A hundred-years-ago men’s roles and women’s roles were defined very differently. Women were responsible for cooking, and their culinary skills were considered a measure their success. This poem in a 1924 cookbook reminds me of the old saying that “food is the way to a man’s heart.”

I enjoy reading household tips in hundred-year-old magazines and cookbooks. Often the advice is good, and has stood the test of time. However, occasionally an old tip leaves me scratching my head. Like this tip about how to store grated cocoanut. Is it really a tip when the author says that the advice given is guesswork, and that she does not really know how it is done?

And, by the way, what is currently considered the correct spelling for “cocoanut”? I tend to think that “cocoanut” is an archaic spelling, and that it is usually is now spelled “coconut,” but am not sure.

Here’s how a hundred-year-old cookbook describes table clothes and other table coverings:

Table Coverings

The table-cloth is the form of table covering most frequently used, and if in an exquisite texture it may be considered the most formal type of cover. The table-cloth should always be laid over a silence cloth, which is usually of felt or a double-faced cotton material made expressly for this purpose. The silence cloth should drop over the edges of the table several inches. Many prefer to fold it at the corners and pin it underneath the table. The silence cloth prevent noise, protects the table and improves the appearance of the linen.

The table-cloth must be laid with great exactness. The center lengthwise crease should fall exactly in the middle of the table and extend over the sides and ends of the table until its edges just escape the seats of the chairs. For breakfast, luncheon or supper, a smaller cloth may be used, simply covering the top of the table or falling a few inches over the edge. Great care must always be taken that the threads of the cloth are parallel to the diameter of a round table, or parallel to the edges of a square or rectangular table. A table seldom presents as restful and interesting a picture when the cloth is placed diagonally as when it is placed with the treads running parallel to the edges of the table.

The small table-cloth, or the cloth used on informal occasions, does not need to be the snowy white linen used for the formal dinner.  Nothing is more satisfactory or pleasing than beautiful unbleached cloths with possibly a simple line design in color along the edges.

Doilies for each place are also used instead of the table-cloth and silence cloth, and are most satisfactory not only for their ease in laundering but for their appearance when correctly arranged on a well-polished table top. . .

Runners are another type of covering used on the bare table. These may be made of linen, or of the various cotton materials sold for such use. The runner is used for the informal meal.

Paper coverings are being used more and more for very informal occasions and may be secured in a very usable quality and size.

The New Butterick Cook Book (1924)

In the old cookbook, “table-cloth” was always hyphenated. I guess its an example of how words have changed across the years.

Here’s some excerpts from a hundred-year-old cookbook  about how to cook hot cereals:

Cooking Breakfast Cereals

Cereals are made from hard grains and contain much starch, so require long cooking to make them easily digested. Do not be deceived by directions on the box which say that the contents can be cooked in 15 or 20 minutes. This is never long enough to cook thoroughly and make them fit food for young children.

When the coal range is used, a very convenient way to cook the cereal is to start it cooking at supper time and leave closely covered on the back of the range all night. In the morning it will be found to be well done.

All of the cereals named above may be served hot as mush with cream or milk with or without sugar. Mush may also be served with syrup instead of milk. Cornmeal mush is much liked in this way.

Low Cost Cooking by Florence Nesbitt (1924)

The household hints section of a hundred-year-old cookbook had the following suggestions for getting more juice from a lemon:

• A lemon will yield nearly double the quantity of juice otherwise obtainable if it is heated thoroughly before squeezing.

• Lemons held in hot water yield more juice than otherwise.

The New Home Cook Book, 1924 Edition (Published by the Illinois State Register, Springfield, IL)

It always is complicated to travel with a baby. Here’s some tips that were in a 1924 magazine.

Planning for Baby’s Vacation: Hints for the Journey

The following are good rules for the baby’s vacation, as indeed they are for the proper conduct of his life no matter where he may be:

1. Keep the baby quiet, clean and contented.
2. See that his feeding comes at regular hours.
3. Have his naps come at the same time and last for the same duration each day.
4. See that his milk supply is pure and safe. Keep the milk clean, covered and cold. It should never be allowed to be warmer than fifty degrees Fahrenheit, until it is finally heated for use.
5. Dress the baby lightly and in the simplest possible clothing.
6. Protect the baby from flies, mosquitoes and other insects.
7. Do not let anyone outside of the family handle the baby.
8. Keep the baby out-of-doors as much as possible. Let him learn to sleep out-of-doors if it can be arranged.
9. Remember that no matter where you may take your baby his health and comfort will depend upon what you do for him rather than upon the way in which he travels or the kind of place in which you spend your holiday.
10. While you are traveling have everything that you will need for the baby easily accessible and where you can get at it at a moment’s notice.
11. And finally remember that, generally speaking, babies do not need vacations, but if it seems necessary or wise to take them on one there need be no fear of any bad consequences as long as the simple methods of baby care are followed.

Ladies Home Journal (May, 1924)

A hundred years ago technology was rapidly changing. By 1924 many homes had electricity, and lots of electric appliances were available in stores (or through mail order catalogs). One appliance was the electric table stove.

I love to have friends over and cook a meal together. If I’d lived back in 1924, here’s how it could be done using a table stove:

Buffet Spreads Made Perfect

For the woman who entertains informally a delightful acquisition is the combination table stove. Constructed with a double set of heating coils between which the toast drawer or the waffle iron may be inserted, it is possible to cook something over the top grill while other food is browning beneath in the lower grill. All these things can be done at the same time, but it requires more time than if just one thing is being cooked, because this device depends upon a single lamp socket for available electricity, and just so much heat and no more can be procured. When three pieces of work are attempted the heat must necessarily be divided among the three.

The electric table stove is just the things on which to cook the evening spread of chicken a la King, shrimp wiggle or any other favorite creamed dish. Get ready  beforehand a tray filled with everything which will be needed for your cooking, with all ingredients measured out. Sometimes it adds to the interest to leave one or two tasks undone as seen in the illustration. The mincing of the green pepper and the opening of the can of fish have been left for the guests to do, thus making the affair as informal as possible –usually the most successful kind of entertaining. While the foundational white sauce is being made in the deep pan placed on top of the grill stove, the slices of bread may be toasted in the toaster drawer.

Ladies Home Journal (February, 1924)