Old-Fashioned Chicken Wiggles (Creamed Chicken with Vegetables and Walnuts)

I was flipped through a hundred-year-old cookbook, and a recipe for Chicken Wiggles caught my eye. What was this food with such a strange name?

I read the recipe, and it was a recipe for creamed chicken, peas, celery, and walnuts. Chicken Wiggles is served on toast (though it would also work well with rice). I’m always looking for tasty lunch foods, so I decided to give the recipe a try.

Chicken Wiggles was delightful. It is somewhat similar to Chicken a la King, but the walnuts added a delightful crunch. And, celery is not typically included in Chicken a la King recipes.

Intrigued by the name, I did an online search for “wiggle recipes” and discovered that there is also a dish called Shrimp Wiggle. Wiggles are quick and easy to prepare. According to The Takeout, the recipe for Shrimp Wiggle was even included in some editions of The Joy of Cooking.

Wiggles were a popular chafing dish food a hundred-year-ago, and college students sometimes made them in their dorm rooms using cans of Sterno, often for late night impromptu parties.

Here is the original recipe:

Recipe for Chicken Wiggles — Source: 1926 cookbook compiled by the Domestic Science Class of the Peoria (IL) Women’s Club

This recipe calls for English walnuts. Years ago, regular walnuts were often referred to as English walnuts to distinguish them from black walnuts.

It worked fine to use egg yolks as the thickening agent in this recipe – though I wondered why flour wasn’t used to make a more typical white sauce. (When egg yolks are used to thicken a sauce, care needs to be used to keep the egg from curdling when added to the hot mixture.) Then I realized that this is a gluten free recipe. Gluten allergies were not a specific identified issue a hundred years ago, but people did more generally recognize food allergies. This recipe makes me wonder if the recipe author was allergic to wheat flour.

Here’s the recipe updated for modern cooks:

Chicken Wiggles (Creamed Chicken with Vegetables and Walnuts

Servings: 3 - 5
Time: 15 minutes
Difficulty: moderate
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1 cup heavy cream

1 cup milk

2 egg yolks

1 tablespoon butter

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup cooked chicken, cut into 1/2 inch pieces

1/2 cup green peas (canned, frozen, or fresh)

1/2 cup celery, chopped

1/2 cup walnuts, chopped

toast

Step 1. Put the cream and milk in a saucepan, and scald using medium heat while stirring continuously.

Step 2. In the meantime, put egg yolks in a small bowl; stir until smooth. Place a small amount (approximately 1 – 2 tablespoons) of hot milk mixture into the bowl with the egg yolk, stir quickly. (The egg is first combined with a little of the hot mixture to prevent it from turning into scrambled eggs when introduced into the hot combination.) Add the egg mixture to the remaining hot mixture in the saucepan; stir.

Step 3. Add butter and salt. Cook until it thickens while stirring continuously.

Step 4. Stir in peas and celery; cook until heated through.

Step 5. Add walnuts; stir, and remove from heat.

Step 6. Serve immediately on toast (Rice could be substituted for the toast.)

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Were Muffins Less Sweet a Hundred Years Ago?

I have coffee with friends each Wednesday morning, and I frequently take a treat. I often make muffins. Occasionally I make hundred-year-old muffin recipes, and have my friends taste test them; but, often I make modern muffin recipes that I find online. Over time, I’ve come to the conclusion that modern muffin recipes generally are much sweeter than old-time ones.

For example, several years ago I made a hundred-year-old Blueberry Muffin recipe that called for 1 tablespoon of sugar. Most modern Blueberry Muffin recipes call for much more. The Glorious Treats Blueberry Muffins recipe calls for 1 cup of sugar. Sally’s Baking Addiction Blueberry Muffin recipe calls for 1 1/4 cups sugar (1/2 cup granulated sugar + 1/4 cup brown sugar + an additional 1/2 cup brown sugar for the topping). The exact number of muffins varied a little from recipe to recipe (mainly dependent on exactly how full the muffin cups were filled), but the recipes all made a similar number of muffins.

Similarly, modern Pumpkin Muffin recipes call for lots of sugar. The King Arthur Pumpkin Muffin recipe calls for slightly over 1 cup of sugar (3/4 cup granulated sugar + 1/4 cup brown sugar + additional granulated sugar to sprinkle on the top). Joy Food Sunshine’s recipe for Pumpkin Muffins calls for 1 1/2 cups of sugar (3/4 cup granulated sugar + 3/4 cup brown sugar. However, a hundred-year-old recipe for Squash Muffins (pumpkin could easily be substituted for the squash) only called for 1/4 cup of sugar.

Why were muffins generally less sweet a hundred years ago? I don’t know, but my hypothesis is that today they are considered a treat or sweet breakfast bread, while years ago they were frequently eaten as a dinner roll.

Old-Fashioned Orange Layer Cake with Boiled Frosting

Orange Layer Cake

Old community and church cookbooks almost never contain pictures of foods made using the recipes (or pages printed in color), so when I was looking through a 1926 cookbook from Cherokee, Iowa I was surprised to see a beautiful color drawing of an Orange Layer Cake.

The picture was on a page containing an advertisement for Swans Down Cake Flour. The cookbook also contained the recipe for the cake. Apparently, Swans Down was an advertising sponsor for the cookbook. And, the company must have paid a lot, because this was the only color page in the book. Here’s the picture and the original recipe: Orange Cake

Recipe for Orange Cake — Source: Westminster Cook Book 1926 (Cherokee, Iowa)

The cake looked delicious, and each time I flipped through the cookbook, it seemed to almost automatically open to the page with the Swans Down advertisement. After about the tenth time I looked at the picture, I decided to make the recipe. Could I replicate this beautiful cake?

The cake pictured in the old cookbook was a 3-layer cake; but, the recipe was for a 2-layer cake. The directions say, “Bake in 2 layers or double recipe for 3 large layers.” I decided to double the recipe so that my cake would look like the image in the cookbook.

The cake I made looked beautiful and I was pleased with how it turned out, but it was a huge cake, so when I updated the recipe, I did what the old cookbook author did. I provided directions for a two-layer cake with a note that it can be doubled to make a three-layer cake.

The cake in the old drawing has an orangish tint, and the filling is a bright orange. The actual filling I made was not very orange, and had more of a beige hue. Similarly, the cake was yellow, rather than orange. I considered using food coloring to make the filling and the cake orange, but decided against it. Even without the artificial dyes in food coloring, the cake looked lovely.

The old recipe called for a teaspoon of “flavoring.” I used orange extract.

I did not use a double boiler when making the Orange Filling. I just stirred it constantly, and it worked fine. I did not have any issues with the bottom of the filling burning.

The cake recipe says to ice the cake with boiled icing, but did not include a recipe for it, so I found a Boiled Frosting recipe in another 1926 cookbook:

Recipe for Boiled Frosting — Source: The New Winston Cook Book of Guaranteed Recipes (1926)

I decided to go with the option that called for using two egg whites.

The Boiled Frosting, which is sometimes called Seven Minute Frosting, had a glossy finish and was light and airy. It brought back memories of the tasty frosting on cakes that great aunts made for family reunions years ago.

The bottom line is that this is a very tasty, beautiful cake. The cake layers had lovely texture, the Orange Filling had a bright and sunny citrus taste, and the Boiled Frosting was delectable. It takes time to make and assemble this cake, but it was well worth the effort.

Orange Layer Cake Here’s the recipe updated for modern cooks:

Orange Layer Cake with Boiled Frosting

Servings: 12 - 15
Time: 2 hours 30 minutes
Difficulty: moderate
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Note: This recipe makes a 2-layer, 9- inch cake. Double the recipe to make a 3-layer, 9-inch cake.

2 eggs, separated

1/2 cup butter, softened

1 cup sugar

2/3 cup milk

3 teaspoons baking powder

2 cups cake flour

1 teaspoon orange extract

Orange Filling (see recipe below)

Boiled Frosting (see recipe below)

2 small mandarin (or other small) oranges, if desired for garnish

Step 1. Preheat oven to 375° F. Grease and flour two 9-inch baking pans.

Step 2. Beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form. Set aside.

Step 3. In a mixing bowl, cream together the butter and sugar. Add egg yolks and milk; beat to combine. Add flour and baking powder; beat until smooth. Fold in the beaten egg whites.

Step 4. Evenly divide the batter across the prepared pans.

Step 5. Bake for about 25 to 30 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean.

Step 6. Remove from oven and let cool for 15 minutes, then remove from pans and let completely cool.

Step 7. To assemble cake: If the cake layers are uneven, they may be trimmed to make the tops flat. Spread the Orange Filling between the cake layers. Ice cake with the Boiled Frosting.

Step 8. If desired, garnish cake with thinly cut half slices of oranges which has been peeled. To make the slices, cut the peeled oranges cross-sectionally into thin slices using a sharp knife. Then cut each slice in half. Arrange around the edge of the cake. (I removed the orange garnish before storing left-over cake.)

Orange Filling

1 cup sugar

5 tablespoons cake flour

1 orange rind, grated

1/2 cup orange juice

3 tablespoons lemon juice

4 tablespoons water

1 egg, beaten

2 tablespoons butter

Step 1. Put the sugar and flour in a saucepan; stir to mix. Add orange rind, orange juice, lemon juice, water, and egg. Stir to combine. Add the butter.

Step 2. Heat, using medium heat, until the filling thickens (about 10 minutes), while stirring constantly.

Step 3. Remove from heat, and allow the filling to cool to room temperature.

Boiled Frosting

1 cup sugar

1/4 cup water

2 egg whites

1 teaspoon vanilla

Step 1. Combine the sugar and water in a saucepan, then heat using medium heat. Do not stir while cooking. If a bit of the sugar mixture coats the sides of the pan above the cooking syrup, gently use a dampened paper towel or brush to remove any sugar crystals. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer until the syrup reaches 235° F. (thread stage).

Step 2. In the meantime, put the egg whites in a mixing bowl and beat until stiff peaks form.

Step 3. Slowly pour the hot syrup over the beaten egg whites, while continuously beating. Beat until the mixture is glossy and shiny, and has a nice consistency for icing a cake (about 7 minutes).

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1926 Tips for Figuring Out Whether Large or Small Oranges and Other Foods Are Cheaper

2 oranges and 2 glasses orange juice — Source: Good Housekeeping (April, 1926)

Groceries are so expensive, and it’s often difficult to figure out which sizes and varieties of fruits and vegetables and other produce are least expensive. For example, if large oranges cost $1.75 per pound and a 3-pound bag of small oranges costs $5.99, I can easily figure out which has a lower cost for 3 pounds. But, it’s much harder to figure out which has more waste, and which ultimately is less expensive. Will there be more waste with small oranges than large ones? Which has a thicker skin? How will the serving size differ? Will I eat one orange at lunch regardless of its size, or might I eat two small ones (but only one large one)? If I want to juice the oranges, are the small ones or the large ones juicer?

People have grappled with these types of questions for at least a hundred years. Here’s what it said in a 1926 magazine article:

How much do you pay for the food you eat? Not for the food you buy, but for the food you actually eat. You are, of course aware that many foods as purchased, have more or less waste material that is discarded when food is prepared in the kitchen or when served at the table. In either case, this wasted material finds its way to the garbage can and contributes no food value to the daily meals. It follows, then, that the market price of any food having wasted material does not represent the actual cost of the food to us. . . .

We find that the waste portion of any one fruit or vegetable may vary widely according to size and other factors. . . . [Large oranges] had a large percentage of juice, but the price was high for the quality of juice. We found this order to vary somewhat according to the price of the oranges in other stores. You may also find variation with the prices of oranges in your market. Therefore, if you buy oranges of different sizes and observe the quantity of juice from these various sizes, you may find a particular size most economical for you. . .

We found that small potatoes have a greater percentage of waste than large ones and take half as long again to pare. Cooking the small potatoes in the skin, of course, shortened their time in preparation. . . .

We found shelled walnuts actually cheaper than those bought in the shell, but in the case of all other nuts, the shelled were more expensive, not taking into account, of course the time it takes to shell the nuts.

Good Housekeeping (April, 1926)

Source: Good Housekeeping (April, 1926)

Updating a Hundred-Year-Old Recipe to Make It Gluten Free (with a Date Muffin Example)

Date Muffins — Photographer: Christine Rooney

When I update hundred-year-old recipes for baked goods, I regularly get comments that say something like, “I can only eat gluten-free foods. Would it be possible to convert this recipe to a gluten-free one?”

Since I’m not gluten-free, I had never revised a recipe to make it gluten-free, but I decided that now was the time to give it a try. And, I knew just the person who might be able to help. My friend Christine Rooney at The Rustic Foodie posts seasonal gluten free recipes.

I asked Christine if she’d help me adapt a hundred-year-old recipe to make it gluten free, and I was thrilled when she generously agreed.

We decided to adapt a recipe for Date Muffins. A hundred years ago, the muffins might have been served at any time during the year, but they probably were primarily a winter food. Years ago, dried dates were a very popular winter fruit. Back then, most fresh fruits weren’t available in the winter, and those few that were available (such as oranges and other citrus fruits) were quite expensive in most parts of the U.S.

Christine adapted the recipe to make it gluten free. She then made the muffins and photographed them. I also made the muffins and took them to a coffee group gathering. We then made a few final tweaks to the recipe directions.

Our adventure adapting the recipe was a success. The date muffins had a great taste and texture. The texture was somewhere between a drop biscuit and a scone; the outside was a bit crispy and the inside was moist. They were sweet; but not overly sweet. The dates gave them lovely bursts of rich caramel.

Here’s the original recipe:

Recipe for Date Muffins — Westminster Cook Book 1926 (Cherokee, Iowa)

Gluten free baked goods sometimes tend to crumble. The key to making them less crumbly is to use the right gluten free blend flour, to ensure that the batter has sufficient moisture, and not to overbake them.

Christine said that a gluten free 1-to-1 blend flour (Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free 1-to-1 Baking Flour, Cup4Cup Gluten Free Multi-Purpose Flour, or other similar gluten free blend flour) should be used. The flour should contain xanthan. Baked goods made with gluten free flours can be crumbly because of a lack of binders in some gluten free flours. Xanthan is a binder that mimics the elasticity provided by gluten in wheat flour recipes. It helps ensure that gluten free baked goods are not crumbly. (Do not use gluten free all-purpose flour, or other gluten free flours, such as almond flour or oat flour, when making the recipe as this will likely yield different results).

Christine suggested adding a little additional milk when making the batter. Gluten free flour is a little denser and absorbs more liquid than all-purpose wheat flour. The additional milk also reduces the chance that the muffins will be crumbly.

It is also important not to overcook the muffins (they will tend to crumble) or to undercook them (they will be gummy).

And, here is the updated recipe:

Date Muffins

Servings: 12 muffins
Time: 30 minutes
Difficulty: moderate
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1/3 cup unsalted butter, softened (Do not melt.)

1/4 cup sugar

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1 egg

3/4 cup milk + an additional 2 – 3 teaspoons milk

2 cups 1-to-1 gluten free flour blend (Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free 1-to-1 Baking Flour, Cup4Cup Gluten Free Multi-Purpose Flour, or other similar gluten free flour that contains xanthan)

4 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 pound (4 ounces) dried dates, chopped

Step 1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

Step 2. Place muffin liners in a 12-cup muffin pan.

Step 3. Put the butter and sugar in a bowl, then use an electric mixer to beat until light and fluffy.

Step 4. Add egg to the butter and sugar mixture, and beat until light and fluffy.

Step 5. In a separate bowl, put the 1-to-1 gluten free flour blend, baking powder, and kosher salt. Stir until completely combined.

Step 6. Add the butter mixture and 3/4 cup of milk to the dry ingredients alternately, stirring to combine after each addition. Continue until all of the ingredients are combined. The batter will be very thick; Add an additional 2-3 teaspoons of milk to thin it out a bit and stir again until combined. (It will still be quite thick).

Step 7. Add chopped dates to the batter and fold until combined.

Step 8. Place an equal amount of the batter into each muffin cup. (An ice cream scoop can be used to measure to help ensure that an equal amount is put in each cup.)

Step 9. Place the muffin tin in the oven and bake for approximately 20 minutes. A toothpick poked into the center should come out clean when done baking.

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Old-Fashioned Baked Succotash

Baked Succotash in Dish

Kidney bean and corn dishes are having their day in the sun. I see recipes for them all the time, and they are served at many restaurants. Last week I went out for lunch, and had a lovely kidney bean and corn salad. So I was pleased to come across a Baked Succotash recipe that called for kidney beans in a hundred-year-old magazine.

I was a little surprised by the recipe name. I generally think of succotash as a mixture of lima beans and corn, but it apparently is a general term for bean and corn combinations. In any case, I decided to give the Baked Succotash recipe a try.

In addition to the kidney beans and corn, the recipe called for a little chopped green pepper. Beaten egg is stirred into the vegetables, and then it is baked.

The Baked Succotash was tasty, but a little dry (and a few of the kidney beans split). The vegetables were lightly bonded to one another other by the egg coating, but since there was no milk, it did not have the creaminess of a scalloped vegetable dish. After I made this dish, I actually wondered why the recipe author decided to bake the succotash. If I made this recipe again, I might have a tendency just to heat the vegetables on the top of the stove . . . or I might adapt the recipe and add a white sauce to the egg to make Scalloped Succotash . . . or . . .

Bottom line: Kidney beans and corn are a wonderful combination. And, I want to make dishes with this combination again in the future, but I’ll probably experiment a little when I do rather than replicating the Baked Succotash recipe.

Here’s the original recipe:

Recipe for Baked Succotash — Source: Ladies Home Journal (May, 1926)

When I made this recipe, it took more than 30 minutes for the food to get hot and for the egg to thicken.

Here’s the Bake Succotash recipe updated for modern cooks:

Baked Succotash

Servings: 4 - 5
Time: 40 minutes
Difficulty: moderate
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1 egg

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon pepper

1 can kidney beans, drained and rinses

1 can corn, drained (or 1 1/2 cups frozen corn, thawed)

1 tablespoon green pepper, finely chopped

Step 1. Preheat oven to 375° F.

Step 2. In a mixing bowl, whisk together the egg, salt, and pepper.

Step 3. Add the kidney beans, corn, and green pepper. Stir gently to coat the vegetables with the egg mixture.

Step 4. Put in a baking dish (a 1-quart dish works well), and place in oven. Bake for 30 – 40 minutes, or until hot.

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Hundred-Year-Old Tips for Selecting a High-Quality Head of Cauliflower

An article in the February, 1926 issue of Good Housekeeping showed photos of heads of cauliflower, and indicated whether they were high- or low-quality heads:

The head of cauliflower shown above represents an ideal purchase. Its jacket is fresh and bright, while the head is compact and of good color.

Below is shown a poor head of cauliflower. Its leaves are yellow and wilted, and the head is slightly opened.

The old article also contained three questions to ask when considering which head of cauliflower to purchase:

Is the jacket green and bright?

Is the flower clean and pearly white?

Is it solid, closely grained, and free from discoloration and decay?

The characteristics of high-quality cauliflower haven’t changed much over the years. According to the Postharvest Research and Extension Center at the University of California – Davis, these are current quality indices for cauliflower:

Quality Indices

A firm and compact head of white to cream white curds surrounded by a crown of well-trimmed, turgid green leaves. Additional quality indices are size, freedom from severe yellowing due to sunlight exposure, freedom from handling defects and decay, and an absence of ‘riciness’.

When I saw the old 1926 article, I was surprised that cauliflower was considered a winter vegetable a hundred years ago. I knew that it was a cool-season crop, but didn’t think of it as a winter vegetable. But, after doing a little research, I learned that cauliflower can be grown during the winter months in southern parts of the U.S.

The Postharvest Research and Extension Center states that the “storage of cauliflower is generally not recommended for more than 3 weeks for good visual and sensory quality.” Assuming that cauliflower a hundred years ago could be stored for a similar length of time, it probably was transported to the north via train back then and available during the winter months throughout the U.S.