The Old Foodie

On the topic of how traditional is the traditional breakfast, I checked out Phyllis Browne's book A Year’s Cookery, by Phyllis Browne (1879). She gives menus and recipes for the whole year. She says “I have specially addressed myself to people of moderate income, with moderate domestic help, and ordinary kitchen utensils” - and that is us, right? Mindful that some of you are still languishing in Wednesday 21, I give you her breakfast for this day: May 21 Potted Veal and Ham Savoury Eggs Hot Buttered Toast Dry Toast Brown and White Bread and Butter Bread and Milk And for those of us already scoffing our breakfast on the 22nd, she suggests: May 22 Dried Haddock Fried Bacon Hot Buttered Toast Dry Toast Brown and White Bread and Butter Bread and Milk Eggs there, and Bacon there - just not together. The dried haddock (she gives several ways of making it edible) does not appeal.

An English barbarian would put Heinz baked beans on the same plate. An English barbarian might also put a bit of genuine bubble-and-squeak on there too. An American barbarian might put hash browns on the same plate, but not in my house. I'm not, actually, sure what a good hash-brown is, unless it is a bastardized version of bubble-and-sqeak (without the cabbage, and what is the point of that?) , or perhaps a bastardised version of those German grated-potato-pancake things (kartoffelsomethings) which are wonderful, and come a close second to genuine bubble-and-squeak (except I am not sure why any self-respecting German would miss an opportunity to omit cabbage).

Soaking it in milk for a while first helps the texture and strong flavour. Bacon with it is oligatory in my house.

Anything as acid and salty as preserved lemons is not going to grow the sort of bacteria that make you sick. I think you just made salty lemon wine! Maybe you had too much extra lemon juice for the amount of salt? I never sterilize the jars when I make these.

Hello gariotin. No particular research enquiry - I am just intrigued by the idea. Potato and cheese in one item - close to ambrosia to me. Please do ask your contacts and colleagues. J

Potato Cheese was certainly available in the USA in the 1950's. From: The Complete Book of Cheese ; Brown, Robert Carlton; 1959 (via Gutenberg) Potato Germany and U.S.A. Made in Thuringia from sour cow milk with sheep or goat sometimes added. "The potatoes are boiled and grated or mashed. One part of the potato is thoroughly mixed or kneaded with two or three parts of die curd. In the better cheese three parts of potatoes are mixed with two of curd. During the mixing, salt and sometimes caraway seed are added. The cheese is allowed to stand for from two to four days while a fermentation takes place. After this the curd is sometimes covered with beer or cream and is finally placed in tubs and allowed to ripen for fourteen days. A variety of this cheese is made in the U.S. It is probable, however, that it is not allowed to ripen for quite so long a period as the potato cheese of Europe. In all other essentials it appears to be the same." From U.S. Department of Agriculture _Bulletin_ No. 608. Covered with beer during ripening - now that sounds like a good idea! Is there not a little artisanal cheese producer still making this?

Interesting. In England a tea-cake used to mean a sort of sweet flat yeast bun, usually served toasted. Here is the original Mrs Beeton's recipe from 1861. TEA-CAKES. 2 lbs. of flour, 1/2 teaspoonful of salt, 1/4 lb. of butter or lard, 1 egg, a piece of German yeast the size of a walnut, warm milk. Put the flour (which should be perfectly dry) into a basin mix with it the salt, and rub in the butter or lard; then beat the egg well, stir to it the yeast, and add these to the flour with as much warm milk as will make the whole into a smooth paste, and knead it well. Let it rise near the fire, and, when well risen, form it into cakes; place them on tins, let them rise again for a few minutes before putting them into the oven, and bake from 1/4 to 1/2 hour in a moderate oven. These are very nice with a few currants and a little sugar added to the other ingredients: they should be put in after the butter is rubbed in. These cakes should be buttered, and eaten hot as soon as baked; but, when stale, they are very nice split and toasted; or, if dipped in milk, or even water, and covered with a basin in the oven till hot, they will be almost equal to new. TO TOAST TEA-CAKES. Cut each tea-cake into three or four slices, according to its thickness; toast them on both sides before a nice clear fire, and as each slice is done, spread it with butter on both sides. When a cake is toasted, pile the slices one on the top of the other, cut them into quarters, put them on a very hot plate, and send the cakes immediately to table. As they are wanted, send them in hot, one or two at a time, as, if allowed to stand, they spoil, unless kept in a muffin-plate over a basin of boiling water.

A few more gleanings on potato-cheese - all from the mid-nineteenth century. From a magazine article of 1830: Potato Cheese.—In many parts of Saxony, cheese is made in the following manner from potatoes :—Take the best potatoes and boil them ; when cold, beat them in a mortar into a pulp, adding a pint of sour milk to five pounds of potatoes. Keep the mass covered for three or four days, aud then beat it again. Make it into small cheeses, which are to he placed in baskets, to let the superfluous moisture escape. Dry hem in the shade, and then pile them on each other for fifteen days ; after which they may he put away in any manner in a dry place. They have a very pleasant flavour, and will keep good for years, improving with age. From an Agricultural journal (1846): “In Savoy, an excellent cheese is made by mixing one of the pulp of potatoes with three of ewe milk curd, and in Westphalia a potato-cheese is made with skimmed milk. This Wesphalian cheese, while in the pasty state, is allowed to undergo a certain extent of fermentation before it is finally worked up with butter and salt, and made int shapes and dried. The extent to which this fermentation is permitted to go determines the flavour of the cheese. From: Sketches of Germany and the Germans (an extract in a journal of 1859): “Potatoes in Prussia: I have frequently seen them served in six different forms : the bread was made from them, the soup thickened with them, there were fried potatoes, potato salad, and potato dumplings ; to which may be added potato cheese, which, by the by, is one of its best preparations, and will keep many years, for which we are indebted to Prussian ingenuity.” Is there anything like this in the areas of the USA with a big German heritage??

I always seem to have been good at telling exactly when a pot of jam is 'done' and never quite knew why - I used the same tricks as everyone else- the bit of jam on a cold saucer, the way it slid off a wooden spoon etc (which are not as easy to interpret as they seem). Then one day I read a comment in a magazine by a very old lady who was famous locally for her jam. She said she heard it when it was ready. I realised then that that is what I was doing - that at the right degree of done-ness, when the bubbles are just the right size, the slight 'plopping' sound changed. Maybe those un-aware sensory inputs are what we call "instinct"?

I could not believe that there was no response (well, one response - thankyou eipe10!) to my "new" topic on Potato Cheese. I now realise that I should have posted it here. I will be profoundly disappointed, fellow eGullet cheese-eaters, if I dont hear something from you on this topic! I will repeat my post here: I came across a reference to ‘potato cheese’ recently and was most intrigued. I am hoping some of you can tell me more. Most references say it comes from Germany or the Savoy region: most of these references are nineteenth century. What I want to know is: is this cheese still made in the world? I am even keener to know if anyone has made it themselves. This recipe is from Cassells' Vegetarian Cookery (1891) Potato Cheese. Potato cheeses are very highly esteemed in Germany; they can be made of various qualities, but care must be taken that they are not too rich and have not too much heat, or they will burst. Boil the potatoes till they are soft, but the skin must not be broken. The potatoes must be large and of the best quality. When boiled, carefully peel them and beat them to a smooth paste in a mortar with a wooden pestle. To make the commonest cheese, put five pounds of potato paste into a cheese-tub with one pound of milk and rennet; add a sufficient quantity of salt, together with caraways and cumin seed sufficient to impart a good flavour. Knead all these ingredients well together, cover up and allow them to stand three or four days in winter, two to three in summer. At the end of that time knead them again, put the paste into wicker moulds, and leave the cheeses to drain until they are quite dry. When dry and firm, lay them on a board and leave them to acquire hardness gradually in a place of very moderate warmth; should the heat be too great, as we have said, they will burst. When, in spite of all precautions, such accidents occur, the crevices of the burst cheeses are, in Germany, filled with curds and cream mixed, some being also put over the whole surface of the cheese, which is then dried again. As soon as the cheeses are thoroughly dry and hard, place them in barrels with green chickweed between each cheese; let them stand for about three weeks, when they will be fit for use. This simpler version is from The American Frugal Housewife (1838) by Lydia Maria Child. It sounds like not so much a cheese as a fermented potato pancake! Potato cheese is much sought after in various parts of Europe. I do not know whether it is worth seeking after, or not. The following is the receipt for making : Select good white potatoes, boil them, and, when cold, peel and reduce them to a pulp with a rasp or mortar ; to five pounds of this pulp. which must be very uniform and homogeneous, add a pint of sour milk and the requisite portion of salt; knead the whole well, cover it, and let it remain three or four days, according to the season ; then knead it afresh, and place the cheeses in small baskets, when they will part with their superfluous moisture ; dry them in the shade, and place them in layers in large pots or kegs, where they may remain a fortnight. The older they are, the finer they become.

I came across a reference to ‘potato cheese’ recently and was most intrigued. I am hoping some of you can tell me more. Most references say it comes from Germany or the Savoy region: most of these references are nineteenth century. What I want to know is: is this cheese still made in the world? I am even keener to know if anyone has made it themselves. This recipe is from Cassells' Vegetarian Cookery (1891) Potato Cheese. Potato cheeses are very highly esteemed in Germany; they can be made of various qualities, but care must be taken that they are not too rich and have not too much heat, or they will burst. Boil the potatoes till they are soft, but the skin must not be broken. The potatoes must be large and of the best quality. When boiled, carefully peel them and beat them to a smooth paste in a mortar with a wooden pestle. To make the commonest cheese, put five pounds of potato paste into a cheese-tub with one pound of milk and rennet; add a sufficient quantity of salt, together with caraways and cumin seed sufficient to impart a good flavour. Knead all these ingredients well together, cover up and allow them to stand three or four days in winter, two to three in summer. At the end of that time knead them again, put the paste into wicker moulds, and leave the cheeses to drain until they are quite dry. When dry and firm, lay them on a board and leave them to acquire hardness gradually in a place of very moderate warmth; should the heat be too great, as we have said, they will burst. When, in spite of all precautions, such accidents occur, the crevices of the burst cheeses are, in Germany, filled with curds and cream mixed, some being also put over the whole surface of the cheese, which is then dried again. As soon as the cheeses are thoroughly dry and hard, place them in barrels with green chickweed between each cheese; let them stand for about three weeks, when they will be fit for use. This simpler version is from The American Frugal Housewife (1838) by Lydia Maria Child. It sounds like not so much a cheese as a fermented potato pancake! Potato cheese is much sought after in various parts of Europe. I do not know whether it is worth seeking after, or not. The following is the receipt for making : Select good white potatoes, boil them, and, when cold, peel and reduce them to a pulp with a rasp or mortar ; to five pounds of this pulp. which must be very uniform and homogeneous, add a pint of sour milk and the requisite portion of salt; knead the whole well, cover it, and let it remain three or four days, according to the season ; then knead it afresh, and place the cheeses in small baskets, when they will part with their superfluous moisture ; dry them in the shade, and place them in layers in large pots or kegs, where they may remain a fortnight. The older they are, the finer they become.

Hello eGulleters, I know I have not been contributing to the fun around here of recent months. I plead too many projects, too many family and work hassles. To start to make up the deficiency I offer the following tidbit for your comment and amusement. From Fellows’ Menu Maker (Chicago, 1910) Difference between Leftover and Comeback. The difference between a leftover and a comeback in culinary parlance is: a leftover is prepared food which has not been dished onto a plate to set before a diner, but which may be kept for service at a future meal. A comeback is food that has been dished onto a plate, probably messed over, and returned to the kitchen. The leftover is an economy; the comeback is a waste. Food dished onto platters for redishing onto plates, are classified as leftovers when returned to service pantry in the original platter. Such food is not spoiled. Is this still restaurant parlance? What does happen to 'comeback' food in a restaurant. Dont answer that, I dont think I want to know.

Bloaters are a type of herring. Herring flavoured scones: with herring flavoured cream. I dont think I am unadventurous, but I dont think I would like them.

Hello everyone, I have been absent from E gullet for far too long due to the pressure of other things. I must make my re-entry here. Here in the Antipodes we consider ourselves the scone-supremos of the World. Maybe the Universe. I was shocked, however, to find the following recipes in a 1930's-ish Aussie Cookbook (which has about 40 different scone recipes). You asked for savory scones. I dare you to try these: Bloater Scones. ½ lb self-raising flour 1 oz. butter 1 egg lemon juice to taste 2 oz. bloater paste salt and cayenne 1 gill milk Sift flour, salt, and cayenne. Rub in butter and bloater paste. Add egg and milk and lemon juice, and make into a soft dough. Knead slightly. Roll out ½ inch thick. Cut into small rounds 1 inch in diameter. Glaze and bake in a quick oven eight to ten minutes. Filling: 1 dessertspoon bloater paste and one dessertspoon whipped cream, blended together and flavoured with cayenne, lemon juice, and salt. Curry and Egg Scones. ½ lb. self-raising flour 1 oz. butter 1 dessertspoon curry powder pinch salt 1 hard-boiled egg 1 gill milk. Sift flour, curry powder and salt into a basin. Rub in butter and add egg chopped finely and milk. Make into a dough, roll out, cut into rounds, brush over with milk and bake about ten minutes. Leaden scones come from over-handling, usually. The less the better.

Just had a nice bit of Roaring Forties blue. Lovely.

Here is a recipe from a 1971 Texas newspaper. Coca-Cola Cake 2 c. flour 2 cups sugar 2 sticks oleo 1 c. coke 3 t. cocoa 1 c. buttermilk 2 eggs, unbeaten 1 t. soda 1 t. vanilla 1 ½ c. miniature marshmallows Put flour and sugar in a large mixing bowl. Combine oleo, coke and cocoa in sauce pan and heat to boiling. Pour over flour and sugar and mix. Add remaining ingredients and mix well. Bake in a flat pan at 350 degrees for 30 to 35 minutes. Icing. ½ c. oleo 3 T. cocoa 6 T. coke ¾ box powdered sugar. Bring first three ingredients to a boil. Pour over powdered sugar and spread over hot cake. [Those of us 'elsewhere', where 'oleo' is a mystery, and a 'stick' as a measurement an even greater mystery, will have to improvise. About 250 gm of butter will do ??????]

I am hoping for some help from the wide world of eGullet here! An English cleric sent as a chaplain to the "Barbary coast" (North Africa) in 1663 described a dish he shared (which he likened to a "Spanish" olla podrida which was becoming quite fashionable at the time in England): "an earthen pot full of mutton, beef, cabbage, raisins, potatoes, berengénas, &c. all boiled together, and extremely hot with dimicuto and garlic, which is their immutable sauce." I have no idea what "dimicuto" is - I have searched as many spellings as I can think of to no avail. I presume it is a phonetic version of a Spanish or North African word that would have been known to an Englishman who spent seven years in Tangier. Any educated guesses from those of you with knowledge of the language or culture of the region?

I remembered a blog story I did sometime on just this topic. Here are a few other names (most now sadly obsolete) for "persons with a particular preoccupation with their Belly-cheare" (or Belly-timber or Belly-Joy or Belly-matter). Broth-belly Gully-gutch globber gutling gipe gobslotch Belly-god (a good one I think) And my favourite - "Flap-sauce" (or flappe-sawce) Have fun Janet.

I remember reading once (only I dont remember where I read it) - of an idea based on the doll/ bean twelfth night cake .... have a doll's head (= the ex-groom's head) in the cake, and whoever gets it, wins a prize. Would probably be a giggle at an an all-girls celebration.

Thank you Janet, I was hoping for your always well-researched input. I hope you weren't alarmed by the topic title. I like mouthician, although it makes me think of a dentist . . . or worse. ← I'm not at all alarmed, I'm not such a sensitive little flower. ... I would have been alarmed if the topic title was 'Lets Kill The Old Foodie' but I'm not a conspiracy theorist either. I am watching the debate with interest however. If a consensus alternative is reached, does someone have a plan to ensure the new word takes over from "f****e"? A petition? A lobby group? Legislation?

Clearly, I dont have a problem with the word. But for those of you who do, William Kitchiner in The Cook's Oracle (1817) used the word Mouthician. I've never seen the word used anywhere else, and the OED does not include it, so it must have been WK's own.

I came across this recipe in the New York Times of 1904 while I was researching old recipes for clam bisque. I have never come across the term 'flabbina' before, and cannot find any other reference using the word - I have tried various other spellings (not that the NYT would make a spelling error of course). I am curious. Have any of you come across it before? Is it a regional word? Here is the recipe: Soft clam flabbina is prepared as follows: If you do not go to the great markets have your fish dealer, for four persons, open under your personal observation from, according to size, two to three dozen soft clams, saving only the juice and bellies. Stew these gently ten minutes when add half a pint of standared tomato soup, half a tablespoonful of Worcestershire sauce, tabasco sauce to taste, and a sliced lemon. Bring this to a boil, and at the moment of serving incorporate a glass of madeira. I know I can rely on you eGulleters! Janet

Link I knew this was an age-old conundrum! ← Another explanation that applies to the European egg-yolk biscuits etc is that they became a speciality of the convents - because the monks used the whites and shells in rrefining wine, and the leftover yolks were handed over to the nuns, who developed pastry expertise that earned income for the convent.

If you want to go Retro, there is a wonderful selection of advertising cookbooks from pre-1920 at the Digital Scriptorium The only cookbook my mum had was the Be-Ro flour cookbook (which is in the Scriptorium under Baking) - I learned to bake from it. Most of the books are American (if you love retro-jello, the books are there) Janet

It is also called steamed dicky, dicky pudding, and plum bolster (the most evocative name I think). In refined modern parlance it is sometimes called Spotted Richard. Here is a recipe from Alexis Soyer’s Shilling Cookery for the People (1854) Spotted Dick.—Put three-quarters of a pound of flour into a basin, half a pound of beef suet, half ditto of currants, two ounces of sugar, a little cinnamon, mix with two eggs and two gills of milk; boil in either mould or cloth for one hour and a half; serve with melted butter, and a little sugar over. Rib-sticking food it is, perfectly suitable for filling up gangly permanently hungry English schoolboys.