Category Archives: Baking

18th Century Pasties, Part Two

Posted on June 10, 2013 by Kevin Carter

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 Kevin Carter

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 Kevin Carter

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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A Quire of Paper

Posted on April 29, 2013 by Kevin Carter

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 Kevin Carter

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 Kevin Carter

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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A Rare Glimpse and a Unique Resource

Posted on April 4, 2013 by Kevin Carter

Here at Jas. Townsend & Son, we’re presently researching, of all things, the history of pancakes.  We noticed a broad range of various pancake recipes as we perused the numerous period cookbooks in preparation for our video series, but we … Continue reading →

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Another Cheesecake

Posted on March 11, 2013 by Jon Townsend

This “cheesecake” is easy and tasty.  As you can see from the above recipe from Eliza Smiths 1739 “The Compleat Housewife”, it is basically a 1/3 potato, 1/3 egg and 1/3 butter tart with some sugar and nutmeg added for … Continue reading →

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Suet, Part One: Its role in 18th Century Foodways and Life

Posted on January 18, 2013 by Kevin Carter

Scan through almost any 18th century cookbook and you will find a recurring term: Suet. Suet was an important ingredient in English cooking. It’s still used today, though it seems to have reserved its spot on British grocery shelves much more … Continue reading →

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The Christmas Pie

Posted on December 19, 2012 by Kevin Carter

In most English societies, for centuries Christmas has been a time of gatherings, and food, and festivities, and traditions, and family. For many people in the eighteenth century, Christmas was celebrated much differently than it typically is today. Remnants of … Continue reading →

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