Candied Fruit

"Candied Fruit - Any fruit or peel which has been first preserved in syrup may be candied.
Take the fruit out of the syrup and let it drain on sieves; then dip the sieve with the fruit into lukewarm water, to wash off the syrup from the surface; take it out, let it drain, and dry it in the stove. Boil some fresh syrup to the blow; put in the fruit and give it a boil in it. The fruit when it is put in will reduce the sugar, it must therefore be boiled to the same degree again. With a spoon or spatula rub the sugar against the side of the pan, to grain it; when it begins to whiten put the fruit in the white part separately: with two forks take it out and lay it on sieves or wire frames, for the sugar to drain from it."    From The Complete Confectioner, Pastry-cook, and Baker: Plain and Practical  1864

Onions

"The white silver-skins are the best species. To boil them:- Peel off the outside, cut off the ends, put them into cold water and into a stew-pan, and let them scald two minutes; then turn off that water, pour on cold water, and boil slowly till tender, which will be in thirty or forty minutes, - according to their size; when done, drain them quite dry, pour a little melted butter over them, sprinkle them with pepper and salt, and serve hot."

"Onions are very nice fried in butter. Many people like them roasted, by burying them in ashes without removing the outer skin: when roasted, pull off the skin and season them with salt and butter."

The Practical Cook Book pg 94

Pies

"Sweet Potato Pie - Take two pounds and a half of sweet potatoes, mashed fine, half a pound of sugar, two oz of butter, six eggs, two tumblers of sweet milk, a little cinnamon. Make a nice crust in a deep dish and pour it in. Bake moderately."

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"Pumpkin Pies - One quart stewed and sifted pumpkin, two quarts milk and a pint of cream, half a teaspoonful of ginger, two teaspoonsful of cinnamon, one nutmeg, a tea spoonful of essence of lemon, four eggs and sugar till sweet."

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 I used the crust or paste recipe from this post for Apple or Junk Pie

 

Luncheon

"Fried Turn Overs - Have ready a kettle of boiling lard. having made a pie crust not very rich, cut it in squares, roll them out even and put in a table spoonful of dried apple sauce, make it very fine and sweet, add a little nutmeg or allspice if you prefer it. Eat them when just cold, with a little sweet cream. They must have the edges pinched very tight so as not to let a particle of apple escape in the lard. They are delicious if rightly made."    From The Practical Housekeeper 1855

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"Sausages Cold - Take fried sausages, cut them into picea three inches long, roll them up in nice pastry and bake them. They are nice for supper or luncheon."  From The Practical Housekeeper 1855

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"no 3 Mince Pie (temperance) - Boil until very tender, three pounds of beef's heart; then chop it as fine as possible and add half a pound of beef suet, cleansed from its skin and filaments, and finely minced; mix all these well together, and add one pound of brown sugar, two pounds of Zante currants, two pounds of raisins, stoned and cut in halves, the grated rind of one orange, the grated rind and the juice of three lemons, one fable spoonful of powdered cinnamon, one of ginger, one of cloves, one of mace, two of salt, and one quart of the best West India molasses; stir all well together; the mixture should be very moist, but not thin.

If you wish to use this mince immediately, add two pounds of finely minced apple, and half a pound of citron cut in slices, to every pound and a half of meat; the apples should be very acid."   From Practical Cook Book 1850

Boiled Custard

From Mrs. Beeton's Dictionary of Every-day Cookery
"CUSTARDS, Boiled Ingredients - 1 pint of milk, 5 eggs, 3 oz of loaf sugar, 3 laurel leaves or the rind of fresh lemon, or a few drops of essence of vanilla, 1 tablespoonful of brandy.
Mode - Put the milk into a lined saucepan with the sugar and whichever of the above flavourings may be preferred, the lemon rind flavours custards most deliciously, and let the milk steep by the side of the fire until it is well flavoured. Bring it to the point of boiling then strain it into a basin, whisk the eggs well and when the milk has cooled a little, stir in the eggs and strain this mixture into a jug. Place this jug in a saucepan of boiling water over the fire keep stirring the custard one way until it thickens, but on no account allow it to reach the boiling point, as it will instantly curdle and be full of lumps. Take it off the fire, stir in the brandy and when this is well mixed with the custard, pour it into glasses which should be rather more than three parts full, grate a little nutmeg over the top and the dish is ready for table To make custards look and eat better, ducks eggs should be used when obtainable, they add very much to the flavour and richness and so many are not required as of the ordinary eggs, 4 ducks eggs to the pint of milk making a delicious custard. When desired extremely rich and good cream should be substituted for the milk and double the quantity of eggs used to those mentioned, omitting the whites.
Time - A hour to infuse the lemon rind about l8 minutes to stir the custard. Average cost fid Sufficient to fill 8 custard glasses Seasonable at any time."

I used a double boiler instead of a jug. I used vanilla and omitted the brandy. The image from the book reminded me of my punch glasses, so I used them.

I put the (2 cups) milk in a saucepan with the sugar and vanilla and brought it to a boil. Once the sugar dissolved, I let it cool while I mixed the eggs. I used 8 egg yolks and 3 strained whites instead of 5 eggs because I'm not very good at keeping the whites from cooking, and making the custard chunky. I mixed a little of the milk in with the beaten eggs and then added it to the pot. I heated and stirred it in a double boiler until it became firm. It filled 7 small glasses, topped with nutmeg. Ours were served chilled since I made them ahead of time.

We liked these very much!

My custards served in punch cups

Corn Bread

Most of the recipes that I have found for corn bread use milk or vigorous stirring as the leaven. I am not good at those methods. Here is one that I have found for plain corn bread. This is not a sweet corn bread as there is no sugar or other sweetener added. It is also not savory as there are no herbs or seasoning.

From the Cook Book 1855
"CORN BREAD 1 lb corn meal, 1 tablespoonful butter, 2 eggs, 2 teaspoonsful of cream tartar, and 1 of soda, and mix with milk to be a thick batter. Mix the cream of tartar with the meal, mix soda in a little milk and do not add it until you are ready to pour it into the pan to bake. Grease your pans well."

There were several references as to what corn bread should be cooked in. Some called for a round cake tin and others described more of a bread pan type. I prefer to use a round cake tin.

Modern Translation: Pre-heat the oven to 350. Have ready 2 overly buttered cake tins. Beat together 2 tsp cream of tartar, 1 lb corn meal, 1 Tbs butter, 2 eggs, 1 tsp soda and 1.5-2 cups milk. The mixture should be a thick batter. The milk should be added 1/2 cup at a time. Pour half of the batter in each tin. Bake for 45 minutes. Check doneness with a toothpick. When it comes out clean, it's done. The corn bread should be pulling away from the sides of the pan. Let it rest for a moment, loosen the edges with a heat resistant spatula, turn out on a cooling rack. Once it is totally cooled, slice in wedges.

If the tins are not buttered enough, it will stick. You could also butter and flour the tins if you like or use paper in the bottom of your pan. This second method is what I will most likely do the next time I make this.

I do not care for the taste of this cornbread, plain. I can only eat it smothered with thick cream butter. Personally, I like modern sweet corn bread. However, I think that would be more like mid-century corn cakes.

Apple or Junk Pie

Since it's apple season, I figured that we could all use a simple recipe calling for them. This is a recipe very similar to the modern one that I use.

Paste or Crust Translation: Cut 2 sticks of softened butter into 4 cups of flour. Add a teaspoon of salt and about 1 cup of water, a little at a time. Mix well and allow to rest for a few minutes, then roll out on floured surface. This makes 2 pie crusts with tops.

Apple Filling Translation: Cut, core, peel and slice 5-7 apples. Line a pie tin with your crust and heap it full of prepared apples. Sprinkle on a bit of salt, drizzle with 2 teaspoons of molasses and shake over with cinnamon. I used a good bit of cinnamon.

To Finish: Wet the edges of the bottom crust and add the top crust. Pinch and trim the edges. Make a slit in the top to allow the steam to escape. Bake at 375 degrees for 45 minutes.

Tongue

"No 12 A Tongue. This is sliced, not very thin, through the thickest and best part, shown by the letters a b. The fat of the root, when it is liked must be carved by turning the tongue, and cutting in the direction c d."

"HAMBURGH PICKLE FOR BEEF HAMS AND TONGUE Boil together for twenty minutes two gallons of water three pounds of bay salt two pounds of coarse sugar two ounces of saltpetre and two of black pepper bruised and tied in a fold of muslin clear off the scum thoroughly as it rises pour the pickle into a deep earthen pan and when it is quite cold lay in the meat of which every part must be perfectly covered with it A moderate sized round of beef will be ready for table in a fortnight it should be turned occasionally in the brine Five pounds of common salt may be substituted for the quantity of bay salt given above but the meat will not be so finely flavoured Water 2 gallons bay salt 3 lbs saltpetre 2 oz black pepper 2 oz sugar 2 lbs 20 minutes."

"ANOTHER PICKLE FOR TONGUES BEEF AND HAMS To three gallons of spring water add six pounds of common salt two pounds of bay salt two pounds of common loaf sugar and two ounces of saltpetre Boil these over a gentle fire and be careful to take off all the scum as it rises when quite cold it will be fit for use Rub the meat to be cured with fine salt and let it drain for a day in order to free it from the blood then immerse it in the brine taking care that every part of it shall be covered Young pork should not remain more than from three to five days in the pickle but hams for drying may be left in it for a fortnight at least tongues will be ready in rather less time Beef may remain from one week to two according to its size and the degree of saltiness desired for it A little experience will soon teach the exact time required for the different kinds of meat When the pickle has been in use for about three months boil it up again gently and take the scum carefully off Add to it three pounds of common salt four ounces of sugar and one of saltpetre it will remain good for many months Water 3 gallons common salt 6 lbs bay salt 2 lbs loaf sugar 2 lbs saltpetre 2 oz boil 20 to 30 minutes."

"BEEF TONGUES A Suffolk Receipt For each very large tongue mix with half a pound of salt two ounces of saltpetre and three quarters of a pound of the coarsest sugar rub the tongues daily and turn them in the pickle for five weeks when they will be fit to be dressed or to be smoked 1 large tongue salt J lb sugar J lb saltpetre 2 oz 5 weeks."

"TO DRESS BEEF TONGUES When taken fresh from the pickle they require no soaking unless they should have remained in it much beyond the usual time or have been cured with a more than common proportion of salt but when they have been smoked and highly dried they should be laid for two or three hours into cold and as much longer into tepid water before they are dressed if extremely dry ten or twelve hours must be allowed to soften them and they should always be brought very slowly to boil Two or three carrots and a large bunch of savoury herbs added after the scum is cleared off will improve them They should be simmered until they are extremely tender when the skin will peel from them easily A highly dried tongue of moderate size will usually require from three and a half to four hours boiling an unsmoked one about an hour less and for one which has not been salted at all a shorter time will suffice."

"BORDYKE RECEIPT FOR STEWING A TONGUE After the tongue has been soaked trimmed and washed with extreme nicety lay it into a vessel of fitting size and place round it three or four pounds of the neck or of any other lean cuttings of beef with some bones of undressed veal and pour in sufficient cold water to keep it covered until it is done or instead of this use strong unseasoned beef broth made with the shin and any odd bits or bones of veal which may be at hand Let the tongue be brought to boil very gradually that it may be plump and tender Remove the scum when it first rises and when it is quite cleared off add a large faggot of parsley thyme and winter savoury three rrots a small onion and one mild turnip After three hours and a half of gentle simmering probe the tongue and if sufficiently done peel off the skin and serve it quickly If not wanted hot for table lay it upon a very clean board or trencher and fasten it down to it by passing a carving fork through the root and a smaller one through the tip drawing the tongue straight with the latter before it is fixed in the board let it remain thus until it is quite cold It is much the fashion at present to glaze hams and tongues but this should never be attempted by a cook not well acquainted with the manner of doing it and the proper flavour and appearance of the glaze For directions to make it see page 104 Where expense is not regarded three or four pounds of veal may be added to the beef in this receipt or the tongue may be stewed in a prepared gravy made with equal parts of beef and veal and vegetables as above but without salt this may afterwards be converted into excellent soup A fresh or an un smoked tongue may be dressed in this way but will require less time for the former salt must be added to the gravy."

From Modern Cookery for Private Families 1860

 

It is mentioned in Every Lady's Cook Book 1856, that "Cold biscuit sliced thin and buttered and a very thin slice of boiled ham, tongue, or beef between each two slices of biscuit is best" for sandwiches. There is also mention of mustard in these. So, I decided to provide tongue and biscuit sandwiches at our next picnic. I have made boiled tongue before and it is good but doesn't really have any taste. I wanted to try a pickle recipe this time and then boil it. So, I needed to pickle/brine the tongue that I picked up from The Family Cow.

 

I used a modified version, combining several of the above listed recipes. I only had one tongue to make so I really didn't need a lot of pickle/brine. I combined 1/2 gallon of water, 1/2 lb of kosher salt and 3/4 lb of raw sugar. I slowly brought this to a boil and then held it for 20 minutes. Once it was cool, I soaked the tongue for 4 days, covered in the fridge.

 

Once the pickling/brining was done, I  boiled it with carrots and herbs until it was tender, about 3 hours, and laid it out to cool. It was then peeled and sliced and arranged on a plate with mustard.

Baked Beans

"Baked Pork and Beans
For a family of six or seven take a quart of white beans, wash them in several waters, and put them into two or three quarts over night. In the morning, when it will be easier to cull out the bad ones than before they were soaked, pick them over and boil them until they begin to crack open, then put them into a brown pan such as are made for the purpose. Pour upon them enough of the water they were boiled in almost to cover them. Cut the rind of about a pound of salt pork into narrow strips, lay it on the top of the beans and press it down so that it will lie more than half its thickness in the water. Bake several hours, four or five is not too much. Where a brick oven is used it is well to let beans remain in it over night. If they are baked in a stove or range more water may be necessary before they are done.

Many persons think it a decided improvement to put in a large spoonful or two of molasses. It is a very good way.

Those who object to the use of pork can have a very good dish of beans by substituting two table spoonfuls of nice beef drippings and adding two teaspoonfuls of salt.

To heat over baked beans, put them in a spider with a little water heat them slowly at first and cover close. If they are too moist remove the cover and stir them often."

From The Young Housekeeper's Friend 1862

I made this for a picnic. I'm not a fan of molasses but used it anyway.

Modern Translation: Use the modern directions for quick soaking the beans by boiling them in water for 2 minutes, removing them from the heat and covering them for 1 hour. Drain and rinse the beans.  In fresh water, simmer them until they started to crack, about 1 hour. Drain the beans but save the water. Put the beans in a bean pot or casserole dish with 2 tablespoons of molasses, 2 teaspoons salt, 2 tablespoons of beef drippings and enough of the cook water to cover them. Bake at 350 for 3 hours.

They turned out great. I served them in small bean pots and they looked great.

Pickled Onions

"Pickled Onions - Boil small onions (until about half cooked) in salted water then while hot drop them into a jar of spiced vinegar. Pepper is the best spice for this vinegar."

From Breakfast, Dinner and Tea 1860

 

"PICKLED ONIONS Take the smallest onions that can be procured, just after they are harvested, for they are never in so good a state for the purpose as then proceed, after having peeled them, exactly as for the eschalots, and when they begin to look clear, which will be in three or four minutes put them into jars, and pour the pickle on them. The vinegar should be very pale, and their colour will then be exceedingly well preserved. Any favourite spices can be added to it."

 

" PICKLED ESCHALOTS For a quart of ready peeled eschalots, add to the same quantity of the best pale white wine vinegar, a dessertspoonful of salt, and an ounce of whole white pepper; bring these quickly to a boil, take off the scum, throw in the eschalots, simmer them for two minutes only, turn them into a clean stone jar, and when they are quite cold tie a skin, or two folds of thick paper over it.

Eschalots, 1 quart; vinegar, 1 quart; salt, 1 dessertspoonful; whole white pepper, 1 oz

Obs. - The sooner the eschalots are pickled after they are ripe and dry, the better they will be."

From Modern Cookery 1858.

 

I made 3 batches of these.  My onions are a type that is comparable to shallots so I was happy to find the pickled onion and pickled shallot recipes were so similar. I started with the recipe for Pickled Eschalots.

 

For my first batch I substituted apple cider vinegar and whole black pepper corn for the white wine vinegar and whole white pepper. I had 2 quarts of onions, so I doubled the recipe, except for the pepper. For that, I used only 3/4 of an ounce for the whole batch. While I was making it I didn't think it would be edible. However, these fit at the table of a poor farm family that is making due with what they have.

 

For my second batch, I used white vinegar and half as much ground white pepper. I had 3 quarts of onions, so I multiplied the recipe accordingly. It looks very nice.

 

For my third batch, I used white wine vinegar and whole white pepper. I had 2 quarts of onions, so I doubled the recipe. These are the best but the white wine vinegar was not as clear as the white vinegar. However, my onions are not a white type but instead a white with purple shoulders type.

 

I used the directions, from a modern canning book, for processing the onions. I salt brined the onions over night and rinsed them in the morning. Then I prepared the vinegar, salt and pepper and brought that to a boil. The onions were packed into clean hot jars and the boiling vinegar was poured over them. It was processed in a water bath canner for 10 minutes.

Potato Soup

"Potato Soup - Put over two quarts of water, peel and slice eight potatoes and put in as soon as the water boils; a small piece of red pepper, a teaspoonful of salt, just before you take it off. Take a piece of butler the size of an hen's egg and scorch it on a round tin. Sprinkle in some flour to thicken it, and then scrape it into your broth. Let it boil up a few minutes, and then pour it in your tureen on a slice of toast."

From The Practical Housekeeper 1855

This is essentially the way that we make potato soup at our house and we like it very much.

Modern directions: Chop 1 - 2 potatoes for each person. Potatoes should be in nice bite sized pieces. Boil in salted water for 5 minutes or until just soft enough to mash with a fork. Do not overcook. Drain and set aside. Melt a good amount of butter in a pan. Mix 2 tablespoons of flour in one cup of milk. Add this to the butter. Heat until thickening starts. Stir constantly. Add the cooked potatoes. Add more flour mixed in milk until it covers the potatoes. Set heat to high and stir every 1-2 minutes. When thickening becomes frothy it is done. Salt and pepper to taste. You may use broth instead of milk. Onions sauteed in the butter at the beginning is also very good.

The main difference is that we make it with milk or broth instead of using the cook water. We also generally make this in very large batches and do not serve it over toast. The toast idea is very interesting and tasty if you have stale bread that needs to be used up.

Poached Eggs

In Mrs. Beeton's Dictionary of Every-day Cookery there is given a bill of fare for Breakfast. In that list is mentioned poached eggs. Here are directions for preparing them.

"Half fill a bright frying pan with boiling water; add a salt spoonful of salt and two teaspoonfuls of vinegar; break each egg separately into a cup, pour them carefully into the water while boiling; with a small slice throw the white over the yolk; drain for half a minute, then serve either on hot buttered toast, or on spinach or sorrel. Two and a half or three minutes will be sufficient time to give them."

From The Young Housewife's Daily Assistant 1864

Notes: My salt spoon holds just less than 1/2 teaspoon. I used white vinegar, as I found it mentioned in other cook books of the time. I am assuming that a "slice" is a slotted spoon and was able to find a reference; "passing the slice or a spoon". I used a lined copper frypan as cast iron is not good to boil water in.

Over all, it really wasn't hard to do. I just made 2 eggs for myself and they turned out beautifully. The key is to not have the water boiling when you add the eggs and to gently add them to the water. Otherwise, if you add the egg too fast, it will slide to the other side of the pan and stream the white behind it. As I had no spinach or sorrel, I ate my poached eggs on modern toast with salt and pepper.

Mrs. Beeton also gives her own instruction for making poached eggs here along with an explanation of the importance of fresh eggs and an illustrations of a tin egg-poacher .