Historic Cooking: Capon with Oranges, 1596.

Capon (Chicken) with Oranges.  Photo: Elizabeth Urbach

In the History of Royal Food and Feasting course last week, we took a look at the 16th century, and English aristocratic and royal food of Elizabeth I's court.  I was able to complete one of the suggested recipes: Capon with Oranges.  Here is the original recipe:

Take your capon and set him on the fire as before with marrow bones and mutton, and when you have skimmed the pot well, put thereto the value of a farthing loaf, and let it boil till it be half boiled. Then take two or three ladlesful of the same broth and put it into an earthen pot, with a pint of the same wine aforesaid. Peel six or eight oranges and slice them thin, and put them into the same broth with four pennyworth in sugar or more, and a handful of parsley, thyme and rosemary, together tied. Season it with whole mace, clove, and sticks of cinnamon, with two nutmegs beaten small. And so serve it.
-- Thomas Dawson, Good Housewife’s Jewel (1596).

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)

Historical Food Fortnightly Challenge #18 Descriptive Food -- Tuff-Taffity Cream from 1670.

Ingredients for Tuff-Taffity Cream.
Photo: Elizabeth Urbach

The Challenge: # 18 -- Descriptive Food We all know those recipes that come attached to interesting and imaginative names - slumps, crumbles, buckles, trifles, flummery. Pick a historic recipe that has a descriptive title.

There were so many interesting-sounding recipes that I considered for this challenge, but I decided on Tuff-Taffity Cream because I wanted to know why it had that name!  Other descriptive recipe titles are a bit more clear, but this one ... I have read about a fabric called "taffety" – which became our modern "taffeta" – but I don't know what period taffety was like, and why a custard would be called by that name.  And the "tuff" part?  Modern taffeta is a stiff, glossy fabric that is used to make women's formal gowns, but it's also lightweight and can be luxurious, and I thought that might be the clue to the relationship between the fabric and this recipe. 

The Dictionary of Traded Goods and Commodities defines "tuftaffeta" (also spelled "tufted tafata") as a silk taffeta (a fabric which has a smooth finish), that has a pile or nap arranged in tufts, to create a decorated pattern: "creating a pile and then cutting some of it only so as to form a pattern was very popular in the sixteenth century and early seventeenth, but largely died out thereafter as different ways of finishing became available.  ... Tuftaffetas were normally made of silk and were therefore valued highly, but some were made of half-linen." So, "tuff-taffity" is really "tufted taffeta", which is a decorative silk fabric.  I guessed that the custard called "tuff-taffity cream" must have a silken, "tufted" texture, then.  I don't know that I've ever eaten a food with a "tufted" texture! 

Food historian Ivan Day contributed his opinion on the subject on his blog, Historic Food: "Quince marmalade or sliced quinces were added to apple pies and taffety tarts to improve their flavour. The taffety tart filling ... also contains preserved orange.Taffety tarts borrowed their name from the textile material called taffety, but why this was the case is not understood. A more elaborate taffety called tuff-taffety was popular for making hats in the Tudor period. Hannah Wooley, the seventeenth century writer on domestic matters gives a recipe for a tuff-taffity cream, which is a smooth frothy cream garnished with red current jelly." So there you have it!  Maybe "tufted" is the same as "frothy"?  Let's find out.

Historical Food Fortnightly Challenge #12: If They'd Had It -- Mushroom Ketchup.

ingredients for Mushroom Ketchup.
Photo: Elizabeth Urbach.

The Challenge: #12 -- If They’d Had It -- November 2 - November 15 "Have you ever looked through a cookbook from another era and been surprised at the modern dishes you find? Have you ever been surprised at just how much they differ from their modern counterparts? Recreate a dish which is still around today, even if it may look a little - or a lot - different!" 

Not exactly a dish, but ketchup is a common condiment on American tables.  Tomato ketchup is what we know today, but tomatoes only entered the recipe in the mid 19^th century.  Earlier ketchups were made from fruits, walnuts, mushrooms, oysters, or anchovies, and were said to have been inspired by a salty, savory, spicy condiment that some 18^th century English sea captain or government official tasted in the Far East.  The first recipe for ketchup was published in E. Smith's The Compleat Housewife in 1727 in London, and again in 1767 in North America. Originally more like Asian fish sauce, "ketchup" or "catsup" recipes in Europe used European ingredients, and used the Anglicized version of the original Asian name.  The idea, however, is even older.  In Apicus' recipes from ancient Rome, there is one for "Tree Mushrooms", which calls for boiling them and serving them with liquamen – a sour fish sauce – and pepper. 

Several of my food history acquaintances online have made mushroom ketchup in the past year or so, and I've been wondering about it, too.  I've seen recipes for walnut ketchup, grape ketchup, and anchovy ketchup, but since I'm allergic to walnuts, I don't care for anchovies, I didn't have any grapes, and I love the fresh mushrooms from one of the vendors at my local farmer's market, I decided to make some mushroom ketchup.  Most 18^th and 19^th century recipe books include at least one recipe for one of the kinds of ketchup, and according to James Townsend & Sons' cooking videos, mushroom ketchup was so common that it may have been what people meant when they wrote about serving certain foods with "sauce." 

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.

Antique Autos returns to History Park!

Vintage car in the park in 2012.  Photo: Elizabeth Urbach.

Some of my costume group in 2009.
Photo: Elizabeth Urbach

 I've been getting ready for the 14th Annual Antique Auto event at History Park, where the tea guild will be joining me for a picnic tomorrow afternoon.  It's such fun to research recipes and costumes -- because I always want to do something slightly different from what I did last year -- that I often find myself hurrying the morning of the event, and not finishing whatever costume or recipe I'd been working on, and pulling out something wearable from the costume closet, or something ordinary from the pantry, and going with that.  I'm hoping that this year will be different, since -- at the request of one of the guild members -- we are having a potluck picnic, and at least I don't have to make all the sandwiches.  I have decided to bring dessert -- a cake and some strawberries that I got at the farmer's market yesterday -- as well as the iced tea.  Then there's my costume; I could wear the 1920s frock that I've worn before, but I don't have a hat to go with it, or I could wear one of my Edwardian skirts, although I don't really have a good blouse to wear with them, or a proper hat, either -- just a modern straw hat with a ribbon on it.  I have all these plans to make blouses, and even some fabric to do it, and I want to make a tailor-made suit, and - and - and ... 

Anyway, while I decide, and work on my things, here are some suggestions from the readers of the _Woman's Home Companion_ magazine from 1916, so you can put together your own "motor picnic" in the next month or so: 

Historical Food Fortnightly Soups & Sauces Challenge: Caviche.

ingredients for Caviche.  Photo: Elizabeth Urbach.

So, I'm still working on Challenge #1 for the Historical Food Fortnightly: I'm having trouble finding a piece of literature that mentions a specific dish that I have a period recipe for!  There's a lot of general mentions of meals, without saying what dishes or foods make up the meal, or only mentioning foods that don't really require a recipe, like fruit or a glass of wine, or foods that are made exactly the same way today as they were in the period (like tea and coffee).  I've decided on Calf's Foot Jelly, mentioned in one of the earliest novels, in 1807.  I think I ruined it, though, so I'll have to come back to the recipe and post about it later!  In the meantime... 

The Challenge: Soups & Sauces 

The Recipe: "Caviche" from the recently printed excerpts from Recipes from the White Hart Inn by William Verral, originally published in 1759.  The original recipe reads: 

Caviche

Take three Cloves, 7 scruples of Coriander-seeds bruised ginger powder'd and Saffron, of each half a Scruple, three Cloves of Garlick, infuse them in a pint of good white-wine vinegar, and place the bottle in a gentle heat, or in water to warm gradually.  It is to be used, as Catchup, in small quantity as a sauce for cold-meats.

_Wartime Farm_, the book!

_Wartime Farm_ by Peter Ginn, Ruth Goodman,
and Alex Langlands.  Photo: Elizabeth Urbach.

I may have mentioned my interest in the "Farm" history documentary series on the BBC, including "Tales from the Green Valley", "Victorian Farm," "Edwardian Farm" and "Wartime Farm" on this blog before ... my admiration of the featured historians and presenters knows no bounds!  I wish they would do a documentary here in the U.S. so I could work with them ... Anyway, there are companion books to each "Farm" series, and I recently won an autographed copy of the "Wartime Farm" book!

It's full, not only of an historical overview of what was going on in Britain between 1939 and 1950, but there are short chapters on many aspects of Home Front life in the country, with instructions for making and doing many of the things featured in the text and on camera in the documentary itself.

Back from the Alviso Adobe!

the front and side of the Alviso Adobe, built as a
one-storey home in the 1830s, expanded with a second floor
in the 1850s, a private residence until the 1980s.

Well, unfortunately some of the people who were going to meet at the Alviso Adobe in Milpitas couldn't make it at the last minute, but my friend and I had a nice afternoon and we almost had the park to ourselves. Here are some photos from the day:

me standing on the porch.

the back of the house from the garden.

The first picnic of the season!

our Victorian picnic at the Fallon House, 2012.
Photo: Elizabeth Urbach

My tea guild will be visiting a newly-opened historic park this weekend for a picnic!  The Alviso Adobe in Milpitas was built during the 1830s, expanded in the 1850s with a wooden second story, and was a residence until the 1980s.  Almost all of its surrounding land was sold away within the last few years and historians were worried that the house, now hidden within a housing tract, would remain unaccessible, or worse, be torn down by the landowner to make room for more condos.  Thankfully, the oldest building in the city of Milpitas was not only allowed to stand, but the acre or so of its remaining land was recently transformed into a small park, and the outside of the building was restored!  We are going to have a Victorian picnic there and see what the park is like; hopefully the inside of the building will be restored and opened to the public as Milpitas' first history museum.

The menu I'm planning will include some or all of the following:
Boiled eggs
Smoked salmon
Cucumber sandwiches
Jam sandwiches or bread-and-butter
Cheese and crackers
Fresh berries
Pound cake
Fruit turnovers
Iced tea

Experimenting with domestic receipts: historic hair washes.

Image from ClipArtETC.

Over the years of reading historic household manuals, etiquette books, and cookbooks, I have seen many recipes and instructions for making cosmetics, personal cleansers and any number of toiletries, and while my allergy to almonds prevents me from trying many of them (since almond oil seems to have been a popular ingredient), I have recently been experimenting with some of the recipes for hair washes.  It began in the spring – I don’t remember exactly how – with me reading the recommendations posted to a discussion forum for people with long hair.  People were doing so many different things to encourage their hair to grow, to improve its texture, and it never really occurred to me that using anything other than my modern shampoo and conditioner would make a difference with my hair.  My hair is waist-length, very fine, and I don’t have much of it, but it has good color and a smooth texture, and I’ve been pretty satisfied with my regular hair-care routine, which is as minimal as I can make it!  I’m not one for serums and other products in my hair; I basically shampoo and condition 3 times a week, brush it every morning and evening, and wear it in a ponytail every day.  I own a can of hair spray, a canister of mousse and a tube of hair gel, as well as an assortment of bobby pins and hair pins, which I use when I put my hair up into a historic hair style, but that’s pretty much it.  However, the women on the hair forum were discussing the use of regular bar soap, bar shampoos, and various hair rinses instead of commercial shampoos and conditioners for cleaning their hair.  It was intriguing to think that I might be able to get out of buying huge bottles of shampoo and conditioner, and still keep my hair in good condition.

Mid-Victorian sheer muslin dress inspiration

ca. 1850 fashion plate.

So, I'm slowly but surely working on my sheer dress for the GBACG Mid-Victorian Summer Picnic at the Fallon House at the end of next month.  Originally, I wanted to make my dress more ca. 1848 because I like the simple lines of Gold Rush-era styling, and I like the fact that not as many people do 1840s and 1850s costume as 1860s.  Not that more people shouldn't make the earlier Victorian styles, but I like being a little "different" from the majority, and with the popularity of Civil War re-enacting in the area, 1860s styles are much more frequently made.

Golden Gate National Cemetery, So. San Francisco, CA.

While the main conflicts of the Civil War occurred far away from San Jose, California did participate in the fighting, with local skirmishes between Union and Confederate sympathizers.  California was split between North and South in its sympathies, with more Confederate sympathy in southern California, and more Union sympathy in the North.  Since the gold fields were in Northern California, the Union received large donations of California gold, which greatly supported the war effort.  California’s brand-new state legislature also sent multiple companies of men to serve in the Union army, most ending up replacing more experienced soldiers stationed at army forts in the Midwest, but several seeing action on the front lines by joining up with Massachusetts and other Northern states’ militias.  The conflict split the nation in more ways than one, and the scars from those wounds are still sore in some areas of the U.S.!

A Regency Tea, fit for Jane Austen herself.

The Republic of Pemberly.

Jane Austen, one of the most famous female authors of the western world, has many fans in the United States and England.  She kept diaries and wrote many letters, as well as her well-known novels, and her writings record her love for tea and the fact that preparing breakfast and tea for her family was part of her domestic chores every day.  She also wrote that she bought her family’s tea from Twinings in London, when she visited her wealthy older brother in town, which means the modern Jane Austen fan can drink almost the same tea she did! 

Since many recipe books were written and published during Jane Austen’s lifetime, there is a wealth of information about the kinds of food that people would enjoy with their tea.  Google Books is a really good source for these antique cookbooks, and although the recipes need some re-working for modern use, they are still capable of producing delicious results.  The South Bay Ladies’ Tea Guild is preparing to have their own Regency Tea later this month, featuring some of these period recipes:

Fun things to do in San Jose.

Elizabeth Urbach. Tatting shuttles and lace on display at History Park.












1. Go to a World War 2-era living history event!

Third Annual Day of Remembrance: Saturday, August 8, 2009. Noon to 5 p.m. History Park, 1650 Senter Rd., San Jose, CA 95112. Free admission. “Keep the Spirit of '45 Alive! Where were YOU when World War II ended? Join us for an exciting fun-filled afternoon as we honor the legacy of America’s “greatest generation” by commemorating the end of World War II in August 1945. * Parade at 1 pm * Special guest, Edith Shain, the nurse from the famous "VJ Day at Times Square" photograph * Visit the Home Front exhibit in the Pacific Hotel Gallery * Share where YOU were when the War ended * Dance to music of The Swing Solution * Visit World War II Living Historians * Singing Blue Stars of the USS Hornet. Bring the whole family and help make history! For more information call 408.918.1042.”

2. See a great exhibit of local 19th century textiles before it closes!

She Made It!: The Tradition of Women’s Arts and Crafts in Santa Clara Valley – exhibit extended through August 16, 2009. Leonard & David McKay Gallery at the Pasetta House, History Park, 1650 Senter Rd., San Jose. Friday through Sunday, 12 noon - 5 pm. “‘She Made It! The Tradition of Women’s Arts and Crafts in Santa Clara Valley’ is an exhibition of over 35 handmade items that explores the transition of women’s craftmaking from that of utilitarian production or social development tool to a form of art and individual expression. Mostly selected from History San Jose’s collection, the exhibit includes quilts and samplers, clothing and accessories, baskets and hair work, many of which are on display for the first time. Three generations of hand-made wedding dresses provide visual cues of how times have changed from 1895 to 1982. ... The San Jose State Textile Program was once a component of the Home Economics department. Students were instructed in clothing and fabric design, and produced many of the artifacts that will be on display. Although this department dissolved in 1987, instruction in weaving and textile arts can still be found on campus through the School of Art & Design.”