Mrs Beeton’s Christmas Feast Part 2 – A Festival of Sweet Gifts

Basket of spun sugar with bon bons, featured in Mrs Beeton's Book of Household Management, 1915 edition.

This year I have decided on a homemade Christmas.  In order to kick-start my creativity, I have been flicking through magazines, watching copious re-runs of cookery shows on the Food Network UK and delving into my historical cookery and craft books.  Homemade sweets make a lovely, economical gift for friends and family.  I will buy cellophane bags to put them in.  The cost of these bags vary depending on whether you purchase them on-line or at your local store. I buy mine from a local cake decorating shop and they cost 12p per unit.  Secure the bags with curling ribbon and a homemade gift tag, job done. This year I am also experimenting using fruit for table and room decorations.  I love the colour palette created by seasonal fruit and the smell is heavenly.  If you want an even more fragrant scent of Christmas wafting through your home, try filling small glasses with cloves, cinnamon sticks, star anise  and liberally sprinkling the hard spices with ground ginger and nutmeg.

Fruit illustration from Mrs Beeton's Book of Household Management, 1915 edition.

A Selection of Mrs Beeton’s Homemade Sweets Recipes

• Almond Toffee;
• American Candy;
• Barley Sugar;
• Clarified Sugar;
• Butter Scotch;
• Candied Chestnuts;
• Candy Twist;
• Chocolate Caramels;
• Raspberry Caramels;
• Clove Drops;
• Fondant Cream;
• Lemon and Acid Drops;
• Marshmallows;
• Marzipan;
• Nougat;
• Lemon Toffee;
• Russian Toffee;
• Turkish Delight.

Almond Toffee

1lb of loaf sugar, 5 ozs of almonds, 1/2 a pint of water, a pinch of cream of tartar, almond essence.

Blanch and skin the almonds, cut them across in halves, and dry them in the oven without browning.  Dissolve the sugar in the water, add the cream of tartar, and boil until a deep amber-coloured syrup is obtained.  Remove the stewpan from the fire, add the almonds, boil up again, and pour on to a buttered or oiled tin.

American Candy

2lb of moist sugar, 1/2 a pint of water, cream of tartar, tartaric acid, 1 dessertspoonful of golden syrup, saffron-yellow, flavouring essence.

Dissolve the sugar in the water, add a good 1/2 a teaspoonful of cream of tartar, and boil to the “large crack” degree (312F). Pour on to an oiled slab, add a little saffron-yellow or other colouring ingredient and flavour to taste. Any flavouring substance may be used, but it should agree with the colour of the candy; thus red should be flavoured with raspberry essence, yellow with pineapple, etc. Add also a pinch of tartaric acid and the golden syrup, work well in, fold up, then pull over an oiled hook, and cut into squares.

Barley Sugar

1 pint of clarified syrup (see recipe below), 1 teaspoonful of lemon-juice, 5 drops of essence of lemon, saffron-yellow.

Boil the prepared syrup to the “large crack”, add the lemon-juice and lemon-essence, and reboil until it acquires a little colour. Now add a few drops of saffron-yellow, and pour at once on to an oiled slab.  When cool, cut into drops about 6 inches long and 1 inch wide, and twist them. Keep in air-tight tins.

Butter Scotch

1lb of moist sugar, 1/2 a lb of butter, 1/2 a teacupful of cold water, essence of almonds.

Put the water and sugar into a stewpan, let the mixture stand by the side of the fire until dissolved, then add the butter and boil until the mixture becomes quite thick.  Stir occasionally until it begins to thicken, and afterwards continuously, as this preparation is liable to stick to the bottom of the pan.  Pour on to an oiled or buttered tin, and mark and divide.

Syrup for Water Ices (Clarified Syrup)

2lbs of loaf sugar, 1 pint of water.  Put the sugar and water into a copper sugar-boiler or stewpan; when dissolved place over a clear fire, and boil until a syrup is formed, taking care to remove the scum as it rises.  If a saccarometer is available for testing the heat of the syrup, it should be boiled until it registers 220F.

Candied Chestnuts

Chestnuts and loaf sugar. Remove the shells of the chestnuts, place them in a stewpan of boiling water, boil for about 10 minutes, then drain and skin them. Replace in the stewpan, cover with boiling water, boil until tender but not broken, and let them cool.  Allow 1/2 a pint of water to each lb of sugar, boil to the “crack” degree (290F), then dip in the chestnuts one at a time, and place them on an oiled slab.

Chocolate Caramels

3 ozs of finely grated vanilla chocolate, 1lb of best loaf sugar, 1/2 a pint of cream, 1/2 a pint of milk.

Dissolve the sugar in the milk, add the cream and bring slowly to boiling point.  Dissolve the chocolate in the smallest possible quantity of hot water, stir it into the syrup, and boil very gently until a little, dropped into cold water, at once hardens and snaps easily.  Pour it on to an oiled slab into a square formed by bars, or failing these, into an oiled tin.  When cold, cut into squares with a caramel cutter, or a buttered knife, and wrap each piece in wax paper.

Candy Twist

1 1/2 lb of Demerara sugar, 1/2 a pint of water, caramel colouring, almond essence.

Dissolve the sugar in the water, boil to the “crack” degree, then colour and flavour to taste. Pour the syrup on to an oiled slab, and as the edges cool fold them over. When the whole is cool enough to handle pull it over the candy-hook, cut it into 6-inch lengths, and twist them into a spiral form. If preferred, while granulated sugar may be substituted, and the candy flavoured with vanilla, or it may be coloured red and flavoured with raspberry.

Raspberry Caramels

2lb of granulated sugar, 1oz of butter, 1/2 a pint of cream, 1/2 a pint of water, 3 tablespoonfuls of glucose, raspberry essence, cherry-red colouring or carmine.

Put the sugar with the water into a stewpan; when dissolved stir in the glucose, and boil to the “ball” (237F) degree.  Add the cream and butter in small pieces, stir and boil until the syrup reaches the “crack” degree, then transfer the stewpan at once to a bowl of cold water, to arrest further cooking.  Colour and flavour to taste, pour between bars on an oiled slab or into an oiled tin, and when sufficiently cool, cut into small squares by means of a caramel cutter or a slightly buttered knife, and wrap each caramel in wax paper.

Clove Drops

Essence of cloves, a few drops of acetic acid, 1lb of loaf sugar, 1/2 a pint of water.

Boil the sugar and water to the ball (237F) degree, add a few drops of acetic acid, and clove essence to taste.  Grain the syrup by pressing it against the sides of the pan with the back of the spoon, let it cool slightly, then turn it on to an oiled sheet. Mark it in small squares with the back of a knife, and separate them when cold.

Fondant Cream

3 lbs of loaf sugar, 1 pint of cold water, 1/4 of a teaspoonful of cream of tartar, colouring and flavouring ingredients.

Dissolve the sugar in the water, add the cream of tartar, and boil to the “small ball” (237F) degree.  Pour the syrup into a basin, let it remain until lukewarm, then stir well with a spatula until white and slightly hardened.  Now turn the paste on to a slab or large dish, and knead it with the hands until perfectly smooth.  Flavour and colour to taste, and use as required.

Lemon and Acid Drops

1 1/2 lbs of loaf sugar, 1/2 a pint of water, 1/2 a teaspoonful of cream of tartar, essence of lemon, 1 dessertspoonful of tartaric acid.

Boil the sugar, water, and cream of tartar together until the mixture acquires a pale yellow tinge, add essence of lemon to taste, and turn the preparation on to an oiled slab.  Sprinkle on the tartaric acid, work it well in, and , as soon as it is cool enough to handle, form into thin rolls, cut off short pieces with the scissors, and roll into shape under the hand.  Coat with sifted sugar, dry well, and afterwards store in an airtight tin.

Marshmallows

1/2 a lb of icing sugar, 1/4 of a lb of gum arabic, 3 whites of eggs, 1/2 of a pint of water, caramel essence.

Soak the gum arabic in the water until soft, then heat gently until dissolved, and strain it through fine muslin.  Return to the stewpan, add the sugar, and when dissolved, stir in the whites of eggs, and whisk until the mixture is quite stiff.  Flavour to taste, sugar, and let it remain for about 10 hours.  When ready, cut into small squares, and dredge them liberally with icing sugar.

Marzipan

1 lb of loaf sugar, 12 ozs of ground almonds, 3 ozs of sifted icing sugar, 2 whites of eggs, 1 1/2 gills of water.

Boil the sugar and water to 240F, then draw the sugar boiler or pan aside, and when the syrup has cooled slightly add the almonds and whites of eggs. Stir by the side of the fire for a few minutes, then turn on to a slab, stir in the icing sugar, and work with a spatula until the preparation is cool enough to handle.  Knead until perfectly smooth, add flavouring to taste, and mould into desired shapes.

Nougat

4 ozs of icing sugar, 4 ozs of honey, 8 ozs of almonds, 2 whites of eggs, wafer paper.

Blanch and dry the almonds thoroughly. Line a box of suitable size first with white paper and then with wafer paper, both of which must be cut to fit exactly.  Put the sugar, honey and whites of eggs into a copper sugar boiler or pan, and stir by the side of the fire until the mixture becomes thick and white. Drop a little into cold water; if it at once hardens, remove the pan from the fire, and stir in the almonds.  Dredge the slab with icing sugar, turn on to it the nougat, and form into a ball.  Press into the prepared box, cover with paper, let it remain under pressure until cold then cut up into squares.

Lemon Toffee

1lb of granulated sugar, 4 ozs of butter, the juice of 1 lemon, essence of lemon.

Melt the butter in a stewpan, add the sugar, boil up slowly, stir and boil for a few minutes, and add 1 teaspoonful of lemon-juice, continue boiling to the “crack”  (290F) degree, add the rest of the lemon-juice and a few drops of essence of lemon, and pour at once on to a battered or oiled tin.

Russian Toffee

1/2 lb of loaf sugar, 1/4 of a lb of butter, 1/4 of a pint of cream, 1 tablespoonful of red-currant jelly, vanilla or other flavouring essence.

Place the sugar, butter and cream in a stewpan, and stir by the side of the fire until the mixture thickens and leaves the sides of the pan clean.  Flavour to taste, pour on to an oiled or buttered tin, and when cold, cut into squares.

Turkish Delight

1/2 a lb of icing sugar, 1 lb of loaf sugar, 1 oz of leaf gelatine, 2ozs of almonds or pistachios, 1 orange, 1 lemon, 1 tablespoonful of rum, 1 gill of water.

Put the gelatine to soak in cold water. Blanch the almonds or pistachios, and chop them coarsely.  Remove the rinds of the orange and lemon in thin fine strips, place them in a copper sugar boiler or stewpan with the loaf sugar, water, and the strained juice of the orange and lemon. When boiling add the gelatine, simmer until dissolved, then strain into a basin and add the rum.  Let the mixture remain until on the point of setting, then stir in the almonds or pistachios, and pour at once into a wetted round tin.  When perfectly set turn the jelly out, cut it into 1-inch square pieces, and roll them in icing sugar.

Fruit illustration from Mrs Beeton's Book of Household Management, 1915 edition.

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How Roast Pork and Crackling May Have Been Discovered.

Bacon and ham illustration featured in Mrs Beeton's Book of Household Management, 1915 edition.

Whilst assembling my Victorian Christmas fayre articles, I came across a really interesting entry from my Mrs Beeton’s Book of Household Management about how roast pork and crackling may have been discovered. I know this is not a strictly festive posting, unless of course you have opted to have roast pork as your Christmas lunch.  However, I hope you find it fascinating and amusing, if a little far-fetched.

How Roast Pig was Discovered

Charles Lamb, in his delightfully quaint prose sketches, written under the title of the Essays of Elia, has devoted one paper to the subject of Roast Pig, describing his own inimitable, quiet, humorous manner how the toothsome dainty known as crackling frist became known to the world.

According to this authority, man in the golden – or, at all events, the primitive – age, ate his pork and bacon raw, as indeed he ate his beef and mutton. At the epoch of the story, a citizen of some Scythian community had the misfortune to have his hut, containing his live stock of pigs, burnt down.  In going over the debris to pork out the available salvage, the proprietor touched something very hot, which caused him to put his suffering fingers in his mouth.  The act was simple, but the result was wonderful.  He rolled his eyes in ecstasy and conscious of an unwonted and celestial odour, with distended nostrils, and drawing in deep inspiration of the ravishing perfume, he sucked his fingers again and again.  Clearing away the rubbish of his ruined hut, there was disclosed to his view one of his pigs roasted to death.  Stooping down to examine it, and touching its body, a fragment of the burnt skin became detached, and in a spirit of philosophical inquiry the man put it into his mouth.  No pen can describe the felicity he then enjoyed – it was then that he – the world – first tasted crackling.  For a time the Scythian carefully kept his secret, and feasted in secret upon his newly found luxury.  When the pig was at last eaten up, the poor man fell into a deep melancholy, refused his accustomed food, lost his appetite, and became reduced to a shadow.  Unable to endure the torments of memory from which he suffered hourly, he rose up one night and secretly set fire to his hut, and once more was restored to health and spirits.  Finding it impossible to live in future without his newly discovered delicacy, every time his larder became empty he set fire to his house, until his neighbours becoming scandalized by these incendiary acts, brought his conduct before the supreme council of the nation. To avert the penalty threatened him, he brought his judges to the smouldering ruins, and discovering his secret, he invites them to eat!  With tears of gratitude the august synod embraced him, and with an overflowing feeling of ecstasy dedicated a statue to the memory of the man who first instituted roast pork.  (p. 651 Mrs Beeton’s Book of Household Management, 1915 edition)

If you want dinner guests to display ‘tears of gratitude’ over your culinary skills, then why not try Mrs B’s recipe for roasted sucking-pig.

Roasted Sucking-Pig

A sucking-pig, not more than 3 weeks old, butter, or salad-oil to baste with, onion forcemeat.

Make the forcemeat as directed (see recipe below), put it inside the pig, and close the opening by means of a trussing needle and string.  Brush the entire surface of the pig with salad-oil or warmed butter, wrap it in several folds of well-oiled or well-greased paper, draw the legs well back, tie into shape, and either roast or bake the pig or 2 1/2 or 3 hours, according to its size.  It should be thoroughly well basted, and about 1/2 an hour before the time of serving, the paper must be removed, and the pig brushed over with thick cream or salad-oil to improve the colour, and crisp the surface.  Before serving, cut off the head, and split the pig down the centre of the back; lay the 2 halves on a dish, divide the head, and place 1/2 at each end of the dish.  The usual accompaniments are brown and apple sauces, and sometimes hot currants: the latter should be prepared the day before.  To make them plump, they must be scalded and afterwards thoroughly dried.  Re-heat in the oven before serving. Takes approximately 3 hours to cook and serves approximately 9 persons.

Sage and Onion Stuffing

2 lb of onions, 1/2 a pint of freshly made bread crumbs, 1 tablespoonful of finely chopped sage or a teaspoonful of powdered sage, 2 ozs of butter, salt and pepper.

Cut the onions into dice, put them into cold water, bring to the boil, cook for 5 minutes, then strain and drain well. Melt the butter in a stewpan, and fry the onions for about 15 minutes without browning them. Add the breadcrumbs, sage, and seasoning, mix well, and use as required.  Takes 30 minutes to cook.

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Mrs Beeton’s Christmas Feast – Part 1

The Victorian Kitchen exhibit at Tudor House and Garden, Southampton, Hampshire.

Apologies for stating the obvious but Christmas is nearly upon us and am pleased to say that this year I’m not at all stressed about preparations for the festive season.  This is not because I’m being smug and have brought all my presents, sent my cards and sorted the Christmas bill of fayre.  Quite the opposite is true.  At the time of writing, I haven’t done any shopping, brought cards or decided what I am going to cook. This year I decided to adopt a laid back approach to Christmas, setting aside only 3 days over the next 9 to complete it all. A challenge that I am going to relish.  I don’t wish to come over all ‘bah-humbug’ but why anyone would spend four months planning for a four-day holiday is beyond me. Ah well each to their own.  The Victorian housewife wouldn’t have begun preparing for Christmas in September for goodness sake! The plum pudding and Christmas cake would have been made well advance but all other preparations she would have taken in her stride. This year I am opting for a home-made Christmas and looking forward to making, baking and crafting. Happy baking and don’t stress-out about Christmas!

If you want to have a Christmas Victorian style then visit the BBC website Make Your Own Victorian Christmas which contains lots of activities to get you started.  The site includes instructions on how to make cards, sugar plums, wrapping paper, mulled wine, table mats, wassail punch, wreaths, crackers and much, much more.  Each activity comes with information about level of difficulty and time needed to complete.

Mrs Beeton will of course be my ‘go-to gal’ for festive recipes and I include here some of my favourites from my Mrs Beeton’s Book of Household Management (1915 edition).

Recipes featured:

• Christmas Cake;
• Christmas Pudding, without suet – fruitarian Plum Pudding;
• Plum Pudding;
• Sauce for Plum Pudding;
• Chestnut Farce – Stuffing for Roast Turkey;
• Sausage Farce – for Stuffing Turkey;
• Bread Sauce;
• Giblet Soup;
• Turkey Soup;
• Parsnip Soup;
• Pickled Walnuts;
• Piccalilli;
• Spiced Vinegar;
• Mixed Pickles.

Christmas Cake

1lb of butter, 1lb of castor sugar, 1lb of sultanas, 1 lb of currants, 3/4 of a lb of mixed candied peel, 2 lbs of flour, 1/2 and oz of baking-powder, 8 eggs, milk.

Sieve the baking-powder 2 or 3 times with the flour on to a sheet of paper to mix well.  Put the butter and the sugar into a clean plan and stand in front of the fire to soften. Weigh the fruit on to the flour, having carefully cleaned and picked them free from stalks and stones. Cut up the peel into thin shreds, and lay it with the fruit and flour. Break the eggs into a clean basin. Now proceed to beat up the butter and sugar into a cream with your hand, add the eggs in 1 at a time, beating well after each addition of eggs. When all are in, add the flour and fruit, moisten to the usual cake batter consistency with milk, and bake in round or square well-papered and greased tins. This will make about 7 lbs of cake and can be baked in 1 or more cakes, as desired. Baking time is 3 to 4 hours.

Christmas pudding. Image from Mrs Beeton's Book of Household Management, 1915 edition.

Christmas Pudding (Without Suet- Fruitarian Plum Pudding)

**Mrs B. provides 3 different recipes for Christmas pudding.  One without suet, one rich and one inexpensive.  I have chosen the recipe without suet because I have a couple of vegans in my family.  I know that you can purchase vegetable suet but I like the idea of not using any suet.**

1/2 a lb of figs, 1/2 a lb of breadcrumbs, 1/2 a lb of stone raisins, 1/4 of a lb of peeled sweet almonds, 1/4 of a lb of pine kernels, 1/4 of a lb of butter, 1/4 of a lb of shelled Brazil nuts, the grated rind of 1 and the juice of 2 lemons, 4 eggs, 1 teaspoonful of whole spice, a pinch of salt, 1/4 of a lb of moist or brown sugar, 2 apples, 1/4 of a lb of honey.

Mince the figs.  Peel, core and chop the apples.  Chop the almonds, pine kernels and nuts. Clean the fruit, and chop or shred the candied peel. Put all the dry ingredients in a basin, and add the honey and lemon juice. Beat up the eggs, and stir in with the above. When thoroughly mixed fill into 1 or 2 buttered moulds, tie over with a buttered cloth, and boil for 3 hours. When done, unmould, dish up and serve with a suitable sauce or custard.  This mixture will make 2 puddings.

Plum Pudding

** Mrs B. provides 5 recipes for plum pudding, 3 of which are specifically for Christmas.  I have chosen the recipe that will feed approximately 10 people.**

5 ozs of breadcrumbs, 4 ozs of flour, 4 ozs of finely chopped suet, 4 ozs of raisins, halved and stoned, 4 ozs of currants, washed and dried, 4 ozs of moist sugar, 2 ozs of shredded candied peel, 2 ozs of raw carrot grated, 1 level teaspoonful of finely grated lemon-rind, 1/2 a saltspoonful of grated nutmeg, 1 good teaspoonful of baking-powder, about 1/4 of a pint of milk, 2 eggs.

Mix all the dry ingredients except the baking-powder together, add the beaten eggs and sufficient milk to thoroughly moisten the whole, then cover, and let the mixture stand for 1 hour. When ready, stir in baking-powder, turn into a buttered mould or basin, and boil for 6 hours, or steam for 7 hours. Serve with a suitable sauce.

Sauce for Plum Pudding

** Mrs B. was a little bit naughty with this particular recipe.  It is not actually one of her own, it was created by French chef Alexis Benoist Soyer (1810-1858) who became one of Victorian Britain’s most celebrated cook and author.**

1/4 of a pint of milk, 2 glasses of brandy, 1 tablespoonful of castor sugar, the yolks of 2 eggs, a very little grated lemon-rind.

Mix all the ingredients in a saucepan, set the pan on the fire, and whisk until the contents thicken and become frothy. Serve at once.

Roast turkey. Illustration from Mrs Beeton's Book of Household Management. 1915 edition.

Chestnut Farce (stuffing) For Roast Turkey

2 lb of chestnuts, 1/2 a pint of stock or water, 1 oz of butter, a good pinch of sugar, salt and pepper.

Cut off the tops of the chestnuts, and bake or roast them for 20 minutes. Remove the outer and inner skins, put the chestnuts into a stewpan, add the stock (no more than will barely cover them), and simmer until they become tender and dry. Rub through a fine sieve, add the butter, salt and pepper, and use as required.

Sausage Farce for Stuffing Turkey

2 lb of lean pork, 4 level tablespoonfuls of freshly made breadcrumbs, 1/2 a teaspoonful of mixed herbs, 1/2 a teaspoonful of sage, 1 teaspoonful of salt, 1/2 teaspoonful of pepper, the liver of the turkey finely chopped. Stock.

Cut the pork into small pieces, and pass it two or three times through the mincing machine.  Add it to the breadcrumbs, herbs, liver, seasoning, and mix well together. Moisten with a very little stock and use.

Bread Sauce

1/2 a pint of milk, 1 tablespoonful of cream, 2 ozs of freshly made breadcrumbs, 1/4 of an oz of butter, 1 very small peeled onion, 1 clove, salt and pepper.

Put the milk and onion, with the clove stuck in it, into a small saucepan and bring to the boil.  Add the breadcrumbs, and simmer gently for 20 minutes, then remove the onion, add salt and pepper to taste, stir in the butter and cream and serve. Takes 25 minutes to make and makes 1/2 a pint of sauce.

Giblet Soup

** Don’t throw away the turkey/goose/chicken giblets.  Take your cue from Mrs B., out of respect for the animal make sure that you use all of its parts.  It does take nearly 3 hours to prepare but worth it as at least you know there will be no wastage from your Christmas poultry.**

The giblets of a goose, turkey, duck or chicken to one set allow 1 lb of lean beef, and 3 pints of stock or 2 pints of water, 1/2 a carrot, 1 small onion, 1 strip of celery, a bouquet-garni (parsley, thyme, bay-leaf), 1 oz of butter, 1 dessertspoonful of flour, 1/2 a glass of sherry, salt, pepper, 1 tablespoonful of macaroni, cooked and cut across into tiny rings.

Skin the gizzard, scald and skin the feet, wash the neck and liver, dry and cut into small pieces. Melt the butter and fry the giblets, meat and sliced vegetables until brown, then add the stock, herbs, salt and pepper, and when boiling skim well.  Cook gently for 2 hours, then strain and return to the stewpan. When boiling, mix the sherry and the flour smoothly together and add to the soup, also the macaroni and any necessary seasoning, simmer a few minutes longer, and serve. Takes 2 – 3 hours to make and serves 6 persons.

Turkey Soup

2 quarts of white second stock, the remains of a cold roast turkey, 2 ozs of cooked macaroni, 1 1/2 ozs of creme de riz (rice-flour), 1 small onion, 1 bay-leaf, 1 small blade of mace, salt and pepper.

Divide the remains of the turkey and the bones into small pieces, put them into a stewpan with the onion, bay-leaf, mace, and a little salt and pepper or peppercorns, add the stock and simmer gently for 3 hours. Strain, return to the saucepan, add the creme de riz, previously blended smoothly with a little cold stock or milk, stir and boil gently for 7 or 8 minutes.  Have the macaroni ready boiled and cut into very short lengths, put it into the soup, season to taste, make thoroughly hot and serve. Takes 3 1/2 hours to make and should be sufficient for 6 persons.

Mrs B’s notes on the Turkey:

‘This well-known bird is a native of North America, where it abounds in a wild state. The plumage of the wild male bird is a golden bronze, shot with violet and green, banded with black.  The turkey is much esteemed for the excellence of its flesh and eggs.  In its domesticated state it is a very delicate bird and difficult to rear.’ (p. 177, 1915 edition of Mrs Beeton’s Book of Household Management)

‘This is one of the gallinaceous birds, the principal genera of which are the pheasants, turkeys, peacocks, bustards, pintatoes and grouse.  They live chiefly on the ground scraping the earth with their feet, and feeding on seeds and grain which, previous to digestion, are macerated in their crops.  They usually associate in families consisting of one male and several females.  Turkeys are especially partial to the seeds of nettles.  It was introduced into England during the reign of Henry VIII.  According to Tusser’s Five Hundred Points of Good Husbandry, it began about the year 1585 to form a dish of the rural Christmas feast:

“Beefe, mutton, and pork, shred pies of the best,

Pig, veal, goose and capon, and turkey well drest:

Cheese, apples and nuts, jolly carols to hear,

As then in the country is counted good cheer.” (ibid. p.720)

Parsnip Soup

2 pints of second stock, 1 pint of milk, 3 or 4 parsnips, 1 onion, 2 strips of celery, 1 oz of butter, the juice of a lemon, or 1 tablespoonful of vinegar, 1 dessertspoonful of flour, salt and pepper.

Slice the vegetables, and fry them in the butter, without browning for about 15 minutes.  Add the stock, and simmer until the parsnips are tender (about 40 minutes), then rub through a wire sieve. Return to the stewpan, add the milk, salt and pepper, and bring to the boil. Mix the flour with a little milk or water, pour it into the soup, stir, and cook for 5 or 6 minutes.  Add the lemon-juice and serve with croutons of fried or toasted bread.  The lemon-juice is added to correct the sweetness of the parsnips, and is simply a matter of taste.  Takes approximately 2 hours to make and serves 6 persons.

Mrs B’s note of the parsnip:

‘This is a biennial plant with bright yellow flowers and a root resembling the carrot, which in saccharine and nutritive matter it nearly equals.  Like the carrot, it grows wild in Britain, but only the cultivated parsnip is edible.  It is generally distributed over most parts of Europe, and in Roman Catholic countries forms with salt fish a Lenten dish.  A beverage is made from parsnips in conjunction with hops, and also a wine of agreeable flavour. The parsnip contains in 100 parts: – Water 82.5; proteids, 1.3; fats, 0.7; carbohydrates, 14.5; salts, 1.0.’ (p. 194, 1915 edition of Mrs Beeton’s Book of Household Management)

Piccalilli

This is a delicious accompaniment to cold meats on Boxing Day.

Cauliflowers, onions, gherkins, French beans, capsicums, spiced vinegar, mustard, turmeric, curry powder.

Divide the vegetables into convenient pieces, throw them into boiling brine sufficiently strong to float an egg, and cook for 3 minutes.  Drain well, spread them on large dishes, and let them remain in the sun until perfectly dry.  Prepare the vinegar as directed and add 1/2 an oz each of turmeric and curry powder to each quart of vinegar.  Also allow to each quart of vinegar 1 oz of mustard, which must be mixed smoothly with a little cold vinegar, and afterwards stirred into the boiling vinegar, but not allowed to boil.  Place the prepared vegetables in jars, cover them completely with vinegar and when quite cold, cover closely.

Spiced Vinegar

1 pint of good vinegar, 1 oz of black peppercorns, 1/2 an oz of whole ginger, 1/2 an oz of salt, 1/4 of an oz of allspice, 1/2 an oz of finely chopped shallots, 2 cloves of garlic bruised, 2 bay-leaves.

Pound or crush the peppercorns, ginger and allspice, put all into a jar, add the rest of the ingredients, and cover closely.  Let the jar remain in a warm place for 1 week, then place it in a saucepan containing boiling water, and cook gently for 1 hour.  When cold, cover closely, and store for use.

Mixed Pickles

An equal weight of small mild onions, sour apples and cucumbers, vinegar to cover.  To each pint of vinegar add 2 tablespoonfuls of sherry, 1 teaspoonful of salt, 1/2 a teaspoonful of pepper, a good pinch of cayenne.

Peel and slice the onions, apples and cucumbers thinly, put them into wide-necked bottles, add the seasoning and sherry, cover with vinegar, and cork closely.  This pickle may be used the following day, and should not be kept for any length of time.

Vegetable illustration from Mrs Beeton's Book of Household Management. 1915 edition.

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The Edwardian Craze for Paper Bag Cookery – Part 2

Gas cooking ranges, 1915. (Left) large double gas oven with hot plate, for a large kitchen, (right) gas oven with hot plate, for ordinary use. Edwardian cooks recommended cooking with gas as the best method for paper bag cooking.

Following on from my previous posting, on paper bag cookery, I have selected a few recipes from cookbooks by Vera Countess Serkoff (1911); Emma Paddock Telford (1912) and Mrs Beeton (1915).  Since Christmas is nearly upon us, I thought I would choose recipes with a festive theme.  The more adventurous cooks among you may wish to experiment with some of these recipes and have a go yourself.  Edwardian cooks would have purchased purpose-made paper bags and special clips, although not entirely flame retardant, were reasonably robust for the job in hand.

The contemporary cook could use baking parchment as a substitute and care with temperature settings on your oven should be taken, underestimate and keep a close eye on it during the cooking process in case the bag burns or bursts. I suggest double-lining your parchment parcels. To secure the parcel’s openings first fold the parchment paper over and then seal the edges tight with a generous amount of cooking foil.  If you are cooking a recipe that is likely to produce a lot of juice, place the parcel on a deep baking dish or roasting tin.  I find my own oven, which is fan-assisted, can be quite fierce, many a cupcake and biscuit has turned to charcoal after just a few minutes cooking! I now move the oven shelf into one of the lower groove settings for certain types of baking and I would adopt this approach when experimenting with paper bag cooking as well. Paper bag cookery is sometimes now called cooking En papillote.

I also discovered some additional and really interesting quotes in Vera Countess Serkoff’s Paper-Bag Cookery book which I would like to share with you here.  Her musings do give us an interesting insight into living and cooking conditions in the UK, for the less well-off, at the turn of the last century.  Her suggestion to erect the gas stove in your bathroom when cooking your evening meal is quite an alarming piece of advice though!

‘Those who live in small houses or flats know the misery of having each meal heralded by a violent smell of cooking, which invades every room, and robs the average person of all appetite; the tenant of those uncomfortable dwelling-places known as ‘Maisonettes’ knows only too well what it is to inhale the fragrance of the downstairs burned onion or frying bloater; while the occupants of the lower maisonette suffer from audible and pungent remarks upon the odours from their kitchen, remarks which frequently lead to friction. Now, paper-bag cookery does not smell.’ (p. 68)

Doing without a Kitchen

‘With the aid of paper-bag cookery, the up-to-date householder may eliminate the kitchen altogether, thus gaining another room.  The small flat at a moderate rent usually consists of one sitting-room, two bedrooms, a kitchen and a bathroom. It is equally unpleasant to sit in the room in which one has just dined, or to take meals in the room where they have just been cooked.  With a little contrivance and ingenuity, the kitchen may be transformed into a neat little dining-room, a gas stove erected in any convenient rececessor in the bathroom and with paper-bag cookery, nothing more elaborate will be needed.’  (p. 69)

Bedroom Cookery

‘For the business woman, living in one room, ordinary cooking is out of the question, yet most landladies refuse to cook for their lodgers, except at a high charge, and restaurant living is expensive.  Ordinary cooking, too, means more or less heat and odours, incompatible with keeping the one room fresh and neat.  In this case, too, paper-bag cookery solves the difficulty.’ (p. 69)

 ‘Wild West’ Cookery

‘Paper-bag cookery has been seized upon with thankfulness by a girl who went out to keep house for a brother in the ‘Wild West’, and found the toil of cooking with rough and old-fashioned utensils beyond her capacity. So incessant were her labours, so unsatisfactory the results, that she hailed with joy and gratitude a newspaper article and some bags sent her by a compassionate relative, and now writes triumphantly that all her cookery troubles are over.’ (pp. 69-70)

Recipes for Paper Bag Cooking

SWEET

• A White Plum Pudding and Fruit Sauce;
• Mince Pie;
• Walnut Macaroons;
• Date Pudding;
• Cinnamon Apples;
• Cranberry Pie;
• Colonial Pumpkin Tartlet;

SAVOURY

• Cheese Straws;
• Lentil Cutlets;
• Cod Steak and Bacon;
• Stew;
• Yorkshire Pudding;
• Veal Steak With Mushrooms;
• Kidney Potatoes.

A White Plum Pudding (Telford)

Beat to a cream a half cup of sugar and three-quarters cup of butter.  Add four eggs well beaten, a salt spoonful of salt, two cups milk, a quart of flour mixed with one-half cup shredded citron, one-half cup currants, a teaspoonful grated nutmeg and a teaspoonful vanilla.  Just before turning into the mould stir in two even tablespoonfuls pure baking powder.  Put in bag, surround with water, steam two hours and serve with any good sauce.

Delicious Fruit Sauce for Plum Pudding (Telford)

Boil together one cupful of water and two of sugar for ten minutes.  Thicken slightly with three level teaspoonfuls arrow-root or two teaspoonfuls corn starch mixed with a little cold water, simmer five minutes, then add a half cupful candied cherries, cut in halves and a few pistachio nuts quartered.  Flavour with nutmeg or vanilla as preferred.

Mince Pie (Telford)

A simple rule for making mince meat by measure, calls for a pint bowl of well cooked beef chopped to the finest mince and measured after chopping, two bowls  of tart apples chopped into coarse bits and a half bowl of chopped suet.  Add to this a pound of seeded raisins, also chopped, a pound of currants, a quarter of a pound of citron cut in thin slices, a tablespoonful each of powdered cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg.  Use enough sweet cider to make moist, then add a bowl of sugar and an even teaspoonful salt.  Scald well and put away in a stone jar. When you make the pies add a few whole raisins, chopped nut meats or any jelly you have on hand.  When mince-pie is to be reheated for dinner and served hot, grated cheese may be sprinkled over the top just before setting it in the oven to heat.

Walnut Macaroons (Telford)

One and one-half cupfuls of sugar, one-third cup of butter, three eggs, three cups of flour, one teaspoonful of soda, dissolved in water, one teaspoonful of cloves, one teaspoonful of cinnamon, one cup of English walnut meats, one cup of chopped dates.  Do not roll the mixture as in ordinary cookies, but drop into a greased bag with a spoon. Seal and bake slowly for thirty minutes.

Date Pudding (Serkoff)

Mix six ounces of bread-crumbs, four of self-raising flour, three of grated suet, half a pound of dates, stoned and chopped, but no sugar.  Moisten with a beaten egg, and, if necessary, a little milk, but do not make the mixture liquid.  Put into a greased bag and cook for an hour.

Cinnamon Apples (Telford)

Peel, core and quarter six good cooking apples, preferably greenings.  Melt a tablespoonful of butter in a warm bowl and stir the apples in it until coated with the butter.  Mix a teaspoonful of ground cinnamon with a half cup of granulated sugar, and stir into the apples.  Have a paper bag thoroughly buttered and put the apples in it.  Rinse out the bowl with a cup of hot water, add it to the apples, seal carefully, place on a broiler which rests on a pie plate and bake in a hot oven fifteen minutes.  Half a pint of whipped cream over the apples when served is an addition, but they are delicious, cooked in this way, without it.

Cranberry Pie (Telford)

Line a rather deep pie plate with a plain crust.  Put on a border of richer paste, fill with cranberries cooked according to directions for stewed cranberries, and put strips of crusts over the top, making squares or diamonds as preferred.  Put in bag and bake.

Colonial Pumpkin Tartlet (Telford)

To one quart of cooked and sifted pumpkin add one tablespoonful each of butter and flour, six well beaten eggs, a cupful of sugar, a quarter teaspoonful each of mace and nutmeg, four teaspoonfuls of ginger and one gill of milk.  Bake in patty-pans lined with rich flaky crust, set in paper bag. Remove from pans before serving. A touch of novelty is given by topping each tartlet with a generous portion of maple syrup or strained honey.

SAVOURY

Cheese Straws (Serkoff)

Mix together four ounces of butter, four ounces of self-raising flour, four ounces of grated cheese, a little cayenne, a pinch of salt, and a well-beaten egg.  Roll out, cut into thin strips and into one or two rings.  Put inside a buttered bag, cook fifteen minutes, and serve with several straws inside each ring.

Lentil Cutlets (Serkoff)

Either Egyptian or German lentils are excellent in a paper bag.  Wash them well, soak all night in abundance of fresh, cold water.  Next day put them in a well-greased bag with the water in which they have been soaking, a carrot, a turnip, a parsnip, and onion, chopped up roughly.  Add neither salt nor pepper.  Cook two hours, and they will then be tender enough to press through a colander.  Season the resulting purée with salt and pepper, re-heat, and serve as a vegetable.  Or add enough boiling stock to make a thick cream, stir in carefully well beaten egg and serve as soup.

To make the cutlets, cook the lentils in the recipe already given.  When they have been pressed through a colander, add enough bread-crumbs and mashed potato to make a stiff paste, season rather highly with salt, pepper, a little lemon juice, and a tablespoonful of onion juice.  Mix thoroughly, form into neat cutlets, place in a thickly buttered bag, and cook fifteen minutes.

Cod Steak and Bacon (Beeton)

A Slice of cod (½ to ¾ of a pound), ½ a cupful of breadcrumbs, a teaspoonful of chopped parsley, 1 egg and 2 slices of bacon.  Wash and wipe the fish.  Mix the breadcrumbs, the parsley, and the egg (well beaten) together, and add a pinch of dried savour herbs and season with salt and pepper to taste.  Spread the mixture over the cod, cover with the bacon and then place carefully in a well-greased paper bag, which should be folded over and fastened with clips.  Bake in a hot oven for twenty minutes.

Stew (Beeton)

1lb of lean beef (rump steak or top side), 2 tablespoonfuls of flour, a teaspoonful of salt and a quarter of a teaspoonful of pepper, savoury balls.  Cut the meat into thin slices, and after mixing the flour, salt and pepper together, dip each piece of meat into it and shake well, then place inside a well-greased paper bag, fasten and cook in a hot oven on a grid for about three-quarters of an hour.  Then turn the contents into a deep dish, surround with savoury balls, and serve.

Yorkshire Pudding (Beeton)

½ a lb of flour, 2 eggs, a pint of milk, 1 oz of dripping, salt.  Sift the flour into a basin.  Beat-up the eggs with the mile, and stir the mixture gradually into the flour.  Then beat for about ten minutes.  Add a pinch of salt, and pour into a Yorkshire pudding tin, containing one ounce of melted dripping.  Slip the tin into a buttered paper bag, fasten with clips, and bake in a hot oven for about twenty-five minutes.

Veal Steak With Mushrooms (Beeton)

A thick fillet of steak cut from the leg part of veal, a thin cut slice of gammon, some cup mushrooms, a lemon, salt and pepper.  Flatten the steak with a bat, and brush over both sides with the cut side of a lemon, season with salt and pepper. Put the slice of gammon on top, place in a well-buttered paper-bag, fasten and place in a very hot oven on a grid, shelf, or trivet, and cook quickly for five or six minutes, and then slowly, allowing altogether from 12 to 15 minutes according to the thickness of the steak.  To serve slit open the bag and carefully take out the steak, place it on a hot dish, together with the slice of gammon, range some broiled cup mushrooms neatly round the dish, and send to table hot.  This dish is particularly nice if served with kidney potatoes.

Kidney Potatoes (Beeton)

About 1lb of small kidney potatoes, salt, a little chopped parsley, and a tiny piece of fresh butter.  Wash and peel the potatoes thinly, plunge them into slightly salted boiling water for a few minutes, and then drain on a dry cloth.  Place the potatoes into a thickly greased paper bag, and bake them on a grid or trivet in a brisk oven for about eighteen minutes.  When the potatoes are done, open the bag, add a good pinch of fine salt, a little chopped parsley and a tiny piece of fresh butter.  Shake the contents well, then dish up, and serve.

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The Edwardian Craze for Paper Bag Cookery – Part 1

Advert for a gas cooker from Mrs Beeton's Book of Household Management, 1915. Cooking with gas was recommended by Edwardian cooks as the best method for success with paper-bag cookery.

‘Paper bag cookery is now accepted by very many housewives as the most economical, efficient, and the simplest method of preparing our food for the table. In the first place, the food loses nothing in the cooking; in the second place, there is no smell;  and in the third place, there are no greasy pots and pans to wash up.’

Woman’s Weekly, 4th November, 1911

Paper bag cookery was popular with frugally minded Edwardian cooks from both sides of the Atlantic.  Woman’s Weekly promoted its use and Mrs Beeton even included a section on it in her Book of Household Management.  Mrs B was cautious about the method and somewhat sceptical that it was simply a passing fad:

‘Paper-bag cookery owes much of the prominence to which it has attained in consequence of its having been boomed in the Press, and because it was regarded as something new…Housewives, however, will do well to proceed cautiously at first and by way of experiment…Enthusiasts have declared that the system may be adapted to every description of food and food preparation, but these assertions are of too sweeping a character.  For vegetables, on the other hand, it may be doubted whether the paper-bag plan is suitable.’ (p.1516, Mrs Beeton’s Book of Household Management, 1915 edition)

In 1911, Vera Countess Serkoff’s Paper-Bag Cookery and Nicolas Soyer’s, Soyer’s Paper Bag Cookery were published.  In 1912, Emma Paddock Telford, who was the Household Editor of The Delineator, New Ideas and The Designer, wrote Standard Paper-Bag Cookery, adapted to the needs of American housewives and published by Applewood Books. Serkoff’s book, aimed at the household of the servantless cook, was very enthusiast about the advantages of paper-bag cookery:

‘A very great advantage both to mistress and maid is the cleanliness of the process.  It is undoubtedly an advantage when doing without a servant to have no pots and pans to soil one’s fingers, or to roughen one’s hands with the necessary strong soda water for cleansing kitchen utensils.’ (p. 6, Paper-Bag Cookery, 1911)

‘Paper-bag cookery is not a mere craze of the moment; for once its advantages have been discovered, it will become firmly rooted as one of the best and most economical means of preparing food ever invented.  Why it should have fallen into abeyance among civilised nations (except in the cooking of one or two special dishes) for so many centuries is impossible to surmise.’ (p.10, Paper-Bag Cookery, 1911)

Emma Telford’s, Standard Paper-Bag Cookery, aimed her book at a wider target audience: ’…..for the small family, for the woman who does her own work and wishes to minimize labour, or for the epicurean but frugal housewife who looks personally after the details of her own little establishment.’

It was recommended by all the above authors that paper-bag cookery was best undertaken using a gas oven. In today’s risk averse society the combination of a naked flamed and paper seem pretty obvious.  If you want to read more about the history of gas usage in the UK home, then I suggest visiting The Gas Museum’s  fascinating website.  Click Here. 

The Edwardian cook would need to purchase specially created bags, available from department stores, grocers and butchers.  The bags came in a range of sizes, in bundles of thirty, together with sealing clips and a small book of recipes and full instructions.  American authors suggested that to get the best results from using this method, particularly when cooking meat, the food should be placed in a disposable wooden cookery dish which is then put into the bag.  This would ensure that if the bag burst, the juices would not be lost or create a mess in the oven.  The Oval Wood Dish Company, based in Delta, Ohio was one of the manufacturers of this type of cooking vessel.

In my second posting I will be bringing you a range of recipes from some of the above authors.  Paper-bag cookery is still popular today, sometimes called cooking En papillote.  Baking parchment and parchment bags are now used.  Fish cooks beautifully using this method and a theatrical moment is created when the parcel is unwrapped at the dinner table. There are a lot of contemporary paper-bag/En papillote recipes available on-line, but I would recommend the BBC‘s as your first port of call.  Click here.

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