River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1879-02-20
cookerx a Hunarea wears Ago.

4 quaint old volume, issued in 1916 from d
| Hartford printing house, forms reading mat
| ter Of an interesting character.
1t is entitled american Cookery or the art
of dressing viands, etc, adapted to all grades
| of life.n Just here it may be remarked, that
if the manual de cuisine in question was adapt
ed to all the grades of the American people
one hundred years ago, the people of that era
must have been generally more prosperously
situated than are those who came hundred
years later for "all the grades" in this nine
teenth century of ours can by no means com
mand the somewhat expensive materials that
entered into the "viands" which Miss Sim
mems, the 9uthoress, treats OF.
For instance, the cheapest pudding, for
which she fl ruishes the receipt, is a 'Whtpot,'
which in addition TO the bread OF which it is
NJ 'nly compounded, calls for two quarts Of
~. a half pound of sugar and nutmeg, and
rosewater to taste. Her receipt for pump
kin" pie sets forth as the necessaries for its
construction, one quart of stewed and strained
pumpkin, three pints OF sweet cream, ten
well beaten eggs, two glssses of wine with
sugar, mace, nutmeg and ginger, to be baked
in deep dish with rich puff paste For sim
pie rice pudding,n she directs the
use of six ounces of rice in a quart
OF very sweet cream, Il pound
of sugar, and fourteen eggs beaten
TO a stiff iroth, one pound OF raisins, and wine,
spices and salt to taste, together with rich
puff paste with which the baking dish is to be
lined. The ingredients for "a plain economi-
cal Indian pudding" are seven spoonfuls OF In
dian meal three pints of very sweet cream,
seven well beaten eggs, half pound ofTaIs
ns, half pound of butter, the same comph-
ment of sugar, besides a 1avoring OF spices.
An imperial plum pudding fol eight persons
was to be composed OF four pounds Of raisins,
two Of currants, three OF slivered citron, three
of sugar, two of finely chopped suet, and two
of fine bread crumbs, six ounces of candied
peel, one each OF nutmeg, mace and CHINA
mon, a pint of brandy, the same of Madeira
wine, two lemons and three dozen of eggs,
well beaten. For "a plain loaf cake" there
are to be six pounds of sugar, two of lard,
three of butter, twelve OF flour, one quart of
milk, two ounces OF cinnamon, two ounces of
nutmeg, tea cup full of coriander seed, one
pint of brandy, the same compliment of Ma
deira wine, twenty-four well beaten eggs, six
pounds of stoned raisins, aud one pint of
"emptins." Miss Simmons does not state the
number of persons which this "plain caken
may serve, but she does add, iflarge milk pans
are to be used in baking it, that the cake
would then require two hours baking
in proportion to smaller loaves
Among those samples Of the cooking Of our
great grandmOthers there are creams, and
tarts, and trihes, and Syllabus upon equally
generous foundations and of marvellous con-
struetion. "a fine sylabub from the cow
was made OF a quart of hard cider, sweetened
with double -etined sugar, and seasoned with
plenty Of nutmeg. Into this the COW was
MIXED in the proportion deemed necessary,
aud over ii pint OF cream or more, as wished,
of the sweetest cream obtainable was poured.
In view of this sort of fare adapted to all
grades of society" It might be pertinent TO
inquire what becomes OF the theory of the
simple habits In force in the early homes of
our ancestors; so far as cookery is to be con-
sidered, If these specimens are to be accepted
as fair representative of the whole. the
housckeeper must have had weighty subjects
TO deal with in the relation Of the family fare,
and dyspepsia, it must be supposed, was
malady less prevalent then than now. In
deed nothing short OF a robust digestive
organization could have dealt successfully
with such bills Of fare as Miss simmons book
provides for, and, in that view perhaps, we
ind the Solution of the tough sinews and
dauntless spirits that won us the freedom Of
%ihe land we cherish Here is a receipt for plain
soft gingerbread which, superadded To whose
given above would be q revelation to the
geniuses of to-day, who undertake to guide
families in the discovery Of nutrimental ele-
ments ia few cents worth of food, and here,
five six. or eight persons are supposed under
such direction TO find full and satisfactory fare
in the material thai might be purchased for
less than the half OF an American dollar. 10
three pounds Of sugar and two pounds Of but
ter into three pounds Of flour, and twenty eggs.
four ounces each OF ginger and cinnamon aud
four spoons OF rose water. These being the
pam 0ssNes. AAOd2 ihdttDh must suggest hHat
the more elaborate ones must have been. !
Traditionally we know our forefathers were
fond of roasts whether OF animal game or
poultry; their allowances Of the best brandy
and Wines were something more liberal than |
the usages OF tie present day permit at the |
family table. They delighted in oysters, |
smutlered fowls hi the same. and dressed /
turtles after the mode Of today Breakfast |
tables were laden with fapjacks composed |
principally Of eggs,) delicate golden waifles, !