Oatmeal took its place in the Victorian-American kitchen in the late 19th century. We’ve discovered oatmeal cookies (with and without raisins), oatmeal porridge, oatmeal in toiletries; now more late 19th-century recipes that call for oats. Delicious dishes like oatmeal puddings, oatmeal custards, oatmeal cream pie, oatmeal muffins, oatmeal biscuits (sweet), “parkin”… and a rather scary option– Oatmeal Soup.
How did our Victorian-American ancestors select a turkey? How did they roast it (without a Reynold’s Oven Bag)? Were their Thanksgiving Dinner side dishes as complicated as restaurant menus made them appear?
Vintage pie recipes, true to the pioneer and Victorian era experience, look a lot different than modern recipes. In this article, I share recipes from vintage newspapers and Prairie Farmer magazine (1841-1900). One includes “Pie Plant”, an ingredient I remember from the Little House on the Prairie series, but never knew what it actually was!
This book review of an historic cookbook illuminates my reasons for a 4.5-star review. This vintage cookbook is so much more than a collection of historic recipes–it provides a peek into the homemaker’s roles, available ingredients, methods of food preparation and attitudes about waste, as well as regional favorites. Small elements–such as reference to measuring salt with a dessert spoon–explains much to amateur historians about the way things once were. Article includes one of the recipes from the book: cream pie with a rich pie crust.
