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Colonial American recipes that are common today

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Hello all I hope all is well! What are some modern recipes that existed as a very, VERY similar/identical dish in Colonial America? I can list a few, mostly from my New England. Off the top of my head I can think of Johnny cakes, boiled dinners, and clam chowder for New England. Potato pancakes/sauerkraut, and scrapple for the middle colonies. It doesn't matter whether the recipes are for the lowliest farmer or a rich plantation owner. I am just interested in some cooking ideas where I can create the modern equivalent of a dish that I already enjoy today. Only interested in stuff from the 1600s-1700s in America. All of this is the same for sides/additions such as pickles or "salets" Thanks all!

So here is a complete evening meal...,

You will find the recipes here
The Lady's Assistant c. 1787

Roast or Barbicue Pork p. 175
Apple Sauce p. 321
Scolloped Potatoes P. 341 (this is actually mashed potatoes baked in molds to resemble "scallop" shells)
Mushroom Sauce p. 321 (this is similar to a mushroom gravy and is to go with the potatoes)
Stewed French Beans p. 338 (stewed string beans)

And for dessert...,
Lemon Cheese Cakes After the New England Manner p. 397 (this is what we would call a "baked custard" )

bon appetit 😋

LD
 
I don't go in for that stuff. I like to feel a book in my hands.
Nothing beats a real book, especially when it comes to looking up a passage
But…. It is so neat to have a hundred books in thing not bigger then a pamphlet
Have to say I’m addicted to mine.
Just reading now a history of tge Mexican American war written in 1900. Focuses much on the political climate in both nations. It’s an American perspective for sure, but very careful to be respectful of Mexican culture and military
Anyway, got it for 1.94, if I found it in a book it would easily be twentyfive time that cost. All of Herodotus was.09 and many of the westren journal books are free, and so to many classics
 
Check out Early American Life on You Tube. Justine does all sorts of ‘receipts’ at her fireplace from old cookbooks
Civil War Digital Digest page also does a lot from the US army manual for both station and field cooking
Fandabi Dozi is a Scottish historic treking page. He does some basic Scotts recipes
And Tasting History does many dishes from our time frame. He adds Babylonian stew or feast from the Middle Ages or Rome too
 
Many different types of bread with rye bread (often mixed with cornmeal) one of the primary breads. (I would have starved I hate cornmeal anything.......)
Of course a wide variety of cheeses with cheddar or cheddar like cheeses being the most prevalent.
 
Many different types of bread with rye bread (often mixed with cornmeal) one of the primary breads. (I would have starved I hate cornmeal anything.......)
Of course a wide variety of cheeses with cheddar or cheddar like cheeses being the most prevalent.

Actually..., "thirds" was wheat, rye, and spent barley (from brewing) or ..., when the commoners came to America, the barley, which wasn't grown much in the colonies, was swapped out for Indian corn "meal". However, it seems that it was a bit different than what we say when we do "cornmeal". It was likely very very well milled OR was perhaps hominy made into what we call Masa Flour....what is used in corn tortillas and pupusas. Much finer than most cornmeals, a lot finer than the corn meal used in Italian polenta, and much more nutritious. In fact folks making "authentic" early cornbread might want to try some or all of it done with Masa Flour. ANYWAY..., my point is that the very fine grinding/crushing of the dent corn or hominy into an actual flour, changes the texture of the finished bread. IF they used Masa, then it also made the bread very nutritious as the hominy will yield niacin while plain cornmeal does not.

LD
 
HERE is what one runs into when working old recipes...,

BOTH are from The Compleat Housewife 1739 edition (I have seen the 1729 and 1750 editions too)

LEMON CHEESECAKE 1739 A.JPG


Notice..., there are no baking instructions. The recipe mentions "pattipans" and only filling them "half full", which indicates baking, as pattipans were what we today would call small cake tins or queen cake tins, and one only fills them half full because they may rise a bit when baked...still how HOT an oven ??? A quick oven or a medium oven..... this was found on page 137


YET in the same book on page 146, ..., NINE pages apart, we find this.....

LEMON CHEESECAKE 1739 B p146.JPG


Notice..., in this second recipe, it mentions using lemon juice, of using a paste (crust), the temperature of the the oven "a quick oven", and how long to bake them....

Now the second recipe is not found in the 1729 edition, BUT they are both still found in the 1750 edition and still pages apart. In other cook books one would be likely to find a recipe titled, "To make Lemon Cheesecakes" and then just below that would be the second recipe, titled, "Another way". One would think that after eleven years, some reworking of the contents would be in order, no ???

OH and here is the "French Toast" recipe from 1739... nothing here mentions The French..... ;).


French Toast 1739.JPG


A manchet is a round, good quality wheaten loaf of bread, and "chip" is to remove the outer, hard crust (save that chipped hard crust for use as bread crumbs in other dishes, waste not want not). Cut it into toasts, means slice it and then toast it. We don't "pre-toast" our French toast, eh? The batter is similar to ours but they added sack... sweet sherry, and they didn't just dip the bread, they soak the bread in the egg batter. OH and the eggs would've been closer to the size of our "medium" eggs for those that want to try this.

LD
 
Last edited:
HERE is what one runs into when working old recipes...,

BOTH are from The Compleat Housewife 1739 edition (I have seen the 1729 and 1750 editions too)

View attachment 202150

Notice..., there are no baking instructions. The recipe mentions "pattipans" and only filling them "half full", which indicates baking, as pattipans were what we today would call small cake tins or queen cake tins, and one only fills them half full because they may rise a bit when baked...still how HOT an oven ??? A quick oven or a medium oven..... this was found on page 137


YET in the same book on page 146, ..., NINE pages apart, we find this.....

View attachment 202152

Notice..., in this second recipe, it mentions using lemon juice, of using a paste (crust), the temperature of the the oven "a quick oven", and how long to bake them....

Now the second recipe is not found in the 1729 edition, BUT they are both still found in the 1750 edition and still pages apart. In other cook books one would be likely to find a recipe titled, "To make Lemon Cheesecakes" and then just below that would be the second recipe, titled, "Another way". One would think that after eleven years, some reworking of the contents would be in order, no ???

OH and here is the "French Toast" recipe from 1739... nothing here mentions The French..... ;).


View attachment 202173

A manchet is a round, good quality wheaten loaf of bread, and "chip" is to remove the outer, hard crust (save that chipped hard crust for use as bread crumbs in other dishes, waste not want not). Cut it into toasts, means slice it and then toast it. We don't "pre-toast" our French toast, eh? The batter is similar to ours but they added sack... sweet sherry, and they didn't just dip the bread, they soak the bread in the egg batter. OH and the eggs would've been closer to the size of our "medium" eggs for those that want to try this.

LD
Some excellent replies these last few... thank you.
Do any of the modern copies/reprints of these books contain information on how hot a "quick oven" or a "medium oven" might be?
 
Some excellent replies these last few... thank you.
Do any of the modern copies/reprints of these books contain information on how hot a "quick oven" or a "medium oven" might be?

I was taught that a "Slow Oven" was about 300 degrees F, but could be less....
A "Moderate Oven" was about 350 degrees F
and a "Quick Oven" was 400 degrees or hotter..., maybe 425- 450


So today I found this on the internet. Temps may vary plus or minus 25 degrees when dealing with a wood fired bake oven.
This chart also has the "gas mark" settings for our British friends :

Gas Mark
Fahrenheit
Celsius
1​
250F​
120C​
2​
300F​
150C​
3​
325F​
160C​
4​
350F​
180C​
5​
375F​
190C​
6​
400F​
200C​
7​
425F​
220C​
8​
450F​
230C​
9​
475F​
240C​
10​
500F​
250C​

Very Slow Oven: Below 300F
Slow Oven: 300F
Moderately Slow Oven: 325F
Moderate Oven: 350F
Moderately Hot Oven: 375F
Quick Oven: 375-400F
Hot Oven: 400-425F
Very Hot Oven: 450-475F
Extremely Hot Oven: 500F or more

LD
 
I was taught that a "Slow Oven" was about 300 degrees F, but could be less....
A "Moderate Oven" was about 350 degrees F
and a "Quick Oven" was 400 degrees or hotter..., maybe 425- 450


So today I found this on the internet. Temps may vary plus or minus 25 degrees when dealing with a wood fired bake oven.
This chart also has the "gas mark" settings for our British friends :

Gas Mark
Fahrenheit
Celsius
1​
250F​
120C​
2​
300F​
150C​
3​
325F​
160C​
4​
350F​
180C​
5​
375F​
190C​
6​
400F​
200C​
7​
425F​
220C​
8​
450F​
230C​
9​
475F​
240C​
10​
500F​
250C​

Very Slow Oven: Below 300F
Slow Oven: 300F
Moderately Slow Oven: 325F
Moderate Oven: 350F
Moderately Hot Oven: 375F
Quick Oven: 375-400F
Hot Oven: 400-425F
Very Hot Oven: 450-475F
Extremely Hot Oven: 500F or more

LD
Thank you
 
Staying on the comparing different colonial recipes slight tangent... or ragging it to death... depending on the perspective..., here is a different author from 1747 take on Lemon Cheesecake

LEMON CHEESECAKE 1747.JPG


So THIS seems to be by an author who red the previous cookbook. Extra information is included in both, but the order of the ingredients seems to be the same. As thought the author tried the previous recipes, improved them, and then added to the previous recipe and called it their own.

OH and note in the title for the second recipe..., the printer inserted the "n" in Lemon upside down, so it looks like a "u"

LD
 
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