Do people drink more coffee and tea today than they did a hundred years ago? When I researched this on the U.S. Department of Agriculture website, I was surprised to discover that in the U.S. people now consume only about two-thirds as much coffee as they did in 1923, but that they consume about the same amount of tea. Here are the details:
I recently made a hundred-year-old recipe for Cheese Biscuits. The recipe was simple to make and the biscuits were tasty. My husband said, “You should make these again sometime,” which is high praise from him. This recipe is a keeper.
Here’s the original recipe:
When I made this recipe, I used shortening rather than lard. Here is the recipe for Baking Powder Biscuits that the Cheese Biscuits recipe refers to:
And, here’s the recipe updated for modern cooks:
1 cup bread flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 tablespoon lard or shortening
1/2 tablespoons butter, softened
3/8 cup milk and water in equal parts (3/16 cup milk + 3/16 cup water) (Don’t worry if the proportions aren’t exactly the same for the milk and water. It will turn out fine even it they are not.)
1/2 cup grated cheese (I used cheddar cheese.)
Preheat oven to 425° F. Mix the dry ingredients together; cut (work) in the lard or shortening and butter using fingers, pastry blender, or food processor. Gradually add the milk and water mixture while mixing with a knife or spoon. Continue adding liquid until there is a soft dough. Add grated cheese, and gently stir until the cheese is evenly distributed. The amount of water needed varies depending upon the type of flour. On a floured board, pat or roll the dough until 1/2 -inch thick. Cut with a round biscuit cutter. (I used a glass as the cutter.) Place on greased baking sheet, and bake for 12- 15 minutes, or until lightly browned. Serve warm.
Here are tips in a hundred-year-old cookbook for browning pie crusts:
To brown pies and tarts, use a small pastry brush and brush them with milk before putting them in the oven, and to glaze pies, brush them with the white of an egg if you wish them to be a shiny brown.
Order of the Eastern Star Relief Fund Cook Book (1923) published by the Michigan Grand Chapter
Happy Easter!
Easter is such a special time of year. It’s so much fun coloring eggs with children or grandchildren – but it’s often then a challenge to figure out ways to eat the eggs. So I was pleased to find a recipe for Eggs with Asparagus in a hundred-year-old cookbook.
The Eggs with Asparagus is a classic recipe with the asparagus topped with chopped hard-boiled eggs embedded in a white sauce.
Here’s the original recipe:
Here’s the original recipe:
Here’s the recipe updated for modern cooks:
1 bunch asparagus (about 1 pound), cut into 1-inch pieces
1 cup water
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons flour
dash pepper
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 hard-boiled eggs, finely chopped
Put the asparagus, salt, and water in a saucepan, and bring to a boil using high heat; reduce heat and simmer until tender (about 3 minutes). Remove from heat and drain, reserve the water that was used for cooking.
Meanwhile in another saucepan, melt the butter. Stir the flour and pepper into the butter. While stirring constantly, slowly pour in the water that was used for cooking the asparagus and the cream; bring to a boil using medium heat while stiring constantly. Stir in the chopped eggs (reserve a small amount of the yolk for garnish). Remove from heat and pour over rthe cooked asparagus. Garnish with the chopped egg yolk.
Until I saw a fish availability calendar in a 1923 cookbook, I never thought about the seasonal variation in when various types of fish can be purchased. In today’s world, where fresh fish are sometime shipped across hemispheres and previously frozen fish are sometimes thawed and sold as “fresh,” is there much seasonal variability?
I recently came across a cookbook published in 1923 called The Calorie Cook Book. In the Introduction it says:
This book has been made for the use of those people who wish to eat properly and really don’t know how. . .
We Americans have bolted and stuffed rich food for so long that it is amazing how very few of us know how to stop or what to do, when the family physician, treacherously upheld by our own inner selves, demands a change in the catch-as-catch-can style of eating we have so long enjoyed.
Based on the title and the book’s introduction, I assumed that the recipes would be for healthy low-calorie foods. But the first page I flipped to proved that my assumption was wrong:
The recipe for Date Pudding said it was delicious, but that reducers should be beware. The recipe was not for them. I was intrigued. The author must think that a recipe is really good when deciding to put a high-calorie recipe in a low-calorie cookbook. So, before I knew it, I decided to ignore the warning and make Date Pudding.
The Date Pudding was delightful. Beaten egg whites gave the pudding a nice texture, and the dates and walnuts blended nicely for just the right balance of sweetness and crunchiness. I served the Date Pudding with whipped cream, which made it even more delicious and decadent.
This recipe called for “English walnuts” to distinguish them from “black walnuts.” Today, English walnuts are generally just called walnuts.
Here’s the recipe updated for modern cooks:
2 eggs, separated
1 cup walnuts, chopped
1 cup dates, chopped
1 cup sugar
2 tablespoons flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups milk
whipped cream, optional
Preheat oven to 350° F. Put egg whites in a mixing bowl; beat until soft peaks form. Set aside.
Put sugar, flour, baking powder, vanilla, egg yolks, and milk in a mixing bowl; beat until smooth. Fold in the beaten egg whites, and then gently stir in the chopped dates and walnuts. Put the mixture in an 8″ X 8″ square baking dish. Put in oven and bake until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean (approximately 50 minutes – 1 hour). Remove from oven. May be served warm or cold. If desired serve with whipped cream.
I always enjoy comparing old advertisements to modern ones. What’s similar? What’s different?
I found this ad about how Heinz salesmen and grocers work together to ensure that stores have all 57 varieties of Heinz products fascinating. What is the purpose of the ad? . . . to impress readers with the large number of Heinz products? . . . to encourage customers to look at the Heinz display in their local store, and request products if some of the 57 varieties are missing?
