Old-fashioned Almond Loaf

Almond Loaf

Loaf cakes are easy to make – and a nice size for our small family, so when I saw a hundred-year-old recipe for Almond Loaf, I decided to give it a try. I was also intrigued that the old recipe did not call for any baking powder or baking soda – nor it call for any fat. Instead of leavening, beaten egg whites cause the Almond Loaf to rise a small amount.

The recipe made a small loaf cake that was only about two and a half inches thick. Each slice of the Almond Loaf had just the right amount of sweetness, was chockful of chopped almonds, and was lovely with coffee. The slices reminded me a little of biscotti – though it was much softer. Is there such a thing as a soft biscotti?

Here’s the original recipe:

Recipe for Almond Loaf
Source: Good Housekeeping’s Book of Menus, Recipes, and Household Discoveries (1922)

I don’t know where to get unblanched almonds so I just bought a bag of sliced almonds at the store. I then coarsely chopped the sliced almonds to use in this loaf. I also didn’t have pastry flour, so I used all-purpose flour, which worked well.

Here’s the recipe updated for modern cooks:

Almond Loaf

  • Servings: 8 - 8
  • Difficulty: moderate
  • Print

4 eggs, separated

1 cup sugar

1 cup pastry or all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup almonds (I used sliced almonds that I coarsely chopped.)

Preheat oven to 335° F. Put egg whites in a mixing bowl, and beat until the whites are stiff. Set aside.

Put egg yolks in a mixing bowl; beat until smooth. Add sugar, all the flour except for 2 tablespoons, and salt; stir until combined. The mixture will be very dry and crumbly. Fold in the beaten egg whites and the remaining 2 tablespoons of flour. Gently stir until combined, then stir in the chopped almonds. Put the mixture in a loaf pan that has been greased and floured. Bake until the loaf is lightly browned, and an inserted wood pick comes out clean (approximately 1 hour).

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Hundred-Year-Old Advice About When to Eat

woman eating
Source: Household Arts for Home and School, Vol. 2 (Anna M. Cooley & Wilhelmina H. Spohr, 1920)

Here’s what a hundred-year-old magazine said about when to eat:

When to Eat

Do not eat between meals. East regularly, but when not hungry, eat sparingly.

Do not eat after violent exercise.

Do not eat when excited or fatigued.

East sparingly on hot days.

Do not eat within three hours of retiring.

Do not exercise violently, or sleep after a meal.

Eat regularly at specified times. This accustoms the stomach to receive food at these times, and encourages proper digestion.

Do not overeat; rather undereat, and leave the table unsatisfied than risk the danger that attends overeating.

Animals seldom eat when ill. Instinct is a good judge.

A normal, healthy person should be hungry at meal times. But if not hungry eat only a piece of fruit to retain the normal rhythm. A day fast often gives the digestive system a much needed rest. A short walk, before breakfast, helps digestion, and aids bowel movement.

American Cookery (August – September, 1922)

Old-Fashioned Open Cheese and Bacon Sandwich

Open Bacon and Cheese Sandwich

While browsing through a hundred-year-old cookbook, I came across a recipe for Open Cheese and Bacon Sandwiches, and decided to give it a try. I was intrigued because this toasted bacon and cheese sandwich recipe called for a topping made of soft cheese (I used pureed cottage cheese) and eggs, plus a little ketchup, paprika and cayenne red pepper which gave the topping a bit of a zing. The cheese and the bacon worked well together, and made a delightful sandwich that was a nice change from the typical grilled cheese and bacon sandwich.

Here’s the original recipe:

Recipe for Open Cheese and Bacon Sandwich
Source: For Luncheon and Supper Guests (1922) by Alice Bradley

I decided to use cottage cheese when I made this recipe since it would have been readily available a hundred years ago. I put it through my Foley mill to make it smooth.

I’m not exactly sure what the old cookbook is referring to when it calls for table sauce, but  when I made this recipe, based on the previous suggestions of some readers, I decided to use ketchup.

I skipped the salt since the bacon and cheese already contained salt, and I didn’t want an overly salty sandwich. I cooked the bacon until it was lightly crisped before assembling the sandwich since I thought that it would be too greasy if I put the bacon on top of the cheese without cooking it. I put the sandwich under the broiler to cook.

Here’s the recipe updated for modern cooks:

Open Cheese and Bacon Sandwich

  • Servings: 8 sandwiches
  • Difficulty: moderate
  • Print

8 – 12 slices of bacon (cut in half) (If the slices are wide use 8 slices, if narrow use 12.)

3 eggs, beaten

12 ounces soft cheese (cottage cheese, chevre, feta, Brie, ricotta, etc.), grated or pureed ( I used cottage cheese, and put it through a Foley mill to make smooth.)

1 1/2 teaspoon ketchup

1/2 teaspoon paprika

dash cayenne (red) pepper

8 slices bread

Put the bacon in a skillet; arrange so that each piece is flat. Using medium heat, cook until lightly crisped, while turning frequently. While cooking, periodically press the pieces with  a spatula or back of a spoon to flatten and make thinner. When lightly crisped, remove from the heat and drain on paper towel towels.

In the meantime, put eggs, soft cheese, ketchup paprika, and cayenne pepper in a bowl; stir to combine.

Put the bread slices on a baking sheet, and put under the broiler until lightly browned. Remove from oven/broiler, and flip. Spoon the cheese and egg mixture on the bread, and spread to the edges of each slice. Top with 2 – 3 slices of cooked bacon, and put back under the broiler until the cheese is melted and the bread is lightly browned. Remove from oven/broiler and serve.

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Old-fashioned Raised Doughnuts

Doughnuts on plate

When I was a child growing up in Pennsylvania, Fasnacht Day (the day before Ash Wednesday) was always a day when we ate doughnuts. Fasnacht Day was supposed to be a day to eat indulgent foods before the beginning of Lent – and doughnuts with their sugar and fat were considered the ultimate in indulgent foods. It is also known as Fat Tuesday or Shrove Tuesday.

Some churches in Pennsylvania made doughnuts on Fasnacht Day as a fundraiser, and students at my school who attended those churches took orders for the doughnuts, and then brought the them to school on Fasnacht Day.  I always looked forward to buying (and eating) those incredible doughnuts.

Now, every year as Lent approaches, I remember those sweet, flavorful, light, yet slightly chewy, doughnuts of my childhood (they are nothing like modern cake-like doughnuts), and think that I should try making doughnuts, but I never actually did  – until this year. I came across a hundred-year-old recipe for Raised Doughnuts and decided it was time to give doughnut-making a try.

It took me about six hours from start to finish to make the doughnuts since I had to let the dough rise three times – but it was worth it. The doughnuts were just like I’d remembered (and my husband kept saying, “These are a lot better than store-bought doughnuts”).

Recipe for Raised Doughnuts
Source: Mrs. DeGraf’s Cook Book (1922)

And, here’s the coffee cake foundation recipe:

Recipe for Coffee Cake
Source: Mrs. DeGraf’s Cook Book (1922)

Here’s the recipe updated for modern cooks:

Raised Doughnuts

  • Servings: approximately 20 doughnuts
  • Difficulty: difficult
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1 cup milk

1 packet (0.25 ounce) active dry yeast

1/4 cup lukewarm (110 – 115° F.) water

1 1/2 cups flour + approximately 3 cups flour

1/4 cup butter melted + a small amount of additonal melted butter to brush on top of dough

1/4 cup sugar

1 egg, beaten

1 teaspoon almond extract

1/2 teaspoon salt

fat or cooking oil (I used shortening.)

powdered sugar

Put the milk in a saucepan, and scald (180-185° F.) using medium heat. Remove from heat and cool until lukewarm (110-115° F.). In the meantime, dissolve the yeast in the lukewarm water.

Put the 1 1/2 cups flour, lukewarm scalded milk, and dissolved yeast in a mixing bowl, and beat until smooth. Cover and put in a warm spot until the mixture is light and spongy (about 1 hour). Add the melted butter, sugar, egg, almond extract and salt. Gradually add approximately 3 cups flour until the dough reaches a consistency where it can be handled.  Turn onto a floured surface and knead until the dough is smooth and elastic (about 10 minutes). Put in a large greased bowl, brush top with melted butter, cover and place in a warm spot until the dough is about 2 1/2 times its original  size (about 2 hours).

Put dough on a lightly floured surface and roll dough to 1/4 inch thick, and cut doughnuts with a doughnut cutter. (If thicker doughnuts are desired, don’t roll quite so thin.) Put the cut doughnuts on a baking sheet, and let rise until light and doubled in size (about 45 minutes).

Heat  3 – 4 inches of fat or cooking oil in a deep fat fryer or kettle to 350 – 375° F. Drop doughnuts (a few at a time) into the hot fat or oil. Turn as they rise to the surface. Gently turn and fry 2-3 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from fat and drain on paper towels.

Put powdered sugar in a bag. (I used a brown paper lunch bag.) While the doughnuts are still warm, put one doughnut at a time in the bag and gently shake to coat with the sugar.

 

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Old-fashioned Salmon Croquettes

Salmon Croquettes on Plate

I seldom buy canned salmon, yet when  I recently  flipped through a hundred-year-old cookbook, a recipe for Salmon Croquettes caught my eye. It brought back warm memories of eating various canned salmon dishes when I was a child. Long story short, I bought a can of salmon the next time I went to the store, and soon was making Salmon Coquettes. The crispy croquettes only took a few minutes to make and were a tasty comfort food.

recipe for Salmon Crocuqettes
Source: Cement City Cook Book (1922, compiled by First Baptist Church, Alpena, Michigan)

Here’s the recipe updated for modern cooks:

Salmon Croquettes

  • Servings: 4 - 6
  • Difficulty: moderate
  • Print

1 can salmon (14.75 oz.), flaked

1 tablespoon, butter, melted

2 hard-boiled egg yolks, mashed

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1/2 slice bread, torn into small pieces to make crumbs

1/2 teaspoon anchovy sauce

dashes of salt, pepper, and nutmeg

1 egg, beaten

approximately 3/4 cup cracker crumbs (I put saltine crackers in a Ziplock bag and rolled with a rolling pin to make crumbs.)

lard, shortening, or cooking oil

Put salmon into a mixing bowl. Add melted butter, mashed hard-boiled egg yolks, lemon juice, bread crumbs, anchovy sauce, salt, pepper, and nutmeg. Shape into small balls about 1 1/2 inches in diameter. (If the mixture is too juicy to make balls, add additional bread crumbs.)

Put the beaten egg in a bowl. In another bowl put the cracker crumbs. Roll the salmon balls in the egg and then in the cracker crumbs.

Put  lard, shortening, or cooking oil in skillet and heat until hot using medium heat.  (It should be about 1/2 inch deep.) Add salmon balls. When the bottom of the balls have lightly browned (about 1 1/2 – 2 minutes), gently roll to brown the other sides.  Remove from skillet and drain on paper towels, then serve.

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