Victorian Era and 19th C Recipes Thread

[GCCC]

Meals in Colonial India:

http://www.theoldfoodie.com/2014/10/calcutta-in-olden-time.html

Excerpted from the article:

"At twelve a repast is introduced, consisting of cold ham, chickens, and cold shrub, after partaking of which, all parties separate to dress. The friseur now forms the person anew, and those who do not choose to wear caps, however elegant or ornamented, have flowers of British manufacture (a favourite mode of decoration) intermixed with their tresses, and otherwise disposed s so as to have an agreeable effect. Powder is, however, used in great quantities, on the idea of both coolness and neatness: though, in my opinion, the natural colour of the hair would be more becoming: but the intense heat, I suppose, renders it ineligible. At three, the day after my arrival, as is usually the case, the company assembled, in the hall or saloon, to the number of four and twenty ; where besides the lustres and girandoles already mentioned, are sofas of Chinese magnificence; but they are only substituted for chairs; what is called cooling, in the western world, being here unpractised, and during the whole period of dinner, boys with slappers and fans surround you, procuring you at least a tolerably comfortable artificial atmosphere. The dishes were so abundant and the removes so rapid, I can only tell you, ducks, chickens, fish, (no soup, take notice, is ever served up at Calcutta.)"

[GCCC]

Things to Do With a Pineapple, 1808 -1819:

http://www.theoldfoodie.com/2014/10/things-to-do-with-pineapple-in-1808-19.html

Excerpted from the article:

"Pine-Apple Ice Cream.
Take one gill and a half of pine-apple syrup, put it into a bason, and squeeze in one lemon and a half; add one pint of cream, make it palatable; then put it in your freezing pot, and freeze it till it is as thick as butter; if you would have it in the shape of a pine, take the shape and fill it; then lay half a sheet of brown paper over the mould before you put it into the ice, and let it remain some time, and be careful no water gets into the shape."

[GCCC]

Treacle Tart:

http://www.tentacleandtreacle.com/blog/2012/12/23/treacle-tart

[GCCC]

Burdwan Stew:  1806 and Beyond:

http://www.theoldfoodie.com/2014/10/burdwan-stew-1806-and-beyond.html

Excerpted from the article:

"It is clear from the references that Burdwan (or Birdwan) stew is an Anglo-Indian dish. The name presumably indicates some connection with Bardhaman (Burdwan or Barddhaman,) a city and district in West Bengal."

[GCCC]

Turkish Delight:

http://www.tentacleandtreacle.com/blog/2014/01/08/turkish-delight

[GCCC]

Madeira Cake:

http://www.tentacleandtreacle.com/blog/2014/01/23/madeira-cake

[GCCC]

The Afghan War Dinner of 1880:

http://www.theoldfoodie.com/2014/10/the-afghan-war-dinner-of-1880.html

Excerpted from the article:

"...many of the dishes on the menu paid homage to significant names and places of the war. I will leave a full explanation to a military historian, if one of them sees fit to comment, but a few examples are:

Ayoub: the leader of the Afghan forces in Kandahar.
Peiwar Kotal: site of a battle fought on December 2, 1879.
Mahomed Jan: a Wardak ([Pashtun) general.
Charasiab: site of a battle fought on October 6, 1879.

These names of course tell us nothing about the actual food, but they were almost certainly classic British Victorian-era dishes tweaked slightly (or not) and re-named for the occasion. Generally speaking, innovation in cookery was not a highly valued attribute at the time, – a fine cook was expected to reproduce and garnish the classic dishes well. And in any case –  to invent so many new dishes would have been a huge task.

The dish named for Roberts himself is a galantine..." (the recipe for same is provided in detail at the article).

[GCCC]

Sugared Rose Petals:

http://www.tentacleandtreacle.com/blog/2014/02/14/sugared-rose-petals

[GCCC]

A Genuine Afghan Dinner, Kandahar 1871:

http://www.theoldfoodie.com/2014/10/a-genuine-afghan-dinner-kandahar-1871.html

Excerpted from the article:

"... We had hardly been left alone in our palatial quarters when a succession of huge trays of all sorts of sweetmeats began to arrive. Each was borne in by two servants, one supporting each end, and deposited one after the other on the floor. The array was quite alarming, for I knew they would go to our servants for disposal, and was certain they would exceed the bounds of prudence and moderation ; a surmise in which I was not far wrong, for nearly all of them had to undergo a physicking before we set out on our onward journey. One of the trays in particular attracted our attention, on account of the variety of zoological forms its surface was crowded with. We dubbed it 'Noah's Ark,' and kept it till our departure, partly from a suspicion that the different species of animals might not all be good for the food of man, and partly as an amusing specimen of the artistic skill of the confectioners of Kandahar. Much cannot be said for their proficiency in the art of moulding. Their figures generally left a good deal for the imagination to supplement before their identity could be satisfactorily brought home to the mind; but some, with even the most liberal allowance of fancy, were altogether beyond recognition..."

[GCCC]

Rhubarb Tart:

http://www.tentacleandtreacle.com/blog/2014/11/08/rhubarb-tart

[GCCC]

Potato Fritters:

http://www.tentacleandtreacle.com/blog/2014/12/17/potato-fritters

[GCCC]

Scones and Clotted Cream:

http://www.tentacleandtreacle.com/blog/2013/12/30/scones-and-clotted-cream

[GCCC]

Marmalade, Orange Scotch:

http://www.tentacleandtreacle.com/blog/2014/01/05/marmalade-orange-scotch

[GCCC]

Aspic:

http://www.tentacleandtreacle.com/blog/2015/2/24/aspic

[GCCC]

Barley Water:

http://www.tentacleandtreacle.com/blog/2014/11/13/barley-water

[GCCC]

Galantine of Guinea Fowl:

http://www.tentacleandtreacle.com/blog/2014/12/30/galantine-of-guinea-fowl

[GCCC]

Partridge Wrapped in Bacon:

http://www.tentacleandtreacle.com/blog/2015/01/15/partridge-wrapped-in-bacon

[GCCC]

Haggis:

http://www.tentacleandtreacle.com/blog/2015/01/25/haggis

[GCCC]

Woodcock Pie:

http://www.tentacleandtreacle.com/blog/woodcockpie

[GCCC]

Queen Victoria and Her Grandson Dine in 1899:

http://www.theoldfoodie.com/2014/11/queen-victoria-and-her-grandson-dine-in.html

Excerpted from the article:

"Boiled Beef à la Hussarde.
Mince one onion, parboil it with butter, a little garlic, a bay-leaf, and an ounce and a half of sliced ham. Moisten with bouillon and white wine. Add a small teaspoonful of beef extract, a bunch of parsley and tarragon, two or three shallots, a piece of celery root, and a few peppercorns. Boil, withdraw from the fire and let it stand for a quarter of an hour; then put in the beef cut in slices, and cook for five minutes. Thicken with a piece of butter rubbed up with flour, and serve."

[GCCC]

John Bull in Russia; 1871:

http://www.theoldfoodie.com/2014/11/john-bull-in-russia-1871.html

Excerpted from the article:

"John Bull Pudding.
Time, six hours. – One pound of flour, one pound stoned raisins, one pound currants, quarter of a pound sugar, one ounce citron, one pound suet chopped fine, six eggs beaten very light, one gill good brandy. Some of the flour (sifted) should be reserved to mix with the dry fruit. Boil six hours; keep boiling water at hand to replenish as it boils; to be eaten with hard or liquid sauce, as taste may dictate; turn the pudding a few times when you first put it to boil."

[GCCC]

A Bill of Fare for St Andrew's Day; 1828:

http://www.theoldfoodie.com/2014/11/a-bill-of-fare-for-st-andrews-day-1828.html

Excerpted from the article:

"Friar's Chicken.
Stew a knuckle of veal, a neck of mutton, a large fowl, two pounds of giblets, two large onions, two bunches of turnips, one bunch of carrots, a bunch of thyme, and another of sage, eight hours over a very slow stove, till every particle of juice is extracted from the meat and vegetables. Take it off the stove, pass it through a hair tamis; have ready a pound of grated veal, or, what is better, of grated chicken, with a large bunch of parsley, chopped very fine and mingled with it. Put this into the broth; set it on the stove again, and while there break four raw eggs into it. Stir the whole for about a quarter of an hour and serve up hot."

[GCCC]

A Bachelor's Bill of Fare (1857):

http://www.theoldfoodie.com/2015/02/a-bachelors-bill-of-fare-1857.html

Excerpted from the article:

" Curried Oysters
'Let a hundred of large sea-oysters opened into a basin, without losing one drop of their liquor. Put a lump of fresh butter into a good-sized saucepan, and when it boils, add a large onion, cut into thin slices, and let it fry in the uncovered stewpan until it is of a rich brown: now add a bit more butter, and two or three tablespoonsful of curry-powder. When these ingredients are well mixed over the fire with a wooden spoon, add gradually either hot water, or broth from the stock-pot; cover the stewpan, and let the whole boil up. Meanwhile, have ready the meat of a cocoa-nut, grated or rasped fine, put this into the stewpan with a few sour tamarinds (if they are to be obtained, if not, a sour apple, chopped.) Let the whole simmer over the fire until the apple is dissolved, and the cocoa-nut very tender; then add a cupful of strong thickening made of flour and water, and sufficient salt, as a curry will not bear being salted at table. Let this boil up for five minutes. Have ready also, a vegetable marrow, or part of one, cut into bits, and sufficiently boiled to require little or no further cooking. Put this in with a tomata or two; either of these vegetables may be omitted. Now put into the stewpan the oysters with their liquor, and the milk of the cocoa-nut; stir them well with the former ingredients; let the curry stew gently for a few minutes, then throw in the strained juice of half a lemon. Stir the currie from time to time with a wooden spoon, and as soon as the oysters are done enough serve it up with a corresponding dish of rice on the opposite side of the table. The dish is considered at Madras the ne plus ultra of Indian cookery.'
We have extracted this receipt, as it stands, from the Magazine of Domestic Economy, the season in which we have met with it not permitting us to have it tested. Such of our readers as may have partaken of the true Oriental preparation, will be able to judge of its correctness; and others may consider it worthy of a trial. We should suppose it necessary to beard the oysters."

[GCCC]

Dishes Suitable for a Cold Dinner (1869):

http://www.theoldfoodie.com/2015/02/dishes-suitable-for-cold-dinner-1869.html

Excerpted from the article:

"Canard en Daube.
Prepare your duck as if for roasting, lard it with bacon, season with salt, pepper, parsley, chives, thyme, bay-leaf, and basilic, chopped fine; tie up the duck tightly, and put it into a stewpan, with slices of bacon, half a calf 's foot, pepper, salt, onions, bunch of sweet herbs, carrots, thyme, cloves, bay-leaf, cloves of garlic; moisten with stock; add a glass of brandy; cover the pan closely, and let it stew very slowly, stirring and turning it occasionally whilst stewing, to prevent the duck sticking to the bottom, and that it might take the same colour equally. It will take four or five hours. Skim it carefully. You serve hot with .the sauce, or cold with the sauce, in jelly, as it will be quite stiff. You can dress geese the same way."

[GCCC]

A Russian Dinner in 1875:

http://www.theoldfoodie.com/2015/02/a-russian-dinner-in-1875.html

Excerpted from the article:

" Russian Imperial Soup
(Potage Russe a l'lmperiale).

Trim in small escalopes a small slice of sturgeon, and throw salt over it; cut in escalopes the fillets of a middling-sized eel and a sole; proceed with the essence and the fish as in the last article; then add to it roots, prepared as for the Julienne; boil it an hour, and pour it into the tureen containing the escalopes of the fish, some small whiting quenelles, with which mingle parsley chopped and blanched; add twelve livers of burbots, and twelve roes of carp dressed in salt and water."