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I love old cookbooks and am always on the lookout for them.
My most recent (and best) find was two of them from 1908. They are truly amazing. I've made several recipes from them and they all turned out good, but sort of weird.
Our favorite is EGGS IN PRISON. Yes, that's the actual name of the recipe!
I noticed that these particular cookbooks use a LOT of eggs, and a lot of stale bread crumbs. Interesting.
Oh, and sometimes they just call for "meat." I guess any kind of meat. That's pretty weird.
For recipe hounds in the Detroit area, there is a whole roomful of old-to-ancient cookbooks at King's Used & Rare Bookstore on Lafayette. Some incredible stuff in there. For best results bring a wheelbarrow and $300.
A recipe that just calls for "meat" is probably from the Great Depression. You never knew what kind of meat you'd come across -- pork, horse, night squirrel -- so they just said "meat."
YES! I have inherited some old cookbooks, mostly from my mom mid century cookery was very interesting.
Others from my grandmother and before. Some of these recipes are ripe for revival. Others should be retired and do not jive with contemporary American tastes.
However, they are a interesting piece of American popular culture. I don't think that Cold Jellied Beef Soup would appeal to many Americans today, regardless of geographical region or ethnic heritage. Same goes for a salad with a raw egg as part of the dressing, especially for health concerns. Unless you raised and fed the chicken. I could be wrong, but Beef Jello and raw egg salad dressing are more amusing to read about that they are to eat.
Most interesting to me is the stark difference in Grandma's and Great grandmother's cook books which used mostly natural ingredients, and my mom's early 60's cook books which relied heavily on items such as Lipton's French Onion Soup mix, Campbell's creamed soups and the like.
However, every once in a while I like cooking an old fashioned mid century church supper type recipe.
...Same goes for a salad with a raw egg as part of the dressing, especially for health concerns. Unless you raised and fed the chicken...
Just do what I do when I want to consume raw eggs - buy pasteurized eggs.
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