Were Muffins Less Sweet a Hundred Years Ago?

I have coffee with friends each Wednesday morning, and I frequently take a treat. I often make muffins. Occasionally I make hundred-year-old muffin recipes, and have my friends taste test them; but, often I make modern muffin recipes that I find online. Over time, I’ve come to the conclusion that modern muffin recipes generally are much sweeter than old-time ones.

For example, several years ago I made a hundred-year-old Blueberry Muffin recipe that called for 1 tablespoon of sugar. Most modern Blueberry Muffin recipes call for much more. The Glorious Treats Blueberry Muffins recipe calls for 1 cup of sugar. Sally’s Baking Addiction Blueberry Muffin recipe calls for 1 1/4 cups sugar (1/2 cup granulated sugar + 1/4 cup brown sugar + an additional 1/2 cup brown sugar for the topping). The exact number of muffins varied a little from recipe to recipe (mainly dependent on exactly how full the muffin cups were filled), but the recipes all made a similar number of muffins.

Similarly, modern Pumpkin Muffin recipes call for lots of sugar. The King Arthur Pumpkin Muffin recipe calls for slightly over 1 cup of sugar (3/4 cup granulated sugar + 1/4 cup brown sugar + additional granulated sugar to sprinkle on the top). Joy Food Sunshine’s recipe for Pumpkin Muffins calls for 1 1/2 cups of sugar (3/4 cup granulated sugar + 3/4 cup brown sugar. However, a hundred-year-old recipe for Squash Muffins (pumpkin could easily be substituted for the squash) only called for 1/4 cup of sugar.

Why were muffins generally less sweet a hundred years ago? I don’t know, but my hypothesis is that today they are considered a treat or sweet breakfast bread, while years ago they were frequently eaten as a dinner roll.

Old-Fashioned Delmonico Potatoes

Delmonico Potatoes in Baking Dish

Delmonico Potatoes have been around for a long time. They were first served in the 1800s at the Delmonico Restaurant in New York City. Rumor has it that Abraham Lincoln enjoyed eating them at that restaurant. The Delmonico Restaurant has a long history of developing recipes that have stood the test of time. Eggs Benedict, Chicken a la King, and Lobster Newberg were also purportedly first served there.

Delmonico Potatoes are a creamy, cheesy potato dish. As might be anticipated, given its long history, there are lots of variations. Some Delmonico Potato recipes call for shredded potatoes, others for cubed potatoes, and still other recipes call for sliced potatoes. I found a recipe in a hundred-year-old cookbook that called for cubed potatoes and a little onion in a rich cheesy sauce, and decided to give it a try. That recipe also called for topping the dish with buttered cracker crumbs.

The recipe was a winner. The cheesy sauce was the perfect consistency – not too juicy and not too thick – and it nicely complemented the potatoes. I had few multi-grain table crackers that that I crushed to make the topping (though I recognize that basic round butter crackers or saltines probably were the type of crackers that were actually used a hundred years ago). I really liked the way they looked and tasted. They added a bit of crunchiness to the dish. I definitely plan on making it again – maybe as soon as next week when my daughter will be visiting.

Here’s the original recipe:

Recipe for Delmonica Potatoes — Source: Pennsylvania State Grange Cook Book (1926)

I think that the name of this recipe is misspelled in the 1926 cookbook, and that it should be “Delmonico Potatoes” rather than “Delmonica Potatoes,” so that is the spelling I used when updating the recipe.

Since I didn’t have 2 cups of left-over potatoes, I peeled and diced 4 medium potatoes. I then covered the potatoes with water and cooked them. After the diced potatoes had softened (about 10-12 minutes), I removed the potatoes from the heat and drained them. I then proceeded with assembling the recipe using the warm potatoes.

This recipe’s directions are a little difficult to understand. One place it calls for 1/4 cup melted butter (and the same sentence also refers to white sauce which would contain butter). Two sentences later, the recipe explains how to make the white sauce, indicating that 2 tablespoons butter should be used. Near the end of the recipe, it indicates that the cracker crumbs are “buttered crumbs.” I interpreted all of this to mean that the white sauce should be made using 2 tablespoons of butter, and that the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter should be melted and the cracker crumbs should then be stirred into the butter.

Over my years of doing this blog, I’ve seen many vague measurement terms (dash, pinch, etc.), but a “shaving” of onion was new for me. I decided to finely chop 3 tablespoons of onion and layer it with the potatoes and cheese – though that may not be exactly the intent of the recipe author.

I used cheddar cheese when I made this recipe.

Delmonico Potatoes in baking dish

Here’s the recipe updated for modern cooks:

Delmonico Potatoes

Servings: 3 - 4
Time: 50 minutes
Difficulty: moderate
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2 cups potatoes (about 4 medium potatoes), peeled and diced into 1/2 inch pieces

1/3 cup grated cheddar cheese

3 tablespoons finely chopped onions

2 tablespoons butter + 2 tablespoons butter

3 tablespoons flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon pepper

1 1/4 cups milk

paprika

1/2 cup cracker crumbs (I crushed 5 multi-grain table crackers. Classic round butter crackers would also work well.)

Step 1. Preheat oven to 400° F.

Step 2. Put the diced potatoes in a saucepan. Cover with water; bring to a boil using high heat, then reduce heat and simmer until the potatoes are soft (about 10-12 minutes). Remove from heat and drain.

Step 3. In the meantime, put 2 tablespoons of melted butter and the cracker crumbs in a small bowl. Stir to coat the cracker crumbs with the butter. Set aside.

Step 4. Additionally, in the meantime, make a white sauce. Using medium heat, melt 2 tablespoons of butter in another saucepan. Stir in the flour, salt, and pepper. Slowly add the milk while stirring continuously. Continue stirring until the liquid thickens.

Step 5. Assemble this dish by putting one-third of the cooked diced potatoes in a 1-quart baking dish. Put one-third of the chopped onions on top of the potatoes, then spread one-third of the grated cheese on top of the potatoes and onions. Repeat until all the potatoes, onions, and cheese are layered in the baking dish.

Step 6. Pour the white sauce over the layers in the baking dish, then sprinkle with paprika. Top by spreading the buttered crackers on top.

Step 7. Put in the oven and bake until the dish is hot and bubbly (about 25 – 30 minutes if warm diced potatoes were used; longer if they were cold.)

http://www.ahundredyearsago.com

1926 Blue Whirl Egg Beater

Until I saw this advertisement for Blue Whirl Egg Beaters in a hundred-year-old magazine I’d forgotten all about hand-crank beaters. I think that I once owned one, but have no idea where it is. I haven’t used it in years. The last time I used it was when my children were small and I didn’t trust them to use my electric beaters.

Does anyone still use classic hand-crank beaters? I did a quick online search and hand-crank beaters are still available, but the comments made it sound like they are difficult to find in stores and generally must be purchased online.

According to Home Grail, a commercial-sized electric mixer was invented in 1914, and home stand mixers were starting to become available in the 1920s; however, a hundred years ago, hand-cranked beaters were still the norm.

Whisks are another tool that can be used to beat eggs and do other tasks that a hand-crank beater might do. According to Wikipedia, whisks have been around for hundreds of years. The earliest ones were just bundles of twigs that were used to beat foods. Wikipedia noted that whisks were not very popular in the early 20th century and that cooks generally preferred beaters, but that they again became popular after Julia Child used them when she appeared on television.

Old-Fashioned Orange Layer Cake with Boiled Frosting

Orange Layer Cake

Old community and church cookbooks almost never contain pictures of foods made using the recipes (or pages printed in color), so when I was looking through a 1926 cookbook from Cherokee, Iowa I was surprised to see a beautiful color drawing of an Orange Layer Cake.

The picture was on a page containing an advertisement for Swans Down Cake Flour. The cookbook also contained the recipe for the cake. Apparently, Swans Down was an advertising sponsor for the cookbook. And, the company must have paid a lot, because this was the only color page in the book. Here’s the picture and the original recipe: Orange Cake

Recipe for Orange Cake — Source: Westminster Cook Book 1926 (Cherokee, Iowa)

The cake looked delicious, and each time I flipped through the cookbook, it seemed to almost automatically open to the page with the Swans Down advertisement. After about the tenth time I looked at the picture, I decided to make the recipe. Could I replicate this beautiful cake?

The cake pictured in the old cookbook was a 3-layer cake; but, the recipe was for a 2-layer cake. The directions say, “Bake in 2 layers or double recipe for 3 large layers.” I decided to double the recipe so that my cake would look like the image in the cookbook.

The cake I made looked beautiful and I was pleased with how it turned out, but it was a huge cake, so when I updated the recipe, I did what the old cookbook author did. I provided directions for a two-layer cake with a note that it can be doubled to make a three-layer cake.

The cake in the old drawing has an orangish tint, and the filling is a bright orange. The actual filling I made was not very orange, and had more of a beige hue. Similarly, the cake was yellow, rather than orange. I considered using food coloring to make the filling and the cake orange, but decided against it. Even without the artificial dyes in food coloring, the cake looked lovely.

The old recipe called for a teaspoon of “flavoring.” I used orange extract.

I did not use a double boiler when making the Orange Filling. I just stirred it constantly, and it worked fine. I did not have any issues with the bottom of the filling burning.

The cake recipe says to ice the cake with boiled icing, but did not include a recipe for it, so I found a Boiled Frosting recipe in another 1926 cookbook:

Recipe for Boiled Frosting — Source: The New Winston Cook Book of Guaranteed Recipes (1926)

I decided to go with the option that called for using two egg whites.

The Boiled Frosting, which is sometimes called Seven Minute Frosting, had a glossy finish and was light and airy. It brought back memories of the tasty frosting on cakes that great aunts made for family reunions years ago.

The bottom line is that this is a very tasty, beautiful cake. The cake layers had lovely texture, the Orange Filling had a bright and sunny citrus taste, and the Boiled Frosting was delectable. It takes time to make and assemble this cake, but it was well worth the effort.

Orange Layer Cake Here’s the recipe updated for modern cooks:

Orange Layer Cake with Boiled Frosting

Servings: 12 - 15
Time: 2 hours 30 minutes
Difficulty: moderate
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Note: This recipe makes a 2-layer, 9- inch cake. Double the recipe to make a 3-layer, 9-inch cake.

2 eggs, separated

1/2 cup butter, softened

1 cup sugar

2/3 cup milk

3 teaspoons baking powder

2 cups cake flour

1 teaspoon orange extract

Orange Filling (see recipe below)

Boiled Frosting (see recipe below)

2 small mandarin (or other small) oranges, if desired for garnish

Step 1. Preheat oven to 375° F. Grease and flour two 9-inch baking pans.

Step 2. Beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form. Set aside.

Step 3. In a mixing bowl, cream together the butter and sugar. Add egg yolks and milk; beat to combine. Add flour and baking powder; beat until smooth. Fold in the beaten egg whites.

Step 4. Evenly divide the batter across the prepared pans.

Step 5. Bake for about 25 to 30 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean.

Step 6. Remove from oven and let cool for 15 minutes, then remove from pans and let completely cool.

Step 7. To assemble cake: If the cake layers are uneven, they may be trimmed to make the tops flat. Spread the Orange Filling between the cake layers. Ice cake with the Boiled Frosting.

Step 8. If desired, garnish cake with thinly cut half slices of oranges which has been peeled. To make the slices, cut the peeled oranges cross-sectionally into thin slices using a sharp knife. Then cut each slice in half. Arrange around the edge of the cake. (I removed the orange garnish before storing left-over cake.)

Orange Filling

1 cup sugar

5 tablespoons cake flour

1 orange rind, grated

1/2 cup orange juice

3 tablespoons lemon juice

4 tablespoons water

1 egg, beaten

2 tablespoons butter

Step 1. Put the sugar and flour in a saucepan; stir to mix. Add orange rind, orange juice, lemon juice, water, and egg. Stir to combine. Add the butter.

Step 2. Heat, using medium heat, until the filling thickens (about 10 minutes), while stirring constantly.

Step 3. Remove from heat, and allow the filling to cool to room temperature.

Boiled Frosting

1 cup sugar

1/4 cup water

2 egg whites

1 teaspoon vanilla

Step 1. Combine the sugar and water in a saucepan, then heat using medium heat. Do not stir while cooking. If a bit of the sugar mixture coats the sides of the pan above the cooking syrup, gently use a dampened paper towel or brush to remove any sugar crystals. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer until the syrup reaches 235° F. (thread stage).

Step 2. In the meantime, put the egg whites in a mixing bowl and beat until stiff peaks form.

Step 3. Slowly pour the hot syrup over the beaten egg whites, while continuously beating. Beat until the mixture is glossy and shiny, and has a nice consistency for icing a cake (about 7 minutes).

http://www.ahundredyearsago.com

1926 Tips for Figuring Out Whether Large or Small Oranges and Other Foods Are Cheaper

2 oranges and 2 glasses orange juice — Source: Good Housekeeping (April, 1926)

Groceries are so expensive, and it’s often difficult to figure out which sizes and varieties of fruits and vegetables and other produce are least expensive. For example, if large oranges cost $1.75 per pound and a 3-pound bag of small oranges costs $5.99, I can easily figure out which has a lower cost for 3 pounds. But, it’s much harder to figure out which has more waste, and which ultimately is less expensive. Will there be more waste with small oranges than large ones? Which has a thicker skin? How will the serving size differ? Will I eat one orange at lunch regardless of its size, or might I eat two small ones (but only one large one)? If I want to juice the oranges, are the small ones or the large ones juicer?

People have grappled with these types of questions for at least a hundred years. Here’s what it said in a 1926 magazine article:

How much do you pay for the food you eat? Not for the food you buy, but for the food you actually eat. You are, of course aware that many foods as purchased, have more or less waste material that is discarded when food is prepared in the kitchen or when served at the table. In either case, this wasted material finds its way to the garbage can and contributes no food value to the daily meals. It follows, then, that the market price of any food having wasted material does not represent the actual cost of the food to us. . . .

We find that the waste portion of any one fruit or vegetable may vary widely according to size and other factors. . . . [Large oranges] had a large percentage of juice, but the price was high for the quality of juice. We found this order to vary somewhat according to the price of the oranges in other stores. You may also find variation with the prices of oranges in your market. Therefore, if you buy oranges of different sizes and observe the quantity of juice from these various sizes, you may find a particular size most economical for you. . .

We found that small potatoes have a greater percentage of waste than large ones and take half as long again to pare. Cooking the small potatoes in the skin, of course, shortened their time in preparation. . . .

We found shelled walnuts actually cheaper than those bought in the shell, but in the case of all other nuts, the shelled were more expensive, not taking into account, of course the time it takes to shell the nuts.

Good Housekeeping (April, 1926)

Source: Good Housekeeping (April, 1926)

Old-Fashioned Pork Chops with Tomato Sauce

Pork Chops with Tomato Sauce in Skillet

Dishes made using condensed canned soups are stereotypical of mid-20th century cuisine. However, there were recipes that called for canned soups long before that. According to Wikipedia, condensed canned soups were first introduced in 1897. And, recipe authors began listing them as an ingredient in the early 20th century. I recently came across a 1926 recipe for Pork Chops with Tomato Sauce that called for condensed tomato soup.

The Pork Chops with Tomato Sauce were easy to make, made a lovely presentation, and were very tasty. The pork chops were seared on the top of the stove, and then slowly baked in the tomato soup.

I’m sure that I’ll make this recipe again. The pork chops were juicy and tender with a lovely, flavorful tomato sauce.

Here’s the original recipe:

Recipe for Pork Chops with Tomato Sauce — Source: Westminster Cook Book 1926 (Cherokee, Iowa)

This recipe is very flexible. The original recipe called for 6 to 8 pork chops, but I only made two pork chops. My skillet was large so I used the entire can of condensed tomato soup, but I could have easily just used half of the can of soup, and reserved the remainder to make a serving of soup. Similarly, if desired, as indicated in the original recipe, up to 6 to 8 pork chops could be made using one can of soup.

I seared the pork chops on top of the stove before pouring the tomato soup over them. I then placed them in the oven. The old recipe does not explicitly indicate that the pork chops should be seared, but I decided to do it to help seal in the meat juices.

Here’s the recipe updated for modern cooks:

Pork Chops with Tomato Sauce

Servings: 2
Time: 1 hour 40 minutes
Difficulty: moderate
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2 pork chops*

2 tablespoons cooking oil (avocado oil, canola oil, olive oil)

1/2 can condensed tomato soup*

butter

salt and pepper

* If desired, more than two pork chops may be used, as long as they comfortably fit in the skillet. If additional pork chops are added, or if a large skillet is used, use the entire can of soup.

Step 1. Preheat oven to 350° F.

Step 2. Put the cooking oil in a cast iron skillet (or other heavy oven-proof skillet). On the top of the stove, heat the skillet using medium to medium-high heat. Put the pork chops in the pan and sear for 3 minutes; flip and sear the other side for 3 minutes.

Step 3. Remove from heat and spoon the condensed soup over the pork chops; spread the soup to thickly cover the pork chops. Extra soup should be spooned into the pan.

Step 4. Dot the smothered pork chops with small pieces of butter, then sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Step 5. Cover skillet (the skillet may be covered with aluminum foil if there is no lid) and place in oven. Bake for 1-2 hours depending on the thickness of the pork chops. (Check pork chops after an hour to make sure that there is still sufficient liquid in the skillet.) (I baked medium thick pork chops for about 1 hour and 15 minutes.)

http://www.ahundredyearsago.com

Updating a Hundred-Year-Old Recipe to Make It Gluten Free (with a Date Muffin Example)

Date Muffins — Photographer: Christine Rooney

When I update hundred-year-old recipes for baked goods, I regularly get comments that say something like, “I can only eat gluten-free foods. Would it be possible to convert this recipe to a gluten-free one?”

Since I’m not gluten-free, I had never revised a recipe to make it gluten-free, but I decided that now was the time to give it a try. And, I knew just the person who might be able to help. My friend Christine Rooney at The Rustic Foodie posts seasonal gluten free recipes.

I asked Christine if she’d help me adapt a hundred-year-old recipe to make it gluten free, and I was thrilled when she generously agreed.

We decided to adapt a recipe for Date Muffins. A hundred years ago, the muffins might have been served at any time during the year, but they probably were primarily a winter food. Years ago, dried dates were a very popular winter fruit. Back then, most fresh fruits weren’t available in the winter, and those few that were available (such as oranges and other citrus fruits) were quite expensive in most parts of the U.S.

Christine adapted the recipe to make it gluten free. She then made the muffins and photographed them. I also made the muffins and took them to a coffee group gathering. We then made a few final tweaks to the recipe directions.

Our adventure adapting the recipe was a success. The date muffins had a great taste and texture. The texture was somewhere between a drop biscuit and a scone; the outside was a bit crispy and the inside was moist. They were sweet; but not overly sweet. The dates gave them lovely bursts of rich caramel.

Here’s the original recipe:

Recipe for Date Muffins — Westminster Cook Book 1926 (Cherokee, Iowa)

Gluten free baked goods sometimes tend to crumble. The key to making them less crumbly is to use the right gluten free blend flour, to ensure that the batter has sufficient moisture, and not to overbake them.

Christine said that a gluten free 1-to-1 blend flour (Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free 1-to-1 Baking Flour, Cup4Cup Gluten Free Multi-Purpose Flour, or other similar gluten free blend flour) should be used. The flour should contain xanthan. Baked goods made with gluten free flours can be crumbly because of a lack of binders in some gluten free flours. Xanthan is a binder that mimics the elasticity provided by gluten in wheat flour recipes. It helps ensure that gluten free baked goods are not crumbly. (Do not use gluten free all-purpose flour, or other gluten free flours, such as almond flour or oat flour, when making the recipe as this will likely yield different results).

Christine suggested adding a little additional milk when making the batter. Gluten free flour is a little denser and absorbs more liquid than all-purpose wheat flour. The additional milk also reduces the chance that the muffins will be crumbly.

It is also important not to overcook the muffins (they will tend to crumble) or to undercook them (they will be gummy).

And, here is the updated recipe:

Date Muffins

Servings: 12 muffins
Time: 30 minutes
Difficulty: moderate
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1/3 cup unsalted butter, softened (Do not melt.)

1/4 cup sugar

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1 egg

3/4 cup milk + an additional 2 – 3 teaspoons milk

2 cups 1-to-1 gluten free flour blend (Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free 1-to-1 Baking Flour, Cup4Cup Gluten Free Multi-Purpose Flour, or other similar gluten free flour that contains xanthan)

4 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 pound (4 ounces) dried dates, chopped

Step 1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

Step 2. Place muffin liners in a 12-cup muffin pan.

Step 3. Put the butter and sugar in a bowl, then use an electric mixer to beat until light and fluffy.

Step 4. Add egg to the butter and sugar mixture, and beat until light and fluffy.

Step 5. In a separate bowl, put the 1-to-1 gluten free flour blend, baking powder, and kosher salt. Stir until completely combined.

Step 6. Add the butter mixture and 3/4 cup of milk to the dry ingredients alternately, stirring to combine after each addition. Continue until all of the ingredients are combined. The batter will be very thick; Add an additional 2-3 teaspoons of milk to thin it out a bit and stir again until combined. (It will still be quite thick).

Step 7. Add chopped dates to the batter and fold until combined.

Step 8. Place an equal amount of the batter into each muffin cup. (An ice cream scoop can be used to measure to help ensure that an equal amount is put in each cup.)

Step 9. Place the muffin tin in the oven and bake for approximately 20 minutes. A toothpick poked into the center should come out clean when done baking.