There’s an old saying that when a hog is butchered you can “eat everything but the squeal.” An image in a hundred-year-old cookbook suggests that this is an accurate statement. According to the cookbook, even the tail can be eaten. It says that the tail is an economical cut that can be boiled or sautéed. . . .  Who knew?

Here’s some more pork facts that were in the old cookbook:

Facts to Remember about Pork

When pork is in proper condition the skin and fat are white and clear, except the kidney or leaf lard which is slightly pinkish in hue. The flesh is composed of fine-grained tissues and is pink in color.

The thicker the skin of pork the older the animal from which it was cut.

Pork contains a larger proportion of fat than any other meat. Consequently its food value is higher and special care should be taken in selecting other foods to combine with it.

Pork should always be thoroughly cooked. It is not only distasteful but even dangerous to health when underdone.

Ham that is very salty should be freshened before cooking. A slice is freshened by being covered with cold water and brought slowly to the simmering point. A whole ham should stand in cold water over night or at least for several hours.

Modern Priscilla Cook Book (1924)

Got “that golfing thirst?” A hundred years ago prohibition was in full swing, so Welch’s Grape Juice was clearly the drink to quench it.

Venders at the farmers market often have bushel baskets filled with fruits and vegetables, but I’m never sure how many quarts of canned goods they’ll yield, so I was pleased to find a canning guide in a hundred-year-old cookbook. Many things change over time, but I assume that yield ratios stay the same.

I recently came across a menu for basket refreshments for a motor party in a hundred-year-old magazine. A motor party picnic sounds like so much fun. If I could only get in a time machine, and go back to the early days of automobiles, dirt roads, and adventures. I’d wear a short dress that only came to my knees (this was the flapper era) and a huge bonnet with ribbons that tied under my chin. I’d put the refreshments in a wicker basket; and, I’d spend all morning cooking and packing refreshments for the trip. We’d drive out into the country and spread out a blanket in a grassy field, and then lay out the spread of food.

Things start to get blurry – Is this motor party a date? An event with friends? A family trip?

Then I come back to reality, and 2024. Sigh. . . maybe I should pack a picnic lunch and take it a nearby park. Somehow it just doesn’t seem the same.

Here are some tests listed in a hundred-year-old cookbook that can be used to tell when bread and cakes are done:

1. When the color is a rich golden brown.
2. When the mixture shrinks away from the sides of the pan.
3. When the sides of the pan sizzle when touched with a damp finger.
4. When a clean toothpick inserted comes out free from any particles of the mixture.
5. When a cake springs back without leaving an impression when pressed gently on top.
6. When the loaf of bread gives a hollow sound on tapping.

The New Butterick Cook Book (1924)

I recently flipped though the May, 1924 issue of American Cookery magazine and was surprised to discover a book review of a hundred-year-old cookbook that I’d purchased off eBay. It’s nice to know that the magazine liked The New Butterick Cook Book. I’ve enjoyed this cookbook, and have made several recipes that were in it.

 

Each morning my husband reads Morning AgClips. A few days ago, he said, “You’ve got to read this. You have a seriously strange hobby.” He was referring to an article titled, Seriously Strange Hobbies You Didn’t Know About.

I read the article and learned about Extreme Ironing where people iron clothes while rock climbing and sky diving, about Cheese Rolling where rounds of cheese are rolled down a hill, and about Soap Bubble Art where people use a variety of techniques to create interesting effects with soap bubbles. And, then the article went on to describe . . . drum rolls please . . . Historical Cooking which “which involves trying out recipes from the past.”

Oh, my goodness, who knew?  Do I have a seriously strange hobby?