Historic Cooking: Halloween Fruit Cake from 1920

Halloween Fruit Cakes.
Photo: Elizabeth Urbach

I realized, as I was going through my past food history posts, that while I have made various recipes from the 1920s (like cheese straws and Club sandwiches), I had never written them up or taken photos.  While I will have to re-create the cheese straws and Club sandwiches at another time, I recently discovered a cookbook on VintageRecipes.net: Mrs. Wilson's Cook Book published in 1920.  It has a lot of interesting recipes, but none, as far as I can discover, that contain alcohol any stronger than cider; this is a recipe book for the frugal, teatotal household, not one headed by a "flapper".  It does, however, contain recipes named after various holidays, and since Halloween just happened, I couldn't resist making the recipe called Halloween Fruit Cake.

Historic cooking: Fylettys en Galentyne, c. 1430.

Fylettes en Galentyne. Photo:
Elizabeth Urbach.

So, I signed up for the History of Royal Food and Feasting course on FutureLearn, again, in the hopes that I will be able to complete the recipe challenges/assignments this time around!  After all, it is the 3rd time I've taken it, and I get a few more done each time ... 

Week 1 focuses on the Tudors, and the court and kitchen of Henry VIII.  I made the Tarte owt of Lente during one of the previous runs of this course, and although I bought some cheese to try it again this year, it finally cooled off this week (first heat wave of the year! ugh.) that I decided to try another one of the suggested recipes, called Fylettys en Galentyne, from ca. 1430.  It is a kind of braised pork dish, and is really tasty, and something that makes your house smell really good!  My housemates kept coming into the kitchen to see what was cooking.

Here is the original recipe:

Take faire porke of the fore quarter, and take of the skyn, and put the pork on a faire spitte, and roste it half ynogh; and take hit of, and smyte hit in peces, and cast hit in a faire potte; and then take oynons, and shred and pul hem, not to small, and fry hem in a pan with faire grece, And then caste hem to the porke into the potte; And then take good broth of beef or Motton, and cast thereto, and set
hit on the fire, and caste to pouder of Peper, Canel, Cloues and Maces, and lete boile wel togidur; and then take faire brede and vinegre, and stepe the brede with a litull of the same broth, and streyne hit
thorgh a streynour, and blode with all; or elles take Saundres and colour hit therewith, and late hem boile togidur, and cast thereto Saffron and salt, and serue hit forth.
-Two Fifteenth-Century Cookery-Books, (Harleian MS. 27, c.1430 – Early English Text Society print, 1888)

Happy Thanksgiving!

image from Hubpages.

The baking marathon is complete.  There will be 27 people at dinner today.  Hope your holiday is full of fun and family and you remember all that you have to be thankful for! 

Historical Food Fortnightly Challenge: The Frugal Housewife, with Shrimp Curry from 1942.

ingredients for the Shrimp Curry (with trout).
Photo: Elizabeth Urbach

The Challenge: # 9 The Frugal Housewife

Throughout history, housewives and housekeepers have kept a close eye on their budgets and found creative ways to pinch pennies while providing delicious and nutritious food. Create a dish that interprets one historically-documented method of frugal cooking.  

I chose to interpret frugality as a way to use pantry staples, including canned meat, to pull together an easy dish.  You could also use leftover fish from another meal in this recipe!

The Recipe: (where did you find it, link to it if possible)

Found in my grandmother's cookbook, Burnt Toast Recipes: Victory Edition, published in Los Angeles in 1942, this recipe for Shrimp Curry takes advantage of pantry staples to make it economical as well as tasty.  The recipe book is a collection of recipes put together by the Women's Auxiliary to the Women's and Children's Hospital in Los Angeles, which took care of the wives and families of servicemen who were stationed in the area during WW2.  My grandmother worked as a candy striper at the hospital during the summers, taking the train out from Omaha, NE where she lived and taught school during the rest of the year.

California seemed to be lucky in comparison to other areas, because of our climate enabling food to be grown year-round, as well as the large number of dairies and poultry farms, and everyday residents who kept a cow and a few chickens around for butter, eggs and milk.  Fish were being caught and canned in Monterey throughout the War, and while much of it was sent to other parts of the U.S., and overseas to our armed forces and our allies, there was still quite a bit of food available, with or without food rationing.  This recipe is frugal in its use of butter and imported spices, and makes good use of canned fish.  Although it calls for shrimp, any canned fish can be used.  (Ignore the mushrooms in the photo above -- they were part of another recipe but mistakenly got into the photo for this dish.)  

Shrimp Curry
Sautè 1 small minced onion in 2 tablespoons butter until onion is soft but not brown.  Stir in 1 ½ teaspoons curry, 2 teaspoons flour and ½ teaspoon salt.  Simmer tightly covered for 20 minutes, then add 1 can shrimp (cleaned and shredded), 2 teaspoons lemon juice.  Simmer for 5 minutes and serve with browned rice.  – recipe from Alberta Austin.

Home remedies for the common cold, ca. 1870.

Image from ClipartETC.

Aaargh!  With the changing weather -- the usual autumn winds, and unusual amounts of rain -- it's cold season again at The Cup That Cheers!  That means another seasonal foray into the antique domestic manuals and cookbooks for advice.  The following tips come from the Excelsior cook book and housekeeper’s aid, from 1870.  Beware the liberal use of paregoric (opium) and other dangerous ingredients!

TREATMENT OF COLDS.
If feverish, bathe the feet in warm water, take some hot herb tea, or hot lemonade, but use no spirits, as this will only increase the fever.  Get up a perspiration, and be careful about exposure the next day.

Pairing food with black tea

1849 tea caddy image from AntiqueClipArt.com
In planning a tea party menu, I put a lot of thought into choosing the tea as well as the food. Different kinds of tea taste best with certain kinds of food, and it enhances the tea party experience to have the menu work together really well. There are many varieties and types of tea, all of which have their own particular flavor profiles. Here is some basic information about the main kinds of tea, the flavor that is characteristic of each type, and the foods and dishes that are recommended on the Tea Wheel originally at Tea Savoir Faire, www.teasavoirfaire.com. This information can help you choose which teas to serve at your tea parties, and other meals as well! If you are new to tea, you can also use this list to choose which type of tea to try first, as you look for your own personal favorite tea.

Black and Blended Teas

Assam: a black, or fully oxidized, tea from the Assam region in northeastern India, it is characterized by a malty flavor. Recommended food pairings include eggs and ham, curry dishes, and gingerbread. It is well suited to the addition of milk and sugar.

Ceylon: a black tea from Ceylon, or Sri Lanka, it is characterized by a lemony flavor. Recommended food pairings include Tex-Mex food, fried foods, and cheesecake. It is well suited to the addition of lemon and sugar, or milk and sugar.

Earl Grey: a black tea blend, originally from China, it is characterized by the flavor of Bergamot oil, from a pungent Mediterranean citrus fruit, which is added to the tea leaves for flavoring. Recommended food pairings include veal chops, chocolate macaroons, and cheese. It is well suited to the addition of lemon and sugar.

English Breakfast: a black tea blend, using Ceylon and Indian tea, it is characterized by a flowery flavor. Recommended food pairings include eggs and bacon, roasted lamb, and apple crisp. It is well suited to the addition of milk and sugar.

Darjeeling: called the “Champagne of Tea”, it is a black tea from the Darjeeling region of India, in the foothills of the Himalayas. Darjeeling is characterized by a muscatel flavor and a mildly astringent sensation produced in the mouth, similar to the tartness of a good Champagne. It is a highly favored tea, well suited to the addition of lemon. Recommended food pairings include cucumber sandwiches, swordfish, and creme bruleé.

Irish Breakfast: a black tea blend, using Indian, Chinese and East African tea, it is characterized by a strong, bright, almost fresh flavor. Recommended food pairings include fried foods, roasted chicken, and chocolate cake. It is well suited to the addition of milk and sugar.

Keemun: called the “Burgundy of Tea”, it is a black tea blend from China. Keemun is characterized by a subtly sweet, winey flavor, similar to burgundy wine. Recommended food pairings include Korean food, London broil, and sponge cake. Suited to the addition of sugar.

Lapsang Souchong: a black tea blend originally from southern China, but also made in Taiwan, Lapsang Souchong is characterized by a smoky flavor and aroma, due to the tea leaves being dried in the smoke from a fire made of pine needles. Drinking this tea is comparable to sitting in front of a fireplace that has a crackling fire in it, or a campfire, while drinking a cup of tea. Recommended food pairings include savory dishes like barbecue, strong cheeses, and bread pudding.

Nilgiri: a black tea from the Nilgiri, or “Blue Mountain” region in southern India, it is characterized by a lemony flavor. Recommended food pairings include samosas, grilled shrimp and lemon bars. Suited to the addition of lemon and sugar.

Russian Caravan: a black tea blend of Indian and Chinese teas, it is characterized by a smoky flavor, less strong than Lapsang Souchong. Said to have originated from tea exported to Russia, reaching Russian markets having aged and lightly absorbed flavor from the merchants’ nightly campfires, while on the journey. Recommended food pairings include salmon, Chinese food and spiced cake.

Yunnan: a black tea from the Yunnan region of China, it is characterized by a peppery flavor. Recommended food pairings include deviled egg sandwiches, roasted pork, and Dundee cake, which is a pound cake with orange marmalade in it.

Pu-Erh: an aged black tea from China, it is characterized by an earthy flavor. Most often sold pressed into bowl-shaped chunks, or tuo-cha, in different sizes. Recommended food pairings include Scotch eggs, baked ham and carrot cake.

“Matching Tea With Food” from Adagio teas http://www.adagio.com/info/food_pairings.html?SID=f497b2434c17ed0a6af5544f29bd0bd6

“Varieties of Tea” from Adagio Teas http://www.adagio.com/info/varieties_of_tea.html?SID=f497b2434c17ed0a6af5544f29bd0bd6

“Tea Brewing Basics” from Harney & Son Fine Teas http://www.harney.com/trivia.html

“Tea Acronyms and Terminology” from Carnelian Rose Tea Company http://www.carnelianrosetea.com/just_the_faq_s__ma_am

“Tea Leaf Varieties” from Imperial Tea Court http://www.imperialtea.com/classroom/TeaClassroom.htm