Historic Cookery

Here’s one of my favorite photos of a stray cat that,
for more than a year, has taken up residence in my
back yard. Prior to this past year, however, he/she
(am still not sure) made fairly regular visits (usually at meal
time), but to the front. Now, he/she seems content
to live in the back. [...]

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I will be conducting my Fireside Feasts series of historic cooking classes
again this summer out at the Wyckoff Farmhouse Museum. They will be held
on four specific Thursdays during July and August. We’ll prepare, cook, and eat
a variety of dishes that would’ve been typical in the early 1800s. And yes, it’s
participatory! Visitors [...]

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This photo was taken at the Confectionery
class I recently attended at Bolton Mansion,
in Levittown, PA, which was led by Susan
McLellan Plaisted of Heart to Hearth Cookery.
The white porcelain pot contains Syllabub,
or “silly bubbles,” a common 18th Century
beverage. And it’s filled with just that,
nothing but bubbles. Bubbles that were
created when air was blown into a mixture
of [...]

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During one session of 2008’s Fireside Feasts, we made Oyster Loaves.
I used the receipt in Hannah Glasse’s First Catch Your Hare¿ The Art of Cookery Made Plain and Easy (1747). However, similar versions can be found in several other historic cookbooks.
Now, you may be wondering, “Just what are Oyster Loaves?” Well, it’s a [...]

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Just for fun, I started looking for other “white bread” receipts in the other
historic cookbooks (reprints/facsimiles, all) that I have. Most, as I’ve said,
are of British origin. I’m quite surprised to discover (thusfar, at least) that
I’ve found exactly…none. Nada. Zippo. I will continue my quest, of course,
but all I’ve found [...]

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The historic bread receipts that I’ve shared with you thusfar have all been
for “white bread.” So I thought now I’d offer one or two for French Bread,
so you can see the differences between them. Remember, adding
ingredients such as eggs or milk, makes for a more enriched, and
hence, more French, bread. In addition, [...]

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As part of the (modern) bread baking class that I took this past week, I was
able to make bread using an historic receipt. HUZZAH! The class has been
beneficial in providing me with multiple opportunities to practice and strengthen
my bread baking skills. I will certainly put all that I learned to good historical
use! [...]

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Here’s another bread receipt I want to try. It’s from Gervase Markham’s
The English Hus-wife, published in London, England, in 1615.
Manchets were made of the whitest of white flour (the most preferred),
and they were always leavened with either yeast or barm, and not sour
dough (starter). Few written receipts exist for this bread, most [...]

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I’ve happily spent about six hours during each of the past three days making
several different kinds of bread. So far, it’s been challenging, tiring, exciting,
informative, tiring, and fun.  Oh, and did I mention tiring?! 
In general, bread is pretty basic.  It’s flour, yeast, and a little salt, all which
is allowed to rise or “proof” twice. [...]

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As an open hearth cook, it’s helpful to know how to make bread.  This seemingly simple item was
present, in one form or another, at nearly every meal in the early years of this country, just as it had been in Europe.    I’ve studied and experimented with baking bread, both on the hearth and in [...]

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