Old-Fashioned Marshmallow Pudding

Marshmallow Pudding in bowl

I have a lot of fun making hundred-old-recipes. Often old recipes have less detailed directions than modern ones, and I need to try to interpret what the recipe author meant. Usually it is fairly easy to figure out what to do, but occasionally an old recipe just leaves me scratching my head. This is one of those times. Here’s the original recipe for Marshmallow Pudding:

recipe for Marshmallow Pudding — Cook Book of the Susquehanna Valley Country Club, Sunbury, PA (1924)

What the heck is 10¢ worth of marshmallows and 10¢ worth of shelled nuts? I quickly did a few online searches with relatively little luck. Amazingly even the artificial intelligence (AI) feature in my search engine doesn’t know what marshmallows cost in 1924. (I thought that AI took at stab at answering all questions and would try to give me a price for marshmallows. Rather it redirected me to the prices of eggs, round steak, and macaroni in 1924.)

AI findings - marshmallow prices, 1924

I decided to use with 3 cups miniature marshmallows and 1/2 cup chopped walnuts. I have not idea whether this is similar to what the recipe author used, but it worked okay.

I used canned pineapple tidbits when making this recipe. The old recipe calls for chopped pineapple. I had a vague memory that years ago gelatin packages said not to use fresh pineapple when making gelatin, so did another search that was more successful. Gelatin won’t set when mixed with fresh pineapple because of an enzyme it contains; however, it will set if canned pineapple is used.

I had difficulty getting the gelatin dissolved. One tablespoon cold water plus 2 tablespoons boiling water just did not seem like enough liquid to get it successfully dissolved. I ended up heating 1/4 cup of pineapple juice (from the canned pineapple) and adding that to the gelatin that I was trying to dissolve.

I assumed that “1-3 cup sugar” meant “1/3 cup sugar.” I also assumed that “1 pint whipped cream”, meant 1 pint of unwhipped heavy cream that I then whipped.

The verdict: My interpretation of this recipe was very nice. The Marshmallow Pudding was creamy and sweet with bits of tart pineapple and crunchy walnuts. It reminds me of similar dishes that I’ve had at reunions, pot luck dinners, and family gatherings over the years.

Here’s the recipe updated for modern cooks:

Marshmallow Pudding

Servings: 6 - 8
Time: 20 minutes active prep time
Difficulty: moderate
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1 packet (0.25 ounce) unflavored gelatin

1 tablespoon cold water

2 tablespoons boiling water

1 cup canned pineapple tidbits, drained (Reserve 1/4 cup pineapple juice)

2 cups heavy whipping cream

1/3 cup sugar

3 cups miniature marshmallows

1/2 cup walnuts, chopped

Place the cold water in a small bowl; then sprinkle the gelatin over the 1 tablespoon cold water. Let the gelatin absorb the water and soften for a few minutes. In the meantime, heat 2 tablespoons of water plus 1/4 cup pineapple juice to boiling. Reduce heat to low and stir in softened gelatin; stir until dissolved. Add 1/3 cup sugar; stir until dissolved. Remove from heat. Set aside and allow to partially cool.

Put the whipping cream in a bowl. Beat until stiff peaks form. Gently stir in the dissolved gelatin and sugar. Fold in the pineapple tidbits, miniature marshmallows, and walnuts. Put in serving bowl. Refrigerate until chilled (at least 2 hours).

http://www.ahundredyearsago.com

1924 Halloween Dinner Menu

Need some ideas for a Halloween dinner? Look no further than the October, 1924 issue of American Cookery magazine. The menu calls for serving 16 foods plus coffee. Whew, what a lot of food! That said, I’m off to a good start making the foods on the menu:

Stuffed Celery

Witches’ Layer Cake

If this isn’t enough, you could also serve an additional dessert option that I made years ago back when I was posting my grandmother’s diary entries:

Ice Cream Served in Orange Jack-o’-Lantern Shells

And, you could make these crafts to decorate for the dinner:

Halloween Bogeyman

Shrunken Apple-Head Witch

Traditional Stuffed Celery

Stuffed celery on plate

I love browsing through hundred-year-old cookbooks and selecting recipes to make for this blog. Generally I choose recipes that I think I will enjoy. But, old cookbooks also contain some recipes that seem very unusual and that I don’t think that I will like. I tend to ignore those recipes, but occasionally I’m intrigued enough to give one a try – while not having very high expectations. The recipe that I’m sharing this week is one of those times.

I made Stuffed Celery. The recipe called for “fringing” celery pieces with a knife, putting in ice water for several hours, and then stuffing and putting two pieces together and standing on a plate. What seemed really unusual was that the stuffing contained butter, peanut butter, salt, cayenne (red) pepper, and chopped olives. I couldn’t even begin to imagine what this mixture might taste like, but definitely had my doubts that I’d like it.

The verdict: The Stuffed Celery looked very dramatic, though some of the pieces didn’t want to stay together or stand for very long. The stuffing mixture actually tasted okay (not incredible, but it was not terrible). It was definitely a case where something tasted better than it sounds.

Here’s the original recipe:

Stuffed Celery on Plate

Recipe for Stuffed Celery — Source: American Cookery (October, 1924)

I’m not sure what olivettes are, but I interpreted it to mean olives. When I made this recipe I used stuffed green olives that I finely chopped.

Here’s the recipe updated for modern cooks:

Stuffed Celery

Servings: approximately 12 pieces
Time: 45 minutes active prep time
Difficulty: moderate
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1 bunch celery

water with ice

1/4 cup butter, softened

1/4 cup peanut butter

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon cayenne (red) pepper

2 tablespoons stuffed green olives, finely chopped

Select the large curved stalks of celery in the bunch, wash, and then cut into 2 1/2 inch pieces. (Save small stalks and pieces for use in other recipes.) Fringe the top of the celery by making vertical cuts close together in the top half of each piece of celery. Stand the fringed celery in ice water for 2-4 hours.

In the meantime put the butter, peanut butter, salt, and cayenne pepper in a small bowl; stir until thoroughly mixed. Add chopped olives and stir until evenly distributed.

After 2-4 hours remove celery pieces from the ice water and wipe dry. Fill the bottom portion of each piece of celery with the peanut butter mixture. Put two pieces together, and wipe with a paper towel to remove any excess peanut butter mixture, then stand on a plate. The bottom edges of the celery may be trimmed if needed to make them level so they will stand better.

http://www.ahundredyearsago.com

1924 List of Best Apples for Cooking, Dessert, and Cider

List of Apple Varieties — Source: Canadian Grown Apples: Delight in Every Bite (1924)

Many popular apple varieties today did not exist a hundred years ago; and some popular varieties a hundred years ago are seldom seen today. Both now and then, there were lists of which apple varieties were best for different uses. Today lists often refer to apples for eating, and cooking or baking. A 1924 list refers to apples for cooking, dessert apples, and cider apples. Were dessert apples ones that were particularly good to eat raw?

Old-Fashioned Apple and Coconut Pie

Slice or Apple and Coconut PIe

Government agencies have produced cookbooks for more than a hundred years that promote the use of local foods. I recently came across a small apple cookbook published in 1924 by the Fruit Branch of the Canada Department of Agriculture. The introduction to the book says that “Canada produces the best flavoured, most highly coloured and longest keeping apples.” I can’t vouch for the accuracy of that statement, but I can say that the book has some good recipes – though I used possibly inferior (??) U.S. apples.

One recipe was for Apple and Coconut Pie. The pie was delightful. This recipe takes a classic pie, and adds a fun tropical twist to it.

Canadian Apple Cookbook

Here’s the original recipe:

Recipe for Apple and Coconut Pie — Source: Canadian Grown Apples: Delight in Every Bite (1924)

I used cinnamon rather than lemon. When I made this recipe, in addition to flavoring the apples with sugar and cinnamon, I stirred in a little flour to help ensure that the pie won’t be overly juicy.

The recipe author spelled “cocoanut” with an “a.” I think that this is considered an archaic spelling now, so when I updated the recipe, I spelled it without an “a.”

Here’s the recipe updated for modern cooks:

Apple and Coconut Pie

Servings: 6 - 8
Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
Difficulty: moderate
Print

6 cups thinly sliced apples (cored and peeled)

3/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1/3 cup sugar

1/4 cup flour

1 1/2 cups coconut

1 10-inch deep dish pie shell

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Put sugar, cinnamon, and flour in a small bowl; stir to combine. Add the sugar and cinnamon mixture into the sliced apples; gently stir until the apples are coated with the mixture. Set aside.

Sprinkle 1/2 cup of the coconut on the pie shell, then add the apple mixture. Bake at 425 degrees for 15 minutes. Reduce heat to 350 degrees, and bake an additional 30 minutes or until the apples are soft. Sprinkle 1 cup of coconut on top of the hot pie. Return to the oven and bake for an additional 5 minutes, or until the coconut is just barely beginning to brown. Remove from oven.

http://www.ahundredyearsago.com

1924 Nucoa Advertisement

Today we have margarine and spreads that are substitutes for butter. A hundred years ago there was a spread (or oleomargarine – not sure why it wasn’t just called margarine back then) called Nucoa that was made using a mixture of coconut and milk. I did a search on the name, and it looks like it may be still available in some areas (though I don’t think that it contains milk anymore), but I never heard of it.

Old-Fashioned Witches’ Layer Cake

Witches' Cake

Bakers have been making spooky Halloween Cakes for at least a hundred years. The October, 1924 issue of American Cookery magazine had a recipe for Witches’ Cake. The recipe intrigued me. It called for making a chocolate layer cake, and decorating it by putting the two parts of the cake together with a red frosting, then icing it with chocolate frosting, and decorating with small red candies that are arranged to make an outline of a witch.

This was a fun recipe to make. The cake was a rich and fudgy cake with an almost brownie-like texture.

Witches' Cake

Here’s the original recipe:

The old recipe called for tinting some of the frosting red with cochineal. I wasn’t familiar with cochineal so I did an online search. According to an article in Smithsonian Magazine, cochineal is a crimson dye made from an insect.

An average trip to the grocery store can yield a cartful of colorful foods. Bright among the rainbow are the reds, lending hues to products such as raspberry jam, canned cherries, strawberry licorice and red velvet cake. Often, their source is a certain small insect.

Cochineal bugs — oval-shaped scale insects around 0.2 inches long — are harvested and turned into the natural dyes cochineal extract, carmine and the pure pigment carminic acid. They have been used to color food, textiles and cosmetics for centuries.

Smithsonian Magazine (March 29, 2022)

I had no idea where I could buy cochineal, so I used dark red food coloring to tint the icing for the filling.

I didn’t find any small red wintergreen candies at the store where I shop, so I bought small red “sugar pearls” in the cake and cookie decorating section.

Squares of unsweetened baking chocolate have gotten smaller over the last hundred years. Back then a square was an ounce in size; today a square of a popular baking chocolate is 1/2 ounce.

This recipe doesn’t call for any baking powder or baking soda. The beaten egg whites provided the leavening.

I used 2/3 cup of milk, and I substituted all-purpose flour for the pastry flour.

I found recipes for Plain Frosting and Chocolate Frosting in a hundred-year-old cookbook:

Recipe for Plain Frosting — Source: Modern Priscilla Cook Book (1924)

Recipe for Chocolate Frosting — Source: Modern Priscilla Cook Book (1924)

I quadrupled the Plain Frosting recipe so that I’d have enough frosting to ice the cake. I did not use any water when making the Chocolate Frosting. I just used milk to get it to the right consistency. I used less chocolate than called for in the old recipe, since a square of chocolate was 1-ounce a hundred-years ago and the squares are smaller today- but it still was very chocolatey.

Here’s the recipe updated for modern cooks:

Witches' Layer Cake

Servings: 8 - 10
Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
Difficulty: moderate
Print

Cake

4 eggs, separated

1 1/3 cups butter, softened

2 ounces unsweetened baking chocolate, melted (4 1/2-ounce squares)

3/4 cup sugar

2 1/2 cups all purpose or pastry flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon cinnamon

2/3 cup milk

small red candies (can use wintergreen candies or sugar pearls)

Preheat oven to 350° F. Grease two 9-inch round cake pans; line with waxed paper or parchment paper, then grease again and lightly flour.

Put egg whites into a mixing bowl, and beat until peaks form. Set aside.

Cream 1/3 cup butter, then add the remaining 1 cup butter and the melted chocolate; beat until smooth. Stir in egg yolks and sugar. Sift together flour, salt, and cinnamon, then stir into the chocolate mixture alternately with the milk; continue stirring until thoroughly combined. Fold in the beaten egg whites. Pour the 1/2 of the batter into each of the cake pans.

Bake the layers for 30 to 35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 5 minutes. Remove from pans. Cool 1 hour or until completely cooled.

Make frosting (see below).

To assemble cake, trim cake layers if needed to make even, then put a layer on a plate. Spread with red frosting, and then put the other layer on top of it. Ice with the chocolate frosting, then decorate with red candies. I used a template of a witch as a guide when arranging the candies to make an outline of the witch.

Frosting

4 cups flour confectioners’ sugar

1/3 – 1/2 cup milk

2 teaspoons vanilla

red food coloring (I used “dark red” food coloring)

2 ounces unsweetened chocolate (4 1/2-ounce squares)

Combine confectioners’ sugar and 1/3 cup milk in a mixing bowl; beat until smooth. Add vanilla, and beat until combined. If the mixture to too thick add additional milk.

Red Filling: Put about 3/4 cup of the frosting into a small bowl. Add enough red food coloring to make the filling a bright red. Stir to combine.

Chocolate Frosting; Stir the melted chocolate into the remaining frosting.

http://www.ahundredyearsago.com