The Kitchen Witch
A reminder of old recipes and household hints. Some of them very old.Archive for October, 2007
Christmas Cake (1934)
INGREDIENTS
THE COMPLETE ILLUSTRATED COOKERY BOOK
Edited by “Chef”
Associated Newspapers Ltd
1. 1 lb of flour
2. 1/2 lb castor sugar
3. 1 lb sultanas
4. 4 oz almonds
5. 1 lb currants
6. 1 teaspoonful mixed spice
7. a pinch of salt
8. 1/2 lb butter
9. 1/2 lb candied peel
10. about 5 or 6 eggs
11. 1 wine-glassful of brandy
Dry the flour and mix it well together with the salt and spices in a large basin.
Wash and dry the fruit well, and remove all stocks.
Stone the raisins and cut them in half.
Blanch and chop the almonds.
Shred the candied peel finely.
Put the butter into a warm basin. Soften it very sightly, but do not let it oil, then beat it well with the hands or with a very large wooden spoon.
Add the sugar, and continue to beat until the butter is quite creamy.
Add the eggs two at a time, beating well, and occasionally add a spoonful of flour to check the eggs from curdling.
Mix one or two tablespoonfuls of flour with the prepared fruit, then stir it in gradually beating it very well.
Add the almonds, and then, last of all, stir in the flour lightly, alternating with the brandy.
DO NOT BEAT THE MIXTURE AFTER THE FLOUR IS ADDED
Grease a tin well and line it with three or four layers of of greased paper.
Three parts fill the cake tin with the mixture, and place it on a baking tin thickly covered with sand and put them into a moderate oven.
This quantity takes 3 and 1/2 hours to cook. The oven must be hot enough to keep the fruit from sinking to the bottom of the cake, but after the first 20 minutes, the heat should be lowered a little and a steady state maintained.
When the cake begins to brown, cover it with a double sheet of wet white paper.
The last hour the heat of the oven may be lowered considerably for the cake to finish cooking through.
When cooked, turn it on to a sieve to cool, and remove the paper. It may then be wrapped in white paper or a cloth and kept for at least 2-3 months in a tin box with a well fitting lid.
All heavy rich fruit cakes are better for keeping as the ingredients seem to mellow and blend better with each other.
A few days before Christmas it may be coated with almond paste and then iced with ROYAL ICING.
The brandy may be omitted from this cake and sherry or port substituted.
COOKING TIME : 3 AND 1/2 HOURS
© Photographer:Paul Cowan | Agency: Dreamstime.com
White frosting 1920’s
“The plainest of cakes and the simplest of biscuits can make most elaborate fare with the proper icing”
1920’s – From Aunt Kate’s Baking Book
INGREDIENTS
1lb sugar
1 dessertspoonful of lemon juice
1 gill water
2 whites of eggs
1. Put the sugar into a saucepan with the water and stir until dissolved.
2. Then boil until a soft ball forms when a little is tested in cold water.
3. Add the lemon juice and pour slowly on to the frothed eg whites.
4. Whisk all the time until the frosting is nearly cold, then use a s required and leave to set.
A Pot of Tea 1934
AFTERNOON TEA
We now dunk a tea-bag into a cup of hot water.
Here is the real ritual that was always practiced two generations ago and it definitely makes a better cup of tea. Departure from this ritual demonstrated a definite lack of “breeding!”
Not sure about the “injurious to the nerves” part though.
A 1934 Recipe from:
THE COMPLETE ILLUSTRATED COOKERY BOOK
Edited by “Chef”
Associated Newspapers Ltd
A POT OF PERFECT TEA
“Tea should not be bought in large quantities, and only a good brand should be chosen. Cheap tea is no economy, as it will not go as far as a good brand and is very often adulterated.
“After the tea is made, it should not be allowed to or brew too long or the tannin will be drawn out of it, and will cause indigestion and is also injurious to the nerves.
“Always use freshly boiled water for making tea. It is not advisable to use water which has already boiled and is then put on the fire to re-boil. A teapot must be kept properly clean and must never be put away with the tea leaves in it. Always warm the teapot before making the tea by pouring in a little boiling water or letting the teapot stand in a warm place. The usual proportion of tea is 1 teaspoonful per person and one for the pot, but if tea is being made for a large number of people, a smaller proportion may be allowed.
“Put the tea into the warmed pot, then half-fill the tea-pot with absolutely boiling water. Let it stand for three minutes in a warm place or under a tea-cosy., fill up the teapot with boiling water and pour out the tea at once. Tea should never be allowed to stand.
“Sugar and milk are usually handed with tea. When serving milk with tea, always add the milk to the cups before pouring out the tea.”
Rice pudding- 1879
This is an 1879 recipe taken from:
“LESSONS IN COOKERY”
Handbook of the National Training School for Cookery (South Kensington, London)
to which is added
“THE PRINCIPLES OF DIET IN HEALTH AND DISEASE.”
By Thomas K. Chambers, M. D. 1879
INGREDIENTS
One and a half ounce of rice.
Butter.
One tablespoonful of moist sugar.
One pint of milk.
Time required, about two hours.
METHOD
1. Take a pint dish and butter it well inside.
2. Take one ounce and a half of rice and wash it well in two or three waters.
3. Put the rice into a buttered dish and sprinkle over it a tablespoonful of moist sugar.
4. Fill up the dish with new milk.
N. B. Nutmeg may be grated, or pounded cinnamon be sifted, over the top of the pudding before it is put in the oven.
5. Put the dish into a moderate oven (the heat should be about. 220) to bake for two hours.
6. “Watch it occasionally, and as the rice soaks up the milk, more milk should be added (carefully lifting up the skin and pouring the milk in at the side), so as to keep the dish always full.
Boiled Cabbage – 1934
So, the first recipe.
As a child, I loved boiled cabbage. As an adult, I came to realise that most folk hate it. Probably this is how it was cooked for me. Maybe it tastes better this way.
A 1934 Recipe from:
THE COMPLETE ILLUSTRATED COOKERY BOOK
Edited by “Chef”
Associated Newspapers Ltd
CABBAGE
“Cabbage is obtainable all the year round, and is the cheapest and most popular of vegetables. There are many varieites; the green and red cabbage, savoy, Brussels sprouts, broccoli, cauliflower, and early spring greens all belong to the cabbage family.
Cabbage at its best, should be freshly cut and soaked in cold water to which a few drops of vinegar have been added before cooking, and well drained after cooking.
Cabbage is not easily digested bu contains valuable mineral salts.
It is advisable to scald cabbage before cooking it, where the strong flavour is objected to. this is done by putting it into a pan of boiling water, and letting it simmer for five minutes.
Drain and wash the cabbage in cold water and cook as desired.”
BOILED CABBAGE
INGREDIENTS
“For 4 or 5 persons
Time 1/2 to 3/4 hour
1 cabbage
1 teaspoonful of salt to each quart of water
1 small piece of soda
1. Remove all the rough outside leaves , and cut as much stalk as possible from the cabbage.
2. Cut it across at the stock end or if very large divide into quarters.
3. Soak in in cold water with a little vinegar to get out any insects, and drain it.
4. Put it into a pan with plenty of fast boiling water, to which salt and a very small piece of soda has been added, and boil it without a lid to the pan.
5. Drain the cabbage well, pressing out all the moisture with a vegetable presser.
6. Put it into a hot vegetable dish and cut it across in slices.
Savoys and all green vegetables may be boiled in the same manner.”
THE KITCHEN WITCH:
Wonder what a vegetable presser is?
My mother drained cabbage between two plates.
© Photographer:Ingrid Balabanova | Agency: Dreamstime.com
A companion to Morning, Noon, and Night
A SECOND BLOG
I started writing this blog “Morning, Noon and Night” a few months ago. Every now and then I included recipes from very old cookery books that have been lying around our house for as long as I can remember. They are faded and tatty and have been handed down from generation to generation.
Sometimes, hidden among the pages are old handwritten recipes and cuttings from magazines.
I decided I would record some of these old recipes for posterity by posting them from time to time on this second blog site. I’ve started off with some of the most basic. Some of the old cookery books really started from scratch in a way that is seldom done today. So simple recipes for boiled cabbage, mashed potatoes and rice pudding will appear.
There will probably be some scattered household hints too.
The photographs are a bit of an assortment really. They are often unrelated to the posting but rather a reminiscence of the way things used to be.
I hope you enjoy reading these old recipes and might want to try some of them.
I can’t vouch that they will all be delicious but I’m sure most will.
I’m just recording. Not cooking!
© Photographer:Maksym Gorpenyuk | Agency: Dreamstime.com
