Winter Salad Suggestions a Hundred Years Ago

Lettuce with Cucumber Sauce on plate A hundred years ago salad options during the winter months were more limited than they are today. Here is what it said in a 1925 cookbook:

Almost every variety of vegetables and fruits may be made into salads. Eggs are used also, as well as many kinds of fish and meat. Vegetable salads are the most common and should therefore receive first consideration.

Naturally, lettuce heads the list. It is more popular because we can get it when other vegetables are almost unobtainable. The round, close heads are more generally used than the long-leaf variety. Curly lettuce, while pretty, is tougher than either of the other two. Lettuce contains little nutriment, but is rich in mineral salts. . .

In winter, when fresh salad plants are hard to obtain, a tomato jelly or salad made from canned or fresh (cooked) string beans, or even from the remains of baked beans seasoned with parsley and onion juice, is economical and satisfying.

Rumford Complete Cook Book (1925)

Old-Fashioned Macaroni with Spinach

Marcaroni with Spinach

Macaroni with Cheese is the ultimate comfort food, but it can get a little boring. So, when I saw a hundred-year-old recipe that called for adding spinach I decided to give it a try.

The Macaroni with Spinach was tasty – though not creamy like most modern Mac and Cheese recipes. It was not creamy because the old recipe did not call for adding any milk. Because of the lack of liquids, I needed to use care when baking this dish to ensure that the macaroni did not dry out and get hard. I covered the baking dish for most of the time it was in the oven and then removed the cover for the last few minutes to crisp the bread crumb topping.

I had some leftovers when I made this recipe which I carefully put in another dish. I added some milk before reheating which helped keep the macaroni moist.

Here is the original recipe:

Macaroni with Spinach — Source: American Cookery (February, 1925)

Spinach cooks down a great deal, but two pounds of fresh spinach seemed like a lot of spinach when the recipe only called for 1/2 pound of macaroni (about 2 cups of dry macaroni). One pound of spinach would be plenty. When I made this recipe I substituted a 12-ounce bag of frozen spinach for the fresh spinach. I am not sure why the recipe author called for pressing the spinach through a colander after it was cooked. I tried to do this. (Actually, I pressed it through a Foley mill.) I ended up with a small amount of puree and lots of spinach that wouldn’t go through. I ended up finely chopping the spinach that didn’t go through the mesh and stirring it into the puree. This worked fine, but I realized that if I was going to use all the parts of the spinach that I didn’t need to press it through a colander or Foley mill so I revised the recipe to just indicate that the spinach should be finely chopped.

Here’s the recipe updated for modern cooks:

Macaroni with Spinach

Servings: 6 - 8
Time: 1 hour
Difficulty: moderate
Print

1 pound fresh spinach (or 1 12-ounce bag frozen chopped spinach)

2 cups macaroni

2 cups grated cheese (I used cheddar.)

approximately 1/2 cup fine breadcrumbs (I grated 1 slice of bread.)

1 tablespoon butter

hard-boiled egg for garnish (optional)

tomato slices for garnish (optional)

Preheat oven to 375◦ F. Wash spinach then put in a large skillet and sauté using medium heat with just the water that clings to the leaves until it wilts. Remove from heat and finely chop. (Alternatively use frozen chopped spinach that has been thawed.)

In the meantime, cook the macaroni following package instructions.

Also, in a small skillet melt the butter. Add the breadcrumbs and stir. Cook until the bread crumbs are just beginning to brown while stirring occasionally (about two minutes).

To assemble the dish put one half of the cooked macaroni in a baking dish. (An 8 X 8 dish or a 1 1/12 quart dish works well). Then put a layer containing one half of the chopped spinach on top of the macaroni. Next add a layer containing one-half of the grated cheese. Repeat the layers with the remainder of the macaroni, spinach, and cheese. Top with the buttered breadcrumbs.

Cover and put in the oven. Bake until hot (about 30-40 minutes.) Remove the lid for the last 10 minutes so that the breadcrumbs will be crispy.

Remove from oven and (if desired) garnish with hard-boiled egg slices and tomato slices.

http://www.ahundredyearsago.com

Billy in Bunbury

I am always energized when we ring in a new year. For my blog posts I use recipes from cookbooks that are exactly a hundred years old. I bought several 1925 cookbooks off eBay and am looking forward to exploring them. One of the books I purchased is unique. Billy in Bunbury was published by the Price Baking Powder Company. It is a combination children’s picture book and cookbook.

page from Billy in Bunbury — Source: *Billy in Bunbury* (1925)

Billy in Bunbury is an enchanting and whimsical story about a town where everything is made of wonderful foods. The streets are made of marble cake and the fences of pie crust. King Hun Bun learns that there is a boy named Billy who lives nearby who is very skinny because he will not eat his meals. Hun Bun tells Billy’s mother to give him “cookies, buns, and cake. And the other things that mothers make.” He also gives her a book with recipes that use Dr. Price’s Baking Powder. He then takes Billy to Bunbury. Billy is awed by the town and the foods in it. Later they return to Billy’s home. Billy’s mother has read the book and will make sure that he gets a treat at each meal. Interspersed throughout the story are recipes for cookies, cakes, doughnuts, and other sweets.

The book is colorful and well written. I feel certain that children a hundred years ago begged their parents to read the story to them repeatedly. That said, I have mixed feelings about this book. I may be looking at it through a modern lens, but it concerns me that children are being encouraged to eat so many sweets. King Hun Bun tells Billy’s mother:

And Madam, ‘stead of coaxing
Boys and girls to eat, ’tis wiser
To add a cake or cooky
As a little appetizer.

The book concludes that Billy (now referred to as Bill) is strong after eating treats with meals, and that readers should also tell their mothers to make treats:

He eats his lunch and breakfast
Each meal he finds a treat
The other fellows watch their step
When Bill comes down the street.

Cakes like he met in Bunbury
His mother makes him now
And if YOU want some too, this book
Will tell YOUR MOTHER how!

If you would like to read this book, it is available online via the Project Gutenberg at Billy in Bunbury.

Old-Fashioned Cream of Onion and Potato Soup

Cream of Onion and Potato Soup in bowl

Brrr. . . it’s freezing outside, and soup’s the perfect food to warm body and soul. So when I saw a hundred-year-old recipe for Cream of Onion and Potato Soup, I decided to give it a try.

The soup was lovely. It was creamy, comforting, and flavorful.

Here’s the original recipe:

Here’s the recipe updated for modern cooks:

Cream of Onion and Potato Soup

Servings: 5 - 7
Time: 45 minutes
Difficulty: moderate
Print

3 potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch cubes (about 2 1/2 cups cubes potatoes)

5 medium onions, coarsely chopped (about 2 1/2 cups chopped onions)

4 tablespoons butter

4 tablespoons flour

4 cups milk

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

parsley sprigs (for garnish)

1 hard boiled egg (for garnish)

Put the cubed potatoes and chopped onions into a large saucepan. Cover with water and bring to a boil using high heat; reduce heat and simmer until tender (about 12-15 minutes). Remove from heat and cool slightly, then puree. (A food processor or blender works well.) Set aside.

In the meantime, put the butter in a Dutch oven or other similarly-sized pan; melt butter using medium heat. Stir in the flour, then gradually add the milk while stirring constantly. Add the salt and pepper, then stir in the pureed vegetables. Bring to a boil while stirring occasionally. When served, if desired, the soup may be garnished with parsley sprigs and slices of a hard-boiled egg.

http://www.ahundredyearsago.com

1924 Magic Bright Advertisement

Advertisement for Magic Bright Polish — Source: American Cookery (December, 1924)

Christmas has come and gone. As the holidays wind down, I’ve been reflecting on the various tasks required to prepare for Christmas, and the differences between 1924 and today. Some tasks that were necessary years ago may not be required today. A hundred years ago silverware needed to be polished in preparation for the big meal. Some hostesses used Magic Bright to remove tarnish. I shifted to using stainless steel years ago, and can’t remember the last time I polished silver.

I’m a little confused about exactly what Magic Bright was. It says that it was used to polish silver, but also notes that it cleans “without polish.” I think that Magic Bright was mixed with water and then flatware was dipped into it to remove tarnish rather than the more traditional way of rubbing polish on the flatware.

Old-Fashioned Whipped Gelatin

Whipped Gelatin in bowl When my mother hosted family Christmas gatherings when I was a child, she always made two bowls of “Fluffy Jello;” one made using red gelatin and the other green. She said that “the kids like Fluffy Jello.” She made it by using electric beaters to add lots of air and foam to cooled gelatin that was almost ready to set. I hadn’t had Fluffy Jello in years and had forgotten all about it until I saw directions for making whipped gelatin in a hundred-year-old cookbook.

Directions for whipping gelatin — Source: The New Home Cook Book, published by the Illinois State Register, Springfield, IL (1924)

I decided to whip some gelatin. It was airy and light – and brought back lots of warm memories of day and people from long ago. It’s not just kids who like “Fluffy Jello.”

The 1924 directions called for using a Dover mixer, which is a hand-turned rotary mixer, to whip the gelatin but otherwise it is very similar to how I remember my mother doing it. The old directions also called for using a metal mixing bowl and setting it in ice water to keep everything very cold. This worked well and the gelatin whipped very nicely. I used a box of gelatin that called for using 2 cups water, and said that it made 4 servings. The gelatin did double in volume, and in my opinion it would make 6 to 8 servings, not the 12 mentioned in the directions. This suggests that the author of the directions used a larger package of gelatin than what I used.

Here’s the recipe updated for modern cooks:

Whipped Gelatin

Servings: 6 - 8
Time: 15 minutes active prep time
Difficulty: easy
Print

1 3-ounce box of flavored gelatin

Prepare gelatin in a mixing bowl according to package instructions. Put the mixing bowl with the gelatin in the refrigerator. Refrigerate until the gelatin just begins to thicken, then set in a pan of ice, and beat with electric beaters until the gelatin is very foamy. Pour into serving dish (a 1-quart bowl works well) and refrigerate until set (at least 2 hours).

http://www.ahundredyearsago.com

1924 Christmas Menus

Maybe I plan Christmas menus that are too complicated. A hundred years ago American Cookery magazine provided several “moderately simple” menu options.