When browsing through hundred-year-old magazines, I always look for food-related cartoons, but seldom find any. I finally found one in the July, 1925 issue of Ladies Home Journal about baking a pie, but – ouch – it reinforces stereotypes and is very dated. Some things have changed for the better over the past hundred years!
Author: Sheryl
Old-Fashioned String Bean Salad (Green Bean and Radish Salad)
I bought some lovely green beans at the farmers’ market. When I got home, I started looking through my hundred-year-old cookbooks for a good green bean recipe. I found a recipe for String Bean Salad and decided to give it a try. It was different from any string bean salad recipe I had ever previously seen. The String Bean Salad basically was cold cooked green beans coated with a vinaigrette dressing, and then piled in the center of a plate with thinly sliced radishes arranged in a circle around the beans.
The String Bean Salad (or, as I prefer to call this dish, the Green Bean and Radish Salad) made a lovely, attractive presentation. The light and tangy vinaigrette dressing on the beans worked well with the crisp and slightly peppery sliced radishes to create a delightful, flavorful salad.
Here’s the original recipe:
I used green beans when I made this recipe. I thinly sliced 5 medium radishes (about 1 cup sliced radishes).
And, here is the recipe in the same cookbook for French Dressing:
Since the String Bean Salad recipe only called for two cups of beans, I decided that the French Dressing recipe would make more dressing than I needed, so I halved it. For the oil, I used olive oil; and, for the vinegar, I used apple cider vinegar.
Over the years, I’ve made several hundred-year-old French Dressing recipes. All are very different from the modern bright orange French Dressing that is sold in stores today. This old French Dressing recipe is basically a vinaigrette dressing. When I updated the recipe, I called the dressing a vinaigrette since it seemed like a more accurate description.
Here’s the recipe updated for modern cooks:
String Bean Salad (Green Bean and Radish Salad)
2 cups cold cooked green beans (Before cooking, remove ends from beans and break into bite-sized pieces.)
1 teaspoon chopped chives or onion (I used chives.)
Vinaigrette Dressing (See recipe below.)
1 cup thinly sliced radishes (4 – 5 medium radishes)
Put the green beans and chopped chives or onion in a bowl; add the Vinaigrette Dressing, then gently toss to coat the beans with the dressing. Put the beans in the center of a plate and arrange the radishes in a circle around the beans.
Vinaigrette Dressing
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
Put all the ingredients in a small bowl, stir quickly to combine using a small whisk or fork.
1925 Tips for Selecting Canning Jars, Lids, and Rings
Here’s some tips in a 1925 home economics textbook for selecting canning jars, lids, and rings:
Glass jars rather than metal cans should be used for home canning. Jars should be constructed so that there is no contact of the fruit with the metal, hence a jar having a glass cover is desirable. A large opening, simple construction, ease in cleaning, and perfect sealing are characteristics of good fruit jars.
Glass jars should be tested before using. Partly fill the jar with water, adjust the rubber and cover, seal, invert the jar. Examine carefully for leakage.
Rubber Rings. – Soft, elastic rubbers should be chosen. It is poor economy to use old rubbers. Rubber after usage becomes hard and inelastic; it may cause imperfect sealing and hence decay of the fruit.
In certain processes of canning, it is necessary to subject the jars provided with rubber rings and covers to long periods of boiling or to the intense heat of a pressure or steam cooker. When such a method is followed it is especially necessary that rubber rings of good quality be used. To meet this requirement, the United States Department of Agriculture advises that rubber rings conform to the following:
- Inside diameter of 2 1/4 inches (for a jar of standard size).
- Width of ring or flange from 1/4 to 12/32 of an inch.
- Thickness of 1/12 of an inch.
- Tensile strength sufficient to “stretch considerably and return promptly to place without changing the inside diameter.”
- Firm enough so that no crease or break shows after it has been tightly folded.
School and Home Cooking (1925) by Carlotta C. Greer
Old-Fashioned Stuffed Cucumbers
Cucumbers are a vegetable that I generally either slice and eat raw or pickle, but there are some recipes in hundred-year-old cookbooks that call for baking them. I decided to give a 1925 recipe for Stuffed Cucumbers a try. The cucumber shells were stuffed with a mixture containing the seedy pulp from the center of the cucumbers, chopped onion, chopped nuts, and egg white. The Stuffed Cucumbers were topped with breadcrumbs and then baked.
The Stuffed Cucumbers were tasty with a nice crunchy texture because of the nuts.
Here’s the original recipe:
This old recipe was very vague regarding some ingredients (like how many cucumbers to use) and very specific about other ingredients (1/2 cup of nuts and 1 egg white). For the ingredients without amounts listed, I decided to use 3 short, fat cucumbers that I got at a farmers’ market, 1/4 cup of chopped onions, 1/4 cup fine breadcrumbs, 1 1/2 tablespoons butter, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/8 teaspoon pepper. These amounts worked well. I also decided to just beat the egg white until it was foamy, rather than beating until there were stiff peaks, though I am uncertain what the recipe author intended.
Here’s the recipe updated for modern cooks:
Stuffed Cucumbers
3 cucumbers (I used short, fat cucumbers, but long ones would also work.)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1/4 cup finely chopped onion
1/2 cup nuts, chopped (I used walnuts.)
1 egg white, beaten until foamy
1/4 cup fine breadcrumbs
1 1/2 tablespoons butter
Preheat oven to 350° F. Peel the cucumbers, then put them in a large saucepan and cover with water. Bring to a boil using high heat, then reduce heat and simmer until the cucumbers are tender (about 15-20 minutes). Remove from heat and drain. Cut the cucumbers in half lengthwise, then scoop out the seedy pulp. Put the pulp in a bowl, add the salt, pepper, chopped onion. chopped nuts, and egg white. Stir to combine.
Put the cucumber shells in a baking dish or baking pan. Fill each half with the pulp mixture. Sprinkle breadcrumbs on top and dot with small pieces of butter. Put in the oven and bake until hot and the breadcrumbs are lightly browned (20 – 30 minutes).
Advertisements in Hundred-Year-Old Church Cookbooks
I have several hundred-year-old church cookbooks. All of them contain favorite recipes of individuals affiliated with the church publishing the cookbook. These cookbooks were also created for fund-raising purposes. The published cookbooks were sold. They also all have advertising sections at the back. Then (as well as now), selling ads to local businesses increased the profits. A 1925 cookbook compiled by the Sisters of St. Joseph in St. Paul, Minnesota has a page in the book right before the advertisements calling attention to the ads. And, here’s one of the pages which contained ads:
The Sisters probably solicited ads from members of the church who owned businesses or from vendors who sold products to the church.
Old-Fashioned Coconut Cake
Summer is the season for picnics and reunions – and lots of good food. I have wonderful memories of lovely Coconut Cakes at family gatherings, so when I saw a Coconut Cake recipe in a hundred-year-old cookbook, I decided to give it a try. The cake was delightful, but recipe had two unique features which resulted in this cake being a little different than some Coconut Cake recipes. The recipe called for adding coconut to the cake batter (and not just sprinkling it on top of the frosting). It also called for a teaspoon of orange extract. The cake is not very large, and works well in a 9-inch square baking pan.
The Coconut Cake was light and fluffy with a bold coconut flavor, and a subtle hint of orange. I definitely plan to make this cake again.
Here’s the original recipe:
When I updated this recipe, I updated the spelling of “cocoanut” to “coconut.” Cocoanut is an archaic spelling that I often see in hundred-year-old cookbooks, but that is seldom used today.
Here’s the recipe updated for modern cooks:
Coconut
2 eggs, separated
3 tablespoons butter
1 cup sugar
1 cup milk
2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon orange extract
1 cup shredded coconut
white icing (I used a buttercream icing.)
additional coconut
Preheat oven to 350° F. Put egg whites into a mixing bowl, and beat until peaks form. Set aside.
Put butter and sugar in mixing bowl, then beat to cream. Add egg yolks, milk, flour, baking powder, orange extract, and salt. Beat until well-mixed. Stir in the coconut, then gently fold in the beaten egg whites. Put the batter in a prepared 9-inch square pan. Bake for 30 – 35 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Remove from oven and cool. Frost with white icing, then sprinkle coconut on top of the frosting.
When to Form an Opinion About an Egg
Old cookbooks have lots of hints and tips. A 1925 cookbook supplement in the Sioux Falls, South Dakota newspaper tells readers to wait to form an opinion of an egg until something happens with the lid. But the old newsprint is blurry and I’m not sure what the last word says. Is it “off”? . . . or “on”? . . or perhaps “of”? (which makes no sense). It may be trying to say that you can’t tell how well fried eggs are going to turn out until the pan lid is removed (assuming that a lid was put on the pan as part of the process of frying the eggs). Or maybe the egg’s lid” is the shell, and cooks can’t really judge the quality of an egg until the egg is cracked.
Bottom line, I have no idea what this tip means, but I’ve spent much more time than I should have trying to decipher it.
