Old-fashioned Cucumber Salad (Cucumber and Whipped Cream Salad)

Cucumber Salad (Cucumber and Whipped Cream Salad)

Summer’s here, and it’s time to enjoy seasonal salads. I found a hundred-year-old recipe for a cucumber salad made with whipped cream that was delightful. Cucumber slices were coated with whipped cream and a little added sugar and vinegar. This resulted in rich-old fashioned sweet-sour dressing.

Here’s the original recipe:

Recipe for Cucumber Salad — Source: General Welfare Guild Cook Book (Beaver Valley General Hospital, New Brighton, PA, 1923)

I sprinkled the cucumber slices with 1 teaspoon of salt. I used 2 tablespoons of sugar and 1 tablespoon of vinegar when I made this recipe, and it had a nice balance of sweet and sour. I’m not sure why the recipe says that the whipped cream mixture should be mixed into the cucumber slices using a silver fork. I used a stainless steel spoon and it worked fine.

Here’s the recipe updated for modern cooks:

Cucumber Salad (Cucumber and Whipped Cream Salad)

Servings: 3 - 5
Time: 30 minutes
Difficulty: moderate
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3 cucumbers

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup heavy whipping cream

2 tablespoons sugar

1 tablespoon vinegar

Peel and slice cucumbers; put in a glass bowl and sprinkle with the salt. Let sit for 20 minutes, then drain.

In the meantime, put the cream in a mixing bowl, then beat until firm peaks form. Add sugar and vinegar, beat until blended into the cream. Pour the whipped cream mixture over the cucumbers; stir gently to coat the cucumber slices with the whipped cream mixture. Serve immediately.

http://www.ahundredyearsago.com

Old-fashioned Blackberry Pudding

Old-fashioned Blackberry Pudding is a delightful summer dessert. The recipe I made was from a hundred-year cookbook, and it turned out well. The cake-like topping is flavored with cinnamon, and is very light and fluffy because it contains beaten egg whites. This recipe is a keeper, and I anticipate making again this summer.

Blackberry Pudding

Here’s the original recipe:

Here’s the recipe updated for modern cooks:

Blackberry Pudding

Servings: 4 - 5
Time: 1 hour
Difficulty: moderate
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2 pints (4 cups) blackberries

1/2 cup sugar + 1/2 cup sugar

2 tablespoons water

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter

1 cup milk

3 tablespoons flour

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 lemon (juice and grated rind)

3 eggs, separated

Put blackberries, 1/2 cup sugar, and water in a saucepan; bring to a boil using medium heat. Reduce heat and simmer until the berries soften (about 5 minutes). Remove from heat; set aside.

Put the egg whites in a bowl. Beat until stiff peaks form. Set aside.

In the meantime, in another pan, melt the butter; stir in the flour, 1/2 cup sugar, and cinnamon. Slowly add milk while stirring. Using medium heat, heat to boiling using medium heat while stirring constantly. Continue stirring until the batter thickens, about another minute. Remove from heat and stir in the lemon juice, and grated lemon rind.

Let cool slightly, then place a small amount (approximately 1 – 2 tablespoons) of hot batter mixture into dish with beaten egg yolk, stir quickly. Repeat with a more of the hot mixture. Then add the egg mixture to the batter; Stir. Fold in the beaten egg whites.

Put the stewed blackberries in a 2-quart baking dish. Spoon the batter over the blackberries. Put in oven and bake for about 45 minutes, or until the topping is lightly browned. May be served either hot or cold.

http://www.ahundredyearsago.com

Old-fashioned Maple Custard

Maple Custard

I love the old-fashioned goodness of custards, so decided to give a hundred-year-old recipe for Maple Custard a try. The recipe only had four ingredients – eggs, milk, maple syrup, and a little salt, and was easy to make. Maple Custard is a baked custard. It was lovely, and reminded me a bit of Creme Brulé – though the lovely maple flavor was dispersed throughout the creamy custard rather than concentrated in a caramelized top.

Here’s the original recipe:

This recipe made enough to fill six of my custard cups, so I ended up with six servings. Maybe the recipe author had larger custard cups.

Here’s the recipe updated for modern cooks:

Maple Custard

Servings: 4 - 6
Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
Difficulty: easy
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3 eggs

3/4 cup maple syrup

2 cups milk

dash salt

Preheat oven to 350° F. Put eggs in mixing bowl and beat until smooth. Add maple syrup, milk, and salt; beat until thoroughly combined. Pour mixture into custard cups, leaving at least 1/2 inch at the top of each custard cup. ( 4 – 6 custard cups will be needed. The number of custard cups needed will vary depending upon the size of the custard cups.) Place the custard cups in a pan with hot water that comes to about an inch below the top of the cups. Bake for 40 – 60 minutes or until a knife inserted in center of the custard comes out clean. May be served warm or cold.

http://www.ahundredyearsago.com

Old-fashioned Spinach (French Style)

Spinach (French Style)

I was looking for a quick and easy vegetable recipe, and came across a recipe for Spinach (French Style) in a hundred-year-old cookbook, and decided to give it a try. The spinach was served in a chicken broth sauce lightly flavored with nutmeg and grated lemon rind.

Here’s the original recipe:

I’m a bit befudled by this recipe. It calls for one peck of spinach. I think a peck is equal to eight quarts. That sounds like a huge amount of spinach- though I know that it wilts down a lot when cooked. In any case, I decided to use a 10-ounce package of frozen spinach when I made the recipe, though may be way off on the amount.

I think that the recipe calls for one-teaspoon of both salt and pepper – though am not positive. That also seemed like a lot, so I used 1/2 teaspoon of salt and 1/4 teaspoon of pepper. The recipe doesn’t give amounts for the nutmeg and lemon rind. I used 1/4 teaspoon of nutmeg, and 1 teaspoon of grated lemon rind.

Here’s the recipe updated for modern cooks:

Spinach, French Style

Servings: 4 - 6
Time: 15 minutes
Difficulty: moderate
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1 10-ounce package frozen spinach

4 tablespoons butter

3 tablespoons flour

1 teaspoon powdered sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1/8 teaspoon nutmeg

1 teaspoon grated lemon rind (peel)

2/3 chicken broth

Cook spinach following package directions. Drain.

Meanwhile, melt the butter in a saucepan. Stir in the flour, powdered sugar, salt, pepper, nutmeg, and grated lemon rind. Gradually, add the chicken broth while stirring constantly. Continue stirring until it thickens. Stir in the spinach. Heat until hot and bubbly. Remove from heat.

http://www.ahundredyearsago.com

Old-fashioned Chicken Souffle

One of my hundred-year-old cookbooks has a recipe for chicken souffle, and I had some left-over chicken so decided to give it a try. The Chicken Souffle was lovely. The recipe called for chopped onions, thyme, and parsley, and they added a nice flavor to the dish.

Here’s the original recipe:

The old cookbook does not give an oven temperature for baking the souffle. When I made this recipe, I baked it at 350° F. The recipe says that this needs to bake for only 20 minutes, but it took close to 40 minutes for it to set and ligthtly brown when I made it. Maybe the author used a higher temperature.

Here’s the recipe updated for modern cooks:

Chicken Souffle

Servings: 2 - 3
Time: 1 hour
Difficulty: moderate
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1 cup cooked chicken, chopped

2 eggs, separated

2 tablespoons butter

2 tablespoons onions, finely chopped

2 tablespoons flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

dash pepper

1/4 teaspoon thyme

1/2 teaspoon dried parsley

1 cup milk

Melt the butter in a sauce pan, and stir in chopped onions. Sauté for several minutes until the onions are transparent. Stir in the flour, salt, pepper, thyme, and parsley. Gradually, add the milk while stirring constantly. Continue stirring until the white sauce thickens. Remove from heat.

In another bowl, beat egg yolks until smooth. Add a tablespoon of the hot sauce to the beaten egg yolk and stir quickly. Repeat with another tablespoon of the sauce. Then add the egg mixture to the sauce and quickly stir. (This helps keep the egg yolks from cooking when they are stirred into the sauce). Add the chopped chicken and stir again. Allow the mixture to cool. (I put it in the refrigerator for a few minutes.)

In the meantime, preheat oven to 350° F. Put the egg whites in a mixing bowl and beat until peaks form. Then fold the beaten egg whites into the chicken mixture. Put in a 1-quart baking dish. Place in oven and bake until the souffle is lightly browned (about 30-40 minutes). Remove from oven and immediately serve.

http://www.ahundredyearsago.com

Old-fashioned Grape Fruit Salad (Grape Gelatin)

Molded Grape Fruit Salad (Grape Gelatin)

Memorial Day means cook-outs, and picnics, and family reunions. And, in the good old days, there often was one (or more) gelatin salads at those events. So I decided to make a hundred-year-old recipe for Grape Gelatin. It was made using unflavored gelatin, grape juice, lemon juice, and sugar.

The gelatin had a rich grape flavor, and was sweet, yet a little tart . The flavor was much more authentic and complex than modern packaged grape gelatin. One possible downside – modern grape gelatin is a more intense purple, though the color looks artificial.

Here’s the original recipe:

Recipe for Grape Fruit Salad (Grape Gelatin) — General Welfare Guild Cook Book (Beaver Valley General Hospital, New Brighton, PA, 1923)

Hmm. . . Is this a recipe for a grape “fruit salad” or a recipe for “grapefruit” salad”? When I made the recipe I was in a hurry and quickly read it. I interpreted the recipe as a recipe for grape “fruit salad”, but as I reread it, I think that I probably misinterpreted the recipe. Oops! In any case, the grape gelatin I made turned well.

I’m not sure how much gelatin was in a box of gelatin a hundred years ago. I used 2 packets of gelatin, since this recipe calls for 4 cups of liquid, and each packet now contains enough gelatin for 2 cups of liquid.

I molded the gelatin, but it would also work well in a dish.

Here is the recipe updated for modern cooks:

Grape Fruit Salad (Grape Gelatin)

Servings: 7 - 9
Time: 10 minutes active prep time
Difficulty: moderate
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2 packets (0.25 ounce) unflavored gelatin

1 cup cold water + 1 cup water

1 1/2 cups grape juice

1/2 cup lemon juice

1 cup sugar

Put 1 cup cold water in a bowl. Sprinkle the gelatin on top of the water, and let soak for 10 minutes.

Put 1 cup water in a saucepan. Bring to a boil. Add the gelatin that has been soaked in water. Bring back to a boil while stirring constantly. Remove from heat and stir in the grape juice, lemon juice, and sugar. Stir until the sugar is dissolved. If needed, strain; then pour into a 5-cup mold. Refrigerate until firm.

To serve: Quickly dip the mold in hot water, then unmold onto serving plate.

http://www.ahundredyearsago.com

Rhubarb Tapioca Pudding

It’s the time of year for rhubarb, and I’m enjoying various rhubarb dishes and desserts – Stewed Rhubarb, Rhubarb Pie, Baked Rhubarb with Orange, but I’m always looking for new recipes, so I was pleased to see a recipe for Rhubarb Tapioca Pudding in a hundred-year-old cookbook.

Rhubarb Tapioca Pudding is made using pearl tapioca which required soaking overnight, so this isn’t a quick recipe, but it turned out well. The tapioca is cooked until it is almost done, and then rhubarb pieces are stirred in. After I stirred the rhubarb pieces into the tapioca, I did not stir any more but cooked for another half hour or so using low heat. The result was tender rhubarb pieces embedded in the tapioca that maintained their shape. The old recipe suggested serving this with thin cream, so I served with half and half – though it would also be good with milk.

The Rhubarb Tapioca Pudding had an old-fashioned goodness. It had a nice balance of sweetness and tartness.

Here’s the original recipe:

Recipe for Rhubarb Tapioca Pudding — Source: The Boston Cooking School Cook Book (1923)

The Rhubarb Tapioca Pudding was plenty sweet for me, so I did not add any additional sugar when I served it.

Here is the recipe updated for modern cooks:

Rhubarb Tapioca Pudding

Servings: 4 - 6
Time: 1 hour 30 minutes active prep time
Difficulty: moderate
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2/3 cup pearl tapioca

water

1 1/4 cup boiling water

2/3 teaspoon salt

3 cups rhubarb, cut into 3/4 inch pieces

1 1/3 cup sugar

half and half or milk

Cover tapioca with water and soak overnight. Drain. Put tapioca and salt in a large saucepan with a heavy bottom (or use a double boiler if you have one), then add boiling water. Heat with medium heat until bubbles begin to form at side of pan, but it is not yet boiling; cover and reduce heat to very low. Cook until the water is absorbed (about 45 minutes to an hour).

In the meantime put rhubarb and sugar in a bowl. Stir to coat rhubarb with sugar.

Stir in the rhubarb pieces coated with sugar, and increase heat to medium for 1 minute. Cover and reduce to heat to very low. Cook until the rhubarb is tender and the tapioca translucent (about 1/2 hour).

Can be served hot or cold. Serve with half and half or milk.

http://www.ahundredyearsago.com