Colonial Cooking: Then and Now

In our quest toward historical accuracy one of the areas we tend to "put on the back burner" is food. We research accurate clothes, acoutrements, firelocks of all sorts but seem to think that all of the colonists subsisted on a diet of parched corn and venison. While it is true that the diet of the longhunter was severly restricted to what he could either carry or catch most colonists were neither longhunters nor lived on the frontier. In 1775 Philadelphia had more than 35,000 citizens, New York had over 25,000, Boston 14,000 and Charleston 12,000. In these largest cities of colonial America there was considerably more foodstuffs available than trail mix and jerky.

In London in 1745 Hannah Glasse published "The Art of Cookery Made Plain and Easy." Intended as a guide to insure the domestic staff were competent in the kitchen it was one of the first books of its kind: the cook book. But this was more than just a collection of "receipts" as recipes were called in that time. It was a guide for the new style of dining that epitomized the great wave of social change that swept through the 18th century. The forward to the 1994 edition reprinted by the United States Historical Research Service (ISBN 0-9633659-2-4) states "(T)he Medieval custom of preparing food in a common pot, placing it in a communal dish, and eating it off of common trenchers was giving way to the more formal custom of preparing various types of food seperately, placing portions on individual plates and dishes, and each individual eating with their own utensils. Mrs. Glasse's cookbook thus provided methods for living by some of the new rules."

What Mrs. Glasse didn't do was give the cook the precise sorts of ingredient amounts and directions we are accustomed to today. This can make for some interesting, and often challenging, experiments in 18th century food preparation. Below you will find some receipts taken directly from "The Art of Cooking" and I'll follow those with a few examples of early receipts and their modern counterparts taken from "Recipes from the Raleigh Tavern Bake Shop," published by The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation. You can order this little gem by telephoning the Bookstore located in the Publications area on the Colonial Williamsburg Web site.

So let us return to those simpler days when just trying to follow a recipe could be an adventure.---JBL

Pulled Chickens
Take three chickens, boil them just fit for eating, but not too much; when they are boiled enough, flay all the skin off, and take the white flesh off the bones, pull it into pieces about the size of a large quill, and half as long as your finger. Have ready a quarter of a pint of good cream, and a piece of fresh butter about as big as aa egg; stir them together till the butter is all melted, and then put in your chicken with the gravy that came from them; give them two or three tosses round on the fire, put them in a dish, and send them up hot.
N. B. The legs, pinions, and rump must be peppered and salted, done over with the yolk of an egg and bread crumbs, and broiled on a clear fire; put the white meat, with the rump, in the middle, and the legs and pinions round.

Chickens Chiringrate
Cut off their feet, break the breast-bone flat with a rolling pin, but take care you do not break the skin; flour them, fry them of a fine brown in butter, then drain all the fat out of the pan, but leave the chickens in. Lay a pound of gravy-beef, cut very thin, over your chickens, and a piece of veal cut very thin, a little mace, two or three cloves, some whole-pepper, an onion, a little bundle of sweet herbs, and a piece of carrot, and then pour in a quart of boiling water; cover it close, let it stew for a quarter of an hour; then take out the chickens and keep them hot: let the gravy boil till it is quite rich and good; then strain it off, and put it into your pan again, with two spoonfuls of red wine and a few mushrooms; put in your chickens to heat, then take them up, lay them into your dish, and pour your sauce over them. Garnish with lemon, and a few slices of cold ham broiled.
N. B. You may fill your chickens with force-meat, and lard them with bacon, and add truffles, morels, and sweetbreads, cut small, but then it will be a very high dish.

A Forced Cabbage
Take a fine white heart cabbage about as big as a quarter of a peck, lay it in water two or three hours, then half boil it, set it in a cullender to drain, the very carefully cut out the heart, but take great care not to break off any of the outside leaves, fill it with force-meat made thus : take a pound of veal, half a pound of bacon, fat and lean together, cut them small, and beat them fine in a mortar, with four eggs boiled hard. Season it with pepper and salt, a little beaten mace, a very little lemon-peel cut fine, some parsley chopped fine, a very little thyme, and two anchovies ; when they are beaten fine, take the crumb of a stale roll, some mushrooms (if you have them) either pickled or fresh, and the heart of the cabbage you cut out chopped fine; mix all together with the yolk of an egg, then fill the hollow part of the cabbage, and tie it with a packthread; then lay some slices of bacon to the bottom of a stew-pan or sauce-pan, and on that a pound of coarse lean beef cut thin; put in the cabbage, cover it close and let it stew over a slow fire till the bacon begins to stick to the pan, shake in a little flour, then pour in a quart of broth, an onion stuck with cloves, two blades of mace, some whole pepper, a little bundle of sweet herbs; cover it close and let it stew very softly an hour and a half, put in a glass of red wine, give it a boil, then take it up, lay it in a dish, and strain the gravy and pour over : untie it first. This is a fine side-dish, and the next day makes a fine hash, with a veal steak nicely browned and laid on it. A Fine Bread Pudding
Take all the crumb of a stale penny-loaf, cut it thin, a quart of cream, set it over a slow fire till it is scalding hot, then let it stand till it gets cold, beat up the bead and cream well together. grate in some nutmeg, take twelve bitter almonds, boil them in two spoonfuls of water, pourthe water to the cream and stir it in with a little salt, sweeten it to your palate, blanch the almonds and beat them in a mortar with two spoonfuls of rose or orange-flower water till they are a fine paste; then mix them by degrees with the cream till they are well mixed in the cream, then take the yolks of eight eggs, the whites of four, beat them well and mix them with your cream, then mix all well together ; a wooden dish is best to boil it in; but if you boil it in a cloth, be sure to dip it in the hot water, and flour it well, tie it loose and boil it an hour; be sure the water boils when you put it in, and keeps boiling all the time; when it is enough, turn it into your dish, melt butter and put in two or three spoonfuls of white wine or sack, give it a boil and pour it over your pudding; and strew a good deal of fine sugar all over the pudding and the dish, and send it to the table hot. New milk will do when you cannot get cream. You may, for change, put in a few currants.

To Make Queen Cakes - Then
Take a pound of loaf-sugar, beat and sift it, a pound of flour well dried, a pound of butter, eight eggs, half a pound of currants washed and picked, grate a nutmeg, the same quantity of mace and cinnamon, work your butter to a cream, then put in your sugar, beat the whites of your eggs near half an hour, mix them with your sugar and butter, then beat your yolks near half an hour, and put them to your butter, beat them exceedingly well together, then put in your flour, spices, and the currants; when it is ready for the oven, bake them in tins, and dust a little sugar over them.

Queen's Cake - Now
1 cup butter
1 cup sugar
5 eggs
2 cups plus 1 T all-purpose flour
1/2 t baking powder
1/2 t cinnamon
2 cups currants

All of the ingredients should be at room temperature. Grease well and lightly flour a 9 1/4" x 5 1/4" x 2 3/4" loaf pan. Cream the butter and sugar. Add the eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the lemon and orange extracts. Sift 2 cups of flour with the baking powder and cinnamon. Gradually add the flour mixture to the egg mixture. Dust the currants with the remaining tablespoon of flour so they do not sink to the bottom of the mixture. Fold the currants into the mixture. Bake in a preheated 325° F oven for 1 hour and 20 minutes or until done. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes before turning out onto a rack. Slice thinly.

To Make Gingerbread Cookies - Then
Take three pounds of flour, one pound of sugar, one pound of butter rubbed very fine, two ounces of ginger beat fine, a large nutmeg grated; then take a pound of treacle, a quarter pint of cream, make them warm together, and make up the bread stiff; roll it out and make it up into thin cakes, cut them out with a tea-cup, or small glass, or roll them round like nuts, and bake them on tin plates in a slack oven.

Gingerbread Cookies - Now
(50-60 cookies)
1 cup sugar
2 t ginger
1 t nutmeg
1 t cinnamon
1/2 t salt
1 1/2 t baking soda
1 c butter or margarine, melted
1/2 c evaporated milk
1 c unsulphured molasses
3/4 t vanilla extract (optional)
3/4 t lemon extract (optional)
4 c stone-ground or unbleached flour, unsifted

Combine the sugar, ginger, nutmeg, cinnamon, salt, and baking soda. Mix well. Add the melted butter, evaporated milk, and molasses. Add the extracts if desired. Mix well. Add the flour 1 cup at a time, stirring constantly. The dough should be stiff enought to handle without sticking to fingers. Knead the dough for a smoother texture. Add up to 1/2 cup additional flour if necessary to prevent sticking. When the dough is smooth, roll it out 1/4 inch thick on a floured surface and cut it into cookies. Bake on a floured or greased cookie sheet in a preheated 375° F oven for 10 to 12 minutes. The cookies are done if they spring back when touched.

For other resources on 18th century cooking check out:

RevList: 18th Century Cooking Resources

Food History Links and Documents

The Food Timeline

Food Notes at FoodHistory.Com

As always, write to Jean at jeanbaptiste@armoryhill.com with your questions and suggestions.

Thanks, and come back soon!---JBL

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Send email to: webmaster@armoryhill.com

Pulled Chickens Take three chickens, boil them just fit for eating, but not too much; when they are boiled enough, flay all the skin off, and take the white flesh off the bones, pull it into pieces about the size of a large quill, and half as long as your finger. Have ready a quarter of a pint of good cream, and a piece of fresh butter about as big as aa egg; stir them together till the butter is all melted, and then put in your chicken with the gravy that came from them; give them two or three tosses round on the fire, put them in a dish, and send them up hot. N. B. The legs, pinions, and rump must be peppered and salted, done over with the yolk of an egg and bread crumbs, and broiled on a clear fire; put the white meat, with the rump, in the middle, and the legs and pinions round.	Chickens Chiringrate Cut off their feet, break the breast-bone flat with a rolling pin, but take care you do not break the skin; flour them, fry them of a fine brown in butter, then drain all the fat out of the pan, but leave the chickens in. Lay a pound of gravy-beef, cut very thin, over your chickens, and a piece of veal cut very thin, a little mace, two or three cloves, some whole-pepper, an onion, a little bundle of sweet herbs, and a piece of carrot, and then pour in a quart of boiling water; cover it close, let it stew for a quarter of an hour; then take out the chickens and keep them hot: let the gravy boil till it is quite rich and good; then strain it off, and put it into your pan again, with two spoonfuls of red wine and a few mushrooms; put in your chickens to heat, then take them up, lay them into your dish, and pour your sauce over them. Garnish with lemon, and a few slices of cold ham broiled. N. B. You may fill your chickens with force-meat, and lard them with bacon, and add truffles, morels, and sweetbreads, cut small, but then it will be a very high dish.
A Forced Cabbage Take a fine white heart cabbage about as big as a quarter of a peck, lay it in water two or three hours, then half boil it, set it in a cullender to drain, the very carefully cut out the heart, but take great care not to break off any of the outside leaves, fill it with force-meat made thus : take a pound of veal, half a pound of bacon, fat and lean together, cut them small, and beat them fine in a mortar, with four eggs boiled hard. Season it with pepper and salt, a little beaten mace, a very little lemon-peel cut fine, some parsley chopped fine, a very little thyme, and two anchovies ; when they are beaten fine, take the crumb of a stale roll, some mushrooms (if you have them) either pickled or fresh, and the heart of the cabbage you cut out chopped fine; mix all together with the yolk of an egg, then fill the hollow part of the cabbage, and tie it with a packthread; then lay some slices of bacon to the bottom of a stew-pan or sauce-pan, and on that a pound of coarse lean beef cut thin; put in the cabbage, cover it close and let it stew over a slow fire till the bacon begins to stick to the pan, shake in a little flour, then pour in a quart of broth, an onion stuck with cloves, two blades of mace, some whole pepper, a little bundle of sweet herbs; cover it close and let it stew very softly an hour and a half, put in a glass of red wine, give it a boil, then take it up, lay it in a dish, and strain the gravy and pour over : untie it first. This is a fine side-dish, and the next day makes a fine hash, with a veal steak nicely browned and laid on it.	A Fine Bread Pudding Take all the crumb of a stale penny-loaf, cut it thin, a quart of cream, set it over a slow fire till it is scalding hot, then let it stand till it gets cold, beat up the bead and cream well together. grate in some nutmeg, take twelve bitter almonds, boil them in two spoonfuls of water, pourthe water to the cream and stir it in with a little salt, sweeten it to your palate, blanch the almonds and beat them in a mortar with two spoonfuls of rose or orange-flower water till they are a fine paste; then mix them by degrees with the cream till they are well mixed in the cream, then take the yolks of eight eggs, the whites of four, beat them well and mix them with your cream, then mix all well together ; a wooden dish is best to boil it in; but if you boil it in a cloth, be sure to dip it in the hot water, and flour it well, tie it loose and boil it an hour; be sure the water boils when you put it in, and keeps boiling all the time; when it is enough, turn it into your dish, melt butter and put in two or three spoonfuls of white wine or sack, give it a boil and pour it over your pudding; and strew a good deal of fine sugar all over the pudding and the dish, and send it to the table hot. New milk will do when you cannot get cream. You may, for change, put in a few currants.
To Make Queen Cakes - Then Take a pound of loaf-sugar, beat and sift it, a pound of flour well dried, a pound of butter, eight eggs, half a pound of currants washed and picked, grate a nutmeg, the same quantity of mace and cinnamon, work your butter to a cream, then put in your sugar, beat the whites of your eggs near half an hour, mix them with your sugar and butter, then beat your yolks near half an hour, and put them to your butter, beat them exceedingly well together, then put in your flour, spices, and the currants; when it is ready for the oven, bake them in tins, and dust a little sugar over them.	Queen's Cake - Now 1 cup butter 1 cup sugar 5 eggs 2 cups plus 1 T all-purpose flour 1/2 t baking powder 1/2 t cinnamon 2 cups currants All of the ingredients should be at room temperature. Grease well and lightly flour a 9 1/4" x 5 1/4" x 2 3/4" loaf pan. Cream the butter and sugar. Add the eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the lemon and orange extracts. Sift 2 cups of flour with the baking powder and cinnamon. Gradually add the flour mixture to the egg mixture. Dust the currants with the remaining tablespoon of flour so they do not sink to the bottom of the mixture. Fold the currants into the mixture. Bake in a preheated 325° F oven for 1 hour and 20 minutes or until done. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes before turning out onto a rack. Slice thinly.
To Make Gingerbread Cookies - Then Take three pounds of flour, one pound of sugar, one pound of butter rubbed very fine, two ounces of ginger beat fine, a large nutmeg grated; then take a pound of treacle, a quarter pint of cream, make them warm together, and make up the bread stiff; roll it out and make it up into thin cakes, cut them out with a tea-cup, or small glass, or roll them round like nuts, and bake them on tin plates in a slack oven.	Gingerbread Cookies - Now (50-60 cookies) 1 cup sugar 2 t ginger 1 t nutmeg 1 t cinnamon 1/2 t salt 1 1/2 t baking soda 1 c butter or margarine, melted 1/2 c evaporated milk 1 c unsulphured molasses 3/4 t vanilla extract (optional) 3/4 t lemon extract (optional) 4 c stone-ground or unbleached flour, unsifted Combine the sugar, ginger, nutmeg, cinnamon, salt, and baking soda. Mix well. Add the melted butter, evaporated milk, and molasses. Add the extracts if desired. Mix well. Add the flour 1 cup at a time, stirring constantly. The dough should be stiff enought to handle without sticking to fingers. Knead the dough for a smoother texture. Add up to 1/2 cup additional flour if necessary to prevent sticking. When the dough is smooth, roll it out 1/4 inch thick on a floured surface and cut it into cookies. Bake on a floured or greased cookie sheet in a preheated 375° F oven for 10 to 12 minutes. The cookies are done if they spring back when touched.