STEP BACK IN TIME.... and imagine how difficult it was to prepare and cook food before gas and electricity was available. Any advice on saving time and labor was greatly appreciated.
~ To remove insects from vegetables which are being washed, put a pinch of borax in the water. It will bring any live insect to the surface at once.
~ Water from macaroni or rice after they have been cooked should be saved for soup and gravies.
~ To keep lemons, put them in water. Change once a week and they will keep a long time.
~ Fresh eggs placed in cold water will immediately sink, while bad ones will float on top.
~ Try taking the beaten white of an egg when you have a sour stomach. It is very soothing to an irritated, sensitive stomach.
~ Iced tea requires only one half as much sugar sweetened when hot than when cold.
~ Sweet potatoes and apples will not turn black if placed in salt water immediately after peeling.
~ To keep milk sweet, put a spoon of grated horse-radish into the pan. It will keep it sweet for days.
~ Meats, fish and poultry can be kept fresh in hot weather by being sprinkled with a little powdered charcoal. This washes away easily just before cooking.
~ To keep weevils out of wheat, put the wheat in barrels, smooth it, and sprinkle a layer of salt over the top. Keep the barrels well covered by tying cloths over them; a sure preventive.
DISCLAIMER: The hints compiled for this book are for information and historical reading. Many cooking practices from the 1800s will not conform with today's food safety standards. Use your judgement on whether a hint is applicable today.
Other books by Angela Johnson
Growing up in the 1960s, my mother and I baked cookies together and I learned about measuring and mixing. I was not, however, interested in moving past cookies since our meals were mostly TV dinners and boxed meals.
I didn't have any interest in cooking until the 90s when I finally discovered real food. (You don’t even want to know what I ate in the 80s.)
I bought cookbooks and learned to cook, and soon found myself fascinated by how people cooked and ate in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.
When not in the kitchen (a kitchen with electricity and running water) or book store or library, I’m traveling and taking photos. I also author a blog about old time cooking and recipes, plus have begun a book series titled "In Great Grandmother's Time."
I am not ready to pack my cast iron pans and move back to the 19th century but knowing about every day life in those kitchens has made me appreciate the time, work, and ingenuity it took to feed a family.
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