Hot mulled cider makes a delightful holiday drink. I found an easy and tasty mulled cider recipe in a hundred-year-old cookbook.
Here’s the original recipe:
Here’s the recipe updated for modern cooks:
1 quart cider
4 tablespoons sugar
1 cinnamon stick
1 tablespoon whole cloves
Put cider and sugar in a large saucepan. Add cinnamon stick and cloves tied into a cheesecloth bag. Bring to a boil using medium heat; reduce heat to low. Remove cinnamon and cloves before serving. Serve hot.
It’s always hard to know how much to spend on gifts. Here’s what it says in a hundred-year-old home economics textbook:
Gifts
At the end of the year many persons who do not keep accounts would be very much surprised if they could see the total sum of money that has been devoted to gifts. Some would be impressed by the smallness of the total sum, and others would be astonished at the disproportionately large amount used. This represents money used for others, but it cannot be taken as a very valuable index of generosity toward others. The money devoted to church and benevolence is a better indication of generosity.
Gifts are given very frequently to persons from whom gifts are received and it very often happens that they are chosen with the idea of equaling in value a gift received. Very frequently gifts represent a money value entirely out of proportion to the income. This class of expenditures may well receive a more careful consideration by many persons. One’s real regard and generosity to friends never can be measured in money and it is unfortunate to put such emphasis upon gifts.
Economics of the Family by C.W. Taber and Ruth A Wardall (1923)
I make a “new” hundred-year-old candy recipe each December. This year I flipped through several 1923 cookbooks trying to decide which sweet confection to make – and ended up going with a recipe called Smith College Fudge that I found in a hospital auxiliary cookbook from western Pennsylvania.
The name intrigued me. Was this fudge commonly made by Smith College students? And, how did a fudge named after a college in Massachusetts end up in a western Pennsylvania cookbook?
This recipe was a winner. This classic fudge was rich and melted in my mouth. It contained a small amount of molasses which is not typically included in modern fudge recipes. The molasses made the fudge more flavorful in a delightful, nuanced way.
Here’s the original recipe:
Chocolate squares are smaller now than they used to be. A square once was 1 ounce; today the squares for many brands are only 1/2 ounce. When I made this recipe, I assumed that the author was referring to the larger chocolate squares of yesteryear, so used 4 squares (2 ounces) instead of the two that the recipe called for. I melted the chocolate prior to mixing with the other ingredients rather than grating it. I also added walnuts when I made this recipe.
Here’s the recipe updated for modern cooks:
1/4 cup butter
1 cup white sugar
1 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup molasses
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 ounces unsweetened chocolate (4 squares of many brands), melted
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
1 cup walnuts (optional)
Put white sugar, brown sugar, molasses, and cream in a bowl; stir to combine. Set aside.
In the meantime, melt butter in a saucepan. Stir in the sugar and cream mixture. Using medium heat, bring to a boil. Reduce heat, but continue to boil while stirring rapidly for three minutes. Then add the melted chocolate and boil gently for an additional five minutes; stir rapidly at first, and then stir less towards the end. Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla. Continue stirring until the mixture thickens. If desired, stir in walnuts. Pour into an 8″ X 8″ buttered pan and set in the refrigerator until cool. Then cut into pieces.
Until I saw this hundred-year-old advertisement, I had never heard of Skinner’s Macaroni – though it may be a regional food that still exists. When I googled “Skinner’s Macaroni,” I came across an Albertson’s webpage for Skinner Macaroni Twirls. I also came across an “Our Story” page for J. Skinner Baking in Omaha, Nebraska which said that “The Skinner family has been in the food business since the late 1800s, so there’s a good chance your grandparents grew up on Skinner Macaroni and other Skinner family products.” It looked like the company now makes pastries.
It’s the time of year to make cookies, so I was excited to try a hundred-year-old recipe for Nut Cookies. The cookies are made using egg whites that are stiffly beaten, which results in crispy, light cookies. They have a delightful texture and taste, however, I found them a bit challenging to make. When I made this recipe I used nonstick baking sheets, and had trouble with the cookies sticking to them. I am not sure why.
Here’s the original recipe:
Here’s the recipe updated for modern cooks:
2 eggs, separated
1 cup brown sugar
6 tablespoons flour
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 cup chopped nuts (I used walnuts.)
Preheat oven to 325° F. Put beat egg whites until stiff. Set aside.
Beat egg yolks until thick and lemon colored. Gradually add sugar, beaten egg whites, and flour mixed with salt. Gently stir in the nut meats. Drop from the tip of teaspoon onto a greased baking sheet to make circles about 3/4 inch in diameter. Bake 8-10 minutes or until the cookies are set and lightly browned.
Note: These cookies may have a tendency to stick to baking sheet.
Here’s the poem in a hundred-year-old cookbook at the beginning of the Cookies and Small Cakes chapter. Enjoy!
Now that the weather’s getting cold and wintery, potatoes hit the spot. I recently made a hundred-year-old recipe for Alphonso Potatoes which are diced potatoes and green pepper are in a milk sauce, and topped with Parmesan cheese. This dish is very attractive and makes a nice presentation. The green of the pepper and the white of the potatoes made a visually appealing combination. The Parmesan cheese topping added flavor to the dish, and it was very nice.
Here’s the original recipe:
When I made the recipe, I cut the potatoes into 1/4 inch cubes prior to cooking. Perhaps cooks a hundred-years-ago often had left-over boiled potatoes that could be diced and used in this recipe, but since I didn’t have any left-over potatoes it seemed easier to just dice them into small pieces prior to cooking. I boiled the diced potatoes for a few minutes and then added the green pepper pieces to the simmering potatoes. It didn’t seem like a separate pan was needed. After the cubed potatoes were soft, I drained them, and then added the milk. I salted the water when cooking the potatoes, but did not add additional salt when I added the milk. I cooked for a few minutes more minutes, while occasionally gently stirring (but it was substantively less than 15 minutes). Some of the milk evaporated, and it began to thicken. I then removed from the heat and put into the casserole dish.
Here’s the recipe updated for modern cooks:
5 medium potatoes, peeled and diced into 1/4 inch cubes
water
1 teaspoon salt + 1/2 teaspoon salt (if desired)
1 medium green pepper, diced into 1/8 inch pieces
3/4 cup milk
1 1/2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese
Preheat oven to 375° F. Put the diced potatoes into a saucepan; cover with water and add 1 teaspoon salt. Bring to a boil using high heat, then reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes. Add the diced green pepper and simmer for an additional 6 minutes. Remove from the heat, and drain. Pour milk and 1/2 teaspoon salt (if desired) on the drained potatoes and green pepper in the saucepan. Heat using medium heat while stirring gently occasionally (do not cover). Simmer for a few minutes until some of the milk evaporates and the liquid thickens a little. (Use care that the milk and potatoes don’t burn.) Remove from the heat and put into a casserole dish. Sprinkle with the Parmesan cheese. Put in the oven and bake for 10 minutes or until the Parmesan cheese is lightly browned.
