A hundred years ago there was a coffee beverage called Cafe des Invalides. Not sure that name would work today (or that I’d buy this product), but I love the descriptive nature of the name.
1923 Cafe des Invalides Advertisement
Lettuce with Cucumber Sauce
I recently came across a recipe in a hundred-year-old cookbook for Lettuce with Cucumber Sauce. It is a tasty Wedge Salad recipe with a mayonnaise dressing that contains chopped cucumber, onion, and green pepper.
Lettuce with Cucumber Sauce is an intriguing combination of new and old. Wedge Salad is currently a somewhat trendy way of serving lettuce (and I actually was surprised to see a Wedge Salad-type recipe in the old cookbook), while the mayonnaise with chopped vegetables dressing seemed old-fashioned.
Here’s the original recipe:
Here’s the recipe updated for modern cooks:
Lettuce with Cucumber Sauce
2 small heads iceberg lettuce or 1 large head iceberg lettuce
1 slice onion, finely chopped
1/2 large cucumber, peeled and then finely chopped
1/3 green pepper, finely chopped
3 tablespoons mayonnaise
Cut lettuce into wedges. If the head is small cut into thirds; if large into sixths. Set aside.
In the meantime, put the onion, cucumber, pepper, and mayonnaise into a small bowl. Mix until the vegetables are evenly distributed in the mayonnaise.
To serve: Put each wedge on serving plate. Spoon 1/6th of the mayonnaise and vegetable sauce over each wedge.
Hundred-Year-Old Tips on the Care of Vegetables
Here’s advice in a hundred-year-old cookbook on the care of vegetables:
Care of Vegetables
Summer vegetables should be cooked as soon after gathering as possible; in case they must be kept, spread on bottom of cool, dry, well-ventilated cellar, or place in ice-box. Lettuce may be best kept by sprinkling with cold water and placing in a tin pan closely covered. Wilted vegetables may be freshened by allowing to stand in cold water. Vegetables which contain sugar lose some of their sweetness by standing; corn and peas are more quickly affected than others.
Winter vegetables should be kept in a cold, dry place. Beets, carrots, turnips, potatoes, etc., should be put in barrels or piled in bins, to exclude as much air as possible. Squash should be spread, and needs careful watching; when dark spots appear, cook at once. . .
A few years ago native vegetables were alone sold; but now our markets are largely supplied from the Southern States and California, thus allowing us fresh vegetables throughout the year.
The Boston Cooking-School Cook Book (1923)
Wow – it’s amazing that already a hundred years ago that the transportation system in the U.S. was good enough to allow vegetables to routinely be shipped across the country.
Old-fashioned Pineapple and Lemonade
Old-fashioned lemonade is refreshing on a hot summer day, but it can get a little boring, so when I saw a recipe in a hundred-year-old cookbook for Pineapple and Lemonade, I decided to give it a try. The Pineapple and Lemonade was a little sweeter than the typical lemonade, and the pineapple flavor predominated over the lemon, but it was tasty.
Here’s the original recipe:
This recipe was in an Order of the Eastern Star organizational cookbook. The Order of the Eastern Star is affiliated with the masons. The recipe author was John Hamill. I think this is the first male recipe author that I’ve seen in a hundred-year-old cookbook. The initials after his name (R.W.G.T.) mean that he was the Right Worthy Grand Templar or Right Worthy Grand Treasurer.
Here’s the recipe updated for modern cooks:
Pineapple and Lemonade
2 cups water
1 cup sugar
1 20-ounce can of crushed pineapple
juice of 3 lemons
4 cups mixture of ice and water
Put water and sugar in a saucepan; bring to a boil using medium heat while stirring occasionally. Remove from heat. Stir in the contents of the can of pineapple and the lemon juice, then strain. Add the ice and water mixture, and serve.
If You Have No Scales in the Kitchen
Here’s some hundred-year-old advice about the weight equivalents of various common ingredients. It’s interesting how a given volume of some foods weighs less than other foods. For example, 2 cups of granulated sugar equals a pound, but a pint (2 cups) of brown sugar equals 13 ounces.
I found this list in a cookbook compiled by an organization. It made me smile to see how the one item on the list that spilled over to a second line was out of alignment with the other items in the list. I’d probably do something like that – though maybe that’s how it’s supposed formatted. Not sure.
Old-fashioned Cherry Salad (Cherry Waldorf Salad)
Must a Waldorf Salad be made with apples? I’ve always thought it was an apple salad until I made a Cherry Salad recipe that I found in a hundred-year-old cookbook. The recipe called for cherries, walnuts, celery, and mayonnaise – and it sure seemed like a Waldorf Salad, but was made with cherries rather than apples. The Cherry Salad was delicious, and is perfect for a hot summer day.
The old recipe called for creating individual servings of the salad, which were put in “lettuce nests” on salad plates. I replicated the old recipe and made individual servings, but if I did it again, I would just put the entire salad in a bowl to serve.
Here’s the original recipe:
This recipe calls for English walnuts. These are the type of walnuts that are typically sold in stores. They were called English walnuts to differentiate them from black walnuts.
Here’s the recipe updated for modern cooks:
Cherry Salad (Cherry Waldorf Salad)
2 cups cherries, pitted (If desired, keep several cherries whole and unpitted for garnishing.)
1 cup walnuts, chopped
1 cup celery, chopped
3/4 cup mayonnaise (Use less if desired)
lettuce leaves (if desired)
If the cherries are large, halve or quarter them; if small they can be left whole. Mix together the cherries, walnuts, celery, and mayonnaise. If desired, for each serving, arrange on lettuce leaves and garnish with a whole cherry; or just put the salad in a dish to serve.
Hundred-Year-Old Timeline for Canning Fruits and Vegetables
I don’t think that the timeline for canning fruits and vegetables has changed much across the years – though I’m guessing that this timeline is most appropriate for the northern parts of the U.S. since it is from a cookbook compiled in Michigan. The dates probably would be shifted earlier in more southern locales.
