So the Old Colony Cake didn’t turn out too bad! While the ingredients were identical to traditional cake recipes, the ratios were a bit different. The result was very thick batter and a dense cake, but the lemon added a much needed bright flavor. Not sure which way to add the lemon, I added both [...]
With winter upon us, and snow (finally!) on the ground, I thought it would be a good time to fire up the old hearth, so to speak, and return to some historic recipes. This time around, I decided to explore our manuscript cookbook collection. These handwritten recipes include as much variety as one would find [...]
Recently we acquired an interesting new addition to our ever growing scrapbook collection. In 1869, Mary H. Hill of Nelson County, VA, somehow got her hands on a salesman’s sample book and proceeded to use it as a scrapbook for her favorite recipes over the next decade or so. What makes her book stand out [...]
Ever wonder what Susanna was chewing on in Stephen Foster’s famous folk song? Curious about how women occupied their days at home in early America? Interested in learning more about the relationship between early American housewives and their maids? Whether you are interested in the history of American cooking, women’s history, domestic history, or the [...]
Clerk and the City, 1849 Schoolmarm, 1870
