World War I Cranberry Conserve Recipe

I wanted to to find a cranberry recipe for Thanksgiving that was slight twist on the traditional cranberry sauce. I found this recipe for Cranberry Conserve from the book Conservation Recipes (1917) by the Mobilized Women of Berkeley.

During World War I, food rationing in the United States was largely voluntary, spearheaded by the U.S. Food Administration under Herbert Hoover. Americans were encouraged to conserve food to support troops and allies overseas. Campaigns promoted "Meatless Mondays" and "Wheatless Wednesdays," urging citizens to reduce consumption of staples like meat, wheat, sugar, and fats. The government emphasized personal responsibility through slogans like "Food Will Win the War" and encouraged growing "victory gardens" to supplement household food supplies. While rationing wasn't mandatory, the widespread participation showcased a spirit of patriotism and unity on the home front.

The "Mobilized Women of Berkeley" formed during the war to coordinate the efforts of local women in supporting the war. They organized food drives, produced clothing and supplies for soldiers, and ran community initiatives like war bond campaigns and conservation education. This group became a powerful example of grassroots activism, demonstrating how women could unify to address the needs of both the war effort and their local community.

Conservation Recipes, 1917

World War I Cranberry Conserve

Ingredients:

- 4 Cups Cranberries
- 1 Cup of Walnuts
- 1 1/2 Cups Water
- 3 Cups Sugar or Brown Sugar
- 2 1/4 Cups of Raisins

- The Juice of 1 Orange

Instructions:

1. Rinse the cranberries and place in a saucepan on medium heat with the water until the cranberries burst (about 5 minutes.

2. Add the walnuts, sugar, raisins, and orange juice.

1. Rinse the cranberries and place in a large pan on medium heat with the water until the cranberries burst (about 5 minutes). You may want to cover your pot loosely to prevent splashes. 

2. If you picked your own cranberries, now is the time to carefully strain out any leaves, and twigs that might be present. If your cranberries are pre-cleaned move on to step 3.

3. Reduce the heat to a simmer. Add the walnuts, sugar, raisins, and orange juice. Stir occasionally. 

4. Cook for 25 minutes, uncovered or until thick.

5. Pour into sterilized canning jars. 

Conservation Recipes, 1917

You might think that 3 cups of sugar is decadent for a conservation recipe but this recipe makes about 64 ounces of conserve.  Jellies, jams, and conserves stretched far and were used to help make substitute breads and meats more palatable. 

The only change I made to this recipe was adding the rasped orange rind. I didn't want it to go to waste. After Thanksgiving I'm planning on using the leftovers to make Cranberry Cream Cheese and Cranberry horseradish sauce.  

World War 1 Turkish Bazlama

Concealment was impossible; besides, we were in our usual trouble for water. The only inhabitant seemed to be an old woman, who came out of the tent to find out why the children had run back...

 For some minutes the Circassian (for we thought she must be one) stood talking to the two envoys at the door of her tent. Then she signaled us to approach, and invited the whole party inside her abode. Here she offered the equivalent in the East of a chair — namely, a seat on the mats which covered the earthen floor. The amiable old dame next produced a large circular tray, which she set in our midst, and on which she placed some wafer-like chupatties and a couple of bowls of the inevitable " yourt." 

Never did simple meal taste so sweet, but the amount provided served only to whet the appetite of the eight hungry travellers. It was gently suggested that we should like a little more ; we told her we would pay for everything we had. At the same time we produced some of our mugs as likely to provide a method of eating the " yourt " more in keeping with our hunger...Not a thing, however, would our hostess sell : neither flour, wheat, cheese, goat, nor fowls. We asked her to make us some more chupatties, but without avail. No money would tempt her — she was evidently not a Turk, — even the offer of a little tea could not work the oracle. Her hospitality — and it was true hospitality that she had shown to us — was limited to what we might eat on the premises. From what we could gather from her rather peculiar Turkish, the old lady seemed afraid to sell us anything without her husband's consent. It was impossible not to admire her steadfast- ness, and as we left we presented her with three silver medjidies (worth altogether about twelve shillings). On this she relaxed to the extent of allowing us to take three eggs that she had. 

 We tried to find out how far we were from the sea ; but she seemed hardly to know of its existence, so cut off had she been all her life in her mountain fastness. She directed us, however, to some other tents farther down one of the valleys, and said we might be able to buy some food there; so thither we now wended our way. There was a well outside the tent, but it was dry at the time and was being deepened. A few drops of water which she had given us within had come from some distant stream, she said. "Yourt," however, is a wonderful thirst - quencher, so lack of water did not cause any worry for the time being.  

-Maurice Andrew Brackereid Johnston, 1919  

I was inspired to make this after reading 450 Miles to Freedom by Maurice Andrew Brackenreed Johnston, an Indian born soldier in the British army during WWI. In the book, Johnston details his account of his escape from a Turkish POW camp along with 7 other officers. He details eating Chupattis as part of their foraged food but he was likely eating Bazlama, a Turkish version of pita that includes yogurt. It is pronounced "baz-luh-ma." 

This recipe is really good. We ended up eating some of it fresh and the next day we ate it with falafel and tzatziki. Next time I make it, I might add some garlic and herbs. You can store them overnight in ziplock bags at room temperature or freeze them. 

Turkish Bazlama

Ingredients:

- 4 Cups Flour
- 3/4 Cup Water
- 3/4 Cup Plain Yogurt
- 1 Tablespoon Dry Yeast
- 2 teaspoons Salt
- 1 Tablespoon Sugar
- 1 Tablespoon Oil

- Butter for coating
- Parsley for garnishing 

Instructions:

Mix the yeast with the lukewarm water. Combine flour, yogurt, salt, sugar, oil, and yeast water until a soft ball of dough is formed. Coat the dough in oil and cover the bowl with a warm cloth for about an hour.

Cut into 4-6 pieces and roll into balls. Let the balls sit, covered with a cloth for 10-15 mins. 

Roll the balls out on a lightly floured surface.

Preheat in a cast iron pan on medium to high heat until you see bubbles forming, flip and cook for about 30 more seconds. (Don't grease the pan.) 

Rub with a bit of butter and top with parsley. Eat fresh with some yogurt.    

World War I Era Scottish Shortbread Recipe from Chester, PA

I have been wanting to make a recipe from this book for years. I've been searching and searching for an original copy of The Third Presbyterian Cookbook, 1917 but had to make due with a digital copy.

If you have been following me for awhile you might know that I've been involved with the Chester Historical Preservation Committee and we had been restoring the church for the last few years. The church was the site of the first influential vacation bible school and was going to house our archives and a performing arts center once completed.

We are heartbroken that the building, which had been added to the National Register of Historical Places last year, was attacked by an arsonist and burned in a 5 alarm fire (CW: Graphic Video) earlier this year.

Third Presbyterian Church Scotch Short Bread

- 1/2 Cup Sugar
- 1/2 lbs of Butter (2 Sticks, room temperature)
- 3 1/2 Cups Flour (I only used about 2 1/2 Cups)
- 1 Egg Yolk (room temperature)

Preheat oven to 325°F Cream together sugar and butter. Mix in the egg yolk. Gradually add the flour. Mix thoroughly with a wooden spoons or hands.

Roll into a flattened ball and notch the edges or press into a mold and bake for 20-30 minutes or until golden brown. 

If you are able to donate anything at all to the Chester Historical Preservation Committee, they would be eternally grateful. If you are not able to donate, you can still help by sharing this post on your social media. Thank you.

World War I Era Pickled Eggs Recipe from Chester, PA

The Kitchen Guide (Chester, PA) 1913

When all of this started, everyone looked at their pantries and came to me and said “Now we need some of those ration recipes!” I struggled to recommend anything. This is unprecedented. Some people couldn’t find bread, others yeast. Some people had plenty of fresh fruit and others nothing.
While I did find ration recipes that helped me, it was impossible to help everyone.

This isn’t like WWII, when you knew a lot of the variables. Hindsight is 20/20 and we know most people would appreciate recipes that contained less of rationed ingredients and more of substitutes. I haven’t been posting much. It seems silly and dangerous to make special food and grocery trips right now.

This is a recipe that you can make with stuff already likely in your house. The beets are not necessary and you can stretch this a lot further if you use the picked eggs to make egg salad sandwiches. Historically, pickling eggs was a way to preserve them for future use before refrigeration. Kept in a cold place, pickled eggs can last up to 4 months! I added a little bit of water to the vinegar to remove the sharpness. They had no way of knowing the acidity of their homemade vinegars and they were likely not as acidic as ours is today.

Pickled Eggs

Ingredients:

- 6 Eggs, Hard boiled and peeled
- 1/2 teaspoon Salt
- 1/2 teaspoon Pepper
- 24 Cloves
- 1/2 teaspoon Mustard
- 2 Cups Vinegar (2/3 Cups Water, 1 1/3 Cups Vinegar)
- Boiled Beet Slices, if wanted

Instructions:


Press 4 cloves into each egg, place in sterilized jar. In a medium sized sauce pan over medium heat, bring vinegar (and beets) to a boil and add the salt, pepper and boil for one minute. Carefully pour the vinegar mixture over the eggs and let cool. Cover and store in the fridge for at least two days before eating. 

Chester Jumbles a WWI - Depression Era Cookie Recipe

Things are going to look a little weird on my site for the foreseeable future. Due to the Covid-19 Quarantine, I am stuck in New York without my camera gear, and kitchen implements.

For those of you who don't know, I volunteer with the Chester Historical Preservation Committee and was very excited to find this book that was printed in Chester, Pennsylvania while I was on vacation in Massachusetts last year. Drive 4 and a half hours for some local history? Yes, Please.

What the heck is Chester, PA? It's the first European City in Pennsylvania. It's where William Penn actually landed. It's where the wounded were sent by rail after the Battle of Gettysburg. It was home of the Eddystone Rifle Plant, during WWI. It was a major shipbuilding site during WWI and II. It's where Martin Luther King Jr. went to school. It's really historic, you'll just have to trust me.

I was very excited to get to try some local recipes from this time period. This book, The Kitchen Guide, was originally published in 1913 in Philadelphia and had only 3 recipes with Chester in the Title. Sometime during the 1913 printing and the 1927 Chester printing, "Chester Jumbles" were added to the text. Jumbles are one of the earliest forms of cookies.

Chester Jumbles 

Ingredients:

- 2 Cups Sugar
- 1 Cup Butter (2 Sticks)
- 1/2 Cup Flour
- 1/2 teaspoon Salt
- 4 Eggs, beaten
- 1 Tablespoon Vanilla
- 1/2 Cups Shredded Coconut
- Almonds, sliced
- About 4-5 Cups of Flour

Instructions:

Cream the sugar and the room temperature, butter together until smooth. Add the vanilla, 1/2 cup of the flour, the salt and the 4 eggs and coconut. Add flour until the dough does not stick to your hands. Roll the dough out on a floured surface to 1/4 of an inch. Cut out with round or donut shaped cookie cutters and top with sliced almonds. Bake on a cookie sheet in a preheated oven at 375 degrees F for about 15 minutes. Remove from cookie sheet and let cool.

For whatever reason I did not think I was going to like these but they turned out very good. They're soft with a light coconut flavor and nice crunch from the almonds. I only made a half batched and it made about 14, 3 inch cookies. 

This recipe is from the book Allied Cookery (1916), a book written to raise funds to support World War 1 victims in France. It contains recipes from the allied nations. I spent last week in New England and we had bran muffins with butter. It was my first time there although I've lived fairly close by my whole life. I was happy to find this New England Bran Muffin recipe which contains no butter, sugar or eggs and thought it would be a fun recipe to try out.

My grammy and I mixed this up in her kitchen and I'm not going to lie, it looked like something you might remove from a sloppy gerbil's cage. They didn't rise much and also didn't look very pretty until they cooled about 5 minutes. This makes 6 extra large muffins or 12 regular muffins. We used these pans here if you are in the market and want to support me: Jumbo Baking Pans.

They were surprisingly tasty, filling and healthy. My grammy said she used to add bran to her meatballs when my mom and uncles were young because they wouldn't eat it otherwise. She also said this was the sort of this promoted during "her war," (World War 2) as you "just couldn't get sugar."

Easy World War 1 Bran Muffins Recipe

Ingredients:

- 2 Cups Bran
- 1 Cup Flour
- 1 Cup Milk
- 1/2 Cup Molasses
- 1 Tablespoon Baking Powder
- 1/4 Teaspoon Salt
-1/2 Cup Raisins (if wanted)

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 400°F. Mix dry ingredients and slowly mix in wet ingredients and raisins. Butter a muffin pan and fill pans 1/2 way with batter. Top with a few raisins if desired. Bake for 20 minutes, remove and let cool on a cooling rack.

Easy, DIY Cottage Cheese Tutorial, WWI Meat Substitute Recipe

This basic cottage cheese or farm cheese recipe has been used for centuries. Leftover buttermilk, lemon juice, or vinegar can be used to separate the curds and the whey. I used vinegar because I like the idea of being able to make this with stuff already in your refrigerator. I have an 18th century recipe that uses lemon juice for the purpose.

During WWI, the government encouraged Americans to make and use cottage cheese to reduce meat consumption. I've included some recipes from Cottage-Cheese Dishes, a pamphlet by the US Department of Agriculture, printed in August 1918.

Easy Cottage Cheese Recipe

Ingredients:

- 8 Cups Whole Milk

- 6 Tablespoons Vinegar or Lemon Juice
- 1 teaspoon Salt
- Splash of milk (optional for serving)

Instructions:

Pour milk into large pan. 

Heat the milk and salt until simmering (don't let it boil.) 

Stir constantly so the milk doesn't scald. Once simmering, remove from heat.

Add the vinegar or lemon juice and stir until curds and whey form.

Cover pot and let sit for 15 minutes off the heat.

Place a bowl under a colander or sieve and place quadruple folded cheese cloth or a linen cloth in it. 14" x 14" square should be enough.

Skim off the curds with a slotted spoon and place into the colander, pour the remains of the pot little by little, allowing it to drain.

Collect the corners of the cloth together to form a sack.

If you want cottage cheese, tie a string around the top of the bag and hang over a bowl overnight. When serving, add salt and a couple tablespoons of fresh milk.

 If you want meat substitute, sliceable cheese, squeeze the water out and let sit for an hour. Pack the cottage cheese into a bowl to form a loaf, refrigerate for 2 hours, then invert it on a plate and serve.

The Department of Agriculture pamphlet recommend adding chopped peppers, cucumbers, nuts, pimentos, and/or horseradish before serving, which all sound delicious. 

I froze the whey in ice cube trays until i figured out what I wanted to do with it. Whey honey sounds like a good topping for cottage cheese, especially since I'm out of honey. (I have to go pester the bees and their housekeeping staff.) The lemonade punch also sounds good. I'll keep you updated if I get to either of them.

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!

World War I Era Peanut Butter Cookie Recipe and Present Tags

***Humble plea from the web mistress: This time period is my favorite time period to cook from. It's also the time period I have the most recipes for. It's also the time period that gets absolutely no readers. So if you could like, share on facebook, cook and let people know how much you like reading about and cooking recipes from the time period, I would be very appreciative.*** 

I was originally going to bake the peanut cookies from the Royal Baking Powder Company's Best War Time Recipes (1917) but ended up finding a fun article from 1914 in The Women's Magazine that gave ideas for a children's Christmas Party. It declared "Every child likes peanut-butter cookies," and how could I argue with that?

The article also described some Children's Christmas game ideas: Pin the hat on Santa, a similar game called "The Christmas Candle" where the kids would be blindfolded, spun around and would try to blow out a candle on a ledge in front of them in 6 blows. Another game had two children see who could throw more pieces of popcorn into a fake "stocking," and win a small prize tied into the toe of the stocking.

The article especially intrigued me because it was published in January, not December. Some people were still celebrating until January 5th, or the "12 Days of Christmas." In the 1700s, New Year's was the time of feastivities and Christmas was more of a solemn holiday. By the early 1900s, Christmas had its own festivities and traditions. I think this is a wonderful concept because I can't always see everyone on Christmas but 12 days is probably enough to meet up with everyone.. :) I was also entertained at the suggestion of ice cream in January, when everyone had the ice and temperatures to make it.   

The Women's Magazine also included the darling gift tags, which I've attached at the bottom in case anyone still has a few gifts they are wrapping and the recipe from Best War Time Recipes if anyone would like to try it. I might make those in the future to see how good the ration recipe compares to a recipe printed on the eve of war. 

The recipe was in paragraph form though and I thought I would break it down for beginning cooks.

WWI Era Peanut Butter Cookies

Ingredients:

- 2 Cups Sugar
- 1 Cup Butter (2 Sticks)
- 2 Eggs
- 1 Cup Peanut Butter
- 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
- 2 tsp Lemon Extract
- 1 tsp Salt
- 3 tsp Baking Powder
- 5 Cups Flour
- 1 Cup Peanuts, chopped
- 1/4 Cup Boiling water
- Icing [Here's a basic Icing Recipe.]

Instructions: 

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. In a large size bowl, cream the butter, sugar and peanut butter and boiling water. Let cool (so you don't cook the egg) add the extracts and salt. In a separate bowl, sift the flour and baking powder. Mix flour mixture into liquid mixture until it forms a firm dough. Knead for a few minutes with your hands until it is well combined. Roll 1 inch balls out of the dough and place on a cookie sheet. Bake for 9-11 minutes. Once removed from the oven flatten them down with a fork. Remove from cookie sheet to a cooling rack. Once cooled, ice and top with chopped peanuts.

The cookies do not spread in the oven at all so don't worry too much about crowding them. If you want spoon drop the cookies onto the sheet, that would work too.

WWI / WWII Cucumber Stuffed Tomato Salad

Today's post is brought to you by me being incredibly bored of everything I've been cooking lately, the recent tomato harvest, and me attempting on getting more veggies in my diet. Plus I'm crazy about tomato and mayo sandwiches with pepper on them so this seems fun and in the same taste palate. It was very hot out when I started cooking this but thanks to the hurricane it's now a bit too cold to want to eat salad. Sorry!

The fun thing about this recipe is that even though the name changed throughout the years, the recipe itself changed very little from WWI to WWII. The earlier versions of this recipe call for Cream Dressing instead of mayo, although mayo did exist at that time, and for the tomatoes to be served on a bed of lettuce instead of cups of lettuce. I included the Cream Dressing recipe below if you wanted to try it. 

WWI / WWII Stuffed Tomato Salad

- 6 Tomatoes
- 2 Cucumbers
- Mayonaise
- 1 tsp Parsley
- Lettuce
-Salt and Pepper

Peel and cube cucumbers, place in bowl and mix in mayonnaise and chill in refrigerator. Scald and peel the tomatoes. Cut a bit off the top and remove the seeds with a spoon. Place tomatoes in lettuce cups, fill with the cucumber cubes top with a dollop of mayonnaise, then garnish with parsley. 

This ultimately gives you a way to plate a cute salad. If I was to make this again, I would probably leave the skins on the tomato for the texture and because it would make it easier to scrape out the insides. The lettuce cups would be easier to make with some toothpicks or if each wrapped tomato is served in individual salad bowls. If made in advanced it would be best to serve the dressing on the side as well.