Breakfast aboard RMS Aquitania, 1937.

I thought it might be fun to compare yesterday’s breakfast menu from the S.S. Hakusan Maru with one from a ship of the same era, but a different shipping line.

Today we are breakfasting aboard the R.M.S Aquitania. The ship was (along with RMS Lusitania and RMS Mauretania) one of the three jewels in the Cunard Company’s crown in the pre-war years. She was launched in May 1914, and set off on her maiden voyage was to New York. A month later, the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand was the spark that ignited World War I, and the Aquitania was requisitioned for war purposes. The Aquitania was again requisitioned for military purposes when World War II broke out, and she served the post-war purpose too, when she was chartered to transport war brides and their children to Canada.

On January 27, 1937, passengers (the class is not specified) aboard the Cunard liner R.M.S Aquitania sat down at breakfast to a fine list of dishes that I can only describe as Anglo-American (I especially love the choice of ‘Griddle Cakes with Maple or Golden Syrup’ !)

R.M.S. AQUITANIA            WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 27, 1937

GOOD MORNING!

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BREAKFAST.

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Grape Fruit   Apples            Oranges         Bananas

Stewed Figs   Compote of Prunes  Compote of Pears

Orange Juice.

Quaker Oats              Hominy          Grape Nuts

Bonny Boy Toasted Oats     Puffed Rice   Bran Flakes

Corn Flakes               Force              Oatmeal

Fried Fillets of Flounder and Lemon

Broiled Yarmouth Bloaters

Broiled Smoked Wiltshire, Irish, and Pale Bacon

Grilled York Ham

Eggs – to Order – Fried, Turned, Boiled, Poached

and Scrambled

To Order – Omelettes, Plain and Jelly

American Dry Hash Cakes

COLD

Roast Beef – Horseradish Sauce   Bologna Sauce            London Brawn

Rolled Ox Tongue                York Ham and Jelly

Watercress    Radishes        Spring Onions

Griddle Cakes with Maple or Golden Syrup

Hot Rolls       Scones            Swedish, Rye and White Bread

Hovis              Toast

Muffins

Tea- India, Ceylon and China

Ovaltine         Coffee             Cocoa             Jams, Honey and Marmalade

Horlicks Malted Milk (Plain and Flavoured)

Cadbury’s Cup Chocolate

The mystery to me on this menu is – what is ‘Pale Bacon’? For the time being it must join Fried Rice Pudding on my To Be Researched list.

I hope that the muffins on this menu were not in the style of ‘cakes for breakfast’ but were the original ‘English’ type, raised with yeast and cooked on a griddle. Here is the thoroughly American Miss Maria Parloa’s version from her eponymous cookbook:

English Muffins.

One quart of flour, one teaspoonful of salt, one-third of a cake of compressed yeast, or one-third of a cupful of liquid yeast; one cupful and a half of water. Have the water blood warm. Dissolve the yeast in one-third of a cupful of cold water. Add it and the salt to the warm water, and gradually stir into the flour. Beat the dough thoroughly; cover, and let it rise in a warm place until it is spongy (about five hours). Sprinkle the bread board with flour. Shape the dough into balls about twice the size of an egg, and drop them on the floured board. When all the dough has been shaped, roll the balls into cakes about one-third of an inch thick. Lay these on a warm griddle, which has been lightly greased, and put the griddle on the back of the stove, where there is not much heat. When the cakes have risen a little, draw the griddle forward and cook them slowly, turning often, to keep the flat shape. It will take about twenty minutes for them to rise on the griddle, and fifteen to cook. Tear them apart, butter them, and serve.

Miss Parloa’s New Cook Book (New York, 1882)