Civil War Pumpkin Bread Recipe from the Confederate Receipt Book

The blockade hit hard. Wheat prices rose fast. Speculators hoarded flour. By 1863, women were rioting in the streets of the South because they couldn't buy bread. The Richmond Examiner (1865) reported that shops were selling bread in 3 sizes: "The first is only visible by microscopick aid; the second can be discerned with the naked eye, and the third can be seen with outline and shape distinct."

Southerners rushed to show off their ingenuity by using substitutes for wheat and relied heavily on cornmeal but people soon tired of substitutes and worked to try to figure out more complex substitutes that better mimicked the real articles. Soldiers and civilians alike wrote about being sick of corn bread.

Sarah Morgan, expressed her joy of having received real bread in New Orleans in 1863:

One woman who has recently joined us has nothing except a matress... But then, we got bread! Real, pure wheat bread! And coffee! None of your potato, burnt sugar, and parched corn abomination, but the unadulterated berry! I cant enjoy it fully though; every mouthful is cloyed with the recollection that Lilly and her children have none.

This recipe is from The Confederate Receipt Book (1863.) The pumpkin in this recipe is used as a substitute for milk, eggs and butter and to help mask the taste of cornmeal. It has a slight taste of pumpkin but you might not even realize there is cornmeal in it. Topped with a little butter and molasses, it does taste surprisingly like regular wheat bread.

Civil War Pumpkin Bread Recipe

- 1 Cup Pumpkin Puree (fresh or canned)
- 1 Cup Cornmeal
- 2 Cups Bread Flour
- 1 Package of Yeast dissolved in 1/4 cup of warm water (105°F-110°F)
- 1 Tablespoon Molasses
- 1 Teaspoon Salt

In a medium sized bowl, mix the dry ingredients then add the wet ingredients. Knead on a floured surface for 6-8 minutes adding flour to make a soft dough. Place in a greased bowl and cover with a warm, wet cloth and set in a warm spot for 30 minutes to let it rise. Punch down the dough. Grease your bread pan(s) and form a loaf in it. Let it rise in a warm spot, covered with a wet cloth for an hour. Preheat oven to 375°F and bake for 20-30 minutes. Remove from pan and cool on a cooling rack.

 **I made 3 small loaves which baked fully in 20 minutes.

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WWII Era Sweet Potatoes in Apple and Orange Cups

This recipe came from the book 250 Ways of Serving Potatoes (1941) by the Culinary Arts Institute. Potatoes and sweet potatoes are easy to grow and very filling. By the end of WWII, American farmers were growing 3 billion pounds of sweet potatoes a year!

250 ways is more ways than anyone needs to know, but this way sounded so interesting I knew I had to try it. I was not disappointed. I love the taste of sweet potatoes but we really only eat them "Thanksgiving style."

 If their sweet taste is not enough to entice you, sweet potatoes are highly nutritious. They are high in vitamin C, niacin, magnesium, manganese, antioxidants, fiber, and sporamin. Sporamin reportedly has anti-aging and cancer fighting properties. In fact, some of the oldest living humans ate sweet potatoes as 60% of their diets!

Sweet Potatoes in Apple Cups

- 4 Medium Sweet Potatoes
- 3 Tablespoons Butter
- 1/2 teaspoon Salt
- 2 Tablespoons Sugar
- 4 Red-skinned Baking Apples
- 4 Marshmallows

Boil sweet potatoes until soft then peel and mash. Add butter, salt, and sugar, mix and set aside. Core your apples, place apples in the nooks on a cupcake pan. Fill apples with sweet potato mixture and bake on 325℉ about 15 minutes or until the apples are soft. Remove from oven, top each apple with a marshmallow and return to the oven until the marshmallows brown. 

Sweet Potatoes in Orange Cups 

- 2 Cups Mashed Sweet Potatoes
- 1/2 cup Orange Juice
- 2 Tablespoons Butter
- 1/2 teaspoon Salt
- 3 Large Oranges
- 6 Marshmallows, quartered

Boil sweet potatoes until soft then peel and mash. Cut each orange in half, juice, and remove the pulp. Add 1/2 cup of the juice, salt, and butter to the sweet potatoes and mix. Fill orange peels with the sweet potato mixture and top with marshmallow pieces.  Place oranges in the  nooks on a cupcake pan. Bake a 400℉ for about 15 minutes.



The orange was not bad but masked the flavor of the sweet potatoes too much for my preference but I could see it being a welcome change if you had a ton of sweet potatoes to eat. I very much liked the sweet potato in the apple. Maple syrup or honey would also be delicious substitutions in this. Hope you all enjoy!

WWI Era Maple Fudge Recipe 1905, 1916

This morning my friend Eva sent me this video, from Imbrandonferris on Youtube called "Making Fudge from the 1900's!" with the caption "I started a fire!"

Sometimes I get distraught that no one reads my posts or that no one cooks anything I post. I wonder why I bother. Old recipes and foodways are so important to me and I believe it's a skill that needs to be passed onto future generations, especially in an era where meals come frozen and vegetables are unrecognizable to many.

 I started posting when I was young as a way to share the things I was learning. Every dish I cooked was an experiment. Maybe it would come out, maybe it wouldn't. I had a heck of a time transcribing measurements that sounded ridiculous. Pick the walnuts when they're the size of a squirrel's ear? Okay.

So many of the ingredients were foreign and needed research to decipher and effort to obtain. But now that I've been over 10 years into it, am a buttload of books more familiar with foodways over last 300 years and have studied under some of the best, some of that excitement when trying a new recipe has waned.     


This video made me laugh so much. It brought me right back to the days when I didn't have any clue. It's a great reminder of why I started cooking old recipes in the first place. I made a lot of friends along the way and I love running into people who love reading my blog.

So without further ado, here is "Fudge from the 1900s"  The recipe from a book called "A Little Cookbook for a Little Girl." First published in 1905, it was reprinted in 1916 and still being advertised in newspapers in 1921.

WWI Era Maple Fudge Recipe 1905, 1916

Ingredients:

- 3 Cups Brown Sugar
- 2 Cups 100% Maple Syrup
- 1 cup Whole Milk
- 1/2 cup water
- 4 Tablespoons Butter (the size of an egg which is actually a very common measurement)
- 1 Cup Walnuts or Hickory nuts, chopped

Instructions:

In a large pot, combine brown sugar and maple syrup. You can stir it at this stage. Heat until boiling. Once boiling add the milk and water. Boil for 2 minutes with the lid on.

Do not stir. Butter your thermometer and stick in the mixture, making sure it is not touching the bottom of the pan. Keep the mixture boiling until it reaches the soft ball stage (112 to 116 °C (234 to 241 °F). This will take about 10 minutes but can be longer.

Take an 8 x 8" pan and line with aluminum foil. Grease the foil with butter.

Do not stir. Remove from the heat. Add the butter. Let sit until it cools down to 230°C, 110°F. This will take about an hour. Do not stir. You want to move the fudge as little as possible during this time to prevent sugar crystals from forming too early and giving your fudge a gritty taste.

Once it has reached 230°C, 110°F it is time to stir. You will be stirring until it turns a lighter shade. It can take up to 30 minutes. Add the crushed nuts. Quickly pour it into your pan and smooth out the top with a spatula. Let look for 3- 24 hours. It's easier to cut the next day. Cut in 1/2 inch pieces.



Instructions with pictures:

In a large pot, combine brown sugar and maple syrup. You can stir it at this stage. Heat until boiling. Once boiling add the milk and water. Boil for 2 minutes with the lid on.

Do not stir. Butter your thermometer and stick in the mixture, making sure it is not touching the bottom of the pan. Keep the mixture boiling until it reaches the soft ball stage (112 to 116 °C (234 to 241 °F). This will take about 10 minutes but can be longer.

Take an 8 x 8" pan and line with aluminum foil. Grease the foil with butter.

Do not stir. Remove from the heat. Add the butter. Let sit until it cools down to 230°C, 110°F. This will take about an hour. Do not stir. You want to move the fudge as little as possible during this time to prevent sugar crystals from forming too early and giving your fudge a gritty taste.

Once it has reached 230°C, 110°F it is time to stir. You will be stirring until it turns a lighter shade. It can take up to 30 minutes. Add the crushed nuts.

Quickly pour it into your pan and smooth out the top with a spatula. Let set for 3- 24 hours. It's easier to cut the next day.

Cut in 1/2 inch pieces.

Hope you enjoy! If you liked this post, please share it!

Civil War Era Bubble and Squeak

Bubble and Squeak was a popular, economic meal using up leftovers. The name comes from the sound the cabbage makes while cooking.  It was often served with a side of sausages or other meat or mashed potatoes. It was sometimes referenced as an Irish dish although there are recipes for it, and references to it, in British, Scottish and American books. It's origin is British although the dish is similar to Irish Colcannon.

There were many recipes for it in the early 1800s but by the 1860s it was ubiquitous enough of a dish that publications refer to it as if it was commonplace. Godey's Lady's Book published a recipe in 1862 for Buttered Cabbage "Boil the cabage with a quantity of onions, then chop them together, season with pepper and salt, and fry them in butter. It is rather a homely, but savory dish, and frequently used either with fried sausages laid over it or as an accompaniment to roast beef, and forms part of bubble and squeak."

James M. Sanderson listed a recipe for Bubble and Squeak in his Camp Fires and Camp Cooking, or; Culinary Hints for the Soldier, a book intended for Union soldiers

This is an old and favorite mode of getting rid of bits of corned beef among good housewives at home and can be advantageously introduced into camp. Any pieces of cold corned or salt beef that may be on hand should be cut into slices and sprinkled with pepper; then put them in a pan, with a little grease or fat, and fry them slightly. Boil some cabbage, and squeeze it quite dry; then cut it up very fine, and serve a piece of beef with a spoonful of cabbage, first seasoning it with pepper, salt, and vinegar.

Ingredients:

- 1/2 head of Cabbage (endive, or savoy recommended)
- Leftover Beef, sliced (steak or salt beef)
- 1 Onion
- 1 Carrot
- 1 Tablespoon Butter
- Salt and Pepper

Instructions:

Wash and chop the cabbage, onion and carrot. In a medium pot, boil the vegetable mixture until soft. Drain. Put a pat of butter in a skillet on medium heat and fry the cabbage, onion, carrot and meat until the edges are slightly browned. Salt and pepper to taste. Serve with mashed potatoes and sausages.

Civil War Era Recipe: Preserved Watermelon Rind

As you know, watermelon rind is poisonous.

I'm just kidding but a surprising number of people believe that it is true. It follows the theory that bitter tastes are a marker for things that can hurt you such as bitter almonds and poison ivy, but it is just a rumor and watermelon rind has a surprising amount of uses. It can be preserved and eaten as pieces, candied, pickled, and even be turned into jelly or preserves.

This recipe was cooked for the Historical Food Fortnightly. A yearly challenge that encourages bloggers to cook a historical food every two weeks as part of the challenge "Waste not, Want not" and what gets wasted more than watermelon rinds?

The Challenge: Waste Not, Want Not (July 1 - July 14) Good housekeeping in any historic era included making the most of your food items. Pick a recipe that involves avoiding waste (maybe reusing leftovers, or utilizing things commonly thrown out) and show us how historically-green you can be!

The Recipe:

The Date/Year and Region: 1850s-60s, United States

Ingredients:

- Watermelon Rind, cut into pieces or shapes
- Alum or Salt
- Lemon Peel
- Ginger
- Sugar, pound for pound to the rinds
- Cabbage Leaves for coloring

Instructions:

Cut out the inside of the watermelon. Pare the skin off the rind and cut the rind into small, thin pieces. Soak the pieces in a mixture of alum water for 3 days and plan water for 3 days, changing the water each day. Drain the pieces and boil in a sauce pan on medium heat in new water until the pieces are translucent and a fork can pass through easily. Drain the pieces and return to saucepan. Add the lemon peel, ginger and sugar and boil until the sugar forms a thick syrup. Let cool and eat or can for future use. If the sugar does not form quickly enough, remove the pieces and boil the sugar mixture until a syrup is formed then pour it over the pieces.  

How Did You Make It: 

Godey's Lady's Book in 1858 suggested soaking the pieces for 3 days in salt water, 3 days in alum water and 3 days in plain water (changing the water each day) to remove any alum flavor before preserving the rinds.

Time to Complete: Days to soak it but actual prepare time 30 mins to 1 hour.

Total Cost: $3.00 for the watermelon.

How Successful Was It?: I admit I was afraid to taste it. Something about the rind just sounds unappealing. But I forced myself too and it was delicious. If you didn't tell someone this was the rind of a watermelon, they'd think it was crisp, flavored, honeydew. The pieces aren't quite so toxic looking when light isn't shining through them. These would be a nice treat if made in different colors and flavors. The rind itself has a very neutral flavor good for absorbing other flavors.  


How Accurate Is It?: I dyed with spinach instead of cabbage leaves. The first receipt I found said to layer in ivy leaves, but I did not feel confident in the safety of it. 

Civil War Era Egg Sandwich: A Picnic Recipe

"My fellow-passengers were two pleasant, elderly ladies, who pressed egg sandwiches upon me."

-Bentley's Miscellany, 1857

 

This recipe was cooked for the Historical Food Fortnightly. A yearly challenge that encourages bloggers to cook a historical food every two weeks. It was difficult finding foods expressly for picnics, which was the challenge for this week. Bread and chicken were mentioned in many accounts as well as fresh fruit and tea. Alansa Rounds Sterrett in her wartime diary recounts a picnic in May:

"Very warm. I sewed at 0. F. Hall all day. Excellent picnic dinner down stairs, -- chicken sandwiches, pickles, pies, cakes, &c. and coffee. Henry Seig brought up to the sewing room 4 long strips. I basted, Aunt S. did machine work. Done and sent away before six. Evening, rested."

I feel silly that this recipe is so simple but I thought it was redundant to post how to make bread or hard boiled eggs.

The Challenge: Picnic Foods (May 20 - June 2) Some foods are just meant to be eaten in the outdoors! Concoct a dish that is documented for al fresco dining, or foods that might particularly lend themselves to eating at a picnic. Bonus points for putting it to the test!

The Recipe:

The Date/Year and Region: 1860s US or England

Ingredients:

- 2 Slices of Bread
- Butter
- Pepper
- Salt
- Nutmeg
- 2 Eggs, Hard Boiled

How Did You Make It: 

I made my own bread but for a quick event, store bought bread would be fine. I only boiled my eggs for about 6 minutes as I thought the less chalky yolk would taste better. I peeled my eggs and sliced them. Buttered the bread and sprinkled a bit of salt, pepper and nutmeg then laid my slices of egg on.

Time to Complete: 10 minutes after the bread was baked.

Total Cost: I had everything on hand but imagine it would be less than $5 of actual ingredients.

How Successful Was It?: Surprisingly not bad. I was a little put off by the lack of mayonnaise and thought the addition of nutmeg would be odd. It's not bad as long as you aren't expecting an egg salad sandwich and the nutmeg was a surprising, tangy addition I never would have thought of.

How Accurate Is It?: Followed the recipe as close as possible.

Henry O'Neil. A Picnic, 1857

Independence Day Picnic 1862

The Picnic on a Clifftop, Frederick James Shields

Civil War Era Open German Tart Recipe from Godey's Lady's Book

This recipe was cooked for the Historical Food Fortnightly. A yearly challenge that encourages bloggers to cook a historical food every two weeks. I had such a hard time thinking of something that I would actually eat. I didn't have a need for a pretty cake or fancy marzipan dish but this tart is as delicious as it is pretty and you likely have the ingredients on hand!

The Challenge: Pretty As A Picture (March 25 - April 7) If you’re a fan of cooking competition shows (like I am!), you know how the saying goes: we eat first with our eyes. Make a dish that looks just as spectacular as it tastes. Extra points for historically accurate plating - and don’t forget to post pictures!

The Recipe:

"OPEN GERMAN TART—Half a pound of flour, quarter of a pound butter, quarter of a pound sugar, and one egg, to be rolled out and baked on a flat surface, having first covered the top with slices of apples or plums. A round shape looks best, with a little rim of the paste round the edge." -Godey’s Lady’s Book March 1863.

The Date/Year and Region: Philadelphia 1863. This recipe was published the same year in Peterson's Magazine.  

How Did You Make It: 

Ingredients:

- 3 cups Flour

- 1 cup Sugar, plus 2 Tablespoons

- 1 stick of Butter (1/4 pound)

- 1 Egg

- 2 Apples, peeled and sliced

- Lemon Juice

Instructions:

Peel and slice your apples, set aside. In a medium sized bowl, mix sugar, softened butter and egg. Slowly add the flour until it forms a stiff dough. Add a little cold water if needed. Divide the dough in half and roll out on a floured surface. Roll the dough on to your pin and transfer to a baking sheet. Fill with the slices from one apple and fold the sides of the dough up. Drizzle lemon juice and a tablespoon full of sugar on top on the apple slices. Repeat with second tart. Bake in a oven preheated at 450 for 15-20 minutes or until the crust is golden. Let cool for about 10 minutes before serving.    

Time to Complete: These made up very quickly. About 40 minutes, including baking time.

Total Cost: Very inexpensive. I had all of the ingredients on hand.

How Successful Was It?: Surprisingly good for not having any cinnamon or nutmeg. I was expecting it to be very plain but even my family enjoyed it, which is a major feat. 

How Accurate Is It?: Fairly accurate. Used sugar beet sugar instead of cane sugar.

Civil War Era Pinappleade Recipe

"Poor Mr. Doe and Mr. Chick are both very low to day. I carried them cocoa, milk, and pineapple preserves."

- Harriet Eaton, Nov. 14th, 1864

This recipe was cooked for the Historical Food Fortnightly. A yearly challenge that encourages bloggers to cook a historical food every two weeks.

For this challenge I decided to take on a lemonade twist with pineappleade. Pineapples were exotic fruits in the 1800s, mostly grown in Jamaica. They were used for such dishes as ice cream, pudding, pineapple chips, fritters, drinks and marmalade. They were considered a "dessert" fruit and was often paired with sugar.1 Pineapples, being imports, were not as common as home grown fruits. The first large quantity producing pineapple plantation in Florida was started in 1860 by Captain Benjamin Baker, who was probably accustomed to the enjoyment of them at sea. 2   

I wanted to add a dessert type feel to the pineappleade so I dressed it up like fancier drinks of the time, particularly with a straw. In the 1850s and 1860s, drinkers had a few options for drinking straws: rye grass, glass tubes made for the purpose and even hollow noodles.3 4 I opted for a glass tube although I could not find any as long as typically pictured. Rye grass was most common although it gave the drink extra flavor.   

The Challenge: Juicy Fruits (March 11 - March 24) It’s fruits! Do something with fruits. It doesn’t get more simple than that. Bonus points for use of heritage crops and ingredients!

The Recipe:

The Date/Year and Region: United States 1850s-1860s

How Did You Make It: 

Ingredients

-Pineapple
-8 Cups Water, boiling
-Powdered Sugar, to taste
-Oranges, Lemons optional.

Instructions:

Pare and core the pineapple. Mince it fine and place in a pitcher. Pour boiling water over the minced pineapple and mash occasionally with a wooden spoon, cover it until room temperature. Add powdered sugar to taste. Refrigerate or put on ice until cool. Pour into cups, add an ice cube, extra sugar if needed and a thin slice of pineapple.

Time to Complete: Few hours, most of the time was letting the pineappleade cool.

Total Cost: About $4.00

How Successful Was It?: Pretty good. If I was to make it again I would probably add some orange and lemon. It would be a fantastic, chilling drink on a hot summer day.

How Accurate Is It?: The only thing I changed was the garnish style. The drink called for having a thin slice of pineapple stuck on the top of the drink but you couldn't see it in the pictures so I opted for a more modern style.

Another recipe:

1 Webster, Thomas, and William Parkes. An Encyclopaedia of Domestic Economy: Comprising Such Subjects as Are Most Immediately Connected with Housekeeping ... New York: Harper & Brothers Publisher, 1855.

2 Wilkinson, Jerry. HISTORY OF FARMING. Accessed March 24, 2016. http://www.keyshistory.org/farming.html.

3Timbs, John. Hints for the Table, Or, The Economy of Good Living: With a Few Words on Wines. London: Routledge, Warne & Routledge, 1860.

4 Thomas, Jerry, and Christian Schultz. How to Mix Drinks or The Bon Vivant's Companion. to Which Is Appended a Manual for the Manufacture of Cordials, Liquors, Fancy Syrups, Etc., Etc.: Over 600 Valuable Recipes / by Christian Schultz. New York: Dick & Fitzgerald, 1862.

Civil War Era Pinappleade Recipe

"Poor Mr. Doe and Mr. Chick are both very low to day. I carried them cocoa, milk, and pineapple preserves."

- Harriet Eaton, Nov. 14th, 1864

This recipe was cooked for the Historical Food Fortnightly. A yearly challenge that encourages bloggers to cook a historical food every two weeks.

For this challenge I decided to take on a lemonade twist with pineappleade. Pineapples were exotic fruits in the 1800s, mostly grown in Jamaica. They were used for such dishes as ice cream, pudding, pineapple chips, fritters, drinks and marmalade. They were considered a "dessert" fruit and was often paired with sugar.1 Pineapples, being imports, were not as common as home grown fruits. The first large quantity producing pineapple plantation in Florida was started in 1860 by Captain Benjamin Baker, who was probably accustomed to the enjoyment of them at sea. 2   

I wanted to add a dessert type feel to the pineappleade so I dressed it up like fancier drinks of the time, particularly with a straw. In the 1850s and 1860s, drinkers had a few options for drinking straws: rye grass, glass tubes made for the purpose and even hollow noodles.3 4 I opted for a glass tube although I could not find any as long as typically pictured. Rye grass was most common although it gave the drink extra flavor.   

The Challenge: Juicy Fruits (March 11 - March 24) It’s fruits! Do something with fruits. It doesn’t get more simple than that. Bonus points for use of heritage crops and ingredients!

The Recipe:

The Date/Year and Region: United States 1850s-1860s

How Did You Make It: 

Ingredients

-Pineapple
-8 Cups Water, boiling
-Powdered Sugar, to taste
-Oranges, Lemons optional.

Instructions:

Pare and core the pineapple. Mince it fine and place in a pitcher. Pour boiling water over the minced pineapple and mash occasionally with a wooden spoon, cover it until room temperature. Add powdered sugar to taste. Refrigerate or put on ice until cool. Pour into cups, add an ice cube, extra sugar if needed and a thin slice of pineapple.

Time to Complete: Few hours, most of the time was letting the pineappleade cool.

Total Cost: About $4.00

How Successful Was It?: Pretty good. If I was to make it again I would probably add some orange and lemon. It would be a fantastic, chilling drink on a hot summer day.

How Accurate Is It?: The only thing I changed was the garnish style. The drink called for having a thin slice of pineapple stuck on the top of the drink but you couldn't see it in the pictures so I opted for a more modern style.

Another recipe:

1 Webster, Thomas, and William Parkes. An Encyclopaedia of Domestic Economy: Comprising Such Subjects as Are Most Immediately Connected with Housekeeping ... New York: Harper & Brothers Publisher, 1855.

2 Wilkinson, Jerry. HISTORY OF FARMING. Accessed March 24, 2016. http://www.keyshistory.org/farming.html.

3Timbs, John. Hints for the Table, Or, The Economy of Good Living: With a Few Words on Wines. London: Routledge, Warne & Routledge, 1860.

4 Thomas, Jerry, and Christian Schultz. How to Mix Drinks or The Bon Vivant's Companion. to Which Is Appended a Manual for the Manufacture of Cordials, Liquors, Fancy Syrups, Etc., Etc.: Over 600 Valuable Recipes / by Christian Schultz. New York: Dick & Fitzgerald, 1862.

Civil War Era Blockade Coffee Recipe

"Everybody had to use parched wheat, parched okra seed or parched raw sweet potato chips for coffee. Not even tea came in. We used sassafras and other native herb teas both daily and at parties when the herb teas were in season. Some were good, but the substitute coffee was not...I liked the okra seed better than any of the coffee substitutes." -Ida Baker,  REMINISCENCES 1937

This recipe was cooked for the Historical Food Fortnightly. A yearly challenge that encourages bloggers to cook a historical food every two weeks.

Coffee has been a staple of the American table since before the Revolution. It the 1800s it was sipped with breakfast along with bread and butter and was even used to treat sick patients. The beans typically came whole and needed to be ground at home. In the armies beans frequently came green and had to be roasted.

When the Civil War broke out, coffee, a long with many other items became difficult to obtain. In July of 1861, the Union Navy had blockaded of all the major southern ports in an attempt to end the war quickly as the south relied on imports. Coffee was also a part of soldiers rations of both the Northern and Southern troops which led to further shortages.

The citizens of the south craving coffee made do with using cornmeal, rice, potatoes, sweet potatoes, chicory, cotton seeds, dandelion, okra, and even acorns. (1) Universally people complained of the lack of real coffee and disappointment in the substitutions. Kate Cummings, a Confederate nurse, documented her dismay at the coffee substitutes until she tried sweet potatoes at a friend's house in 1862: "At Mrs. Houghton's We had sweet potatoes as a substitute for coffee, and it was very nice. Mrs. Houghton informed us that she did not intend to use any other kind while the war lasted."

Even in the North, coffee prices soared during the war years and publications printed recipes for coffee substitutes, the most common being, chicory, rye, barley, pea, carrot, dandelion root, and chestnut as well as sweet potato. (2)


The Challenge: Roasts (February 26 - March 10) They’re a staple of the historic table, in many different shapes and forms and types. It’s also a cooking technique. Try a historic recipe for a roast, or a recipe that involves roasting, and tell us how it turned out.

The Recipe: 

"Peel your potatoes and slice them rather thin, dry them in the air or on a stove, then cut into pieces small enough to go into the coffee mil, then grind it. Two tablespoons full of ground coffee and three or four of ground potatoes will make eight or nine cups of coffee, clear, pure and well tasted."
Albany Ga. Patriot, December 12, 1861.

The Date/Year and Region: The New England Farmer published a recipe for it in April 1862.

How Did You Make It: (a brief synopsis of the process of creation)

Ingredients:

-Sweet Potatoes
-Coffee

Instructions:

Peel your sweet potatoes. Using a peeler or knife, peel the sweet potatoes into thin strips and lay on a plate or cookie sheet and lay in the sun. Depending on weather it can take 5-10 hours of direct sunlight. Once dry, you should be able to crush the potatoes with your fingers. Break the pieces small enough to grind in a mill or coffee grinder. Grind it up and put into a dry container for storage. When you are ready to make the coffee, use 3 Tablespoons of Sweet potato mixed with 2 Tablespoons of Coffee.  

Time to Complete: The peeling was quicker than expected, about 20 minutes. The drying took about 6 hours in the sun.

Total Cost: $5 The sweet potatoes shrink significantly. I would get 5x the amount you think you need.

How Successful Was It?: The dried sweet potatoes tasted terrific but I was afraid to try the coffee. The sweet potato did not scare me but I find coffee frightening.

How Accurate Is It?: Pretty accurate. I tasted mine a little bit on the stove top but do not think it's necessary. If you would like to be more accurate, The Confederate Receipt Book (1863) gave the following recipe for a cream substitution " Beat the white of an egg to a froth, put to it a very small lump of butter, and mix well, then turn the coffee to it gradually, so that it may not curdle. If perfectly done it will be an excellent substitute for cream. For tea omit the butter, using only the egg."


1 Porcher, Francis Peyre. Resources of the Southern Fields and Forests, Medical, Economical, and Agricultural: Being Also a Medical Botany of the Confederate States: With Practical Information on the Useful Properties of the Trees, Plants and Shrubs. Charleston: Steam-power Press of Evans & Cogswell, No. 3 Broad Street, 1863.

2 Hall, W. W. Hall's Journal of Health. Vol. 9. New York: Trubner, 1862.

Civil War Era Apple Snowballs Recipe

This recipe was cooked for the Historical Food Fortnightly. A yearly challenge that encourages bloggers to cook a historical food every two weeks. This is a fun to make and delicious recipe. Also my first time making boiled rice in pudding cloth. It's a nice early war recipe when rice was prevalent in the Southern states.  

The Challenge: Sweets for the Sweet (February 12 - February 25) It’s sugar, and maybe spice, and definitely everything nice. Test out a historic recipe for sweets, sweetmeats and candies - but don’t let them spoil your appetite!

The Recipe: 

Ingredients:

The Date/Year and Region: 1861 England although similar recipes were printed before and throughout the war on both sides of the Atlantic including in Sarah Josepha Hale's Modern Cookery (1845). The The Housekeeper and Gardener (1858) used the alternative name "Carolina Snowballs."
 
How Did You Make It: 

Ingredients:

- 4 small apples, pared and cored
- 2 Cups of uncooked Rice
- 4 Cups Milk
- Cinnamon
- Sugar
- Cloves
- Pudding cloths or pudding bags and twine

Instructions:

Boil the rice in the milk until 3/4 of the way done, strain off extra milk. Set aside and let cool. Mix the cinnamon, sugar and a few cloves and add a small amount of water to make a paste. Fill the apples with the cinnamon and sugar. Lay out a pudding cloth and cover it with 1/2 inch of the cooled rice. Place apple in the center and tie the bag around the top, making sure to press the rice together around one apple. Once all apples are wrapped, boil in a large pot for 30-45 minutes or until the apples are soft. Remove the snowballs from the water by the strings and left to cool on a plate Let cool then remove the pudding cloths and serve.

** Leave the twine long, so you are able to move the snowballs around the pot while boiling.

Time to Complete: Maybe an Hour.

Total Cost: $5.00

How Successful Was It?: Very delicious!

How Accurate Is It?: I followed the recipe as close as I could having never made them before. 

History of Caesar Salad or Aviator's Salad 1940s Recipe

This recipe was cooked for the Historical Food Fortnightly. A yearly challenge that encourages bloggers to cook a historical food every two weeks. The inspiration for this recipe came from my grandma who recently went out to eat with some family members. She ordered a Caesar Salad which is one of her favorites but she couldn't say anything favorable about it.

"A Caesar salad used to be a big to do. The chef would bring the ingredients to the table and make it fresh in front of you. This one they just handed it to me and the dressing was from a bottle!"

Which got me wondering why this particular salad was such a big deal and how far away from the my grandma's amazing recipe was from the originals. How old is Caesar Salad anyway? Sounded like the perfect recipe to cook for the history detective challenge!

Like with many foods, various people have claimed to be the inventor of the Caesar salad. One would think the dish has obvious old world origins but it turns out it is an American/Mexican invention. The most likely inventor is Caesar Cardini an Italian-American restaurant owner who took advantage of prohibition by establishing Caesar's Palace in Tijuana which attracted people looking to drink legally.

As the story goes, the 4th of July weekend in 1924 was particularly busy. So busy the restaurant started running out of food. Caesar mixed together left over ingredients and tried to make up for the limited dish with fanfare at the table. The dish was made with full leaves of romaine lettuce so diners could eat pieces with their hands in traditional Italian fashion. 

Caesar's brother Alex, made a similar dish, substituting anchovy paste for Worcestershire sauce, which he called Aviator's Salad. His story is that he served it to pilots from Rockwell Field Air Force for breakfast after they drank too much and missed curfew. Alex being a pilot himself during WWI named the dish in honor of the pilots.  Eventually aviator's Salad became more popular and eventually became known as Caesar Salad. (1)  Julia Child's claimed that she remembered being served the dish at Caesar's restaurant in the 20s but not what was in it and by the 1950s it was a household dish.        

The Challenge: History Detective (January 29 - February 11) For this challenge, you get to be the detective! Either use clues from multiple recipes to make a composite recipe, or choose a very vague recipe and investigate how it was made.

The Date/Year and Region: 1924 invented in Mexico, popularized in the 1940s in the US. 

The Recipe

Ingredients:

- 3 cloves Garlic, crushed

- 1/2 cup Olive Oil

- Juice of 1/2 Lemon

- 1/4 teaspoon Dry Mustard

- 1 spoonful of Worcestershire Sauce

-  Anchovy paste, to taste

- 1/4 cup Parmesan Cheese, freshly grated

-  Black Pepper, freshly ground as a garnish 

- Croutons

- 1 lb Lettuce  

*Grandma says some places added a coddled egg but it's not necessary. Strangely this is my grandfather's recipe. It said so on the crumpled up recipe my grandma gave me. She said he liked it so much he convinced a chef friend in Philadelphia to give him the secret recipe.  

Instructions: Squeeze the garlic in a garlic press, straight into the oil. Add the lemon juice, mustard, Parmesan cheese and Worcestershire Sauce. Add the anchovy paste to taste. Wash and dry your lettuce, keeping the leaves full if you want a finger food or chopped if you want to use a fork. Add croutons to thee lettuce and pour on the dressing then top with freshly ground pepper.    

Time to Complete: A few minutes regardless of what Dorothy Kilgallen wrote in the newspaper in 1948 about the popular dish from California " tak[ing] ages to prepare."

Total Cost: A few dollars.

How Successful Was It?: Very successful. This recipe will have you wondering how we can even call that stuff in the bottle Caesar dressing.

How Accurate Is It?: I used the coddled egg but having had it without the coddled egg, it really doesn't need it. The traditional recipe calls for lime juice instead of lemon but it seems almost immediately other restaurants were using lemons instead due to a mistranslation.   

1 http://www.kitchenproject.com/history/CaesarSalad/

Civil War Molasses Candy Recipe and Candy Pulls

"Here comes a great paper of candy from Will C. I like it better than his company, for he has been to see me every day, and candy has not. " -Sarah Morgan in 1862

"Candy Pulls," "Candy Parties" or "Molasses boilings" were common pastimes in the mid 1800s during the cold winter months. Groups of friends would gather around a pot of boiling molasses or other concoction and wait until it formed threads when a spoonful was dripped in cold water. They would keep stirring until the liquid formed a soft ball when a spoonful was placed in cold water. Finally, they waited until the liquid formed a stiff ball when placed in cold water. This meant it was ready.

The liquid was poured into buttered pans to cool and once there, the party began. Each member of the group would cover their hands in butter and begin to pull on a ball of candy. Pulling and folding, the group joked and gossiped until their balls of candy grew lighter in color. It was now time to form it into its final shape. It could be rolled into ropes and cut with scissors or twisted or braided, or molded into any number of shapes, but many young women preferred to make chain necklaces out of it. Seating around a warm fire with friends and the gingerbread like smell of molasses cooking wafting in the air, a candy pull was a nice break from an otherwise bleak and monotonous winter.

Making candy was mentioned frequently in Sarah Morgan's wartime diary and many letters of the time. In a letter from a Virginian in January 1861, Angus wrote to Kate of his holidays: "Was at a Taffy pulling; had a fine time eating hard Molasses with unwashen hands. Did you ever pull any, when you had to spit on your hands to keep it from adhering to them?" Another Virginian, Mollie Houser, wrote to her cousin James "I Just wish you Could have been here we had a taffy stewing one nite they was a Couple of our soldiers home & some of the neighbours Came in & we had a fine time boililing molasses &...taffy."  

The majority of recipes from this time period include only molasses, flavoring and bicarbonate of soda, known now as baking soda as the main ingredients and some recipes suggested that peanuts or blanched almonds might be added. However, The Cook's Own Book (1854) includes the addition of brown sugar and lemon juice which is more similar to recipes today. The recipe did not vary much and was a favorite in shops for those who did not want to make it themselves. A writer for the Southern Literary Messenger (1863) remembered going North for school and couldn't remember much about the food there except to say:

I recollect, though, that the boys had a great passion for molasses candy, which was prepared in the Philadelphia shops—not in little pig-tail twists with a knot at the end and wrapped up in white paper, as the fashion used to be in Lynchburg thirty years ago-but in broad cakes, which the boys used to call by the atrocious name of “belly-wax.

This recipe was cooked for the Historical Food Fortnightly. A yearly challenge that encourages bloggers to cook a historical food every two weeks.

The Challenge: Culinary Vices (January 15 - January 28) Some foods are really, really naughty. Globs of butter, lashings of sugar and syrup, decadent chocolate and wine. Bring out your naughty, indecorous side with foods associated with all the bad things, in the best ways.

The Recipe:

The Date/Year and Region: 1850s-1860s United States

How Did You Make It:

Ingredients:

- 12 ounces of Molasses

- 1/2 stick of Butter
- 1/2 teaspoon Baking Soda

- Vanilla, Lemon or Sassafras Flavoring

Instructions:

Before you start, butter a large square casserole dish. Pour molasses in a large saucepan (much bigger than you think you need as it will boil up) on medium-high heat. Boil, stirring constantly until you reach the soft ball stage (240° F) add baking soda and stir until the mixture reaches the hardball stage (250° F). At this point, remove from heat and add the flavoring. Stir in the peanuts or blanched almonds if desired. Pour mixture into the buttered dish to cool. Leave in the dish until it is cool to the touch (5-10 minutes.) Enlist helpers. Once cooled, the candy should move in one globular mass. Divide the mass up and have everyone pull at a piece, fold it over and repeat until the candy turns a lighter brown. Form into ropes and cut small pieces with scissors. Wrap in pieces of wax paper or oiled paper.

Time to Complete: About 30-45 minutes

Total Cost: About $5.00

How Successful Was It?: Very. It has a light, sweet molasses flavor. It photographed dark but is actually an amber color in bright sunlight.

How Accurate Is It?: I used baking soda as in the first recipe instead of carbonate of soda which is today sold as washing soda. If you are interested in making carbonate of soda here's a page on how to do it.