day and the evening’s social activities.
I’m enjoying ever last minute of these final days of summer. Canoeing, swimming in the lake, state fair . . . and summer produce . . . tomatoes, watermelon, cucumbers, peaches. A few days ago, I bought some lovely peaches, so decided to try a hundred-year-old recipe for Peach Roll.
The Peach Roll was a delightful comfort food. Chopped peaches were rolled into a biscuit dough. The dough was then sliced and placed in a flat baking dish. A sugar syrup was poured over the slices, and the dish was baked until it was lightly browned and the syrup was hot and bubbly.
Peach Roll is similar in taste to Peach Cobbler, but the presentation is different. I like to serve Peach Cobbler with a little milk, so poured a little milk over the Peach Roll slices when I served them, but it is lovely either with or without the milk.
Here is the original recipe:
Source: Pennsylvania State Grange Cook Book (1926)
When I made this recipe, I peeled and coarsely chopped four peaches, which made about 3 cups of chopped peaches. This amount worked well when I made the roll.
The recipe called for cutting the roll into 3/4 slices. This seemed very thin to me. Each of my slices were about 1 1/4 inches thick which worked well with the pan that I used.
Step 2. Put the flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt in a mixing bowl; stir to combine.
Step 3. Cut in the lard or butter; then add the milk and stir with a fork until a dough forms.
Step 4. Put the dough on a prepared surface and roll into a rectangle about 8″ by 12″ and 1/4 inch thick.
Step 5. Put the chopped peaches on the rolled out dough, and spread to evenly distribute.
Step. 6. Gently roll the dough into a log (like a jellyroll).
Step 7. Cut the roll into slices about 1 1/4 inch thick.
Step 8. In the meantime, put the sugar and water in a saucepan. Using medium heat bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove from heat.
Step 9. Put the cut slices of the roll into a baking dish approximately 7″ by 12″ by 2.” Pour the sugar syrup over the slices.
Step 10. Place in the oven and bake until the syrup is bubbly and the top is lightly browned.
A hundred years ago, as more and more homes got electricity, kitchens were rapidly modernizing. By 1926, many homes, especially in the more urban areas, had an electric (or gas) stove and a refrigerator. Some were also getting an electric dishwasher. This is what a magazine said:
The electric dishwasher has eliminated our dishwashing troubles until that happy millennium comes when we will eat our calories and carbohydrates out of pill boxes. Ours, as the picture shows, is a built-in type, connected to the hot water and drain — to my mind, the only efficient way to use a dishwashing machine.
When we are alone or have only one or two guests, the lunch and dinner dishes are scraped and stacked in the dishwasher and then washed with the next morning’s breakfast dishes. Housekeeping experts are in complete accord with this process, because it really is the logical thing to do, and when you are paying for your hot water, it is a matter of economy.
Many people have a mistaken idea of the electric dishwasher — they think the dishes move. The dishes remain stationary; it is the hot water swirling in and out among them which cleanses them. So you see there is no danger of breakage. By using very hot rinse water the dishes in the machine will be dry by the time you have dried the glasses and silver. Very little hot water is used — about two dish-pansful for the washing and rinsing.
The machine, of course, is automatically cleaned as the dishes are washed, so that it requires no extra care. We feel that a labor saver is a labor saver only when properly applied, so we arrange to wash whatever cooking utensils are not taken care of by the machine as the dishes are being washed. As the dishes stay in the machine five minutes, we have time to wash the pots and pans. Then the dishes are rinsed –and a few minutes later finds us leaving the kitchen shipshape.
Wow! The dishes are washed in just 5 minutes. I want one. My dishwasher runs for about two hours.
That said, I found this article difficult to follow. One place in the article, I think that it says that the dishes in the dishwasher are rinsed; another place it sounds like they may not be. It also was not clear whether the author was recommending that glasses and silverware be washed by hand or if they could be put in the dishwasher.
Source: Ladies Home Journal (October, 1926)
The article also discusses the cost of operating an electric dishwasher. In 1926, it only cost about $2.50 a year to operate it. A dollar in 1926 is worth about $ 18.93 today. So, in today’s dollars, it would cost about $47.33 to operate it for a year. This compared favorably with current dishwasher operating costs.
According to the Appliance Running Cost website, today the cost of operating a dishwasher ranges from $47 to $152 a year depending upon which cycle is used. The use of an eco/air dry cycle is the least expensive and the heavy/heated cycle is the most expensive.
I’m still enjoying locally-grown watermelon, but know that the season will end soon. I came across a lovely hundred-year-old recipe for Watermelon Salad that bridges the summer and fall seasons, and decided to give it a try. This salad contains watermelon cubes that are coated with sugar, warm fall spices (cinnamon and nutmeg), and orange juice.
