Got an antique cookbook?

[artemisia]

I have a cookbook dated 1914 and entitled 'The Story of Crisco'. This book was my grandmother's and is literally falling apart, but I wouldn't part with it for anything. It starts off with how wonderful Crisco is (the word "wholesome" is used), gives the history of Crisco and even has a paragraph titled 'The Importance of Giving Children Crisco Foods'.

There is a section of recipes, and then my favorite part of the book - A Calendar of Dinners. Ther is a full menu for dinner for every single day of the year! For instance, I looked up May 29 (which in 1914 would have been on a Friday) and here is the menu:

Raw Clams
Chicken Pie
Stuffed Potatoes (recipe given and stuffing includes Crisco)
Broiled Tomatoes
Pepper and Cucumber Salad
Cheese Fingers
Pineapple Jelly
Coffee

There was nothing special about this Friday night meal. The menus are like this for every single day of the year! Appetizer and/or soup followed by entree with two or three vegetable dishes and salad, followed by dessert and coffee. Nowhere does it say, 'Hey, this is your day to take it easy. Order a pizza!' Did people really eat like this every day?

If you have an antique or just old cookbook, I'd love to hear about it!

[ovenbird]

What a hoot! I am sure there were families that ate that way in 1914. That was the height of the industrial revolution, the economy was good, many homes could afford "help".

I have my MIL's 1950 or so Betty Crocker cookbook and let me tell you, it is full of GREAT recipes! Blueberry Buckle is and has always been my families favorite coffee cake. Pie, breads, cakes all good too. I have not made any of the soups from it but should. When I got it it had, tucked inside, little cookbook fliers from Spry shortening and Jello. Also a hoot.

[Emerald]

My really old cookbooks that belonged to my Great-Grandmother are all in German and are quite old, but they are all wrapped in acid free tissue paper and tucked away right now- I think that with my love of learning, that someday I just might learn enuf German to read them!
__But I do collect odd cookbooks from family and friends and some just show up! I have an older small cookbook by Osterizer blender that was copywrited 1966 and it is called "Spin Cookery" almost every single thing in there is pureed in the Oster blender-- Of which I have one that is almost as old as the book!:eek: I have had to replace the glass pitcher part a few times but the base is still a workhorse.
__I have several Betty Crocker books the oldest is 1954 and is called "good and Easy" One sample of a Breakfast was this
Cold Weather Breakfast~
Hot Ceral topped with fruit
Pork sausage patties with fried apple rings
coffee cake
milk, orange juice and or coffee for beverage.
It even had a section called "General rules for making coffee" and gives directions for about 6 different coffee makers- like drip, peculator, Steam, french press, and frozen(I have no clue here? maybe the coffee was frozen and then they thawed it out)
There are a few Campbell soup cookbooks too- "Cooking with soup" and "Easy ways to delicious meals." only one has a date and it says "Revised Edition 1968" But what was so fun was that they were torn out adds/recipes that had the Ad for the one book- How to cover cooking emergencies 365 days of the year- send in for Campbells 200 page cookbook, "cooking With soup" it has 608 quick and delicious recipes that can help you take care of any cooking emergencies. etc... Just send .60cents with your name and address to Special cookbook offer etc..
How fun to just send in a few cents and get a cookbook!

__I'm not sure where they are at the moment but I have 3 pamphlet type cook books that are from Campbell's but are celebrity favorite recipe books-- not all of them use Campbell soup but some do... I remember only one celeb recipe right off hand tho-- Lucille Ball's Favorite recipe was Croque-en-Bouche
http://images.google.com/images?q=croque+en+bouche&sourceid=navclient-ff&rlz=1B3GGGL_enUS177US225&um=1&ie=UTF-8&ei=vOkfSo2wApHCM4_57bkJ&sa=X&oi=image_result_group&resnum=4&ct=title
While I have made cream puffs I am not sure how hard it would be to make this and take to a family dinner.

[Soilchica]

I have my grandmother's American Woman Cookbook (from the late 1930's) with all of her notes tucked in it. I don't use it often, but usually refer to it for basic recipes, like how long to boil corn and how much thickener to start with.

I have yet to try the recipe for "Opossum Pie."

[mjc]

There was nothing special about this Friday night meal. The menus are like this for every single day of the year! Appetizer and/or soup followed by entree with two or three vegetable dishes and salad, followed by dessert and coffee. Nowhere does it say, 'Hey, this is your day to take it easy. Order a pizza!' Did people really eat like this every day?

Yes, that is a rather typical meal...if you really want a shocker look up what was considered 'typical' 50 years before that cookbook.

But, remember, back then most people would waste away on a 2000 calorie/day diet...they were that much more active. Even if you had a car, in the early 1900s, it was quite a bit of work to actually drive (electric starters were not all that common until the late 20s...hand cranking the car to start wasn't exactly 'easy', no power steering, etc)...horse and buggy travel wasn't easy (just ask an Amish person how much work is involved in that). Few/no elevators/escalators meant lots of stair climbing. No malls/big box stores meant going to lots of shops...each one pretty much specialized (even the general store didn't carry everything). No electric kitchen gadgets meant human powered mechanical devices in the kitchen for mixing, stirring, chopping...or by hand with a spoon or knife. There was also a lot more work involved than unwrapping a plastic bag...often times, the chicken was just missing its head (and maybe if bought from a butcher feathers and digestive organs).

Before the 1920s there were very few 'prepared' foods around...sure there were canned veggies, but soups, sauces and all that were not available, let alone boxed anything...most pasta was 'homemade', you didn't just grab a bag of noodles at a store.

It's kind of fun looking at how we ate before the 1920s...

[manatree]

I am currently in possession of my paternal great-grandmother's personal cookbook which she had handwritten in an old notebook. It was used hard and is in very poor shape. I am transcribing it to be printed out for relatives so we can wrap the original up for safekeeping.

One of the difficulties with old cookbooks is the lack of temperatures and cooking times. The phrase 'bake in oven until done' is a common thread in the time before thermostats. I know my maternal grandmother did 90% of her cooking & baking on an old coal stove, which also heated the house. She didn't have a toaster either, just used a really long fork and held it over the coals, best toast ever. The outside got brown and crispy without drying out the inside.

[MICoastieMom]

Artemisia, I have a cookbook from my paternal grandmother who was married in 1914 so it is the era as yours. This one was put of by a flour mill and extolled the virtues of using refined, bleached flour: the one I can always remember is that was easier to digest. Well, of course it was easier to digest- there was nothing to it! LOL

My mother has a couple of cookbooks belonging to her mother with handwritten recipes. I hope to be the lucky recipient of those someday.

[artemisia]

Quote: This one was put of by a flour mill and extolled the virtues of using refined, bleached flour: the one I can always remember is that was easier to digest. Well, of course it was easier to digest- there was nothing to it! LOL


How funny - my book goes on and on about "digestibility" of foods, too. This is what it has to say at the beginning of the chapter on Fish:

'Fish, though not quite so nutritious or so stimulating as butcher's meat, is an excellent article of diet, as it is light and easy of digestion and well suited to delicate persons and those following sedentary occupations, who generally do not take exercise in the fresh air.'

mjc - so true, people burned a huge amount of calories back then.

soilchica - what exactly is in Opposum Pie (besides the obvious)?

I really need to learn how to post quotes.

[lreef]

When my grandmother died a couple of years ago I was fortunate enough to inherit her beloved cast iron skillets and a stack of her old cookbooks. We found the skillets in her oven she used them the morning she died to make breakfast like she did pretty much every day. I treasure those skillets with my life they belonged to her mother and hopefully my children will want them someday as well. We're an Air Force family and far away from all of our family so any time I really get homesick and miss my family I grab one of those cookbooks and flip through it until I find one of her handwritten recipes in the margin somewhere. It always makes me feel better to make a grandma meal. :)

[mjc]

soilchica - what exactly is in Opposum Pie (besides the obvious)?



Granny Clampett's favorite use of road-kill?

Use the "Quote" button at the bottom of the post you want to quote, then when it is in the reply box, cut the parts you don't want to include...

To make multiple quotes, highlight the [quote=name;number], right click it and select copy. Then paste that where ever you need to. Then you need to put a [ / q u o t e] tag (without spaces) after that section...

[Locavore]

I am currently in possession of my paternal great-grandmother's personal cookbook which she had handwritten in an old notebook. It was used hard and is in very poor shape. I am transcribing it to be printed out for relatives so we can wrap the original up for safekeeping......

What a wonderful thing to have! I'm sure your family will really appreciate having the copy.

I've got my grandmother's Joy of Cooking. Don't remember the date, but it was likely from the '40's. Lots of hand-written notes. I don't use many of the recipes, but the charts and tables are so useful--many newer cook books lack things like the Table of Equivelents and Measures. How the heck else am I supposed to figure out how many cups I need to make 7 quarts?? Very useful.

[lorna-organic]

My "Boston Cooking School Book", written by Fannie M. Farmer, has an original copyright of 1896, then a long list of reprint dates, and revised/reprint dates. The final date is 1939. The dedication states: "To Mrs. William B. Sewall In appreciation of the helpful encouragement and untiring efforts in promoting the work of scientific cookery. This book is affectionately dedicated by the author."

They sure used to make a lot of fussy recipes in those days. Considering their lack of modern equipment, cooking was truly a labor of love in days gone by. I also have the "Woman's Home Companion Cook Book" from 1942. I bought a modern compilation of old recipes, many of which are attributed to Rebecca, Daniel and Jemima Boone. A couple of the recipes are listed as being from Martha Washington.

[artemisia]

Use the "Quote" button at the bottom of the post you want to quote, then when it is in the reply box, cut the parts you don't want to include...

To make multiple quotes, highlight the , right click it and select copy. Then paste that where ever you need to. Then you need to put a [ / q u o t e] tag (without spaces) after that section...

mjc - thanks!

I love everyone's stories. The books handed down from mothers, grandmothers, and great-grandmothers are so special. One thing that my grandmother did was date all her handwritten recipes. I need to remember to do that.

[artemisia]

Oops! I think I did that quote thing wrong on my last post. Next time I'll get it right!

[evilsunflower]

I have a small collection of old cookbooks including a Better Homes and Gardens red plaid predecessor from 1938 which is by far my favorite. I particularly love the bits of household advice scattered throughout. It is obvious that this book was published at a time when women did NOT work outside the home. My mom has her mother's Better Homes and Gardens cookbook from the 40s and her own from the 70s and it is interesting to compare them to the 2000 edition that I have now. All have equally ridiculous household advice tailored to the time period. I love my red plaid cookbook, but the mealtime advice is going to sound just as ludicrous in 50 years as my 1938 edition is now.

I also have a 1884 edition of Practical Housekeeping. It covers everything from making Prune Whip to kitchen luxuries to coloring and bleaching clothing. Very fun reading.

I wrote a paper on American foodways and early cookbooks in grad school and it was really a fun topic.

[bluelacedredhead]

I have several books that belonged to my Grandmother's and their sisters, ranging from books published to promote foods such as gelatin or Church group or Junior League Collections of recipes. I also have a 1953 edition of the JOy of Cooking that I use quite regularly.
I also have Mrs. Beeton's Cookbook from 1911; Mrs. Gillette's (the Author of the White House Cookbook it says) from 1899 and my personal favourite Lindlahr's (Institute Chicago) Natural Vegetarian cookbook (1918 edition).
I'm sure most of us know that after the New World was discovered, tomatoes were not readily accepted in European kitchens. Being a member of the Nightshade family, they were thought to be poisonous.
Well, the Lindlahr cookbook also mentions other such myths. My personal favourite is the the one about Lettuce contained Arsenic (no, it does not). Great reading. :)

Oh and lastly, recently I found a treasure at a church booksale. It was on a table with a rather large collection of promotional materials from food companies. It is a booklet published in 1943 by the Diamond Salt Company and General Foods with parts reproduced by permission from a 1942 by the Chain Store Publishing co, NY
It is entitled 500 War-Time Saving Secrets: How to Save in the Home; How to Save Clothes; How to Save Food; Ways to Save Food Values. And of course it has a section on Victory Gardens.

[springfever]

One of my treasures is a cookbook that belonged to a dear friend who has passed away. It had been given to several generations when they married and my dear friend gave it to me with her mothers permission. It has chapters on rendering lard, killing chicken, making all types of things.
really interesting.

[Patio Princess]

I love old cookbooks! My fave has always been my Mom's British one, from when she was a war bride (but the book was published long before that, in 1927). I grew up cooking from it. In fact, I have such good memories of it, when I stumbled across a copy in better condition at a flea market, I bought it for my own use.

I think the oldest I own is 1000 Ways to Please a Husband. It's a sort of novel, but a cookbook (does that make sense?). It's a year (of cookery) in the lives of Bettina & Bob, newlyweds. It has simple, economical recipes. Bettina also dispenses some household & decorating tips to her friend in the book. She's a sort of 1917 Martha Stewart; there are times I'd almost like to slap her--she's so danged perky and perfect! :D It also spawned a series: Bettina's Desserts, Bettina's Salads, and, when she finally gets her butt out of the kitchen, and she and Bob finally mate, 1000 Ways to Please a Family, and The Day Sue [her daughter] Learned to Cook. Apart from the salads & desserts books (which I have) the other titles are WAY too pricey--often about $200! Needless to say, I don't own those!

Sort of off-topic: have you ever seen the book by James Lileks? I used to own it, but gave it away--so I'm not sure of the actual title--something like his Gallery of Regretable Food? (Check his website.) He collected old cookbooks, and was repulsed by the 3-color printing process photos of food, hence this book. It's a hoot! He also makes fun of the weird recipes from days gone by--quite funny.

[Cheesecake]

I went to look for mine...where did I put it. Now I'll be on the hunt all day....yikes.

I believe it's called The Searchlight Cookbook...its black with an orange color on the hard cover....It has my Meema's notations on her recipies and how she changed them...or her reminders to herself.

She also has written down her recipes on the inside covers and plain pages....but never with ''real measurements''...hard to know, what ''feels'' right is...and ''enough'' is....

Off to see where I put it now....(story of my life with everything...lost).

I am guessing she got this cookbook new in about 1934 or earlier)....She remarried that year, and so many things I have, of hers, has that date on it.

[artemisia]

I wrote a paper on American foodways and early cookbooks in grad school and it was really a fun topic.

How interesting! I'd love to hear more about what you learned in the process.

[artemisia]

Learned to Cook. Apart from the salads & desserts books (which I have) the other titles are WAY too pricey--often about $200! Needless to say, I don't own those!

Sort of off-topic: have you ever seen the book by James Lileks? I used to own it, but gave it away--so I'm not sure of the actual title--something like his Gallery of Regretable Food? (Check his website.) He collected old cookbooks, and was repulsed by the 3-color printing process photos of food, hence this book. It's a hoot! He also makes fun of the weird recipes from days gone by--quite funny.

My, how times have changed! I need to check into some of these books.

Bluelacedredhead - A vegetarian cookbook from 1918? Ooo, I need to see that one. Actually, my Crisco cookbook (that started this whole thread) has vegetarian menus in its Calendar of Dinners. One of the recipes is Mock Duck - you take nuts, bradcrumbs, etc and shape the resulting mixture into the form of a duck. I'm guessing not to many people were fooled.

I'll be looking up that Web site for Gallery of Regrettable Food, too.

[manatree]

I went to look for mine...where did I put it. Now I'll be on the hunt all day....yikes.

I believe it's called The Searchlight Cookbook...its black with an orange color on the hard cover....It has my Meema's notations on her recipies and how she changed them...or her reminders to herself.


I have a copy of that myself, an edition from the 30s. It was published by a magazine called Household Magazine, and some editions of the cookbook are called The Household Searchlight Recipe Book. I think that Household Magazine used to have a regular section called Searchlight.

Old cookbooks are interesting to see what foods/ingredients were popular at that time. My edition of The Searchlight has a considerable amount of recipes with prunes.

The Household Searchlight Recipe Book is still in print from Odgen Publishers, and can be purchased from both Grit & Mother Earth News (and I'm assuming other Odgen magazines) for $10.95. I haven't seen this edition, so I do not know how much it has changed from teh old editions.

[evilsunflower]

Definitely check out The Gallery of Regrettable Food. As long as you're not too squeamish it's hilarious.

http://lileks.com/institute/gallery/index.html

[Jackie-T]

My favorite is The Settlement Cook Book by Mrs Simon Kander I have the 26th edition and it was revised in 1944.It tells you how to start a wood or coal range and how to serve the meal if the maid is not present.How to make soap. It recomends a woman who is moderatley active eat a 2500 calorie diet if she weighs about 125 pounds. How times have changed. Still this book has recipes that are extremly satisfying and the bread recipes in it that I have converted down to make in my bread machine make some of the best tasting bread. I have other even older cook books but this one is my favorite.

[RozieDozie]

I love old cookbooks! My fave has always been my Mom's British one, from when she was a war bride (but the book was published long before that, in 1927). I grew up cooking from it. In fact, I have such good memories of it, when I stumbled across a copy in better condition at a flea market, I bought it for my own use.

I think the oldest I own is 1000 Ways to Please a Husband. It's a sort of novel, but a cookbook (does that make sense?). It's a year (of cookery) in the lives of Bettina & Bob, newlyweds. It has simple, economical recipes. Bettina also dispenses some household & decorating tips to her friend in the book. She's a sort of 1917 Martha Stewart; there are times I'd almost like to slap her--she's so danged perky and perfect! :D It also spawned a series: Bettina's Desserts, Bettina's Salads, and, when she finally gets her butt out of the kitchen, and she and Bob finally mate, 1000 Ways to Please a Family, and The Day Sue [her daughter] Learned to Cook. Apart from the salads & desserts books (which I have) the other titles are WAY too pricey--often about $200! Needless to say, I don't own those!

Sort of off-topic: have you ever seen the book by James Lileks? I used to own it, but gave it away--so I'm not sure of the actual title--something like his Gallery of Regretable Food? (Check his website.) He collected old cookbooks, and was repulsed by the 3-color printing process photos of food, hence this book. It's a hoot! He also makes fun of the weird recipes from days gone by--quite funny.

:D:D Lordy, that made me laugh!!! :D:D

[RozieDozie]

I have a Betty Crocker children's cookbook that was mine when I was little (it's practically an antique, for sure!) :)

It still has the jelly splash on it when I made the recipe of the grapefruit half with the raspberry jam in the middle. Only we didn't have raspberry jam so I used grape but it wasn't as pretty.

Sorry, Betty, but grapefruit and jelly of any kind do NOT taste good together....

I love old cookbooks and have a lot of them. My oldest has recipes from the earliest Colonial Days. It's a reprint of an old book. Now it's old, too.

Rozie


I

[Patio Princess]

I have a Betty Crocker children's cookbook that was mine when I was little (it's practically an antique, for sure!) :)

It still has the jelly splash on it when I made the recipe of the grapefruit half with the raspberry jam in the middle. Only we didn't have raspberry jam so I used grape but it wasn't as pretty.

Sorry, Betty, but grapefruit and jelly of any kind do NOT taste good together....

I love old cookbooks and have a lot of them. My oldest has recipes from the earliest Colonial Days. It's a reprint of an old book. Now it's old, too.

Rozie


I

At least you didn't do what I did as a kid: I was fascinated by Native Americans. I decided to make corn pudding (I think I was 6 years old). Sounds good, right? Not MY version: canned creamed corn, Jello Instant Chocolate Pudding, and sour milk. I made my poor Dad try it; for years after, when he related the story, he said, "But you know, it wasn't half bad!" My God, no wonder they confiscated my Easy-Bake oven on Christmas Day--Lord only knows what dangerous stuff I attempted to cook in THAT thing!

My cooking skills have improved considerably since then...I hope!

BTW, in my defense: I'm sure there's some old Aztec recipe that combines corn (maize) and chocolate (unsweetened) SOMEWHERE! :-)

[lorna-organic]

Princess, where do you get the recipes for your period re-enactments? You do Revolutionary war era, don't you?

[RozieDozie]

At least you didn't do what I did as a kid: I was fascinated by Native Americans. I decided to make corn pudding (I think I was 6 years old). Sounds good, right? Not MY version: canned creamed corn, Jello Instant Chocolate Pudding, and sour milk. I made my poor Dad try it; for years after, when he related the story, he said, "But you know, it wasn't half bad!" My God, no wonder they confiscated my Easy-Bake oven on Christmas Day--Lord only knows what dangerous stuff I attempted to cook in THAT thing!

My cooking skills have improved considerably since then...I hope!

BTW, in my defense: I'm sure there's some old Aztec recipe that combines corn (maize) and chocolate (unsweetened) SOMEWHERE! :-)

LOL! What a good Dad! :)

[Patio Princess]

Princess, where do you get the recipes for your period re-enactments? You do Revolutionary war era, don't you?

I'm kind of ashamed to admit: they're not from some ancient, passed-down-through-generations-from-the-Rev-War family cookbook! I actually find many online!

I haven't been to any events for years, so I haven't taken food to events (I decided to start reenacting again this year, but, due to being sick so much, etc., I don't have my gear ready). However, DH went to one this weekend; I made an authentic raisin-applesauce loaf-cake, and home-made cheese for his to take, along with pickles (which I already canned last year) and cranberry relish (ditto).

I do have a couple of small paperback compilations of period recipes. There's a series, can't remember the name, that prints these for different time eras. When I did Civil War, I bought a lot, and often made my filed meals from these.

[herb girl]

My favorite is The Settlement Cook Book by Mrs Simon Kander I have the 26th edition and it was revised in 1944.It tells you how to start a wood or coal range and how to serve the meal if the maid is not present.

I inherited this (settlement cookbook) from my grandma that DIDN'T know how to cook well. She treasured it. ;) (paternal grandma: Irish)

From my grandma that was a gourmet cook (maternal grandma: Lithuanian) , I inherited her recipe box, with about 1000 handwritten recipes. I hope to put it together into a family cookbook someday
.
She was an amazing woman and I used to joke with her that when she died she would never go into a nursing home (she feared that terribly),she would die while she was still cooking. Well, it pretty much happened that way. She was ill and the pastor decided to come and make his pastoral visit. Grandma got out of bed and made him his favorite apple turnovers ( even though she could hardly walk!)........... she died a few days later. :(
Boy do I miss that lady!!!

[reavilh]

For you who are just dreaming of owning old cookbooks!

http://www.oldcookbooks.com/c=JFX8zTP9199Zhk8JpqVtb5BlE/

[lreef]

abebooks.com also sells a lot of the old cookbooks but for WAY cheaper prices than the ones i saw on your site reavilh. gotta find em cheap when you buy as many as i do!!

[RozieDozie]

abebooks.com also sells a lot of the old cookbooks but for WAY cheaper prices than the ones i saw on your site reavilh. gotta find em cheap when you buy as many as i do!!


Is that site for real and have you used them a lot lreef?? I found a book I've wanted for ages; the price on there is under $5.00 and I've never, ever, seen it for less than $50.00.

Rozie

[Cookinmom]

My "Boston Cooking School Book", written by Fannie M. Farmer, has an original copyright of 1896, then a long list of reprint dates, and revised/reprint dates. The final date is 1939. The dedication states: "To Mrs. William B. Sewall In appreciation of the helpful encouragement and untiring efforts in promoting the work of scientific cookery. This book is affectionately dedicated by the author."

I have my Great Grandma's Boston Cooking School cookbook. It doesn't have any copyright info in it. I love the ads in the back! There is one for King Arthur Flour. I copied it and sent it to them, to ask about when they published that ad. They said it was sometime in the 20s. I love that book. Grandma Lil handwrote a lot of stuff in the margins, even some recipes she got from her sister and from friends.

[lreef]

I've bought a few books from them. It was purchased by Amazon I think a few years ago it is one of their little spin off companies. An IDig member told me about it I just about died when I saw all the goodies they had listed. Seeds and cookbooks are like crack to me so you know I'm looking for a cheap way to get it!! So far this is the best site.

[Locavore]

abebooks.com also sells a lot of the old cookbooks but for WAY cheaper prices than the ones i saw on your site reavilh. gotta find em cheap when you buy as many as i do!!

Abe Books is awesome! I'd forgotten about them--gotta check them out.

I looked up the date on my Joy of Cooking--1943. Just used it this weekend, in fact, to figure out how many teaspoons are in a tablespoon (it's 3--you'd think I would have known that!).

[lorna-organic]

Three tablespoons equal a quarter cup. "The Better Home and Gardens" cook book has a measurements section on the inside of the back cover. I've made an effort to memorize it, but it is hit and miss. I remember a few, but not all of them. :)

[Imp]

I love some of the old cookbooks and chuckle at some of the ways things were done- and sometimes flinch a bit, too. Minced meat was not like our hamburger in all ways, one old Spry cook book I have suggests coating it in the Spry shortening and cooking it....for digestibility, no less!

I also love some of the trends through the decades- how an aspic was considered highly in the 1920's era cook books, The pictures of the table settings and decorations. Fun reading at times.

[Locavore]

Three tablespoons equal a quarter cup. "The Better Home and Gardens" cook book has a measurements section on the inside of the back cover. I've made an effort to memorize it, but it is hit and miss. I remember a few, but not all of them. :)

THose charts are super useful, and most of the new cookbooks I have don't have anything like that. I think THe Art of Simple Food might have some, but not as comprehensive as the older ones.

[lorna-organic]

Yea, Locavore, that is a shame. I find the omission in modern cook books rather strange. My "Better Homes and Gardens" is pretty much my favorite reference cook book. It looks like it, too. It is stained and tattered but I am going to hang onto that book until the day I die.

[manatree]

I recently picked up a copy of Recipes into type : a handbook for cookbook writers and editors (http://www.librarything.com/work/2391840/details/45174846) by Joan Whitman.

Needless to say, most current cookbooks, magazines and my own recipes fall far short of their recommendations.

[lorna-organic]

What made you get that book, Manatree? It sounds very interesting.

Even though all recipes in cook books are supposedly tested, I sometimes come across awful recipes. Sometimes I can recognize by reading the recipe that it is a loser, but sometimes I don't realize until I have tried it. I make notes in the margins of my cookbooks. I also write the page numbers and titles of recipes I really like on the fly pages. My James Beard cook book has a notation next to the recipe for rum balls "ROTTEN RECIPE".

[Patio Princess]

What made you get that book, Manatree? It sounds very interesting.

Even though all recipes in cook books are supposedly tested, I sometimes come across awful recipes. Sometimes I can recognize by reading the recipe that it is a loser, but sometimes I don't realize until I have tried it. I make notes in the margins of my cookbooks. I also write the page numbers and titles of recipes I really like on the fly pages. My James Beard cook book has a notation next to the recipe for rum balls "ROTTEN RECIPE".

I do that, too; I usually write "AWFUL!!!" next to the recipes. Has anyone else found that certain cookbooks always seem to work well, and some cookbooks' recipes always turn out badly?

[Patio Princess]

I love some of the old cookbooks and chuckle at some of the ways things were done- and sometimes flinch a bit, too. Minced meat was not like our hamburger in all ways, one old Spry cook book I have suggests coating it in the Spry shortening and cooking it....for digestibility, no less!

I also love some of the trends through the decades- how an aspic was considered highly in the 1920's era cook books, The pictures of the table settings and decorations. Fun reading at times.


The Spry cookbooks? You mean Aunt Jennie!!! :D James Lileks had a pictorial of those books on his Gallery of Regrettable Food. By the time he was done, Aunt Jennie came across as being absolutely sinister!

[RozieDozie]

I've bought a few books from them. It was purchased by Amazon I think a few years ago it is one of their little spin off companies. An IDig member told me about it I just about died when I saw all the goodies they had listed. Seeds and cookbooks are like crack to me so you know I'm looking for a cheap way to get it!! So far this is the best site.

Well, I ordered a book from Abes yesterday. This morning I got a call from the book seller who said he wanted to explain the book's condition as he didn't think the description was good as it could be.... WOW! What good service.

My new book is on its way at a Very Reasonable price.

I think this will be a new favorite site. I'm a book nut; I looooooove books. Thanks, lreef.

Rozie

[winter_unfazed]

I have an 1898 copy of Periam's 1884 Manual, and it has a section of recipes. Back then, food had a lot to do with class in America. The upper-class, well-to-do families did eat those kinds of things every day, while those on the lower end of the economic scale tended to subsist largely on cheap foods like beans and cornbread.

[lorna-organic]

In the days of the founding fathers, lobster was considered poor man's fare! Many indentured servant contracts had a clause which stipulated the indentured servant should not be fed lobster more than three times per week!!

[redneckplanter]

collecting the old advertising cook books can be fun too...
some beautiful lithography....

[winter_unfazed]

I
Well, the Lindlahr cookbook also mentions other such myths. My personal favourite is the the one about Lettuce contained Arsenic (no, it does not). Great reading. :)



Actually, lettuce sometimes DID contain arsenic back then, because it was watered with shallow wells near rivers, and sometimes those sites contain arsenic. Lettuce is a very high-water vegetable, and any arsenic in the water could easily be transferred to the plant.

[lreef]

Great Rozie I'm glad it worked for you. I like old cookbooks so much better. So many of the new ones are using tons of packaged foods or the quick meals without considering taste or nutrition.....whatever happened to making a decent meal for your family. I realize moms work now and it wasn't like that in the 40's but do we really have to turn everything into a 15 minute meal because some ding dong on TV made a fortune doing it?? I can not tell you how many of my daughter's friends come to have dinner with us and want to know what the box looked like so they can have their mom buy it because it's so much better than what their mom buys. You should see their faces when I explain no sweetie it didn't come from a box. That's really sad that a whole generation will have no clue how to cook anything except with a microwave :(. Sorry to rant but I feel bad for the kiddos.

[redneckplanter]

wow
thanks jeffery didn't know that...scary.....

[manatree]

What made you get that book, Manatree? It sounds very interesting.


I had bought two cookbooks from Goodwill Industries of San Francisco's ebay store and figured I'd look around a bit to see if they had anything else that struck my fancy.

[Emerald]

Great Rozie I'm glad it worked for you. I like old cookbooks so much better. So many of the new ones are using tons of packaged foods or the quick meals without considering taste or nutrition.....whatever happened to making a decent meal for your family. I realize moms work now and it wasn't like that in the 40's but do we really have to turn everything into a 15 minute meal because some ding dong on TV made a fortune doing it?? I can not tell you how many of my daughter's friends come to have dinner with us and want to know what the box looked like so they can have their mom buy it because it's so much better than what their mom buys. You should see their faces when I explain no sweetie it didn't come from a box. That's really sad that a whole generation will have no clue how to cook anything except with a microwave :(. Sorry to rant but I feel bad for the kiddos.


__Don't feel sorry about the rant- I have run into that many, many, many times here as my kids like to have friends over- They ask for a snack and I bring up grilled cheese and other things like -REAL popped corn- as in I popped it in a kettle on the stove and then added a bit of real sugar and real butter and just a sprinkle of salt-- I now know why they say you should never feed a stray- you just can't get rid of them!:D
__My Daughter (who is now a mom and has her own home) said to a friend and her mom in passing one day that "My mom just makes crap for dinner!":eek: The mom asked what kind of "crap" might that be? "Well, she doesn't have one box of anything in the house and everything is made mostly from scratch!" That mom then said "That is the kinda 'crap' that all families should have!":D

[reavilh]

We have a Betty Crocker cookbook that was given to us as a wedding present in 1976. Then last year, our daughter decided it was to torn up, and bought a new one. The difference in the recipes are amazing. I like German Potato salad. The old recipe calls for 1/4 cup of bacon drippings, while the new calls for 1 tablespoon. Guess which one tastes the best!

[artemisia]

Sort of off-topic: have you ever seen the book by James Lileks? I used to own it, but gave it away--so I'm not sure of the actual title--something like his Gallery of Regretable Food? (Check his website.) He collected old cookbooks, and was repulsed by the 3-color printing process photos of food, hence this book. It's a hoot! He also makes fun of the weird recipes from days gone by--quite funny.

I have had a lot of fun looking at that Web site! Thanks for mentioning it. I wish there were recipes, but the photos and art are hysterical. My favorite was a page out of I think it was called "10 p.m. Cookery" Someone got pretty creative with the weiners, huh?

[conzila]

Hello,
I just bought two ball canning and preserving cookbooks on E-bay. One of them is Ball Serve and Preserve Cookbook. I was wondering if you have ever heard of it or maybe you know a web site I could go to, to find out it's value.
Thank you

[Patio Princess]

In the days of the founding fathers, lobster was considered poor man's fare! Many indentured servant contracts had a clause which stipulated the indentured servant should not be fed lobster more than three times per week!!

And oysters (esp. canned) were very cheap, commonplace food in the mid-late 19th C.! Imagine!

[winter_unfazed]

Canned oysters still are a cheap and commonplace food today, in the early 21st century. So some things haven't changed.

[Locavore]

I was just thinking of this thread today because a co-worker brought in the recipe book her partner has been compiling for years. It's a mid-sized journal with recipes glued, taped or written in. It's so funky and eclectic, I totally loved it! It's got the endearing hand-written recipes, and then ones scribbled on post-its, photo-copied out of magazines etc.

My favorite page was "Devon's Mama's Killer Zucchini Chocolate Cake." I pictured someone 50 years from now finding it and thinking, "Hmmm, who's Devon's mama? And where did she come up with zucchini chocolate cake? I'm making that!":p

[axhandle]

Have the Pauper's and Peasant cook books, Bubble and Squeak, Hasty Pudding, etc--Very interesting!
Ax

[w8in4dave]

I have a Betty Crocker cook book that belonged to my mom (bless her soul) It is falling apart and and someone gave Betty Crocker a mustach , My mom wrote yes and no next to the recipes she tried and liked or didn't like.. I love that book.. I refer to that book most often and I have tons of cook books. My daughter and I started our own cook book full of the recipes we love :)

[crazyquiltgardener]

My favorite is The Settlement Cook Book by Mrs Simon Kander I have the 26th edition and it was revised in 1944.

Mine isn't so old as yours. Mine was revised in 1976. Didn't count what version it was. I had downloaded the etext from offline of one of the originals and was tickled pink just to get this one.

I have a copy of Every Woman's Canning Book from I think it was copyright 1921? Sometime during the war.

The Modern Family Cookbook by Meta Givens 1958

Old Time Pickling and Spicing Recipes MCMLIII

The Complete Book of Pickles and Relishes 1965

The Gift Givers Cookbook 1971

The Kerr Canning Book that was published before I was born in 1959 (my grandmother had it when she was married)

Some of those Culinary Art Institute Cook Booklets that were published by subject the one in my hand published 1950

The Blender Cookbook 1961

I've got a bunch of old ones around. I love old.

And last, but not least, the beloved clippings from newspapers and magazines and handwritten snippets shared between my great aunt and my grandmother. Some of the paper is so old I'm afraid to handle it any more.

crazyquiltgardener

[crazyquiltgardener]

Great Rozie I'm glad it worked for you. I like old cookbooks so much better. So many of the new ones are using tons of packaged foods or the quick meals without considering taste or nutrition.....whatever happened to making a decent meal for your family. I realize moms work now and it wasn't like that in the 40's but do we really have to turn everything into a 15 minute meal because some ding dong on TV made a fortune doing it?? I can not tell you how many of my daughter's friends come to have dinner with us and want to know what the box looked like so they can have their mom buy it because it's so much better than what their mom buys. You should see their faces when I explain no sweetie it didn't come from a box. That's really sad that a whole generation will have no clue how to cook anything except with a microwave :(. Sorry to rant but I feel bad for the kiddos.

I was born in 1959 and was raised by a neighbor and my grandmother who both grew up during the great depression.

I have a cousin by marriage who was 2 yrs younger than I and we both grew up so differently you would have thought it an entirely different generation.

I learned to can and cook. I prepared my first complete meal from scratch by the time I was 7 yrs old and thought I had made a fair accomplishment to be proud of.

My cousin, after not having seen her in over a decade, appeared in the grocery store one day and we started talking. She had just gotten married and was in love.

After awhile, I said I needed to get going as I had to get dinner finished in time and as I got to the end of the isle, she called my name.

She asked me how to fix spaghetti sauce.

I went on to tell her how to brown the meat, saute the onions, garlic and bell pepper and if she wanted to add some mushrooms. Then take a couple of quarts of tomatoes....

She said, "No! No, I mean, how do you make it in the jar!"

It took awhile for it to dawn on me what in the world she was talking about and then the lightbulb came on. The poor girl didn't know how to heat and serve Ragu!

To my knowledge, they don't offer Home Economics classes anymore. And I truly wonder what some of these young ladies will do when they start housekeeping themselves. Especially seeing as how adulterated the food is these days.

crazyquiltgardener

[Roserock]

http://books.google.com/books?as_q=cooking&num=100&btnG=Google+Search&as_epq=&as_oq=&as_eq=&as_brr=1&as_pt=ALLTYPES&lr=&as_vt=&as_auth=&as_pub=&as_sub=&as_drrb_is=q&as_minm_is=0&as_miny_is=&as_maxm_is=0&as_maxy_is=&as_isbn=&as_issn=

Check this out.

[artemisia]

I was born in 1959 and was raised by a neighbor and my grandmother who both grew up during the great depression.

I have a cousin by marriage who was 2 yrs younger than I and we both grew up so differently you would have thought it an entirely different generation.

I learned to can and cook. I prepared my first complete meal from scratch by the time I was 7 yrs old and thought I had made a fair accomplishment to be proud of.

My cousin, after not having seen her in over a decade, appeared in the grocery store one day and we started talking. She had just gotten married and was in love.

After awhile, I said I needed to get going as I had to get dinner finished in time and as I got to the end of the isle, she called my name.

She asked me how to fix spaghetti sauce.

I went on to tell her how to brown the meat, saute the onions, garlic and bell pepper and if she wanted to add some mushrooms. Then take a couple of quarts of tomatoes....

She said, "No! No, I mean, how do you make it in the jar!"

It took awhile for it to dawn on me what in the world she was talking about and then the lightbulb came on. The poor girl didn't know how to heat and serve Ragu!

To my knowledge, they don't offer Home Economics classes anymore. And I truly wonder what some of these young ladies will do when they start housekeeping themselves. Especially seeing as how adulterated the food is these days.

crazyquiltgardener

Our middle schools have classes called Skills for Living or something like that. They teach basic sewing skills and cooking, and do the "take the baby doll home and take care of it" project that most of them can't follow through on. The HS has a class in Culinary Arts. I'm so glad they have those classes. I've taught my kids to sew and cook, but I'm sure a lot of people these days have parents who can't even do those things.

[Alabamy]

I have a copied of The White House Cook Book by Hugo Ziemann (Steward of the WH) and Mrs. F.L. Gillette. The original copyright was in 1887, my copy is from 1915. It is interesting because aside from the old fashioned recipes and non electric cooking methods it discusses table etiquette, facts worth knowing, care of the sick, health advice,a week of menus for each month, and recipe for household products. The old fashioned measurements are also interesting.

Some recipes that I notice just from flipping through; green corn fritters, apple toast, orange syrup

July menu for Saturday Lunch: Fricassee Salmon, Bean Salad, Beefsteak, Corn Bread, Transparent Pudding, Ice Tea.

A few of the many weird Heath Suggestions: To cure a bee sting apply baking soda with a bit of water or mix dirt with water and apply. Pains in the side are best cured by the application of mustard. A cup of stong coffee will relieve the odor of onions from the breath. For a cold in the head nothing is beter than powdered borax sniffed up the nostrils.

Household recipes : Glue that resist heat and moisture mix handful of quicklime in four ounces of linseed oil, boil to thickness then spread on tin plates in the shade. It wil become very hard but is easily dissolved over the fire. To make glue resistant to the action of water boil one pound common glue in two quarts skimmed milk. :)

[w8in4dave]

I have a copied of The White House Cook Book by Hugo Ziemann (Steward of the WH) and Mrs. F.L. Gillette. The original copyright was in 1887, my copy is from 1915. It is interesting because aside from the old fashioned recipes and non electric cooking methods it discusses table etiquette, facts worth knowing, care of the sick, health advice,a week of menus for each month, and recipe for household products. The old fashioned measurements are also interesting.

Some recipes that I notice just from flipping through; green corn fritters, apple toast, orange syrup

July menu for Saturday Lunch: Fricassee Salmon, Bean Salad, Beefsteak, Corn Bread, Transparent Pudding, Ice Tea.

A few of the many weird Heath Suggestions: To cure a bee sting apply baking soda with a bit of water or mix dirt with water and apply. Pains in the side are best cured by the application of mustard. A cup of stong coffee will relieve the odor of onions from the breath. For a cold in the head nothing is beter than powdered borax sniffed up the nostrils.

Household recipes : Glue that resist heat and moisture mix handful of quicklime in four ounces of linseed oil, boil to thickness then spread on tin plates in the shade. It wil become very hard but is easily dissolved over the fire. To make glue resistant to the action of water boil one pound common glue in two quarts skimmed milk. :)

Now that is a treasure.... :)

[Alabamy]

Project Gutenberg actually has an ebook of the original 1887 version of the book. Mine has a different cover (picture of the White House centered inside a sun with rays stretching outwards) but everything else seems about the same, chapter organizations and what not.

The health tips crack me up but I just love learning about the recipes for insecticides, cloth dyes, razor strip paste etc even though I have no idea where to buy lbs of alum, blue vitriol sugar of lead or any of the other strange ingredients.

White House Cook Book, 1887
http://www.gutenberg.org/files/13923/13923-h/13923-h.htm

http://www.gutenberg.org/files/13923/13923-h/images/000.png

[reavilh]

A few of the many weird Heath Suggestions: To cure a bee sting apply baking soda with a bit of water or mix dirt with water and apply. Pains in the side are best cured by the application of mustard. A cup of stong coffee will relieve the odor of onions from the breath. For a cold in the head nothing is beter than powdered borax sniffed up the nostrils.

:)

The baking soda will work for stings. I use that all the time. And to cure an upset stomach, mix baking soda with some vinegar, and drink it while it's still fizzing. It doesn't taste very good, but it works.