Category Archives: historic cooking

Ship’s Biscuit Recipes

Posted on June 12, 2013 by

Many recipes in the 18th century use biscuits as an ingredient in other foods. Now I’m a biscuit fan. I’ll take mine hot with a dab of butter and a little honey. It just so happens that my bucket list … Continue reading →

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18th Century Pasties: Addendum.

Posted on June 11, 2013 by

Here’s an interesting passage from William Ellis’s 1750 book, “The Country Housewife’s Family Companion” (page 65). Ellis speaks of the virtuous timing of slaughtering a “porker” prior to harvest. The scrap pieces of meat could be used in making portable … Continue reading →

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18th Century Pasties, Part Two

Posted on June 10, 2013 by

As I began my quest to understand the 18th century pasty, I figured the first thing I needed to do was to leave behind all of my modern notions of what they were. I needed to travel light, leaving plenty … Continue reading →

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18th Century Pasties, Part One

Posted on June 3, 2013 by

Say the word “Pasty” (pronounced “past-ee”), and you’ll likely receive a passionate Pavlovian response from hungry folks from several regions of the U.S. (i.e., Michigan’s U.P., or parts of Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Montana, and California). Echoes of the lip-smacking cheers reverberate … Continue reading →

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Standing-Crust Pie Recipes

Posted on May 28, 2013 by

In my last (rather lengthy) post, I shared a recipe for a large standing crust from Mrs. Frazer’s 1791 cookbook, “The Practice of Cookery.” Rather than leave you standing there with an empty pie shell, I thought it would be … Continue reading →

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Parmesan Cheese Tart

Posted on May 6, 2013 by

  Ok, I am obviously some kind of cheese pie freak, and I admit this is my third cheesecake type recipe in the last couple of months, but you will just have to bear with me. In the past, we … Continue reading →

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A Quire of Paper

Posted on April 29, 2013 by

Here’s one more recipe for 18th century pancakes from John Farley’s 1783 cookbook, “The London Art of Cookery“: A variation of this recipe can also be found in Mary Randolph’s 1824 cookbook “The Virginia Housewife.” A “quire” is a term borrowed … Continue reading →

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How to hold your pancake…

Posted on April 24, 2013 by

It’s pancake week on our picture reference blog, SiftingThePast.com, and I couldn’t help but notice how people were holding their pancakes in a couple of the paintings . Notice, below, the man in the background holding his pancake as well … Continue reading →

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Pancakes: They’re Not Just for Breakfast

Posted on April 22, 2013 by

While I look forward nearly every day to going to work, every now and again, I’ll look forward with greater anticipation to the drive home. I know of no job that is void of any stress of one sort or … Continue reading →

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Raised Hearth with Oven Paintings

Posted on April 18, 2013 by

Many folks have expressed interest in the raised hearth and oven we use in our 18th century cooking video series. I have recently run into a couple of 16th and 17th century German images that show just such an arrangement. … Continue reading →

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