I have found that few things transform you in time quite like an old cookbook. We get wonderful hints as to what it was like to live and dine in another era. Recently, I came across a fascinating little book that you can still find a few recent reprints if you look around. “The Virginia Housewife or, Methodical Cook” was first published in 1831. The author wrote her book:
‘from the want of books sufficiently clear and concise… to reduce every thing in the culinary line, to proper weights and measures… for, when the ingredients employed were given in just proportions, the article made was equally good.”
This was in an era when the culinary skills were truly a ‘learn by doing’ activity and normally little was ever written down and everything committed to memory. It appears that this cookbook was a widely reprinted reference well into the civil war.
We all wonder what recipes might be popular enough with ingredients commonplace enough to be placed in a cookbook of that time? Many of the recipes are very basic: on how to clean and dress various animals, sauces, puddings and desserts, preserves, pickling and the making of beer and cordials. But what it does include that might surprise you is a nice recipe for ‘Curried Chicken’. As you know curry powder is a blend of spices and she even includes a recipe for her ‘curry.’ Who knew?
TO MAKE A DISH OF CURRY AFTER THE EAST INDIAN MANNER
Cut two chickens as for fricassee, wash them clean, and put them in a stew pan with as much water as will cover them; sprinkle them with a large spoonful of salt, and let them boil until tender, cover close all the time, and skim them well; when boiled enough,take up the chickens, and put the liquor of them into a pan, then put half a pound of fresh butter in the pan, and brown it a little; put into it two cloves of garlic, and a large onion sliced, and let these all fry till brown, often shaking the pan; then put in the chickens, and sprinkle over them two or thee spoonfuls of curry powder; then cover the pan close, and let the chickens do till brown, often shaking the pan; then put in the liquor the chickens were boiled in, and all stew together until tender; if acid is agreeable squeeze the juice of a lemon or orange in it.
CURRY POWDER
One ounce turmeric, one do. coriander seed, one do. cumin seed, one do. white ginger, one cayenne pepper; pound all together, and pass them through a fine sieve; bottle and cork it well — one tea-spoon is sufficient to season any made dish.
Sound Familiar? YUM!
Roger