When browsing through a hundred-year-old magazine, I came across a recipe for Hot Slaw with Sour Cream Sauce, and decided to give it a try.
The Hot Slaw was mild, rich, and creamy. The recipe called for only 1 tablespoon of vinegar (and no sugar), so the flavors were much more nuanced than many modern slaws.
1 head of cabbage (approximately 2 pounds; The cabbage should be firm and white.)
2 teaspoons salt
4 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon flour
1 tablespoon water
1 cup sour cream
1 tablespoon tarragon vinegar or apple cider vinegar (I used apple cider vinegar.)
Grate or finely shred the cabbage. Stir the salt into the cabbage. Let sit for 30 minutes, then drain and rinse. Press to squeeze out excess water.
In a skillet or large saucepan, melt the butter. Stir in the cabbage. (Do not add water.) Cover and cook over low heat for 10 minutes. Several times remove lid and stir to keep the cabbage from scorching, then replace lid. (The idea is to stir enough to prevent scorching, but to keep the steam in as much as possible as the cabbage cooks.) Cook for 10 minutes.
In the meantime, stir water into the flour to make a thick paste. Then stir in the sour cream. Stir the sour cream mixture into the hot cabbage, and cook for 1-2 additional minutes while stirring. Stir in the vinegar and serve.
I can remember eating gelatin salads that contained vegetables when I was a child, so was intrigued when I came across a hundred-year-old recipe for Combination Cabbage Salad. The salad actually is a gelatin salad that contains shredded cabbage, chopped celery, and chipped pimento. It is made using unflavored gelatin. The recipe only called for 1/2 cup of sugar, while calling for 1 cup vinegar and the juice of a lemon. The result was a salad that was very tart and tangy.
The recipe suggests serving the salad with whipped cream that has a little salad dressing stirred into it. I used Ceasar dressing. This added to the overall tartness of the salad.
This salad is very old-fashioned–and definitely very different from modern sweet, fruit-flavored, gelatin salads, but I enjoyed it. The salad was refreshingly tart on a hot summer day – though if I made it again I think that I’d skip the whipped cream topping. The whipped cream and salad dressing mixture amplified the sourness of this dish, and overwhelmed the other ingredients.
Here’s the original recipe:
Source: Larkin Housewives’ Cook Book (1923)
I skipped the suggestion to mold this gelatin salad in teacups, and went right to the suggestion to put it in a pan – though I actually used a square, flat baking dish.
This recipe required lots of interpretation on my part. I have no idea how much one-half package of Larkin Gelatin would be, so I added up all the liquids and estimated that this recipe calls for approximately 5 2/3 cups of liquid. My rule of thumb is to use one packet of unflavored gelatin for each 2 cups of liquid, so I used 3 packets. That worked well.
I don’t know how much 1/4 can of pimientos would be. I used 2 tablespoons of chopped pimento.
I put a little salad dressing in the whipped cream. I’m curious about what type of dressing the recipe author used. I used Ceasar dressing because I had it on hand – though that’s probably not very authentic when making a hundred-year-old recipe. If I made this recipe again, I skip the salad dressing (and probably would also skip the whipped cream).
Here’s the recipe updated for modern cooks:
Combination Cabbage Salad (Cabbage and Celery Gelatin)
2 teaspoons salad dressing (if desired) – I used Ceasar salad dressing, though think that a sweeter dressing might be better.)
Put 1/2 cup cold water in a bowl. Sprinkle the gelatin on top of the water, and let soak for 5 minutes.
Put 4 cups water, the sugar, and salt in a saucepan. Bring to a boil. Add the gelatin that has been soaked in water. Bring back to a boil while stirring constantly until the gelatin is dissolved. Remove from heat and stir in the vinegar and lemon juice. If needed, strain. Cool slightly, then stir in the cabbage, celery, and pimento. Mold or pour into a dish or bowl. (Use a fairly flat dish, if you plan to cut the gelatin into squares to serve. A 9″ X 9″ baking dish would work well.) Refrigerate until firm.
If desired, serve with whipped cream. Whip the cream until peaks form, then stir the salad dressing into the whipped cream. Put a dollop of the whipped cream on top of each serving.
Oysters were much more popular a hundred years ago than what they are now, and many old cookbooks had numerous oyster recipes. Oysters were widely available and relatively inexpensive. By 1923 trains could quickly transport oysters to most places in the U.S.
I decided to make a fairly basic hundred-year-old oyster recipe – Fried Oysters in Batter. The cookbook recommended that the oysters be served with Philadelphia Relish, which is a cabbage slaw with a vinegrette dressing, so I also made that.
The oysters turned out well and were very tasty. The Philadelphia Relish reminded me of cabbage slaws that were served at church dinners when I was child.
Here’s the original recipe:
Source: Boston Cooking School Cook Book (1923)
This recipe made a lot of batter. Since I had a pint of oysters, I halved the batter recipe (and still had more batter than I needed).
My sense is that green peppers have gotten much larger over the past hundred years, so I chopped 1/2 pepper instead of a whole one for the Philadelphia Relish. Also, the recipe called for “mustard seed,” but it didn’t seem like whole mustard seeds would work in this recipe, so I used ground dry mustard.
Put flour, salt, pepper, egg, and milk in a mixing bowl; beat until combined and smooth. Set aside.
Drain oysters, and dry on paper towels. Heat about 1/2 inch of lard, shortening, or vegetable oil in a large skillet. Then drip oysters in the batter, and put in the skillet. Cook until lightly browned on the bottom, then gently turn to brown the other side. When browned, remove from the skillet with a fork or slotted spoon. Drain the on paper towels, then serve.
If desired, serve with Philadelphia Relish.
Philadelphia Relish
2 cups cabbage, shredded
1/2 green pepper, finely chopped
1 teaspoon celery seed
1/4 teaspoon dry ground mustard
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1/4 cup vinegar
Combine shredded cabbage and chopped green pepper in a bowl. Set aside.
In a small bowl, put the celery seed, mustard, salt, brown sugar, and vinegar; stir to combine. Then pour over the cabbage and green pepper mixture. Stir gently to evenly distribute the dressing.
1 pound cabbage (about 1/2 of a medium cabbage), shredded
1/2 small onion, finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon caraway seeds
1/2 cup water
2 tablespoons fat (I used butter.)
1/4 cup vinegar
Put cabbage, onion, salt, pepper, caraway seeds, butter and water in a large saucepan. Bring to a boil using medium heat, then reduce heat and simmer until the cabbage is tender; stir frequently. If needed, add additional water. After the cabbage is soft (about 30 minutes), add the vinegar and cook an additional 5 minutes.
Some foods memories are associated specific events. Others are much more scattered. For me, Coleslaw is one of those food where I have scattered memories – some wonderful; others not so great.
I have rich memories of eating Coleslaw at family reunions, at church potlucks, and at home. Some renditions had a light vinegar dressing; others had rich mayonnaise dressings. Occasionally the coleslaw had a hint of pepper or contained celery seed. And, sometimes there were additional ingredients – chopped onion, apple, or green and red pepper.
But I also associate coleslaw with fast food joints – often with a runny mayonnaise-based dressing.
Suffice it to say that I have mixed feelings about Coleslaw. But, I had a cabbage in the refrigerator so when I saw a hundred-year-old recipe for Coleslaw in a home economics textbook I decided to give it a try. The Coleslaw dressing had a very mild flavor with just a hint of sugar and vinegar, which allowed the flavor of the cabbage itself to shine. That said, I prefer Coleslaw dressings with a more pronounced sweet-sour flavor, so I probably won’t make this recipe again.
Source: School and Home Cooking by Carlotta C. Greer (1920)
This process for making this recipe is similar to the method used to make custard. I got this recipe from a home economics textbook. The author seeks to build upon skills learned in previous lessons. So she often referred back to previous recipes that used similar processes – in this case to a recipe for soft custard. I previously posted the hundred-year-old soft custard recipe.
Put egg (or egg yolks), salt, mustard, cayenne (red) pepper, and sugar in a small mixing bowl; beat until combined. Set aside.
Put the milk in a heavy sauce pan (use a double boiler if available); then heat using medium heat. Stir constantly until the milk just barely begins to bubble, then remove from the heat.
Place a small amount (approximately 1 – 2 tablespoons) of hot milk into bowl with the egg mixture, stir quickly. Add this mixture to the hot milk and stir. (This helps prevent the egg from coagulating when the egg is introduced to the hot liquid.) Return to stove and cook, using medium heat while stirring constantly until the mixture just begins to thicken or coat a spoon. Remove from heat; stir in butter and vinegar Strain and then pour over the shredded cabbage. Chill at least 3 hours before serving. Stir before serving.
Sometimes coleslaw with its typical sugary, mayonnaise-based dressing can seem like a bit much. I recently came a hundred-year-old dressing for Cabbage Salad with Ham that calls for simply dressing it with warm vinegar. The simplicity of the dressing really brings out the flavor of this salad.
Here is the original recipe:
Source: The Old Reliable Farm and Home Cook Book (1919)
1 quart (4 cups) cabbage, grated (about 1 medium cabbage)
1 medium onion, finely minced
1/4 cup ham, diced
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
Combine grated cabbage and minced onion in a bowl. Set aside
Sauté diced ham in a skillet using medium heat until lightly browned. Stir in vinegar, salt, and pepper; heat until hot. Pour heated vinegar over cabbage and onion; stir to combine. Serve.
Soup is the perfect comfort food on these cold winter days. I recently found a wonderful hundred-year-old recipe for Pearl Barley Soup with Cabbage. The soup was delightful – but the recipe name is misleading. The recipe only calls for two tablespoons of barley – and it is not a predominate ingredient in the soup. This soup is really a hearty, rustic Cabbage and Bacon soup.
Here’s the original recipe:
Source: Good Housekeeping (October, 1917)
Since modern pearled barley does not need pre-soaking, I skipped that step. Also, I didn’t think that three green onions were very many, so I used all the green onions in the bunch that I purchased. Here’s the recipe updated for modern cooks:
Pearl Barley Soup with Cabbage (Cabbage and Bacon Soup)
Put water in a dutch oven; bring to a boil using high heat, then add barley, bacon, cabbage, and green onions. Return to a boil, then reduce heat and gently simmer for 1 hour. Add half and half, salt, and pepper. Heat until steamy hot, then serve.
A Hundred Years Ago 