by Kristin Holt | Jan 30, 2018 | Articles
The story behind the invention (development?) of Angel Food Cake is a bit shrouded in tales of “Me, First!” Vintage newspaper advertisements show Angel Food Cake for sale in bakeries by 1878, and in cookbooks for home bakers that same year. One of the origin stories made it into a vintage cookbook (“cook book”), along with minor variations on the fluffy, snow-white theme. No matter how the dessert began, the popularity took off among Victorian bakers and remained popular through the Edwardian and Progressive Era. One peek at Pinterest vouches that this brightly white cake is still popular (even when pink).
by Kristin Holt | Jan 27, 2018 | Articles
Today, January 27th, is National Chocolate Cake Day!
No better time to reflect upon, and relish the “invention” of one of the BEST chocolate cakes of all time–Devil’s Food Cake.
Devil’s Food Cake (often simply “Devil’s Food”) debuted along with other chocolate cakes as the culmination of chocolate dessert creations, at the tail-end of the Victorian Era, and gained momentum into the brief Edwardian period. American bakers discovered the capacities of baking chocolate, creating the sinfully rich and decadent cake, frosted with anything from a basic white, boiled frosting to ultra-sweet fudge frosting. Of all the “Victorian Inventions”, Devil’s Food Cake might be a twenty-first century favorite!
by Kristin Holt | Jan 22, 2017 | Articles
Nineteenth Century Ice Cutting, Part 1 (of 3): Ice cutting was a boom business in the mid 1800s. Tons of ice were harvested each winter in the Northeast portion of the United States, housed near rivers and railway spurs, and shipped near and far for use in the remaining seasons of the year. An image from August 1884 Harper’s Weekly, a patent from 1841, a spot of Victorian humor, and newspaper clippings shed light on the significant ice trade.
by Kristin Holt | Sep 29, 2016 | Articles
This second of two articles about Victorian Shaving includes the advent of the Safety Razor–with patent details, historical images, advertisements in period newspapers and mail-order catalogs. A YouTube video shows proper shaving techniques with a safety razor. This article is part of a Blog Series about all things Old West Barber Shop and Ladies Hair Salons.
by Kristin Holt | Sep 14, 2016 | Articles
“Mason Jars” (glass bottles for home food preservation) were invented and patented in the United Sates in the Victorian Era. Industrious homemakers grew large gardens, tended fruit trees, and bottled everything from jams and jellies to grape juice, apple sauce to soups, tomatoes to green beans. How did women accomplish this work?
