Sometimes I’m surprised how long some foods have been around. I recently came across a hundred-year-old recipe for Shrimp Salad that called for canned shrimp. I never would have guessed that canned shrimp was available in 1923.
In any case, I decided to try the recipe. The recipe called for the canned shrimp, celery, and mayonnaise – plus a few capers to garnish the salad. This tasty recipe was quick and easy to make, and in some ways seemed very modern.
Here’s the original recipe:
Source: The Calorie Cook Book by Mary Dickerson Donahey (1923)
1 can shrimp (either a 4-ounce or 6-ounce can will work in this recipe)
1 stalk celery, chopped
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
1 teaspoon capers
lettuce leaves, optional
Drain and rinse the canned shrimp. Unless the shrimp are very small, cut into pieces. Put shrimp, celery, and mayonnaise in a bowl; mix until thoroughly combined. Arrange lettuce leaves on plate(s), and place mounds of the Shrimp Salad on the lettuce. If desired the lettuce can be skipped, and the Shrimp Salad can be put in a bowl to serve. Garnish with capers.
Source: General Welfare Guild Cook Book (Beaver Valley General Hospital, 1923)
Some foods just seem to go together – bacon and eggs, burgers and fries, meat and potatoes. . . I could go on and on. I recently came across a list of food combinations in a hundred-year-old cookbook, and was surprised to see some of the suggestions. Roast mutton, mashed potatoes, brown sauce, and turnips anyone?
I recently made a hundred-year-old recipe for Oatmeal Fruit Muffins (Oatmeal Raisin Muffins). These classic muffins were delightful with the robust, warm, sweet flavor of molasses and a hint of nutmeg.
Here’s the original recipe:
Source: American Cookery (June/July, 1923)
When I made this recipe, I went with the option of adding an egg. The batter would be very dry if the egg was not added. I’m not sure why the recipe called for dissolving the baking soda in a little water, but modern baking soda is not typically dissolved before combining with other ingredients, so I skipped that step.
Preheat oven to 400° F. Put molasses and butter in a saucepan. Heat, using low heat until the butter melts. Remove from heat. Stir in the brown sugar.
In a mixing bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and nutmeg. Stir in the egg and molasses mixture. Add the raisins, and stir to combine.
Grease muffin pans (or use paper liners). Spoon batter into muffin cups; fill each cup about 3/4ths full. Place in oven. Bake 20-30 minutes or until lightly browned and the muffins spring back when lightly touched.
Source: The Boston Cooking-School Cook Book (1923)
Flavorings and extracts have been around for more than a hundred years. The 1923 edition of The Boston Cooking-School Cook Book had an advertisement for Foss’ Pure Flavoring Extracts in the back of the book. In Chapter 1, there was a description of flavoring extracts:
Flavoring Extracts
Many flavoring extracts are on the market. Examples: almond, vanilla, lemon, orange, rose, etc. These are made from the flower, fruit, or seed from which they are named. Strawberry, pineapple, and banana extracts are obtained from the fruits themselves or manufactured from chemicals.
I hadn’t made old-fashioned fried chicken in years, so was intrigued when I saw a recipe for Fried Chicken with milk gravy in a hundred-year-old cookbook and decided to give it a try. The chicken pieces are coated with flour then fried. The recipe called for frying the chicken pieces in a covered skillet. The coating on the chicken is not nearly as thick and crispy as many modern fried chicken recipes, but it is like the coating on fried chicken that I remember from my childhood. The milk gravy was lovely.
Here’s the original recipe:
Source: The Calorie Cook Book by Mary Dickerson Donahey (1923)
In the U.S. today, we generally refer to “skim milk.” The old recipe calls for “skimmed milk” rather than “skim milk.” Most milk was not homogenized a hundred years ago (and often it was not pasteurized), so the cream floated to the top. When using the milk, it could either be shaken to get “whole” milk or the cream on the top could be “skimmed” off to get the equivalent of skim milk. I don’t think that it matters whether skim, 2%, or whole milk is used in this recipe, so when I updated the recipe, I just called for using “milk.”
Combine the flour, salt, and pepper; then roll the chicken pieces in the flour mixture.
In the meantime, heat 1/2 inch of fat or oil in a large skillet (that has a lid) using medium heat. When hot, carefully place the floured chicken pieces in the pan. Cover skillet, and cook for approximately 5 minutes or until the bottom side of each piece is lightly browned, then gently turn, cover skillet, and fry until the other side is browned. The chicken pieces will need to be turned several times. Continue cooking until a meat thermometer indicates that the temperature is at least 165° F. (Put large pieces of chicken in the skillet and cook for a few minutes before adding smaller ones, if there is wide variation in the size of the pieces.)
Remove chicken from skillet, and pour most of the fat or oil out of the skillet. Put back on the stove at medium heat. Stir the 3 tablespoons flour into the remaining fat/oil and browned bits. Slowing stir in the milk. Continue stirring and cooking until the gravy thickens. Remove from heat and serve.
1923 was the third year of prohibition in the U.S. I have no idea which five fruits were in Hay’s Five Fruit, or what it tasted like, but I’m intrigued that it can replace “wines and other flavors formerly used in cooking.”
Sometimes recipe titles in hundred-year-old cook books aren’t very descriptive. For example, a recipe for Tomato Surprise left me scratching my head until I read the recipe directions. Tomato Surprise actually was a recipe for tomatoes stuffed with scrambled eggs and celery.
Tomato Surprise was tasty and made a nice presentation. I made it for a light dinner, but it would work well for breakfast, brunch, or lunch.
Here’s the original recipe:
Source: Larkin Housewives’ Cook Book (1923)
When I made this recipe, I had a lot the scrambled egg mixture left over after I stuffed the tomatoes. The recipe author must have used larger tomatoes than what I used. I revised the recipe to indicate that 3-6 tomatoes should be used, depending upon the size of the tomatoes.
Four stalks of celery seemed like a lot (maybe the stalks were smaller a hundred years ago), so I used 2 stalks.
A hundred-years-ago tomatoes were often peeled. The original recipe called for peeling tomatoes, but I couldn’t bring myself to peel the tomatoes, so I left the skin on.
I didn’t have onion juice, so I substituted 1/8 teaspoon of onion powder.
And, I decided that the tomatoes didn’t need to be served with lettuce or salad dressing.
Here’s the recipe updated for modern cooks:
Tomato Surprise (Stuffed Tomatoes with Scrambled Eggs and Celery)
Using a knife remove the stem end and the firm core from the tomato and discard. Scoop out the tomato pulp, place in a strainer and drain off any excess liquid. Chop the pulp. Set aside. Turn the tomato shells upside down on a plate to drain any liquid out of them.
In the meantime, break the eggs into a bowl. Beat eggs until smooth, then add the salt, cayenne pepper, onion powder, and milk. Beat until combined.
Using medium heat, melt butter in skillet, add egg mixture and cook the eggs until set. Periodically stir and fold the eggs until they are completely cooked. Removed from heat and stir in the chopped tomato pulp and celery. Stuff the tomato shells with the mixture.
If desired, serve on lettuce leaves with salad dressing.
Sometimes I’m surprised how long some foods have been around. I recently came across a hundred-year-old recipe for Shrimp Salad that called for canned shrimp. I never would have guessed that canned shrimp was available in 1923.
