Sometimes old community and organizational cookbooks contain poems or sayings about food and cooking. The 1926 Pennsylvania State Grange Cookbook includes a recipe for doughnuts written in rhyme. I didn’t try making the recipe (Can you trust a recipe written as a poem?), but it was a fun read.
OOOOH I love this! I’m snitching it!
If you happen to be on X you may see it. I will make sure to add that it’s from “Sheryl”
It’s wonderful to hear that you liked the poem enough to share it. Thanks!
You’re quite welcome!! ā„
Awesome! Or as my son might say, “Sweet!”
š I have a lot of fun finding materials for this blog. I’m glad you enjoyed this post.
Well, you couldn’t make them anyway! How much flour??
My guess is an experienced cook could have figured out how much flour, based on the consistency of the dough. Cake donuts were more biscuit-like than the commercial fluffy doughnuts.
Similarly to Suzassippi, I would guess that the cook was supposed to add flour until the dough seemed like it was the right consistency.
ā¤ļø I did find other copies of the poem that included the specifics of the recipe, including the amount of flour. I think it might be similar to how much flour is needed when making gravy…it depends?
Those compiling the cookbook probably thought it was a fun poem, and decided to include it. I guess that I’m not surprised that you found other similar poems, but I must admit that I’m a bit disappointed. In my mind, I was picturing a Pennsylvania Grange member carefully writing the poem for the cookbook, when in reality it probably was plagiarized (Is that too harsh a word?) from somewhere else. It’s interesting that some of the other copies of the poem list the amount of flour. I wonder if someone thought that the amount in the original poem was variable (or incorrect), and tweaked the wording.
The earliest post I found was from 1851.
Wow, it’s amazing how old this rhyme is.
That sounds like the Right Answer! Thanks.
Oh, go ahead and trust it! Looks spot on…although vague!
Definitely vague, but I think that you’re probably right that it’s spot on.
This reminded me of when Mother made doughnuts, which were cake doughnuts and not the raised puffy kind.
I’ve only made doughnuts once, and I used a hundred-year-old recipe when I made them. They were raised doughnuts which were made using yeast.
Mom’s was “Step by step to perfect doughnuts” and I have no idea where she got it. They were indeed good, though, and she made them often when she was still a ‘house wife’ and before going to work outside the home. I recall us sitting at the kitchen table when she would be making them, just waiting for one to cool so we could eat it.
You’re making me hungry for some homemade doughnuts.
How very fun this poem is! I’m with you, Sheryl, I don’t think I’d try baking doughnuts from this, but the baker does seem to be right on track.
Mother fried hers in a large heavy pot. When the donut rose to the top of the oil, it was ready to be flipped over and fry the other side. I dare say, hers were fried nowhere close to “just short of burning” but then without that, there is no rhyme is there?
When I made doughnuts for the post I did several years ago, I was shocked out much shortening/oil I needed to use.
My guess is “a lot”? This pot was tall and narrow, and could hold a lot of oil. It was used for family catfish fries, and afterwards, the fried potatoes.
It was definitely a lot. My memory is that I used 1 1/2 cans of shortening. I seldom deep fat fry foods, so I struggled to figure out what to do with all the left-over shortening after I made the doughnuts. I ended up putting it in a bowl in the refrigerator, and used small amount of it when frying foods over the next several months. But, I must admit that my experiences making doughnuts (though they were very tasty) has made me shy away from making any other old recipes that call for deep fat frying.
I’m glad you enjoyed the poem. It’s fun how the author was able to find a way to turn a recipe into a poem that rhymed.
I wouldnāt either but it sure is fun!
It is a fun poem! It’s nice to hear that you enjoyed it.
Never seen a recipe written in rhyme before.
Neither have I.
The poem was fun!
Agree- I also thought it was fun when I saw it in the old cookbook.
Oh, such a sweet poem!
It is sweet. I like how the author wrote it.
What a fun poem! But it doesn’t say how much flour to stir in. š
It is vague. Maybe the cook is supposed to add flour until the dough seemed like it was the right consistency.
What!!! You did not pre test this for sharing!!!!I am sooooo disappointed I thought you where braver then me!
Having said that I think the proportions are about right to make this work…. Flour is often more of a feel thing once you have the other stuff right.
I’m not that brave. š That said, I agree with you that proportions seem about right. The poem author probably assumed the the cook would add enough flour to get the right consistency.