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.
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.
In Part 2 of this blog series, I share 70 newspaper clippings from Victorian America, wherein reports abound that husbands have sold their wives. Prices range from $0.05 (5 cents) to thousands of dollars (US, Victorian). I provided price comparisons, just for impact. Throughout, I provided my opinions regarding TRUTH or JOKE. Ultimately, there had to be some of both. What a bizarre practice!
As an amateur historian, fascinated by all things Victorian and in anxious search of accurate information about the telegraph in the United States, I found Standage’s book to be informative, concise, humorous, entertaining, an easy read, and exactly what I was looking for. I understand more now about how the antiquated–and yet highly innovative–Victorian technology actually worked than I could have imagined. Standage addressed everything from the various men at work (often unaware of one another) to create the means of sending rapid messages over a great distance to the consequences on warfare and other news of the day. He addressed the employees of both genders, romances that flourished as a result of time spent together ‘online’, and the challenges eventually conquered in laying the Transatlantic Cable. 5 STARS!
