• Welcome to the Receipts of the Blue & Gray. - The receipts you will find here are original Antebellum, and Civil War period receipts, as originally published between the years 1796 and 1880. One exception, is: Newspaper Clippings & Periodical Receipts are limited to a publishing period from 1858 to 1866.

    Some receipts from this era attempted to give medicinal advice. Many dangerous, and in some cases, deadly, "cures" were given, reflecting the primitive knowledge of that time period. Don't assume everything you read here is safe to try! Recipes and Receipts posted here are for Historic Research Purposes, enjoy them, learn from them, discuss them!

    ★ If you attempt to try one of these recipes / receipts, you do so at your own risk! ★

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Receipts of the Blue & Gray

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(from Housekeeping in Old Virginia, by Marion Cabell Tyree, 1878) Ingredients: 1 gallon apple brandy, or whiskey 1-1/2 gallons hot water, well-sweetened 1 dozen large apples, well roasted 2 grated nutmegs 1 gill allspice 1 gill cloves 1 pinch mace 1/2 pint good rum Instructions: One gallon of apple brandy or whiskey, and one and a half gallon of hot water, well-sweetened, one dozen large apples, well roasted, two grated nutmegs, one gill of allspice, one gill of cloves, a pinch of mace. Season with half pint of good rum. Let it stand three or four days before using. - Col. S. This was a potent drink.
(from How to Mix Drinks, Or The Bon-vivant's Companion, by Jerry Thomas, 1862) (For a Party of Fifteen) Ingredients: 16 egg yolks 12 tbsp. pulverized loaf sugar 2/3 nutmeg grated 1/2 pint good brandy or Jamaica rum 2 wine glasses Madeira wine 2 egg whites 6 pints rich milk Instructions: Take the yellow of sixteen eggs and twelve table spoonfuls of pulverized loaf sugar and beat them to the consistence of cream. To this add two thirds of a nutmeg grated and beat well together then mix in half a pint of good brandy or Jamaica rum and two wine glasses of Madeira wine. Have ready the whites of the eggs beaten to a stiff froth and beat them into the above described mixture. When this is all done, stir in six pints of good rich milk...
(from The American Frugal Housewife, by Lydia Maria Child, 1832) Ingredients: hops pail-full of clean water 1/2 pint molasses pint yeast Optional to preference: spruce boxberry, fever-bush, sweet fern, & horseradish winter evergreen malt 1-2 raw potatoes Instructions: Beer is a good family drink. A handful of hops, to a pailful of water, and a half-pint of molasses, makes good hop beer. Spruce mixed with hops is pleasanter than hops alone. Boxberry, fever-bush, sweet fern, and horseradish make a good and healthy diet-drink. The winter evergreen, or rheumatism weed, thrown in, is very beneficial to humors. Be careful and not mistake kill-lamb for winter-evergreen; they resemble each other. Malt mixed with a few hops makes a weak...
(from the Southern Watchman Newspaper, of Athens, Georgia, May 6, 1863) Ingredients: blackberries 1 quart boiling water per gallon of berries 2 lbs. sugar per gallon of strained liquor or use... 6 quarts of blackberries 5 quarts cool water 3 lbs. brown sugar per gallon of strained juice Instructions: The following is said to be an excellent recipe for the manufacturer of superior wine from blackberries: Measure your berries and bruise them, to every gallon adding one quart of boiling water; let the mixture stand for 24 hours; stirring occasionally; then strain off the liquor into a cask, to every gallon adding two pounds of sugar; cork tight, and let stand till following October, and you will have wine ready for use, without any...
(from Mary Custis Lee's Recipe) Ingredients: blackberries 3 lbs. sugar Instructions: Fill a stone jar with the berries, and just enough water to cover them. Cover the jar with a cloth, let stand four days to ferment, then mash, and strain through a cloth. To every gallon of juice, add three pounds sugar. Put back in the jar, and cover closely. Skim every morning until fermentation. When clear, pour off carefully into bottles, or demijohns, and cork tightly. Put in a cool place. It will be ready for use in two months. Photo by Steve Daniels, CC-2.0 This recipe, in Mrs. Lee's handwriting, was found in a copy of "Housekeeping in Old Virginia" from 1877. No measurements were given for the ingredients. They were a function of how much...
(from How to Mix Drinks, Or The Bon-vivant's Companion, by Jerry Thomas, 1862) Ingredients: 1 wine-glass of Scotch whiskey 1 wine-glass of boiling water Instructions: (Use two large silver-plated mugs, with handles.) 1 wine-glass of Scotch whiskey. 1 do. boiling water. Put the whiskey and the boiling water in one mug, ignite the liquid with fire, and while blazing mix both ingredients by pouring them four or five times from one mug to the other, as represented in the cut. If well done this will have the appearance of a continued stream of liquid fire. Sweeten with one teaspoonful of pulverized white sugar, and serve in a small bar tumbler, with a piece of lemon peel. The "blue blazer" classic name, but it tastes better to the...
(from The Kentucky Housewife, by Lettice Bryan, 1839) Ingredients: 2 quarts of wheat or rye bran 5 gallons of water 3 pints of hops 2 quarts of molasses 3 jills of good yeast Instructions: Put two quarts of wheat or rye bran into five gallons of water, add three pints of hops and boil it for one hour; then strain it into a tub, mix in two quarts of molasses, and when it gets to be lukewarm, stir in three jills of good yeast, and cover it with a folded cloth till it is done fermenting and quite clear; then bottle it and secure the corks with leather or rosin. Recently got book, "The Kentucky Housewife" by Mrs. Lettice Bryan, 1839. She has several beer recipes. One of interest is Bran Beer.
(from Godey's Ladies Magazine. Edited by Mrs. Sarah J. Hale, 1866.) Ingredients: 1 lb. loaf sugar 1/4 lb. moist sugar 1 egg 1 pint water 1 oz. orange-flower water 2 tbsp. brandy Instructions: Take one pound of loaf sugar, quarter of a pound of moist sugar, one egg well beaten, one pint of water. Simmer it one hour, skim it while boiling, let it get cold, then boil again and skim, add one ounce of orange-flower water and two tablespoons of brandy. Strain through a jelly-bag, and bottle for use. A spoonful in a tumbler of water makes a pleasant beverage.
(from Godey's Ladies Magazine, edited by L.A. Godey, Sarah J. Hale, 1861) Ingredients: 12 quarts of cold water 1-1/2 pints strong hop tea 1-1/2 pints molasses Instructions: To twelve quarts of cold water, add a pint and a half of strong hop tea, and a pint and a half of molasses. Mix in well together, and bottle it immediately. It will be fit for use the next day, if the weather is warm.
(from the Albany Patriot, of Albany, Georgia, September 20, 1860) Ingredients: 2 oz. tartaric acid 2 lbs. white sugar juice of 1/2 a lemon 3 pints water Instructions: An exchange gives the following recipe from a correspondent, who states that it makes an effervescing drink, but far pleasanter than soda water, inasmuch as you do not have to drink for your life in order to get your money's worth. - The effervescing is much more slow: Two ounces tartaric acid: two pounds of white sugar; the juice of half a lemon; three pints of water. Boil together five minutes. When nearly cold add the whites of three eggs well beaten with a cup of flour, and a half ounce of essence of Wintergreen. Bottle, and keep in a cold place. Take two...
(from The American Frugal Housewife, by Lydia Maria Child, 1832) Ingredients: currants for each 2 quarts of juice... 3-1/2 lbs. sugar 2 quarts water to improve, use 1/2 raspberry juice, and 1/2 currant juice Instructions: Those who have more currants than they have money, will do well to use no wine but of their own manufacture. Break and squeeze the currants, put three pounds and a half of sugar to two quarts of juice and two quarts of water. Put in a keg or barrel. Do not close the bung tight for three or four days, that the air may escape while it is fermenting. After it is done fermenting, close it up tight. Where raspberries are plenty, it is a great improvement to use half raspberry juice, and half currant juice. Brandy is...
(from How to Mix Drinks, Or The Bon-vivant's Companion, by Jerry Thomas, 1862) Description: Egg Nogg is a beverage of American origin, but it has a popularity that is cosmopolitan. At the South it is almost indispensable at Christmas time, and at the North it is a favorite at all seasons. In Scotland they call Egg Nogg, " auld man's milk." (from How to Mix Drinks, Or The Bon-vivant's Companion, by Jerry Thomas, 1862) Ingredients: (Use large bar glass.) 1 table-spoonful of fine sugar, dissolved with 1 table-spoonful cold water, 1 egg. 1 wine-glass of Cognac brandy. 1/2 wine-glass of Santa Cruz rum. 1/2 tumblerful of milk. Instructions: Fill the tumbler full with shaved ice, shake the ingredients until they are thoroughly mixed...
(from The Great Western Cook Book, Or Table Receipts: Adapted to Western Housewifery, by Anna Maria Collins, 1857) Ingredients: 6 egg whites 1 tea-cup sugar 1/2 pint brandy 1 quart milk nutmeg Instructions: Beat the whites of six eggs separately; add a tea-cupful of sugar to the yolks, beat them well, then pour very slowly on a half pint of brandy; stir it all the time hard, or the brandy will harden the eggs; put a quart of milk on the fire in a saucepan, let it become quite hot, but do not let it boil; pour it over the mixture, beat it all well together; then add the whites--be sure to have them very stiff, or your nogg will not be good--beat it all again, then grate a nutmeg over the top. If you like it cold, add cold milk...
(from The Book of Household Management, edited by Isabella Beeton, 1861) Ingredients: to every 3 gallons of water, allow: 1 peck of elderberries to every gallon of juice, allow: 3 lb. of sugar 1/2 oz. of ground ginger 6 cloves 1 lb. of good Turkey raisins 1/4 pint brandy to every gallon of wine To every 9 gallons of wine: 3 or 4 tbsp. fresh brewer's yeast Instructions: 1818. Ingredients. - To every 3 gallons of water allow 1 peck of elderberries; to every gallon of juice allow 3 lb. of sugar, 1/2 oz. of ground ginger, 6 cloves, 1 lb. of good Turkey raisins; 1/4 pint brandy to every gallon of wine. To every 9 gallons of wine 3 or 4 tablespoonfuls of fresh brewer's yeast. Mode. - Pour the water, quite boiling, on the elderberries...
(from Godey's Ladies Magazine, edited by L.A. Godey, Sarah J. Hale, 1863) Ingredients: 10 gallons water 12 lbs. sugar 6 oz. bruised ginger (unbleached is best) 1 oz. hops 3 or 4 spoonfuls yeast 1 oz. isinglass Instructions: To ten gallons of water, put twelve pounds of sugar, six ounces of bruised ginger (unbleached is the best). Boil it one hour, put it into a barrel with one ounce of hops and three or four spoonfuls of yeast. Let it stand three days; then close the barrel, putting in one ounce of isinglass. In a week it is fit for use. Draw out in a jug, and use as beer. I assume that a recipe like this "does" contain alcohol.
(from Godey's Ladies Magazine, edited by L.A. Godey, Sarah J. Hale, 1860) Ingredients: Per gallon of water... 1-1/2 oz. ginger well bruised 1 oz. cream of tartar 1 lb. loaf-sugar 1 lemon 1 tsp. yeast Instructions: One ounce and a half of ginger well bruised, one ounce of cream of tartar, one pound of loaf-sugar, and one lemon to every gallon of water. Put these ingredients into an earthen pan, and pour upon them the water boiling; when cold, add a teaspoonful of yeast to each gallon. Let it stand for twenty-four hours, then skim it. Bottle it, and keep it in a cool place before you drink it. (from from Southern Federal Union newspaper, Milledgeville, Georgia, July 29, 1862) Ingredients: 8 gallons of warm water 1 gallon New...
(from the Columbus Enquirer, of Columbus, Georgia, January 3, 1860) Ingredients: 16 eggs, separated 12 tbsp. pulverized loaf sugar 2/3 of a nutmeg 1/2 pint good brandy, or Jamaica rum 2 wine glasses Madeira wine 6 pints good rich milk Instructions: Applicable to the season the following recipe for "Egg Nog" is offered to those who drink this delicious mixture: Take the yolks of sixteen eggs and twelve teaspoonfuls of pulverized loaf sugar, and beat them to the consistence of cream; to this add two thirds of nutmeg grated and beat well together; then mix in a half pint of good brandy or Jamaica rum and two wine glasses of Madeira Wine. Have ready the whites of eggs beaten to a stiff froth, and beat them into the above described...
(from Godey's Ladies Magazine, edited by Sarah J. Hale, 1861.) Ingredients: for every 15 Gallons of wine: 1/2 lb. dry ground mustard-seed small handful of clary flowers Instructions: To fifteen gallons of wine put half a pound of dry ground mustard-seed, and a small handful of clary flowers; put it in a linen bag, and sink it to the bottom of the cask. (from Godey's Ladies Magazine, edited by Sarah J. Hale, 1861.) Ingredients: 6 lbs. gooseberries 1 qt. cold spring water 2 lb. sugar Instructions: Bruise the gooseberries with the hands in a tub; to every six pounds of fruit add a quart of cold spring water, stirring it thoroughly; let it stand twenty hours, then strain them; dissolve two pounds of sugar to every quart of water...
(from How to Mix Drinks, Or The Bon-vivant's Companion, by Jerry Thomas, 1862) (For a party of fifteen.) Ingredients: 1 quart of Jamaica rum, dark if possible. 1 do. Cognac brandy. (1 quart) 1 lb. of white loaf-sugar. 4 lemons. 3 quarts of boiling water. 1 teaspoonful of nutmeg. Instructions: Rub the sugar over the lemons until it has absorbed all the yellow part of the skins, then put the sugar into a punch bowl; add the ingredients well together, pour over them the boiling water, stir well together; add the rum, brandy and nutmeg; mix thoroughly, and the punch will be ready to serve. As we have before said, it is very important in making good punch, that all the ingredients are thoroughly incorporated; and, to insure success, the...
(from The Manufacture of Liquors, Wines, and Cordials, Without the Aid of Distillation, by Pierre Lacour, 1853) (FOR RESEARCH PURPOSES ONLY! Do Not Attempt to Recreate! Dangerous!) Ingredients: 30 gallons rectified whiskey 3 quarts grains of paradise tincture 2 oz. catechu 10 drops creasote 5 gallons of water for mixture bedding filter: 1 empty whiskey barrel 3 parts oatmeal or rice, 1 part wheat flour; combined, enough to fill bottom of whiskey barrel, 12 inches deep Instructions: Rectified whiskey, thirty gallons; grains of paradise tincture, three quarts; catechu, two ounces; creasote, ten drops; water, five gallons; mix the liquor before it is charged with any of the articles. It should be passed through a bed composed of...
(from Miss Leslie's Complete Cookery, by Eliza Leslie, 1838) Ingredients: 12 large lemons 1 gallon white brandy 4 lbs. loaf-sugar 2 quarts milk Instructions: Pare off very thin the yellow rind of a dozen large lemons; throw the parings into a gallon of white brandy, and let them steep till next day, or at least twelve hours. Break up four pounds of loaf-sugar into another vessel, and squeeze upon it the juice of the lemons. Let this too stand all night. Next day mix all together, boil two quarts of milk, and pour it boiling hot into the other ingredients. Cover the vessel, and let it stand eight days, stirring it daily. Then strain it through a flannel bag till the liquid is perfectly clear. Let it stand six weeks in a demijohn or...
(from The Kentucky Housewife, by Lettice Bryan, 1839) Ingredients: rum, or any kind of brandy sweet milk loaf sugar capillary ice nutmeg Instructions: Take rum, or any kind of brandy, and dilute it to the strength you like it, with entire sweet milk, stirring it in gradually. Sweeten it to your taste with loaf sugar, flavor it with a little capillary, and serve it up in glasses; drop a small lump of ice in each, and grate nutmeg thickly over them. Capillaire for this drink... Dissolve eight pounds of loaf sugar in one gallon of water, add the whites of two eggs, boil, and skim it, and when nearly cold, stir in a pint of rose water. Just need a little for the Milk Punch.
(from The Lady's Receipt-book: A Useful Companion for Large Or Small Families, by Eliza Leslie, 1847) Ingredients: dozen sprigs of young and tender mint 1 large tea-spoonful of fine white sugar peach-brandy ice slice of pine-apple a cluster of mint-sprigs for ornamentation Instructions: Put into the bottom of a tumbler, about a dozen sprigs of young and tender mint. Upon them place a large tea-spoonful of fine white sugar; and then pour on peach-brandy, so as to reach nearly one-third the height of the tumbler. Fill up with ice, pounded fine; and lay on the top a thin slice of pine-apple, cut across into four pieces. As an ornament, stick into the centre a handsome cluster of mint-sprigs, so as to rise far above the edge of the...
(from How to Mix Drinks, Or The Bon-vivant's Companion, by Jerry Thomas, 1862) Ingredients: (Use large bar glass.) 1 wine glass of brandy 1/2 wine glass of Jamaica rum 1/2 wine glass of Bourbon whiskey 1/2 wine glass of water 1 1/2 table spoonful of powdered white sugar 1/2 of a large lemon Instructions: Fill a tumbler with shaved ice. The above must be well shaken, and to those who like their draughts "like linked sweetness long drawn out," let them use a glass tube or straw to sip the nectar through. The top of this punch should be ornamented with small pieces of orange, and berries in season. Photo by Benjamin Thompson, CC-3.0 NOTE: 1 Wineglass equals 4 Tablespoons
(from the collection of Mary Lee (Mrs. Robert E. Lee), date unknown.) Ingredients: 10 eggs, separated 2 c. sugar 2-1/2 c. brandy 1/4 c. and 1 tsp. dark rum 8 c. (1/2 gallon) milk, half-and-half, or cream Instructions: Beat the yolks of 10 eggs very light, add 1 lb. of sugar-- stir in slowly two tumblers of French brandy-- 1/4 tumbler of rum-- add 2 qts. new milk-- & last the whites beaten light.
(from The Lady's Receipt-book: A Useful Companion for Large Or Small Families, by Eliza Leslie, 1847) Ingredients: 8 lbs. ripe, juicy, free-stone peaches 2 gallons soft water 5 lbs. loaf-sugar toasted bread strong, fresh yeast 1 bottle of muscadel, or sweet malaga wine After standing 6 months, if not clear: 1 ounce of powdered gum-arabic 1 ounce of powdered chalk Instructions: Take eight pounds of ripe, juicy, free-stone peaches, of the best kind. Slice them into two gallons of soft water; and add five pounds of loaf-sugar, broken small. Crack all the stones; extract the kernels; break them up; and lay them in the bottom of a clean tub. Put the peaches, with the dissolved sugar, into a kettle; and boil and skim it, until the scum...
(from The Daily Intelligencer, of Atlanta, Georgia, November 8, 1863) Ingredients: persimmons warm water Instructions: Editors Charleston Courier: Put the persimmons in common tubs, mash them well with your hands, or small pestles, then empty into the stand till you have it half full, then add enough of warm water to fill it, then stir or churn it well.— Fermentation will begin at once in temperate weather, and they should be distilled in five or six days. They will make about half a gallon to the bushel. I have made three runs — distilling, in seven to ten days after putting up, and they did well. Many others waited two or three weeks, and made nothing but sour, disagreeable water. I am thus convinced that they should be...
(from The Daily Intelligencer, Atlanta, Georgia, November 8, 1863) Ingredients: bushel of persimmon seeds Instructions: RECIPE FOE PERSIMMON BRANDY. Editors Charleston Courier : Put the persimmons in common tubs, mash them well with your hands, or small pestles, then empty into the stand till you have it half full, then add enough of warm water to fill it, then stir or churn it well.— Fermentation will begin at once in temperate weather, and they should be distilled in five or six days. They will make about half a gallon to the bushel. I have made three - runs—distilling, in seven to ten days after putting up, and they did well. Many others waited two or three weeks, and made nothing but sour, disagreeable water. I am thus...
(from How to Mix Drinks, Or The Bon-vivant's Companion, by Jerry Thomas, 1862) (From a recipe in the possession of Charles G. Leland Esq.) Ingredients: 1/3 pint of lemon juice. 3/4 lb. of white sugar. 1 pint of mixture.* 2-1/2 pints cold water. Instructions: Place the above in a punch bowl, stir well, and serve. * To make this mixture, take 1/4 pint of peach brandy, 1/2 pint of Cognac brandy, 1/4 pint of Jamaica rum.
(from Confederate Receipt Book. A Compilation of over One Hundred Receipts, Adapted to the Times, published by West & Johnson, 1863) Ingredients: 8 quarts water 1 lb. treacle (molasses) 1/4 oz. ginger 2 bay leaves yeast Instructions: To eight quarts of boiling water put a pound of treacle, a quarter of an ounce of ginger and two bay leaves, let this boil for a quarter of an hour, then cool, and work it with yeast as other beer. (from Confederate Receipt Book. A Compilation of over One Hundred Receipts, Adapted to the Times, published by West & Johnson, 1863) Ingredients: 2 gallons of water, twice 1 quarts molasses 1 pint yeast 1 tbsp. cream of tartar 2 lbs. of coarse brown sugar 2 ounces hops Instructions: Eight quarts...
(from The Kentucky Housewife, by Lettice Bryan, 1839) Ingredients: 1-1/2 pints very strong tea 1-1/4 lbs. loaf sugar 1/2 pint sweet cream 1 bottle of claret or champaign Instructions: Make a pint and a half of very strong tea in the usual manner; strain it, and pour it boiling on one pound and a quarter of loaf sugar. Add half a pint of rich sweet cream, and then stir in gradually a bottle of claret, or of champaign, You may heat it to the boiling point, and serve it so, or you may send it round entirely cold, in glass cups.
(from The Cook's Oracle: And Housekeeper's Manual, by William Kitchiner, 1822) Ingredients: 1 pint of table beer, or ale 1 tbsp. brandy 1 tsp. brown sugar, or clarified syrup grated nutmeg or ginger may be added a roll of very thin-cut lemon-peel Instructions: A pint of table beer (or ale, if you intend it for a supplement to your “night cap”), a table-spoonful of brandy, and a tea-spoonful of brown sugar, or clarified syrup (No. 475); a little grated nutmeg or ginger may be added, and a roll of very thin-cut lemon-peel. Obs. - Before our readers make any remarks on this composition, we beg of them to taste it: if the materials are good, and their palate vibrates in unison with our own, they will find it one of the pleasantest...
(from The Practical Housekeeper: A Cyclopaedia of Domestic Economy, edited by Elizabeth Fries Ellet, 1857) Ingredients: cinnamon nutmeg cloves mace 1/2 gill of water 1 pint port wine sugar serve with thin slips of toast or rusks Instructions: Boil the spices (cinnamon, nutmeg grated, cloves, and mace) in any quantity approved, in half a gill of water; put to this a full pint of port, with sugar to taste. Mix it well, and serve hot with thin slips of toast or rusks. Lemon or orange juice may be added, and the water may be strained off from the spices. Ale or Porter may be mulled as above, and have toast or biscuits put to them. Formerly the yolks of eggs were mixed with mulled wine, as in making custard or egg-caudle, and many...
(from Housekeeping in Old Virginia, by Marion Cabell Tyree, 1878) Ingredients: small, ripe tomatoes 2-1/2 to 3 lbs. brown sugar per gallon of juice 2 gallons of water per bushel of tomatoes Instructions: Pick small, ripe tomatoes off the stems, put them in a clean bucket or tub, mash well, and strain through a linen rag (a bushel will make five gallons of juice). Add from two and a half to three pounds brown sugar to each gallon. Put in a cask and let it ferment like raspberry wine. If two gallons water be added to a bushel of tomatoes, the wine will be as good. When I lived in Tennessee twenty years ago, Lauderdale County (the Tomato Capital of the World) used to have a Winery. They made and sold Tomato wine! I bought a bottle...
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