Smearcase (Cottage Cheese) and Apple Butter

17-year-old Helena Muffly wrote exactly 100 years ago today:

Saturday, November 2, 1912: They made apple butter this morning. I had to get the dinner and then had to be teased about it in the bargain. Went to Watsontown this afternoon and stayed longer than I meant to.

Her middle-aged granddaughter’s comments 100 years later:

Apple butter sounds delicious—even if Grandma’s dinner wasn’t.

How did the Muffly’s eat the apple butter?. . .on bread? . . . or with smearcase?

In Pennsylvania, cottage cheese is often called by its Pennsylvania Dutch name—smearcase. And, the best way to eat smearcase is with a little apple butter stirred into it. It might sound (and look) odd—but it’s really, really good. The rich, slightly sweet taste of the apple butter nicely complements the cottage cheese.

Open-faced Apple Pie

17-year-old Helena Muffly wrote exactly 100 years ago today:

Tuesday, October 15, 1912: Ditto.

Her middle-aged granddaughter’s comments 100 years later:

Another slow day a hundred years ago. . . .

This Fall, I’ve enjoyed making old-time apple recipes. Here’s another one that I really like.

Open-faced Apple Pie

Pastry for a 1-crust pie

3/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup flour

1 teaspoon cinnamon

Approximately 5-6 medium Macintosh apples*

1 tablespoon milk

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Line 9-inch pie pan with the pastry.

Put the sugar, flour, and cinnamon into a medium bowl; stir together. Peel, core, and quarter the apples. Put the quartered apples into the bowl with the sugar mixture; stir gently to coat apples. Arrange the apples in the pie pan by placing the apples closely together on their sides. Small pieces of apples can be used to fill any gaps between the apple quarters. Add the milk to the pie by pouring it between any two of the apples.

Cook the pie at 425 for 10 minutes. Then reduce the heat to 350. Cook approximately 25 additional minutes or until the apples are tender when poked with a fork.

*Other apple varieties that keep their shape when cooked can be substituted for the Macintosh apples.

In case you have lots of apples like I do, here are links to some previously posted apple recipes.

Stewed Apples

Old-fashioned Apple Dumplings

Two Apple Crisp Recipes

Traditional Apple Betty

Old-Fashioned Apple Sauce

Old-Fashioned Watermelon Rind Pickles

17-year-old Helena Muffly wrote exactly 100 years ago today:

Friday, September 20, 1912: Don’t have much for today.

Her middle-aged granddaughter’s comments 100 years later:

I continue to enjoy making foods that were popular in central Pennsylvania in the early 20th century. Since Grandma didn’t write much I’ll tell you about my latest cooking endeavor.

Pickled foods were incredibly popular a hundred years ago.

I decided to make old-fashioned watermelon pickles—and they looked lovely and tasted great.

It was a three-day process, but well worth the effort.

Old Fashioned Watermelon Pickles

4-5 quarts watermelon rind

Water

Salt

2 cups apple cider vinegar

7 cups sugar

1 tablespoon whole cloves

3 sticks cinnamon

1 inch cube of fresh ginger

Select watermelon with a thick, firm rind. Cut off the outer green skin, and remove the red watermelon flesh, leaving a very thin layer of pink. Cut into 1-inch squares. Place in a 2 gallon glass bowl or crock. (I used 2 smaller bowls).

Cover with a salt water solution (2 tablespoons salt to 4 quarts water). Cover and let stand for 24 hours at room temperature.

After 24 hours, drain and rinse with cold water. Cover with ice water. Let stand for 1 hour, then drain.

Place the rind in a large pan, and cover with boiling water. Bring to a boil; then reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Drain.

Put spices in a cheesecloth bag. Combine vinegar, sugar, and spices in large pan. Bring to a boil. Add rind. Simmer until rind is translucent.

Put rind and syrup into large glass bowl or crock. Cover; and let stand for 24 hours at room temperature.

Remove spice bag. Drain off syrup, put into a pan, and heat to boiling.

Pack the rind into hot pint jars; cover with the hot syrup, fill to 1/4 inch of top. Wipe jar rim and put lid on.

Process in boiling water bath for 5 minutes.

Makes approximately 6 pints.

Old Bread and Butter Pickles Recipe

17-year-old Helena Muffly wrote exactly 100 years ago today:

Wednesday, September 4, 1912: Same as yesterday.

Her middle-aged granddaughter’s comments 100 years later:

The previous day, she’d written:

Nothing doing today.

Sounds like a slow couple of days in Grandma’s life.

I wonder if Grandma’s mother was busy preserving foods for the upcoming winter months while Grandma in school. . . or did she wait until Saturday for major canning projects when she had her daughters home to help.

Maybe she made Bread and Butter Pickles.

Bread and Butter Pickles

8 cups cucumbers, thinly sliced

2 cups onions, thinly sliced

2 tablespoons salt

2 cups vinegar

3 cups sugar

2 teaspoons turmeric

3 inches stick cinnamon

2 teaspoons celery seed

4 peppers (red and green), finely diced

Mix cucumbers, onions, and salt together in a large ceramic bowl or casserole dish. Let stand two hours; drain. In a large pan mix together vinegar, sugar, turmeric, cinnamon, celery seed, and peppers. Bring to a boil. Put in drained cucumbers and onions. Boil for 15 minutes. Jar and seal.

Makes about 3 1/2 pints. (I usually double the recipe, but it requires a very large pan.)

Note: Small thinly sliced zucchini or yellow summer squash can be substituted for the cucumbers for excellent pickled squash.

I make this recipe almost every summer and they always turn out great.

(I probably should note that this recipe isn’t from my side of the family. I got this old recipe from my mother-in-law, but it is a typical traditional Pennsylvania recipe. In any case, the pickles are really good. )

Crab Apple Chutney Recipe

17-year-old Helena Muffly wrote exactly 100 years ago today:

Thursday, August 15, 1912: My store of thoughts doesn’t amount to very much today.

Her middle-aged granddaughter’s comments 100 years later:

What did Grandma (and the other members of her family do) on days when she couldn’t think of anything worthwhile to record?

Might they have canned food to eat during the upcoming winter months?

Earlier this week I made Crab Apple Chutney using an old recipe that I imagine was similar to recipes used a hundred years ago.

Crab Apple Chutney

3 pounds crab apples

1 orange

1 box (15 oz.) raisins

1 cup apple cider vinegar

2 1/2 cups brown sugar, firmly pressed

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon cloves

Core and dice crab apples. Peel and dice orange.

Combine all ingredients in large pan. Bring to a boil; then simmer, covered until the crab apples are tender (about 30 minutes).

Immediately ladle the hot mixture into 4 pint jars (or 8 half-pint jelly jars); cover with syrup, filling to within 1/4 inch of jar top. Wipe jar rim, and put lids on. .

Process in boiling water bath for 10 minutes.

This recipe is excellent—and I make it whenever I have crab apples. The chutney really brings out the taste of pork or beef.

If you are looking for crab apple recipes, check out a post I did last year:

Old Spiced Crab Apples (Pickled Crab Apples) Recipe

Blueberry Buckle (Blueberry Coffee Cake) Recipe

17-year-old Helena Muffly wrote exactly 100 years ago today:

Wednesday, July 24, 1912: That’s all. Her middle-aged granddaughter’s comments 100 years later:

This entry makes me think of the Bugs Bunny cartoon line–That’s All Folks.

Maybe I should just call it a day–but I keep thinking that something must have happened a hundred years ago today.

Blueberries are ripe, so maybe Grandma made a Blueberry Buckle. It’s an old-fashioned cake that I’ve only ever seen in Pennsylvania. A buckle is an archaic word for a one-layer cake.

I make this recipe once or twice each summer. The smaller, tarter blueberries that we get towards the end of blueberry season are perfect for this recipe.

Blueberry Buckle (Blueberry Coffee Cake)

Cake

1/4 cup soft butter

3/4 cup sugar

1 egg

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup milk

2 cups washed fresh blueberries

Crumb topping

1/4 cup soft butter

1/2 sugar

1/3 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Heat oven to 375 degrees. Cream butter, add sugar and beat until light. Add egg and beat well. Gradually dry ingredients, alternating with milk. Beat until smooth.* Gently fold in blueberries. Pour into 8 X 8 X 2 inch pan.

Mix all of the topping ingredients to create a crumb-like mixture. Sprinkle over the batter. Bake about 45 minutes or until cake springs back when lightly touched.

*The batter is very thick. May need to stir by hand after dry ingredients have all been added.

Angel Food Cake with Black Raspberries Recipe

17-year-old Helena Muffly wrote exactly 100 years ago today:

Sunday, June 23, 1912: Went to Sunday School this morning. Tweet came home with me. Ma and Pa had gone away and we had the place to ourselves. Miss Carrie was over after dinner.Her middle-aged granddaughter’s comments 100 years later:

Sounds like a fun Sunday with visits from two friends—Helen “Tweet” Wesner and Carrie Stout.

I wonder if Grandma made any deserts to serve her friends. Black raspberries would have been in season.

Maybe Grandma made Angel Food Cake with Black Raspberries.

Angel Food Cake with Black Raspberries

Cake

12 egg whites

1 cup all-purpose flour

3/4 cup sugar plus an additional 3/4 cup sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons cream of tartar

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 teaspoon almond extract

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Separate egg whites and bring the egg whites to room temperature. Meanwhile stir together the flour and 3/4 cup of sugar in a medium bowl.

After egg whites have reached room temperature, put the egg whites, cream of tartar, and salt into a large bowl. Beat until foamy. Slowly add the 3/4 cup of sugar (about 2 tablespoons at a time) while beating. Continue beating until the mixture holds stiff straight peaks. Gently stir in the vanilla and almond extract.

[Note: In Grandma’s day, they would have beaten the eggs by hand. I feel tired just thinking about it.]

Sprinkle a small amount of the flour and sugar mixture (about 2 tablespoons) onto the whipped egg mixture; and then fold it in. Continue sprinkling and folding the flour and sugar mixture until it all is folded in.

Gently spoon the batter into an ungreased 10 X 4 tube pan (angel food cake pan). Bake for 35 to 40 minutes or until the cake is lightly browned and the top springs back when lightly touched.

Invert pan until cool (at least 1 hour) and then remove cake from pan.

Black Raspberries

Crush a few black raspberries; stir in several tablespoons of sugar, and add enough water to make the consistency of medium sauce. Refrigerate for at least one hour to give the sugar in the sauce enough time to lose its granularity. Serve over the cake. Sprinkle which whole black raspberries.

An aside—When I was a child I loved the black raspberries that grew in the hedgerows. These days I never can find them in stores.

Two years ago my husband and I planted several black raspberry plants, and this is the first summer that we have lots of berries.

The black raspberries are awesome—even better than I’d remembered them.