by Kristin Holt | Apr 23, 2021 | Articles
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.
by Kristin Holt | Apr 12, 2021 | Articles
Victorian Jellies were all the rage throughout nineteenth-century America and Victoria’s British Isles.
Through mid-century, cooks relied on various gelling agents to set up their moulded creations. Two of those articles from the sea–isinglass and Irish moss–are illustrated by means of Victorian-era recipe books and newspaper advertisements.
by Kristin Holt | Apr 9, 2021 | Articles
Victorian-era jellies were thickened with a variety of articles–including ivory dust.
Yes, the dust created from carving and shaping ivory into things like knife handles.
Victorian-era U.S. publications tell the story.
by Kristin Holt | Apr 7, 2021 | Articles
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.
by Kristin Holt | Feb 18, 2021 | Articles
Nineteenth century breads often called for “a teacup of yeast,” a huge amount compared to today’s recipes. Victorian-era housekeepers (e.g. wives) made their yeast. And continued to whip up fresh batches of yeast (with a touch of the last batch as a starter) well after commercially prepared yeast waited on grocer’s shelves.