Pineapple and Raspberry Neapolitan (1926) ★★★★

12:00 AM 1920s , 20th century , 4 stars , dairy-free , dessert , egg-free , fruit , gelatin , interwar 3 Comments

Original Recipe:

Dissolve a package of Lemon Jell-O in one-half pint of boiling water and add one-half pint of juice from canned pineapple. When cold whip and then fold in two or three slices of canned pineapple, finely chopped. Turn into round or square mold, filling half full. Dissolve a package of Raspberry Jell-O in a half pint of boiling water, add half a pint of of juice of canned or fresh raspberries, whip, and fold in the berries. Pour into the mold after the Lemon Jell-O has hardened. 

Chocolate Caramels (1877) ★★★★

12:00 AM 1870s , 19th century , 4 stars , canada , candy , snacks , the home cook book , victorian 2 Comments

I haven't done a candy recipe here in a while, and I've been thinking about making caramels recently, so I thought this recipe for Chocolate Caramels would be a good pick.

I found this recipe in The Home Cook Book, which is Canada's first community cookbook. That is, it was written and published as part of a fundraising initiative for the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto. Like many community cookbooks (which were already being published south of the border since at least 1864), this one listed the names of contributors with some recipes, another new concept for Canada (although, to be fair, Catharine Parr Strickland Traill credited some other women for the recipes in her famous Female Emigrant's Guide, published 1854). I also noted the distinct instruction to use Baker's chocolate. I love seeing something like this, which serves as evidence of how ingrained in our society some brands really are. Its amazing that I can still find Baker's chocolate in the store today, and its even more amazing that Baker's chocolate has maintained its place on pantry shelves. In fact, Baker's is probably one of the oldest brand names in North America, dating back to 1764!

Now, this recipe calls specifically for New Orleans molasses, which the internet tells me is "a molasses that is comparatively light in color and rich in sugar." If you search for images, Brer Rabbit brand shows up quite a lot, so that seems to be the main brand. I had regular molasses already in my cupboard and I don't even know where I'd get New Orleans molasses, so sorry to authenticity, but I used regular instead.

Original Recipe:

The Verdict:

I was a bit worried about these for two reasons: firstly, the mixture is so dark that you can't see if you've burned it and secondly, the molasses I used seemed very strong. Even when I was tasting it while it was cooking it seems very strong. So I was pretty surprised when I tasted these and they were really good and quite chocolately! I think they really mellowed out when they cooled, especially after I put them in the fridge. I had to put my candy in the fridge because I just slightly undercooked it, so they were still very soft even after hours on the counter. The texture was amazingly smooth and silky; these just melt in your mouth. The caramels are a little rich, though. I give this recipe four stars.
Yield: 63 caramels

Modernized Recipe:

(Adapted from The Home Cook Book)

1 cup SUGAR
1 cup NEW ORLEANS MOLASSES
1/4 cup MILK
1/4 cup BUTTER
1 cup BAKER'S CHOCOLATE, chopped

1. Butter a cookie sheet that has a rim . Mix all ingredients into a large pot. Simmer it until the mixture reaches firm ball stage, 245 - 250F.
2. Pour the candy onto the buttered cookie sheet to 1/2 inch thickness. Do not scrape the pot. Let cool overnight and then cut into pieces.

Sources:

"Baker's Chocolate (brand)." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 15 Aug. 2013. Web. 18 Aug. 2013. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baker's_Chocolate_(brand)>.

The Food History of Labour Day

9:30 AM holiday 19 Comments

Eight Hour Day Banner, Melbourne, 1856

Labour Day is an important annual holiday in North America. Labour Day, which falls on the first Monday in September, signifies the end of summer and return to school, but its origins lie in the 19th century worker's rights movement. In North America, Labour Day can be traced back to a Canadian union strike parade in 1872. In Canada, unionization was considered a crime at the time, so when the parade prompted Prime Minister John A. Macdonald to promise to repeal the anti-union laws, a celebration followed and became an annual tradition. In Canada celebrations were held in the spring, but similar events in the United States led to an American holiday in September, so in 1894 Canadian Prime Minister John Thompson declared that Labour Day would officially be in September in Canada as well.

In other countries, Labour Day is celebrated on different days, often May 1st, which is International Worker's Day. In Australia Labour Day occurs in October, March, or May, depending on the province. New Zealand holds celebrations in October. In the Bahamas Labour Day is celebrated in June, while in Jamaica the date is set in May. Trinidad and Tobago officially celebration Labour Day in June.

Because Labour Day is considered the end of summer, it offers a last chance for summer activities, such as picnics, beach trips, and barbeques. Therefore traditional Labour Day food is often associated with these events. An advertisement from the August 17, 1969 Los Angeles Times names ham as the "perfect Labor Day dinner":

"For a perfect Labor Day dinner, Fabulous Spiral Sliced Honey Baked Ham (so good it will Haunt you til it's Great!)...because we planned it that way. By using only fresh hams from Iowa's corn-fed porkers--our slow dry curing method, real Wisconsin hickory and applewood smoking, 30-hour oven baking, honey 'n spice glazed. So delicious and appetizing we just wouldn't know how to improve this product we've been making for the past 34 years. Spiral sliced too, from top to bottom for easy removal of slices, yet retains 'whole ham' appearance for serving. Every slice the same delectable thickness. Completely baked and ready to serve. Order you Honey Baked Ham today. An adventure in hamjoyment you'll never forget. Three sizes: aprx. 11 lbs, $16.50; aprx. 12 lbs, $18.00; aprx 13 lbs, $19.50." 

Another meat product associated with Labour Day is the hot dog, according to Nate Rawlings:

"Americans eat a lot of hot dogs. According to the National Hot Dog and Sausage Council, during "hot dog season," which runs from Memorial Day to Labor Day, Americans consume roughly 7 billion hot dogs, or about 818 hot dogs every second...There're several amazing things here. First, the fact that Americans consume such an incredible amount of hot dogs. Second, that there is a hot-dog season. And finally, that there is a National Hot Dog and Sausage Council."

A Labour Day parade in Toronto, Canada, 1900

On September 2, 1954, the Edmonton Journal, Ottawa Citizen, The Leader-Post, and the Vancouver Sun all included recipes for a "Labour Day Backyard Barbecue," featuring hamburgers and homemade doughnuts. Below the column was a recipe for peach cobbler, which was unrelated but still seems like an appropriate seasonal recipe.

"At noon time a great barbecue will be served at the park, this, like everything else in the day's entertainment, being free to holders of the entrance ticket, in the form of a tag. Joe Yancey and Joe Mackey have this most important feature of the day's entertainment in charge, and promise that the hungry public shall be fed bountifully. Beef will be roasted in the good old Spanish style, and there will be plenty of other eatables in sight."

Etsy Picks of the Week No.2

7:55 AM etsy picks of the week 0 Comments

The internet is like being able to window shop at the biggest store in the world. I can literally spend hours browsing Etsy, wishing I could buy all the things.

So here are five more cookbooks I'd like to share with you!

1. The Family Circle Cake & Cooky Cookbook (1953)

2. The Revised Rumford Complete Cook Book (1940)

3. The New York Times Heritage Cook Book (1972)

4. Mary Meades Magic Recipes for the Electric Blender (1952)

5. Die Klosterkuche von Worishofen (1894)