Mrs. Beeton's Irish Recipes 1888

Not the first edition so many of these may pre-date 1888

1092.—IRISH STEW. (Fr.—Mouton a I'lrlandaise.)

(Another Mode.)

Ingredients.—3 Ibs. of the breast of mutton, :£ pint of water, salt and pepper to taste, 4 Ibs. of potatoes, 4 large onions.

Mode.—Put the mutton into a stewpan with the water and a little salt, and let it stew gently for an hour; cut the meat into small pieces, skim the fat from the gravy, and pare and slice the potatoes and onions. Put all the ingredients into the stewpan in layers, first a layer of vegetables, then one of meat, and sprinkle seasoning of pepper and salt between each layer; cover closely, and let the whole stew very gently for ur.e hour or rather more, shaking it frequently, to prevent its burning.

Time.— Rather more than two hours. Average Cost, 2s.

Sufficient for 6 or 8 persons.

Seasonable.—Suitable for a winter dish.

Note.—Irish stew may be prepared in the same manner as above, but baked in ajar, instead of boiled. About 2 hours, or rather more, in a moderate oven, will be sufficient time to bake it.

-p497

i246.-IRISH STEW.

Ingredients.—2 Ibs. of Australian mutton, 3 large onions, 12 mealy potatoes, i^ pint of stock, No. 274, or water, pepper, salt.

Mode.—Peel the onions and put them to stew in the stock until tender, add salt and pepper and the potatoes. Simmer for 15 minutes, then add the mutton, cut into neat square pieces, and simmer 5 minutes longer, then turn into a deep dish and serve. Keep a few potatoes whole to garnish with.

Time.—1 hour altogether. Average Cost, 1s 8d.

Sufficient for 6 or 7 persons.

Seasonable at any time.

-p571

i6o3.-IRISH (AND BEST) WAY TO BOIL POTATOES. (Fr.—Pommes de Terre a I'lrlandaise.)

Ingredients.—Potatoes, water.

Mode.—Wash the potatoes clean, but do not peel them. Let the water boil, then put in the potatoes, and as soon as they are soft enough

Boiled Potatoes.

for a fork to be easily thrust through them, dash some cold water into the pan, let the potatoes remain two minutes, then pour off the water. Then half remove the lid, and let the potatoes remain on the slow fire till the steam has evaporated; then peel them, and set on the table in an opin dish. Potatoes of a good kind thus cooked will always be sweet, dry and mealy. A covered dish is bad for potatoes, as it keeps the steam in, and makes them soft and watery.

Time.—20 minutes. Average Cost, id. per lb.

Seasonable at any time.

-p.766

2800.—IRISH MOSS OR CARRAGEEN.

Mode.—This seaweed has a reputation as a remedy for chest diseases. It should be first soaked and washed in cold water, and then boiled for a quarter of a hour in fresh water, allowing half an ounce of moss to a pint and a half of water. Strain, and when cold it will set to a jelly. If required as a drink, it should have double the quantity of water, or milk can be used.

-p.1241

Dr. E. Smith says 104 Ibs. daily ; 31/2 Ibs at each meal. Potato, however, besides starch and water, contains much ash or salt, and is for that reason, an excellent anti-scorbutic. So long as potatoes hold out, sailors at sea escape scurvy, and are not dependent upon their daily rations of lime juice. Our people on land have often to thank Sir Walter Raleigh for such immunity as they enjoy from this class of disease. It is a strange fact that many English people, from one week's end to another, eat no vegetable except potato, an exotic, acclimatised here at the cost of much pains and perseverance.

-p.725

-The Book of Household Management, Mrs. Beeton (Isabella, Mary) 1888

Irish Soup Marigold and Mutton Broth

Mutton Broth.

Any description of trimmings of mutton may be used for broth, but the scrag ends of the neck are usually chosen. Put two scrags into a stewpan (having previously jointed the bones), with three onions, three turnips, and one carrot; fill up the stewpan with a gallon of water, and place it upon the fire; when boiling, set it at the corner, where let it simmer for three hours, keeping it well skimmed; then cut a small carrot, two turnips, an onion, with a little leek and celery, into small square pieces, which put into another stewpan, with a wine- glassful of pearl-barley; skim every particle of fat from the broth, which pour through a hair sieve over them; let the whole boil gently at the corner of the fire until the barley is tender, when it is ready to serve; the meat may be trimmed into neat pieces, and served with the broth, or separately with melted butter and parsley, or onion sauce. Half or even a quarter of the above quantity can be made by reducing the ingredients in proportion.

Irish Soup Made of Mutton Broth.

This soup is made similar to the last, adding ten or twelve mealy potatoes cut into large dice, omitting the other vegetables, which being boiled to a puree thicken the broth; just before serving, throw in twenty heads of parsley, and at the same time add a few flowers of marigold, which will really give it a very pleasing flavor.

-Soyer's Standard Cookery.Nicolas Soyer, 1912.

Balnamoon Skink, an Irish Soup

727. Balnamoon Skink, an Irish Soup.—Clean and cut into pieces two or three young cocks, or fowls. Have one larger neatly trussed as for boiling. Boil the cut fowls till the broth is as strong and good as they can make it; but do not overboil the uncut fowl. Strain the broth, season it with parsley, chives, and young onions chopped, and, if in season, a few tender green peas. Add white pepper and salt, and serve the whole fowl in the tureen, or separately.—Obs. This soup may be immensely improved in quality and appearance by adding, before serving, a liaison of two beat eggs, and a little cream. It is another variety of the Scottish Friars' Chicken, or Cock-a-leeHe; dishes which, under some name, are, with whatever modification of seasonings, familiar in every country where a backward system of husbandry renders indifferent poultry plentiful, and shambles-meat scarce.

N.B.—Without desiring to innovate on these national preparations, we would recommend, for the sake of the ladies' dresses, and the gentlemen's toil in fishing it up, that the fowl be carved before it is served in the tureen.

-The Cook and Housewife's Manual. Christian Isobel Johnstone, 1847.

Bretton laws and Scalding

The Brehon Laws while honouring cooks stated that the cook cannot be held responsible for a person getting scalded when he is serving food from a cauldron if he shouts out in a loud voice a warning to those a round him. (Danaher, K 1972)-

A History of Irish Cuisine (Before and After the Potato)

John Linnane BSc, MSc.

Corn Cake-the Yellow Indian and the Famine

William Bennett and his son had visited that part, in March, distributing donations at his own expense mostly, and his painful descriptions had awakened a strong desire to see for myself, and though I had no means in hand, had reason to hope that there might be some on the ocean. I took the coach for Derry, a few miles from that town. The mother of Miss Hewitson was to meet me in her own carriage, and conduct me to her house in Bossgarrow. Derry had not suffered so much as many other towns, and a stranger passing through would not notice anything peculiar from the condition in past years. But this little relief was but to make what followed appear the more painful. Mrs. Hewitson met me with her son, and we took tea at a delightful little mansion on the sloping side of one of Ireland's green lawns, looking down upon a beautiful lake. And is there, I asked, on this pretty spot, misery to be found ?—" Come and see," was the answer of my kind friend. It was twilight when we stepped into the carriage, and few painful objects met us till we reached her dwelling.

Her paternal cottage was nestled in a pretty wood, its roof thatched, and its windows shaded by the creeping vine in front. On one end, a window gave one of the most beautiful peeps upon a lake that can be imagined ; and the back contained a garden which was one of the most pleasant retreats I had met, for the gooseberry was just ripe. Here had this discreet, this "virtuous woman," lived, and by precept and example trained a family of sons and daughters, which will, which do arise and call her blessed. Her husband had been an officer, and was then receiving a small pension, and during the first season of the famine had been employed by government as an overseer of the Board of Works. His heart had become sickened at the scenes which came under his eye, some sketches of which have been before the public.

The morning lighted up a pretty cottage, well ordered, and the breakfast-table presented a treat unseen before by me in Ireland. Instead of the bread, butter, tea, and egg, which are the height of the best Irish breakfast, there was a respectable corn-cake, made as it should be, suitable accompaniments of all kinds, with the best of cream for me ; and were it not that the hungry had then commenced their daily usages of assembling in crowds about the house for food, that breakfast would have been a pleasant one. When I had ascertained that her husband had been in America, and from him she had been told of the virtues of corn-cake, and that her skill had been exercised till she had brought it to perfection—it was valued if possible still more. Had the Irish mothers throughout Ireland managed as did this woman, their task in the famine would have been much lighter—the poor, many more of them, would have been saved, and multitudes who have gone down might have retained their standing. Had the higher classes known how to have changed the meal into the many palatable shapes as did this economical housekeeper, when the wheaten loaf was so high, immense money might have been saved to all parties. It was brought in such disrepute by bad cooking, that many would be ashamed to be found eating it, and one man who was begging most earnestly for food, when offered some of this prepared in the Irish style, turned away in contempt, saying, " No, thank God, I've never been brought to ale the yeller indian."

- Lights and Shades of Ireland. Asenath Nicholson, 1858.

About Potatoes-Irish Peasant Style

Potato boiled.—Meg Dods says there are great varieties of potatoes, and fully as many ways of cooking them, but recommends boiling in preference to steaming. Mrs. Rundell prefers steaming, or, if boiled, in plenty of water, and when half done, some cold water and salt thrown in, and boil until not quite done, and then left in the pot near the fire.*

* This is the Irish peasant's way (if he wishes to fast for six hours), as it leaves the bone or moon in it. The origin of the word in Irish, an ghealeach , is that, when a half-cooked potato is cut in two, the centre shows a disk, with a halo around it, like the moon. This does not digest so quick, and allows the person who eats it to go longer without food, which I consider a great detriment to the of the stomach.

-A Shilling Cookery for the People.Alexis Soyer, 1855.

Irish Pudding

Irish Puddings.

Take one egg, and its weight in sugar, in flour, and in butter. Add a very little lemon juice, and grated lemon peel.

Beat it well and lightly for nearly a quarter of an hour ; pour it into small tins and bake for twenty minutes.

This quantity makes three cup puddings.

-Reeve, Mrs. HenryCookery and Housekeeping: A Manual of Domestic Economy for Large and Small…1882, p. 395

Irish Rock

Irish Rock.

A sweet for dessert. Wash the salt from half a pound of butter, and beat into it a quarter of a pound of finely powdered sugar; blanch a pound of sweet almonds and an ounce of bitter; pound these in a mortar, reserving enough of the sweet almonds to spike for ornamenting the dish when sent to table; add the butter and, sugar, with a quarter of a glass of brandy, and pound until smooth and white; when, after having become firm, it may be molded into a large egg-like shape, and stuck full of almond meats. Il should be placed high on a glass dish, with a decoration' of green sweetmeats and a sprig of myrtle, or garnish with any green fruits

or sweetmeats.

The Successful Housekeeper: A Manual of Universal Application…, Milton W. Ellsworth, 1882, p.117

Irish Plumb Pudding

Irish Plum Pudding

2 1/2 cups stale bread crumbs

4 eggs

1/2 pound raisins

1 cup milk

1/2 pound citron

1/2 pound beef suet

1/2 pound currants

1/2 cup sugar

3 tablespoons flour

1/2 cup maple syrup

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

1/3cup brandy

Put bread crumbs in double boiler, add milk and cook until milk is scalded. Chop suet and work with the hands until creamy; then add sugar gradually, while working constantly. Add maple syrup, salt, eggs well beaten, and raisins stoned and cut in pieces, citron cut in thin strips, and currants mixed and dredged with flour mixed with baking powder; then add brandy. Turn into a buttered mould, cover and steam twenty-four hours. It may be steamed twelve hours one day and twelve hours the next. Re-heat in steamer for serving; the time required being about one and one-fourth hours. Turn on a hot serving dish, insert sparkers and garnish with holly (if used at Christmas dinner) and Brandy Sauce (see p. 262); also accompany with Yankee Sauce (see p. 259).

-A New Book of Cookery, Fannie Merritt Farmer, 1917, p. 255.

Irish SANDWICHES.

No. 361.—IRISH SANDWICHES.

Between slices of very thin crisp toast place alternate layers of very thin slices of roast game, shred celery, and Tartar sauce; dish up on a napkin,-The cook's guide, and housekeeper's & butler's assistant: a practical ...Charles Elmé Francatelli 1867, p.124

Irish Potato Pudding

IRISH POTATO PUDDING.

One and a half pints of fine mashed potatoes, one pint cream, one nutmeg, one and a half pounds sugar, one and a half pounds butter, ten eggs. Bake in paste; then spread on meringue and brown.

IRISH POTATO PUDDING.

Two tea-cupfuls sugar, two tea-cupfuls butter, one tea-cupful sweet cream, eight eggs, two and a half pints mashed potatoes, one nutmeg grated.—Mrs. Henry Buckner. -Housekeeping in the Blue Grass: a New and Practical Cook Book Southern Presbyterian Church (Paris, Ky.).1881, p.80.

The Cooking-Places of the Stone Age in Ireland

"The Cooking-Places of the Stone Age in Ireland"

John Quinlan

Mr. John Quinlan read the following Paper on "The Cooking-places of the Stone Age in Ireland," and exhibited a number of stone implements, &c. :—

While ample reference has been made by writers to the raths, cashels, crannogs, monoliths, and round towers of Ireland, no one seerns to have treated specially of "the ancient cooking places" of some race of people who dwelt, certainly in the counties of Waterford and Cork, indeed probably throughout all Ireland, as far back as the Neolithic, if not a still more remote period. Sir William Wilde in one of his lectures mentions that no matter how far you may go back, there is reason to believe that the Irish were very bad cooks. There is no country in Europe which presents amid its relics and remains so few and such rude specimens relating to the culinary art; even at a comparatively late period when the precious metals—gold and silver—were worked with great beauty of design and exquisite taste, cooking utensils, whether of metal or pottery, appear to have been as scarce as articles of ornamentation and weapons were abundant.

Far as we may search back into the records of Ireland, we are confronted with the assurance, that each and every people who visited our shores, invariably found other people here before them; but how they could have been all bad cooks it is really difficult to understand. A great Frenchman has said that " nothing shows the proficiency and advancement of a people in all the arts of civilization more than their superiority in the art of cookery;" and although the French have been known to do very eccentric things, no one ever heard of their sending to Ireland for a cook. But I am digressing. What I have to do with are Irish cooking-places of the stone age, and roofed by the vault of heaven. I am told that these ancient kitchens are to be found all over Ireland; but in this Paper I confine myself specially to those I have seen in the county Waterford, and in particular to one which I have opened and laid bare to view, such as it had been at the time it was in use,

" When wild in woods the noble savage ran."

Here, wherever a strong well or spring develops into a rivulet, you will not travel far before coming on a mound by the side of the stream; it is usually hemispherical in form, and having an opening towards the stream, unless its configuration has undergone alteration from tillage or such like operations; this mound is generally covered with a stunted crop of Irish furze, and is composed of broken and burned freestone—some pieces being about the size of a goose-egg, others somewhat larger, but most of them smaller—all, however, undoubtedly broken by man, and subjected to an intense heat.

The greater number of these mounds have been broken up and scattered about by plough and harrow; but very many of them, that were situated in bogs and moors have never been interfered with, and here in their more perfect state they present in shape the appearance of a horse's foot with the shoe on; the shoe itself being represented by the protecting wall, and the sole by the flagged floor of the hearth, where the small stones were heated by fire; the heel may be considered as represented by the opening in the protecting wall with the descending step adjoining and overlapping the trough, by which the stream from a well ran, and into which the meat was thrown. In this instance the trough is composed of an oak-tree hollowed out, and when cleared of the burned stones and rubbish was found to be very much decayed at the sides and rim, and altogether rotten at the lower end near the water; it is in colour like any ordinary bog oak. The floor of the hearth is composed of heavy sandstone blocks, which appear to have been dressed and neatly fitted

into each other, and the steps are well put together and very smooth ; the upper end of the trough goes in under the descending step which is about eight inches high, and was kept in its place by large stones wedged in between it and the soil of the field, which forms the foundation of the whole structure. The length of the trough to where it is rotted away is given, and also its breadth, in the sketch. The floor of the hearth, the steps, and the trough, all have a decline towards the water.

The theory which suggests itself is, that these people, having lighted a great fire, the stones made red hot thereby, were easily moved down the incline into the trough holding water from the stream ; that these stones when cooled were taken out and flung back all around the fireplace, to be again heated and returned to the trough, until the water boiled, when, the meat was put in, and kept simmering or boiling by a continuance of the process. At the present time we know that many tribes of savages cook their food in a similar manner.

The cooking-place in question had been often tilled like the rest of the field, and the stones had, doubtless, been scattered about by the plough and harrow. It is situated on the townland of Clonkerdon (where I reside) barony of Decies-Without-Drum, county Waterford, and was opened by me in November, 1885, remaining open with the trough in situ, for inspection of any one who might wish to see it. The whole mound, with the hearth and trough in the middle, has a diameter of fifty-two feet. There were about four feet of broken stones and black ashes over the floor and trough.

I made a section through the mound, and only cleared away sufficient of the small burnt stones to lay bare the rooking plnce itself, viz. hearth, steps, and trough. Js'o weapon, looking iiti-nsil, or ornament, was found in the small section dug out—they would be more likely to be discovered near to, than actually within, a spot that had been so greatly heated.

These cooking-places are invariably situated close to running streams or rivers, and no matter how wet the land may be, I have found them all the same. If what are swamps and bogs now had been such in those ancient days, it is not likely the people lived in them; but the Lmd, which is admittedly sinking, particularly along the south-east of Ireland, may have undergone such a depression since that period as to convert dry land into swamp and bog. We find trunks of oak still remaining in the position in which they originally grew in what, in the present day, is the subsoil of our bogs, but which is too low and wet now for the growth of any kind of timber. These cooking-places are called by the country people Fcllocx-feea, or Fullogh-Feea, which, I believe, means " the boiling-place or fire-place of the deer."

The three celts here exhibited by me were found at Clonkerdou within a few feet (in each case) of the burned stones of disturbed and nearly obliterated cooking-places, which suggests the theory that the people to whom they originally belonged used the cooking-places; and as the celts are Neolithic, these cooking-places probably belong to the same period.

The grooved stone exhibited may be one of those stones attached by a thong to two sticks, and used (like a flail) in battle, and to which some allusion is made in the account of the feuts of the Ulster champion, Cuchulainn. This stone is 4£ in. by 2£ in., with three grooves running around it, and one down the side from top to bottom.

The double stone chalice, to which I draw attention, is 8 inches high, and 5£ inches across the cup.

Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland, 1887 p.390

Irish Pancakes 1833

Irish Pancakes.

Beat eight yolks and four whites of eggs, strain them into a pint of cream, put a grated nutmeg, and sugar to your taste : set three ounces of fresh butter on the fire, stir it, and aa it warms pour it to the cream, which should be warm when the eggs are put to it: then mix smooth almost half a pound of flour. Fry the pancakes very thin ; the first with a bit of butter, but not the others. Serve several on one another. New-England Pancakes,

Mix a pint of cream, five spoonsful of fine flour, seven yolks and four whites of eggs, and a very little salt; fry them very thin in fresh butter, and between each strew sufar and cinnamon. Send up six or eight at once.

A New System of Domestic Cookery: Formed Upon Principles of Economy, and Adapted to the Use of Private Families., Maria Eliza Ketelby Rundell,J. Murray, 1833

To Boil Potatos 1845

To Boil Potatoes; (agenuine Irish Receipt.)

Potatoes, to boil well together, should be all of the same sort, and as nearly equal in size as may be. Wash off the mould, and scrub them very clean with a hard brush, but neither scoop nor apply a knife to them in any way, even to clear the eyes.* Rinse them well, and arrange them compactly in a saucepan, so that they may not lie loose in the water, and that a small quantity may suffice to cover t£em. Pour this in cold, and when it boils, throw in about a large -teaspoonful of salt to the quart, and simmer the potatoes until they are nearly done, but for the last two or three minutes let them boil rapidly. When they are tender quite through, which may he known by probing them with a fork, pour all the water from them immediately, lift the lid of the saucepan to allow the steam to escape, and place them on a trevet, high over the fire, or by the side of it, until the moisture has entirely evaporated; then peel, and send them to table as quickly as possible, either in a hot napkin, or in a dish, of which the cover is so placed that the steam can pass off. There should be no delay in serving them after they are once taken from the fire: Irish families usually prefer them served in their skins. Some kinds will be done in twenty minutes, others in less than three quarters of an hour. We are informed that " the best potatoes are those which average from five to six to the pound, with few eyes,

* " Because," in the words of our clever Irish correspondent, " the water through these parts is then admitted into the very heart of the vegetable; and the latent heat, after cooking, is not sufficient to throw it o$f: this renders the potatoes very unwholesome."

but those pretty deep, and equally distributed over the surface." We cannot ourselves vouch for the correctness of the assertion, but we think it may be relied -on.

20 minutes to j hour or more.

O6s.—The water in which they are boiled should barely cover the potatoes.

Modern Cookery, in All Its Branches: Reduced to a System of Easy Practice, for the Use of Private Families : in a Series of Receipts, which Have Been Strictly Tested, and are Given with the Most Minute Exactness : to which are Added Directions for Carving, Garnishing, and Setting Out the Table ...

Eliza Acton, Sarah Josepha Buell Hale

Lea and Blanchard, 1845

Two Rival Spiced Beef Recipes from 1845

Spiced Round Of Beef ; (very highly flavoured..)

Rub the beef well in every part with half a pound of coarse brown sugar, and let it remain two days; then reduce tfl powder, and mix thoroughly before they are applied to the meat, two ounces of saltpetre, three quarters of a pound of common salt, a quarter-pound of black pepper, three ounces of allspice, and four of bruised juniper-berries. Rub these ingredients strongly and equally over the joint, and do so daily for three weeks, turning it at the same time. Just wash off the spice, and put the beef into a tin, or covered earthen pan as nearly of its size as possible, with a cup of water or gravy; cover the top thickly with chopped beef-suet, and lay a coarse thick crust over the pan; place the cover on it, and bake the meat from five to six hours in a well-heated oven, which should not, however, be sufficiently fierce to harden the outside of the joint, which, if properly managed, will be exceedingly tender. Let it cool in the pan ; and clear off the suet before it is dished. It is to be served cold, and will remain good for a fortnight.

Beef, 20 to 25 Ibs. weight; sugar, 3 ozs.: 2 days. Saltpetre, 2 ozs.; common salt, j Ib.; black pepper, 4 ozs.; allspice, 3 ozs.; juniper- berries, 4 ozs.: 21 days. Baked 5 to 6 hours.

Obs.—We have not ourselves tested this receipt, but the meat cured by it has received such high commendations from several of our friends who have partaken of it frequently, that we think we may safely insert it without. The proportion of allspice appears to us more than would be agreeable to many tastes, and we would rather recommend that part of it should be omitted, and that a portion of nutmeg, mace, and cloves should be substituted for it; as we have found these spices to answer well in the following receipt.

Spiced Beef ; (good and wholesome.)

For twelve pounds of the round, rump, or thick flank of beef, take a large teaspoonful of freshly-pounded mace, and of ground black pepper, twice as much of cloves, one small nutmeg, and a quarter teaspoonful of cayenne, all in the finest powder. Mix them well with seven ounces of brown sugar, rub the beef with them and let it lie three days; add to it then half a pound of fine salt, and rub and turn it once in twenty- four hours for twelve days. Just wash, but do not soak it; skewer, or bind it into good form, put it into a stewpan or saucepan nearly of its size, pour to it a pint and a half of good beef broth, and when it begins to boil, take off the scum, and throw in one small onion, a moderate- sized faggot of thyme and parsley, and two large, or four small carrots. Let it simmer quite softly for four hours and a half, and if not wanted to serve hot, leave it in its own liquor until it is nearly cold. This is an excellent and far more wholesome dish than the hard, bright- coloured beef which is cured with large quantities of salt and saltpetre: two or three ounces of juniper-berries may be added to it with the spice, to heighten its flavour.

Beef, 12 Ibs.; sugar, 7 ozs.; mace and black pepper, each, 1 large teaspoonful; cloves, in powder, 1 large dessertspoonful; nutmeg, 1; cayenne, J teaspoonful: 3 days. Fine salt, £ Ib.: 12 days. Beef broth (or bouillon), ij pint; onion, 1 small; bunch of herbs; carrots, 2 large, or 4 small: stewed 4J hours.

Obs.—We give this receipt exactly as we have often had it used, but celery and turnips might be added to the gravy; and when the appearance of the meat is much considered, three-quarters of an ounce of saltpetre may be mixed with the spices; the beef may also be plainly boiled in water only, with a few vegetables, or baked in a deep pan with a little gravy. No meat must ever be left to cool in the stewpan or saucepan in which it is cooked; it must be lifted into a pan of its own depth, and the liquor poured upon it.

Modern Cookery, in All Its Branches: Reduced to a System of Easy Practice, for the Use of Private Families : in a Series of Receipts, which Have Been Strictly Tested, and are Given with the Most Minute Exactness : to which are Added Directions for Carving, Garnishing, and Setting Out the Table ...

Eliza Acton, Sarah Josepha Buell Hale

Lea and Blanchard, 1845

Irish Moss Drink 1908

Irish Moss Drink Ingredients—

A teacupful of Irish moss. Castor sugar to taste.

One pint of cold water. A little lemon juice.

A glass of sherry or Marsala.

Method.—Wash the moss very thoroughly, then let it soak overnight in cold water. Next day strain out the moss, put it in a clean saucepan with the pint of water, and let it boil gently for an hour. Strain off the liquid, add the lemon juice, sherry, and sugar to taste. Great pains should be taken in the flavouring, so as to disguise the somewhat unpleasant characteristic flavour of this seaweed.

The Complete Cook.,Lilian Whitling,Methuen & Co., 1908

Soda Scones 1908

Soda Scones

Ingredients—

Three and a half level breakfast- Half a pint of milk.

cupfuls of flour. Two tablespoonfuls of sultanas.

Three rounded tablespoonfuls of Five level teaspoonfuls of cream

butter or good dripping. of tartar.

One rounded tablespoonful of Two and a half level teaspoonfuls

castor sugar. of carbonate of soda.

Metlwd.—Have ready a flat baking tin slightly buttered. Sieve the sugar, cream of tartar, carbonate of soda, and flour. Rub in the butter finely, add the cleaned sultanas, and mix to a soft but not sticky dough with the milk. More or less milk may be required. Turn the dough on to a floured board, knead lightly, make it into two rounds, and roll them out half an inch thick. Mark them deeply across in four with the back of a knife. Put them on the tin, and bake in a quick oven for about three-quarters of an hour. When done, brush them over with a teaspoonful of butter melted in a tablespoonful of milk, and break the scones apart; on no account cut them, or they will be heavy.-

The Complete Cook.,Lilian Whitling,Methuen & Co., 1908

19th Century Sweet Scones

Sweet Scones 445

Take 1 lb. flour, and mix with it one teaspoonful of cream of tartar, half a teaspoonful of carbonate of soda, and a little salt. Then rub in 1 oz. butter and 2 oz. lard, and add 3 oz. sugar and the same quantity of currants. Mix the whole to a smooth dough, with about half a pint of milk ; cut into shapes, and brush over with egg. Bake from twenty to thirty minutes.

Ten Shillings a Head Per Week for House Books
Dorothy Constance Peel, C. S. Peel,Contributor Constable, Archibald, and Co, Butler and Tanner,
A. Constable, 1899

Oat Cakes 19th Century

Healthy! And Ancient!

Oat Cake 433

Mix two or three tablespoonsful of oatmeal with a pinch of salt and a little cold water; knead it well round and round with the hands for some minutes, then roll it on a pastry board, and strew meal on and under it; move it by means of a baking spoon on to the bake stone, and bake it on both sides over a clear fire. It is well to mix only sufficient batter for one cake, for it soon dries. Time, two or three minutes to bake the cake.

-Ten Shillings a Head Per Week for House Books, Dorothy Constance Peel, C. S. Peel
Constable, Archibald, and Co, Butler and Tannerm A. Constable, 1899

How Irish Soldiers Cooked Beef

But not only were the Irish soldiers in those days accustomed to catch their cows in a strange manner, but they had an equally strange manner of cooking them. They in fact boiled them in their skins ; having skinned a cow, they formed a bag or trough by lashing the skin firmly at tlie four corners to trees or stakes, and then having poured water into the trough, they kindled a large fire at one side, and they boiled the water and cooked the meat by heating stones to a great heat and throwing them into the trough. This seems to have been an adaptation of the manner of cooking adopted in the old Irish cooking places, called " the Boiling-places or Fire-places of the Deer." So that between the catching and the cooking, we cannot be surprised that the French were not a little astonished.

-Journal of the County Kildare Archaeological Society.,County Kildare Archaeological Society,Ponsonby., 1899,p. 43.

Irish Cockles

In Ireland, the common cockles are cooked in their shells over the fire, and eaten with oaten cake. The shells are separated by twisting them apart, and a little butter is put into the shell, which is then placed on the turf-fire till the fish inside is fried.

The Edible Mollusks of Great Britain and Ireland, with Recipes for Cooking Them.,M. S. Lovell, Reeve & Co., 1867