Victorian Jelly: Commercial Gelatin

Victorian Jelly: Commercial Gelatin

Credit goes to a Victorian-era inventor for out-of-a-box gelatin. What an amazing labor-saving invention! Until now, wives and daughters everywhere had been making gelatin out of pigs feet and a good deal of elbow grease.

How did nineteenth century scientists manage to capture the essence of gelatin and put it in a box? And how much did it cost?

Victorian America’s Marble Cakes

Victorian America’s Marble Cakes

German immigrants brought Marmorkuchen–marble cake–to the United States. Vintage cook books and newspapers show spice-and-yellow cake batters swirled together. Late-nineteenth-century bakers began to swap spice cake for chocolate. Delicious vintage baking!

Victorian Jelly: Blanc Mange

Victorian Jelly: Blanc Mange

Blanc Mange (blancmange) was a favorite throughout the nineteenth century, in the UK and in the States. Victorians thickened this favorite gelled dessert with a wide variety of articles, old and new. Vintage recipes gathered from era cook books and newspapers, along with newspaper advertisements, show the wide range of blanc manges in Victorian dining.

Victorian Jelly: Desserts

Victorian Jelly: Desserts

Victorians (in every English-speaking nation) adored jellied desserts.

Vintage recipes from cookbooks and newspapers (from both sides of the Atlantic) illustrate how cooks made foods gel.

Victorian America’s Brown Betty

Victorian America’s Brown Betty

Victorian America’s BROWN BETTY: a teapot, and an economical dessert.

A smattering of recipes from mid- to late-nineteenth century cook books and newspapers paint an image of “brown Betty.” Victorian-era economy shines in these vintage instructions.