Showing posts with label 1 star. Show all posts

Strawberry Ribbon Squares (1975) ★



All I have to say for this one is no. Just no.

Original Recipe:


The Verdict:

The crust was like a buttery rock and stuck to the pan.
The pudding layer was, well, pudding. Goopy and everywhere.
The Jell-O layer was the best part, but the huge chunks of soggy berries were a detriment.


Modernized Recipe:

(From The Jell-O Idea Book)

It's already modernized, but I would advise against making this.
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Cooked Muskmelon (1919) ★

I was keen to try this recipe because it seems so different from anything we would do today. Plus it was taken from a vegetable cookbook, when today melons are considered a fruit.


Original Recipe:

COOKED MUSKMELON.
Miss Corson, in one of her lectures, gives the following directions for making a very nice dessert from muskmelons:—Make a rich syrup from a pound of white sugar to half a pint of water. Pare and slice the melon and boil it gently in the syrup five to ten minutes flavoring with vanilla or lemon. Then take it up in the dish in which it is to be served, cool the syrup and pour it on the melon. To be eaten cold.

The Verdict:
No. Just, no. I'm already so-so about cantaloupe when it's raw, but cooked is just wrong. It's all soggy and the texture is gross. It also definitely wasn't improved by sugar and flavouring. I couldn't even finish one piece. To me, this recipe is pointless. It's quicker, easier, and tastier to just eat the melon raw.

Modernized Recipe:
(Adapted from Vaughan's Vegetable Cook Book)

1 CANTALOUPE
1 pound SUGAR
1 cup WATER
LEMON or VANILLA EXTRACT

1. Cut the cantaloupe into small pieces, leaving out the seeds and rind.
2. In a large saucepan, bring the sugar and water to a boil. Add the cantaloupe and simmer for 5 - 10 minutes or until tender. Flavour as desired.
3. Let cool before serving.
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Pineapple Marshmallows (1911) ★

Happy Thanksgiving to all my Canadian readers!
You know, just a few days ago I realized that Thanksgiving here in Canada was only established as a national holiday in 1957! Of course it was celebrated much earlier, but not always on the same date or for even the same reason. I spent a lot of my childhood in the United States, so I still have this notion of Thanksgiving relating to pilgrims and such.
This recipe is from a 1911 cookbook printed in Chicago. Apparently this treat is a "good confection for Thanksgiving." Personally, I've never had marshmallows on Thanksgiving, let alone pineapple ones. Pineapple also seems like such a summer fruit to me, so it seems odd to have it in the mid-fall.
I looked EVERYWHERE for the gum arabic called for in this recipe, but I just couldn't find any. I did find some online, but I can't justify spending $8 plus shipping just to make some marshmallows. I decided to substitute xanthan gum, which is a similar product.

Original Recipe:



The Verdict:
Well first off, this recipe was a mess - literally. I wonder what the weight of xanthan gum is in comparison to gum arabic (or the absorbability) because 4 ounces was like a cup of xanthan gum and the 1 cup of juice just made it into a lumpy mess. I had to add about THREE cups of juice just to make it workable, since it's supposed to be heated. So I tried to use my hand mixer on it to smooth out the lumps, but it just made a huge single lump that clogged up my beaters. I couldn't see how else to mix in the egg whites except to use my hands, so I dumped the goop and the egg whites into a big bowl and mashed them all around. There were still big chunks of gum, though, which wouldn't blend in. I don't know if my food processor would've done any better? The stuff was sooo sticky.
When it had been in the fridge for over 12 hours, I took it out. It was really wet, but managed to hold its shape...until I tried to cut it into squares. Then I could see that it just wasn't working. The whole thing was a messy failure.
I tasted a bit, and it was okay. A little bit weird, but I did get a slight sense of marshmallow. I wouldn't eat it voluntarily, though. Mr. Man thought it looked like something from the insides of an animal and refused to go near it. Looking at it, it seems like the lumpy bits of xanthan gum were actually quite solid, but the rest of it was just unmixed egg whites. I think I would try this again with gum arabic and a food processor to make sure everything was well blended. The recipe does have promise, but it sure didn't work out this time.



Modernized Recipe:
(Adapted from Good Things to Eat, As Suggested By Rufus)

4 ounces GUM ARABIC
1 cup PINEAPPLE JUICE
1/2 pound POWDERED SUGAR
3 EGG WHITES
1 teaspoon VANILLA or ORANGE JUICE
CORNSTARCH, for dusting
POWDERED SUGAR, for dusting

1. Dust a square pan with cornstarch. Whip the egg whites with the vanilla until stiff.
2. In a medium saucepan, add the pineapple juice. Slowly stir in the gum arabic until well combined. Let stand until dissolved.
3. Add the powdered sugar to the saucepan and heat over low heat (or use a double boiler). Stir until white and thickened and a drop of the mixture forms a ball in cold water.
4. Whip in the stiff egg whites and turn out the dough into the prepared pan. Smooth out and let sit in the fridge for 12 hours. When firm, invert onto a cutting board dusted with powdered sugar and cornstarch and cut into squares. Roll in powdered sugar and cornstarch to prevent sticking.
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Ching Ching (c.1909) ★

My parents-in-law were kind enough to purchase a new blender for us, after I broke our last one, so now I have more tools with which to make historical recipes! The easiest way to make shaved ice is with a blender; even our crappy old one could handle that.


Original Recipe:

 The Verdict:
Ohhh the burning! I used like 3 tiiiiiny drops of clove oil and it burned my throat! Also, this smelled like some kind of gross medicine. I couldn't even drink it. Maybe if it was watered down with 4 cups of shaved ice...

Modernized Recipe:
(Adapted from The Good Housekeeping Woman's Home Cook Book)

SHAVED ICE
3 - 4 tablespoons SUGAR
1 LARGE ORANGE, juiced (~ 1/2 cup)
1 drop ESSENCE OF CLOVES
1 drop ESSENCE OF PEPPERMINT

1. Juice the orange. Stir in the sugar and essences.
2. Shave the ice in a blender. Put it into a glass and pour the orange juice mix over top.
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Curried Beef (c.1859) ★

I'm going to start out this post by apologizing about the lack of photo. This meal got tossed, so I didn't take one. I am not a fan of beer, but I thought that it might be okay in this recipe. I don't know if it was the brand or what, but the smell of this cooking made me feel sick. In the end it wasn't as bad as it smelled, but still not great.

CURRIED BEEF (Cold Meat Cookery).

620. INGREDIENTS.—A few slices of tolerably lean cold roast or boiled beef, 3 oz. of butter, 2 onions, 1 wineglassful of beer, 1 dessertspoonful of curry powder.

Mode.—Cut up the beef into pieces about 1 inch square, put the butter into a stewpan with the onions sliced, and fry them of a lightly-brown colour. Add all the other ingredients, and stir gently over a brisk fire for about 10 minutes. Should this be thought too dry, more beer, or a spoonful or two of gravy or water, may be added; but a good curry should not be very thin. Place it in a deep dish, with an edging of dry boiled rice, in the same manner as for other curries.

Time.—10 minutes. Average cost, exclusive of the meat, 4d.

Seasonable in winter.

The Verdict:
If you like beer, this would probably taste okay. I found that despite adding nearly a tablespoon of curry powder, it was not very curry tasting. The meat had a bit of a beer aftertaste, but it was not as strong as I thought it would be.

Modernized Recipe:
(Adapted from The Book of Household Management by Isabella Beeton)

2lb POT ROAST, cooked and cubed
2 ONIONS
3 ounces BUTTER
1 cup BEER
1 tablespoon CURRY POWDER
SALT and PEPPER, to taste

1. In a pot, melt the butter and add the onions, cooking at medium-high heat until browned.
2. Add the remaining ingredients and cook ~10 minutes, or until the sauce has reduced somewhat.
3. Add more beer or water if needed to thin out the sauce and serve with rice.
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