A blog dedicated to Early American History Lovers, Civil War Reenactors, Living Historians, and people that love the past. Lots of Historical Recipes and Patterns!
When I was younger, my grandmother made cabbage weekly. Cabbage fried in soy sauce and topped with ketchup or cabbage stuffed with ground beef, cabbage soups, and coleslaw. Always with that particular smell that accompanied a hot, steamy kitchen.
Everytime I see I recipe that calls for cabbage, I remember how much I like it and wonder why I don't cook it. In fact, I couldn't even remember the last time I had cabbage short of coleslaw. It was something that fell off my food radar as an adult. My diet has gotten bland, relying heavily on foods flavored with sugar and salt. Many fermented foods were dropped so I'm now making a more conscious attempt to add them back in again because they're delicious and provide good health benefits.
Fermented foods can improve digestion, boost immune systems and have inflammatory properties among other benefits. For this recipe, I replaced the sour cream with plain yogurt to really up the probiotic count (okay, so I just happened to have a ton in the fridge I needed to use up.). Any kind of sausage would go good in this but kielbasa is amazing, I used Field Roast Italian with good results. This recipe is from 500 Delicious Dishes from Leftovers, 1940.
WW2 Sauerkraut Viennese
Ingredients:
- 3 Cups Sauerkraut
- 1 Pound Link Sausage
- 1 Cup Sour Cream
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 3 Cloves
- 1 Bay Leaf
Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Place sausage in a casserole dish and make until browned.
While the sausage is baking, add sauerkraut, bay leaf, and cloves to a large saucepan on medium-high heat. Stir periodically to avoid burning. Remove from heat when the water from the sauerkraut has cooked off.
Remove the bay leaf and the cloves and stir in the sour cream. Serve on a platter, topped with the sausage.
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.
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!
It's no secret that I love historical cookbooks and Asian food. I was ecstatic to find The Chinese Cook Book printed in Reading, Pennsylvania in 1936.
Historical Cookbook? Asian Food? Local Food History? Take my money!
This book was in print from 1934 all the way until the 1970s. Man Sing Au was a Chinese-American born in 1910. She married Kam Chow Tom in 1928. In 1940s she was living in Honolulu, Hawaii with her brother in law Major, Man Sing Au. Not much is known about her life but she was widowed by 1940.
Depression Era Chinese-American Shrimp Fried Rice
Ingredients:
- 5 Cups leftover White Rice
- 1 Pound Shrimp, washed and peeled
- 1 medium sized Onion, diced
- 1 stalk of Celery, chopped
- 1/2 cup White Mushrooms
- 3 Tablespoons Soy Sauce
- 5 Eggs
- 3 Tablespoons Peanut or Cooking Oil
- 1 Teaspoon Salt
- Pepper to taste.
Instructions:
Clean and wash your shrimp. Heat your cooking oil in a large frying pan on wok on high heat. Fry your protein until half done. Add the onions and celery until and fry about 5 minutes. Add the rice, soy sauce, salt and pepper. Stir with a wooden turner until well mixed. Crack 5 eggs over the rice and stir until firm. Serve warm.
Breaking eggs directly over rice has been a point of contention in my family for years. My dad did this when he made Kao Pad (Thai fried rice) a recipe he became accustomed to during the Vietnam War. He insisted he cooked it perfectly, 15 year old me was sure he was doing it wrong. It definitely couldn't be the "authentic" way. It coated the rice and made it all sticky and didn't taste anything like any fried rice I got from restaurants.
I preferred to wait until the rice was cooked, make a divot in the center of the rice in the frying pan, add a little oil and scramble the egg in the divot in the pan until it was done, then quickly incorporating it into the rice. I've asked around to see which way is "most authentic" and, as you'd imagine, people do both. But I was so sure as a kid that a separate egg must be the more authentic way. I cooked this while my family was away and have seemed to have forgotten to mention this discovery to my dad. :)
For this recipe, I ended up using some fake crab that I had on hand instead of the shrimp. The book mentions you can use bacon, ham, "Chicken, beef, pork, lobster or crab.. Also, any left-over meats, cut up in small pieces, can be utilized in the same manner and will make a very appetizing dish." It's a great way to use up leftover onion, celery, mushrooms and proteins that would otherwise go to waste. I will probably be cooking and sharing a few more recipes from this book. I've been eyeing up the Chop Suey and some of the tofu recipes.
A lot of my friends are amazing cooks and food enthusiasts but for this Valentine's Day dish I wanted something that even a beginner could feel confident about. This is a one pot dish. No fancy cooking methods, no complex techniques or hard to find ingredients. Just everything in the pot and done in an hour. Cook with a loved one, for a loved one or just for something fun to do.
This is the final recipe of a full, simple WWII Valentine's Day dinner. Be sure to check out the period recipes for salad and dessert:
This recipe is from The Searchlight Cookbook (1943) Ingredients:
- 1/2 Pound of Spaghetti (1/2 a box)
- 2 Cups Canned Tomatoes, chopped (1, 28 Ounce Can)
- 1/2 Pound of Grated Cheese
- 1/4 Cup Oil
- 1/2 Cup Ketchup (Modern ketchup is really sweet so add a few Tablespoons of Vinegar if you want)
- 1 Cup Sliced Mushrooms (2 small cans)
- 1/2 Cup Sliced Olives (1 small can)
- 2 Teaspoons Worcestershire Sauce
- 1 Clove Garlic, Minced
- 2 Small Chili Peppers, Chopped
Cook and drain Spaghetti according to the package. Add remaining ingredients and let simmer for 1 hour. Plate it and top with extra cheese. You're done!
I'm particular about my pasta but this is a surprisingly fun one as the flavor sits between spaghetti and pizza due to the toppings and what kind of cheese you use. I used Parmesan but if you chose to use mozzarella it would definitely still be good. There are a lot of olives and mushrooms which my grandma would call "fluffing" a recipe when her mother did it: adding more veggies so you can stretch it out to feed more people.
If you want to save time, tomatoes with garlic already included can be bought and crushed red chili pepper can be used. If you're cooking the full meal, I won't tell if you get a salad kit at the grocery store and buy your candies. :)
Happy Valentine's Day! I would love to hear from anyone who cooks any of these recipes.
