Friday, August 30, 2013
The English-Bulgarian Aubergine.
I cannot move on from the eggplant story which has
occupied the last few days without a British episode. The British, it seems,
were later in taking up the eggplant than were Americans.
The preferred name in Britain for the
fruit-vegetable is the French aubergine,
and interestingly, the dark purplish colour called by this name was popular
long before recipes for the real thing began to appear regularly in newspapers
and cookbooks.
Smatterings of recipes appear for the
eggplant/aubergine in British newspapers of the 1950’s and ‘60s, but I hit the
jackpot in The Times of May 04, 1959 with a feature which showed the British
interpretation of Bulgarian cuisine. I am is the short introduction, a recipe
for Aubergine Pie, and my choice of two more of the recipes included in the
article:-
Thursday, August 29, 2013
The Nineteenth Century Eggplant.
The story of the eggplant which we began yesterday,
seems worthy of continuing for a little longer – a hundred years longer,
perhaps?
In the first half of the nineteenth century the
fruit (botanically it is a fruit) was little used in England and America. A
century later it had found a regular place in cookery books in America, with
Britain appearing to be lagging behind.
From Directions
for cookery, in its various branches, (Philadelphia, 1840) by Eliza Leslie:
Stewed Egg Plant.
To Fry Egg Plant.
Stuffed Egg Plants.
Wednesday, August 28, 2013
Mad Apples, How to Use.
A few days ago I gave
you the early eighteenth century view of Polenta from Botanologia, the English herbal, or, History of plants (1710) by
William Salmon. This marvelous source is going to start off the story for today
too.
As
for the eggplant, the name Mad-Apple comes by way of a double mistranslation.
The Italian melanzana was heard as mala insana, and this was then translated to
‘mad apple’, which is a truly wonderful true explanation. The eggplant is also
sometimes called Brown-Jo lly in
older English texts. This is a misinterpretation of brinjal, the ‘Indian’ name for Solanum melongena, vatimgana,
al-badinjan, aubergine, badingan, melongena, berenjena, albergínia, Guinea
squash, …
The author of
Botanologia begins with a definition of the plant, and I give you part of this
below. He also includes, as was usual for the time, a great deal of information
and advice on the medicinal virtues of the plant (and was particularly
concerned about its “inciting to Venery.”) I refer you to the full text
(Thankyou Google Books!) if you are interested in this aspect of the eggplant/aubergine,
as I have not transcribed it here. The plant and its fruit were a curiosity in
England at the time, and the author gives some space over to its culinary uses
– which is, of course, my main interest – and the relevant paragraph is therefore
given in full.
Of
Mad Apples.
The eggplant was still
a curiosity in English gardens when The Gardeners Dictionary, by Philip Miller,
was published in 1754. The author gives it the name “Melongena. Mad Apple.” He
gives more insights into the names of the plant , its medicinal properties, and
its method of preparation for food.
Of late, some persons who were ignorant of the true Name of this
Plant, have given it that of the Eggplant, from a Resemblance which some of
these Fruit bear to Eggs, but this is confusing People.
Tuesday, August 27, 2013
Choosing the Right Gravy.
The first recipe I give
you today caught my eye a few weeks ago, and I have been waiting for the
opportunity to share it with you. Those of you who are regular readers will know
that one of my passions (both historical and actual) – is gravy. I make no
apologies for this.
Please enjoy a
selection of my favourites. I am sure some of them will turn out to be yours.
Gravy-Bread For Invalids.
Cut deeply into a joint of beef, or leg of mutton,
while roasting; fill the opening with a thick slice of crumb of bread, and
leave it there for half an hour, or till completely saturated with the gravy;
then sprinkle upon it a little salt, with or without pepper, as is recommended,
and serve hot.
The
English cookery book, receipts collected by a committee of ladies,
and
ed. by J. H. Walsh (1859)
Shalot Gravy.
Peel and slice six shalots, and put them in a small
stewpan with a wineglassful of vinegar, pepper, and salt, and boil this for six
minutes; then add a gill of brown gravy, and boil again for other six minutes;
strain through a sieve, and use this gravy for broiled cutlets and other
broiled meats.
The Cook's Guide, and Housekeeper's & Butler's
Assistant (1867)
by Charles Elme
Francatelli, 1867
Jus des Rognons, or, Kidney Gravy.
Strip the skin and take the fat from three fresh
mutton kidneys, slice and flour them; melt two ounces of butter in a deep
saucepan, and put in the kidneys, with an onion cut small, and a teaspoonful of
fine herbs stripped from the stalks. Keep these well shaken over a clear fire
until nearly all the moisture is dried up; then pour in a pint of boiling
water, add half a teaspoonful of salt, and a little cayenne or common pepper,
and let the gravy boil gently for an hour and a half, or longer, if it be not
thick and rich. Strain it through a fine sieve, and take off the fat. Spice or
catsup may be added at pleasure.
Mutton kidneys, 3; butter, 2 oz.; onion, 1; fine
herbs, 1 teaspoonful : 1 hour. Water, 1 pint; salt, 1 teaspoonful;
little cayenne, or black pepper : 1 hour.
Obs. —This is an excellent cheap gravy for
haricots, curries, or hashes of mutton; it may be much improved by the addition
of two or three eschalots, and a small bit or two of lean meat.
Modern Cookery, for Private Families, (1860) by Eliza Acton.
Liver Gravy.
Put the neck, liver, gizzard, and heart of a turkey
or fowl into rather more than an half pint of cold water, with half a slice of
toast, and a little lemon thyme, and savory. When the liver is quite tender,
take it out and pound it in a mortar; let the rest stew till reduced to about
one half. Strain off, put in a spoonful of mushroom catsup, and the pounded
liver, well mix, strain, add a bit of butter rolled in flour, and simmer for
ten minutes. If too thick, add a little boiling water, and simmer a few
minutes.
Take My Advice: A Window Into the Social and
Domestic Life of the Victorians,
by Charles Edward Buck,
circa 1875
And my personal
favorite:
Gravy to make mutton eat like venison.
Pick a very stale woodcock or snipe, cut it in
pieces (but first take out the bag from the entrails), and simmer with as much
unseasoned meat-gravy as you will want. Strain it, and serve in the
dish.
A New System of Domestic Cookery:
Formed Upon Principles of Economy and Adapted to the Use of Private Families,
(1824) by Maria Eliza Ketelby Rundell.
Monday, August 26, 2013
Ancient and Modern Polenta.
Today’s
offering is an interesting perspective on the Northern Italian staple of polenta
– the yellow stuff which we all know and love, made from maize. It is made from
maize, isn’t it? The story comes from an early eighteenth century text: Botanologia, the English herbal, or, History
of plants (1710) by William Salmon.
XVI.
Polenta. This the Ancients made
variously: Pliny lib. 18. chap. 7. Says that the Greeks made it of Green Barly
taken out of the Ear before it was fully ripe, steeped in Water, then beaten in
a Mortar, after washed in Baskets, to free it from the Husks, so dried in the
Sun, and afterwards steeped and beaten again, till it was thoroughly cleansed,
which being dried was ground small: of this they took xx. pounds, and added
thereto, Lin-seed, Coriander-seed of each j. pound: Salt ij. ounces: these last
things well beaten together were mixed with the Barly, and so prepared for use.
II. Other Grecians, says Pliny, Made
it of Barly steeped for a Night in Water, and Husked by beating in a Mortar,
after dried, and so parched or fried it the next day, and then ground it to
Meal, to make Bread, Cakes, Puddings, or Broath of. III. The Italians Made it of Parched Barly, without any moistening,
ground small; to xx. pounds of which they added Millet-seed win Pounder iij.
Pounds, Salt ij ounces and a half, and them mixt them all together. IV. Galen Commends it to be Made of
Fresh Barly, not full out ripe or hardned, and before the Beard was white, or
quite dry, and then indifferently parched, and reduced to Flower, adding
nothing else to it. Many nations used this Polenta instead of Bread, and the
Cypriots, tho’ they had Wheat growing with them, yet mostly eat this. It drys
and astringes more than Barly it self, binding the Belly and stopping fluxes,
being drunk with Alicant, or red Wine: drunk with Water, it quenches thirst,
and allays Inflamations of the Throat or Lungs. It was often eaten mixed with
new Wine, or boiled up with Wine, and so eaten as every one liked best.
XVII.
Maza. This is only Polenta, or the
Flower of Parched Barly, moistned with some kind of Liquor, as every one liked
best: some with Water, some with Water and Oil Olive, some with sweet Wine,
some with Wine and Oil, and some mixed it with Honey, as Hesychius, Hippocrates
and Galen declare: but Galen says that Maza, is hard of Digestion, and
generates Wind: if it is well moistned with Water, sweet Wine, or Oil, and
Honey also is added to it, the sooner passes off.
There
are some interesting ideas for serving polenta in this piece, but it seemed
like a cop-out to make them stand for the recipe of the day, so here are a
couple of “real” recipes, from Murray's
modern cookery book. Modern domestic cookery, by a lady (1851)
Polenta Pudding.
Mix ½
lb. of polenta (or maize flour) with ½ pint of milk; let
it boil till it thickens; put into it 1 oz. of butter, a little salt, and cayenne
pepper; bake it gently for 1½ hour. Turn it out of the dish when served. This pudding is
very good with meat.
Sweet Polenta Pudding.
Mix
the polenta as in the foregoing receipt: when it boils, add 1 oz. of
butter, 1 lb. of moist sugar, the same of sultana raisins, the grated
rind of a lemon, and 1 oz. of candied orange-peel sliced very finely; mix the
whole well together, and bake it 1 ½ hour. The great recommendation of
this pudding is the absence of eggs, which are not required with polenta.
A
cheap pudding may be made by adding 2 tablespoonfuls of treacle to
the polenta instead of the raisins, sugar, and candied peel.
Friday, August 23, 2013
Articles of Food from Celery.
Convenience
for the cook, the potential to enjoy out-of season flavour, and the opportunity for commercial
exploitation of a well-known crop – powerful motivators for entrepreneurs of
all persuasions, are they not?
In
1874, William Ziegleb and John H. Seal obtained U.S. Patent No. 146,629 for
their “Improvement in Articles of Food from Celery.” Their patent application
describes their idea and their method:
The object of our
invention is to supply the public with an acceptable and economical preparation
of celery, whereby its delicate and agreeable flavor may be preserved in a
suitable and convenient form for use in food, as a flavoring or relish, which
constitutes a new manufacture.
The celery-plant, in
its green state, is found in ditches throughout Europe, but, in its wild
condition, is rank, coarse, and even poisonous; but, by cultivation, it becomes
sweet, crisp, and juicy, embodying a flavor which is almost universally
approved. It is grown only in portions of the United States. Owing to its
perishable nature, the vegetable is not procurable in all seasons of the year,
and is, therefore, only accessible to those living in such sections of the
country in which it is cultivated.
Our invention,
therefore, consists in gathering this green vegetable from its best sources in
seasonable portions of the year, and preparing it for commerce in a more
economical, convenient, healthful, and portable form, and by which it is
preserved ready for use in all seasons of the year, in all sections of the
country.
Among the advantages
attained by our process may be mentioned that, by utilizing all and every part
of the plant, its stalks, roots, or bulbs, &c., we are enabled to produce a
flavor equal in strength and quality at a much reduced cost to the consumer.
Another superior
advantage possessed by this preparation consists in the fact that it has a
wider adaptation for use in food than the green vegetable, and maybe used for
many domestic purposes where it is impracticable to use the unprepared article.
For instance, the prepared article is at all times convenient to be sprinkled
upon, and the flavor at once imparted to, any kind of cooked or uncooked solid
or liquid food, such as meats, cold meats, oysters, soups, gravies, &c.,
and, by being taken into the stomach in this form, is without any of the
injurious results which often follow the use of the green vegetable on account
of its indigestibility when the stalks have become too ripe or stale in the
markets.
The process which we
have successfully employed is as follows: The stalks, stems, seeds, roots, or
bulbs of the celery-plant are first cleaned by hand or suitable machinery,
removing all sand and dirt. We next desiccate by drying on the floor of a kiln,
or in a drying-room heated by steam-pipes or other suitable means, at a temperature
of from 140° - 160° Fahrenheit. We then grind them in a suitable mill, reducing
them to a flour or fine powder. We use the stalks, stems, seeds, roots, or
bulbs either separately or mixed together, as may be cheapest or best suited to
the particular result desired.
We have three modes
of putting it up ready for use. The first mode is to put up the clear powdered
celery in suitable bottles, cans, or other packages. Our second mode is to mix
it, in the proper proportions, either with salt, pepper, starch, or any other
suitable wholesome substance which may serve to preserve it, and render suited
to the different purposes for which it may be required. Our third mode is to
make a solution by mixing the celery in the powdered form, as above described,
with vinegar or other liquids, and, by the addition of pepper, salt, and other
suitable substances, in such proportions as will render it palatable and suited
to the different tastes of the public, to form a celery sauce, which we
preserve by sealing hermetically in bottles or cans.
Having thus
described our process, we desire to state that we do not confine ourselves to
any positive or definite mode of putting up the celery for edible purposes.
What we claim, and
desire to secure by Letters Patent, is—
Celery stalks,
stems, seeds, roots, or bulbs, powdered, or in any manner disintegrated,
dissolved, or prepared, either in their natural state or mixed with salt, or any
other edible substance suitable for the purposes set forth, and put up in
cruets, bottles, or other packages for convenience of the consumer and the
trade, as a new commercial article.
Recipes for celery powder (made
from the whole plant) seem to be a bit scarce, but there are plenty for celery
seed powder – including this interesting version of pea soup.
Pea Soup
Soak
two quarts of dried or split peas over night; in the morning, take three pounds
of the lean of fresh beef, and a pound of bacon or pickled pork; cut them into
pieces, and put them into a large soup pot with the peas (which must first be
well drained), and a tablespoonful of dried mint rubbed to powder; add five
quarts of water, and boil the soup gently for three hours, skimming it well,
and then put in four heads of celery cut small, or two table-spoonfuls of
powdered celery-seed. It must be boiled until the peas are dissolved. Serve
with toast.
Godey's
Magazine, Volumes 58-59, (1859)
Thursday, August 22, 2013
Stuffed Raisins and Fried Lemons.
Even in my most enthusiastic cooking moments, and in spite of how
delicious they sound, I cannot imagine slicing open some good raisins,
sandwiching them together with a mixture of herbs, and frying them.
These intriguing treats are called ‘dropt razins’ –I have yet to
develop a theory about the name (they are ‘dropped’ into the pan?) - and instructions for making them appears in John
Murrell’s New Booke of Cookerie
published in 1617. The recipe references the ‘foresaid stuff’ in the previous
recipe, which also sounds most deliciously interesting, so I give you both:
To
make French puffes with greene Hearbes.
Take
Spinage, Parsley, Endive, a sprigge or two of Savory: mince them very fine:
season them with Nutmeg, Ginger, and Sugar. Wet them with Egges, according to
the quantitie of the Hearbes, more or lesse.
Then
take the coare of a Lemmon, cut it in round slices very thinne: put to every
slice of your Lemmon one spoonful of this stuffe. Then frye it with sweet Lard
in a frying-panne as you fry Egges, and serve them with sippets, or without,
sprinkle them eyther with White-wine or Sacke, or any other Wine, saving
Rennish-wine. Serve them eyther at Dinner or Supper.
Dropt
Razins.
Take
the fairest Razins of the Sun, slit them on one side: lay them open, as round
and broad as you can. Then take the aforesaid hearbs mint and seasoned, and lay
betwixt two razins as many as you can close between them. Take half a spoonful
of the foresaid stuffe that you fryed your Lemons with: frye them browne.
Wednesday, August 21, 2013
Seconds Bread.
The prisoners whose
diet was the subject of yesterday’s post were supplied with “seconds
bread.” I was most intrigued by the
term, which comes up fairly regularly in the dietaries of prisons, lunatic
asylums and other institutions of the nineteenth century – and it seems that
some of you also wanted more information about it.
An interesting summary
of various types of flour and bread was given in an American magazine called The Monthly Journal of Agriculture , published
in 1848.
NUTRITIVE QUALITIES OF BREAD NOW IN USE.
I have had occasion
during the course of many years to pay strict attention to the processes of
bread-making, and therefore am prepared to enter upon a subject which the
existing state of the country renders of peculiar interest. The title of this
article has been adopted in order to embody the leading points of a masterly
paper that has lately appeared from the pen of Professor Johnston, of the
Edinburgh Society, than whom we do possess an analytic chemist of higher and
more trustworthy qualifications. The orders of Queen Victoria in reference to
what is styled "second bread," and the laudable zeal with which
several noblemen of high rank have adopted similar resolutions, require
particular notice, inasmuch as the term "second bread " is of
doubtful meaning, and likely to be misunderstood, especially in country
districts, where it conveys a definite unfavorable meaning.
The flour of wheat is
in England of three or four varieties. The first, by way of distinction called
"whites," is used in families for the best pastry, or by the bakers
to prepare the finest fancy and cottage loaves. The second variety is the
"household" flour used in the ordinary baker's household loaf. The
third is employed to make seconds bread, which is generally sold at 1d. per
loaf of 4 lbs. less than the prime household. There is inferiority of some
description in this second flour of the mill; but it does not consist in the
retention of the pollard, or fine portion of the skin. The country miller, and
the families who there bake their own bread upon economical principles, are
well advised as to the true meaning of these distinctions. And here, therefore
(though the terms of the North may in some slight degree differ from those employed
in our agricultural counties), I may appeal to the authority of Professor
Johnston, as I practically know that all be says on the subject is strictly
correct—thus:
"The grain of
wheat consists of two parts, with which the miller is familiar—the inner grain,
and the skin that covers it. The inner grain gives the pure wheat flour, the
skin when separated forms the bran. The miller cannot entirely peel off the
skin from his grain, and thus some of it is unavoidably ground up with his
flour. By sifting be separates it more or less completely; his seconds,
middlings, &c., owing their color to the proportion of brown bran that has
passed through the sieve along with the flour. The 'whole meal,' as it is
called, of which the so-named brown household bread is made, consists of the
entire grain ground up together, used as it comes from the mill-stones,
unsifted, and therefore containing all the bran.''
A fourth sort is used
in Berkshire, and indeed in all country districts where families purchase or
grow their own wheat and send it to the mill: it is called "farmers'
grist," or "one-way flour," and contains all the finer portions
of the pollard or middlings, after the separation of the coarse bran only; this
true wheat flour makes the best bread that can be produced—wholesome,
nutritious, of a beautiful clear yellowish white, and of surpassing flavor. It
is very economical to the family, especially if the dough be made up with water
in which the bran has been infused. But as every sack of the best white wheat,
weighing 240 lbs., yields somewhere about 40 lbs. of excellent bran, abounding
with meal, so much is abstracted from the corn, and barely 200 lbs. —say rather
196 lbs.—remain to the baker. Now we safely infer that the orders of Her
Majesty refer to the best farmers' grist, in contradistinction from the
extravagant products of the mill, called "whites " and household
flour, from which the miller's cloth has removed all the pollard. But in times
of real scarcity the entire meal claims our attention, excepting in particular
cases where coarse bran is found insalubrious to individuals.
This article indicates
an interesting technique which I have not come across before: the use of water
in which the bran has been infused to make up the dough. I cannot see how this
method serves an economical purpose as the writer suggests, although it would
presumably improve the nutritional value of an already sturdy loaf.
Recipe for the Day.
Bread made of Oatmeal and Wheat.
The following has been recommended as a good and economical bread: Add a
peck of oatmeal to the same quantity of seconds flour, and half a peck of
potatoes skinned and washed; knead it up into a dough with yeast, salt, and
warm milk; make it up into loaves, and bake. Oatmeal and reice may also be made
together into bread.
An Encyclopædia of Domestic Economy (1845)
Tuesday, August 20, 2013
The Prisoners’ Dumplings.
The prisoners in
Bedfordshire County Gaol (England) in the early 1840’s were not a happy bunch.
There was a high rate of illness, and constant complaints about the food. The
incidence of illness (especially diarrhea and typhus) was of concern to the
authorities, and an investigation was held and the results summarised in the Parliamentary Papers, House of Commons and
Command, Volume 20, 1842.
It was determined that
:
“The causes were, insufficiency of diet, cold, defective
ventilatoni, locality low and damp, the previous season wet and cold.”
At the time, the diet
consisted of:
“Two pounds of bread per day, best seconds; two ounces of cheese
on four days of the week and three small onions on the remaining three days;
and for prisoners before trial, and for convicted prisoners after three months’
imprisonment, twelve ounces of meat dumpling on three days in the week instead
of the onions. The mode in which the diet was issued was very injudicious. The
provisions were served out to the prisoners in two meals each day; viz.: at
quarter before eight in the morning, and quarter before one in the forenoon. So
that from midday until the following
morning, the prisoners had no meal. The cheese was served on four successive
days, and the dumplings on three successive days, to as to occasion as little
change and variety as possible.”
The Secretary of State
called the attention of the visiting Justices to the situation, and recommended
that they remedy it immediately by improving the diet of prisoners. A new diet
was ordered on February 28, 1842, but was altered again on May 23 (the report
does not specify these changes.) On July
18, the following diet was ordered for all classes of prisoners both in the
Gaol and House of Correction.
Breakfast. 1
pint oatmeal gruel.
8 oz. bread.
Dinner, 3 days. 8
oz. suet dumpling
8
oz. bread.
Dinner, 4 days. 2
oz. cheese
2
oz. onion
8
oz. bread.
Supper. 1
pint oatmeal gruel
8
oz. bread.
The bread is the best seconds bread.
The gruel contains 1 oz. of oatmeal per pint.
The suet dumpling contains about 6 oz. flour and 1 oz. suet.
We think this diet insufficient, and it is also greatly
deficient in vegetables. Potatoes form no part of it. The prisoners complain
that they have not enough food, and the Governor states he has heard them use
strong expressions in speaking to the justices of its insufficiency.
How the breach of authority, and the insufficient
diet were subsequently addressed, this volume does not say, but it is to be
hoped that the prisoners did receive more and better food, and significantly
less stodge. It is likely however that any improvements in the prisoners’ diet
did not extend to including currants and spice in the prisoners’ dumplings.
Suet Dumplings, with Currants.
Take a pint of milk, four eggs, a pound of suet
shred fine, and a pound of currants well cleaned, two teaspoonfuls of salt, and
three teaspoonfuls of ginger; first take half the milk, and mix it to the
consistence of a thick batter, then put in the eggs, the salt, and ginger, then
the remainder of the milk by degrees, with the suet and currants, and flour
enough to make it into light paste. Make the dumplings of about the size of an
apple, flatten them a little, put them into boiling water, move them softly to
prevent them sticking together, keep the water boiling, and, in rather more
than half an hour, they will be done.
Milk, 1 pint; eggs, 4; suet, 1 lb.; currants, 1 lb.;
salt, 2 teaspoonfuls; ginger, 3 teaspoonfuls; flour, sufficient.
The Dictionary of Daily Wants, by Robert Kemp Philp (1861)
Monday, August 19, 2013
The “Pioneer Meal Move,” 1932.
The
Great Depression was biting hard in Chicago in 1932, and “Society” took up the
cause of the hungry. The Border Cities
Star of February 4, 1932 reported on a new campaign:
“Pioneer Meal” Move Is Started in Chicago To Aid Poor
--
Society Takes Lead
--
Money Saved by Cheaper Food to Go to Relief Fund.
Housewives of Chicago are helping to defeat the depression by
organizing to share food from their kitchens with their 400,000 hungry neighbors.
As in World War days, the movement is
the result of a campaign and has its slogan. The slogan is “One pioneer meal a week for 10 weeks in
250,000 homes.
“PIONEER” MEALS.
A “Pioneer Meal” is one ample and nourishing, but low in cost. The saving
effected by serving a meal that costs about 35 cents instead of one costing $2.50
or so is to be turned in by each housewife to the joint emergency relief fund
for distribution to the 125,000 destitute families in Chicago.
Society matrons, club women, wives of millionaires are joining
with the host of women who do their own cooking in a revival of pioneer thrift
for the benefit of the unfortunate. Husbands are helping, they are eating food
they haven’t tasted since boyhood on the farm – and liking it.
The campaign is endorsed by the joint emergency relief committee
and is directed by Mrs Joseph M. Cudahy. Emblems are worn by those who have
pledged themselves to the plan. The associated milk dealers of the city agreed
to distribute a specially tabbed bottle to each of the 250,000 homes as savings
banks to receive the money saved by housewives who serve cheaper meals.
RECIPES EXCHANGED
“I grew up eating pioneer meals. I remember what we used to eat
in Chicago’s younger days, and I am going back to those menus” said Mrs. J.F.
Ales, one of the housewives sponsoring the plan. She has been married 54 years.
Thousands of women exchanged recipes today. Brokers, salesmen,
street car conductors, laborers in the streets were intermediaries in hundreds
of cases.
“Here is a recipe my wife said to give you for your wife,” was
the password between men in street cars, office and lunchroom.
Sample recipes, showing what can be accomplished, have been
prepared by leaders in the campaign. Two typical ones follow:
Usual Meal – cost $2.50
Shrimp cocktail, lamb chops, rissole potatoes, broccoli,
Hollandaise sauce, light rolls, butter, mint, celery and carrot salad,
chocolate cream pie, whipped cream, coffee.
Pioneer Meal – cost 35 cents.
Spanish rice, apple and carrot salad, butterscotch pudding,
coffee.
Another pioneer meal – cost 36 cents.
Salt meat, boiled kale, escalloped potatoes, bread, one-egg cup
cakes, coffee.
One
of the several things I found fascinating about this story was the quite clear
description of the gender roles. And do we still have “society matrons”, and if
so, how do I get to be one? The role sounds terribly important and interesting,
does it not?
The Border Cities Star did
not include any of the submitted recipes in its article, but I am sure the following
versions from other contemporary newspapers will be more than adequate for your
own “pioneer meal.”
Spanish
Rice. Serving 6.
4
slices bacon, 4 tablespoons onions, 2 tablespoons parsley, ½ teaspoon salt, ¼ teaspoon
paprika, 2 cups tomatoes, 3 cups cooked rice.
Cut
bacon into small pieces. Heat in frying pan until brown. Add and brown onions,
parsley and rice. Add rest of ingredients and cook 10 minutes. Stir frequently.
The
Deseret News, January 30, 1932
Butterscotch Pudding.
Two tablespoons
cornstarch, one cup water, one cup evaporated milk, one tablespoon butter, one
cup brown sugar, one-eighth teaspoon salt, one teaspoon vanilla. Mix cornstarch
with one-fourth cup water, scald remaining milk and water. Melt butter, add sugar
and cook until sugar melts, stirring constantly. Add slowly to hot milk,
stirring until well blended. Add cornstarch, stir until thickened.
Cook 20 minutes. Cool
and add the flavoring.
Pulaski
Southwest Times, October 28, 1932
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