- Joined
- Jul 12, 2007
- Location
- Aledo, IL
Corporal’s Kitchen-Confederate Christmas Recipes, 1864
The wife of Confederate President Jefferson Davis wrote an article describing how the Davis family spent the Christmas of 1864 in the Confederate White House, mentioning the following goodies of Egg Nog, Molasses Candy, Soap, Blanc Mange and Mince Pie as being served:
“Then the coveted eggnog was passed around in tiny glass cups and pronounced good.”…. “At last quiet settled on the household and the older members of the family began to stuff stockings with molasses candy….”….. “For me there were six cakes of delicious soap, made from the grease of ham boiled for a family at Farmville….” “Our chef did wonders with the turkey and roast beef, and drove the children quite out of their propriety by a spun sugar hen, life-size, on a nest full of blanc mange eggs. The mince pie and plum pudding made them feel, as one of the gentlemen laughingly remarked, "like their jackets were buttoned," a strong description of repletion which I have never forgotten.”
We hope this joyous season brings love to your families and that the “commercialism” of modern practices is overshadowed by the simplicity of time spent together, as it was in Richmond, 1864! Merry Christmas, Pards!
Egg Nog From "Housekeeping In Old Virginia" By Marion Cabell Tyree, 1877
Three dozen eggs, three pounds of sugar, half a gallon of brandy, half a pint of French brandy, half a gallon of milk. Beat the yolks and whites separately. Stir the sugar thoroughly into the yolks, add the brandy slowly so as to cook the eggs, then add the milk and lastly the whites, with grated nutmeg, reserving enough for top-dressing.
Molasses Candy From "Housekeeping In Old Virginia" By Marion Cabell Tyree, 1877
Boil one quart molasses in a rather deep vessel. Boial steadily, stirring from sides and bottom. When a little, poured in a glass of cold water, becomes brittle, it is done. Pour in a buttered dish and pull as soon as cool enough to handle, or you may stir in, when it is nearly done, some picked kernels of the common black walnut. Boil a little longer. Pour in a buttered disch and cut in squares before it gets cold.
Soap From “The Practical Housekeeper; A Cyclopedia of Domestic Economy”, By Elizabeth Fries Ellet, 1857
Melt the lard in a porcelain vessel by a salt-water bath; then run in the lye, very slowly, agitating the whole time; when about half the lye is in, the mixture begins to curdle; it will, however, become so firm that it cannot be stirred. The creme is then finished, but is not pearly; it will, however, assume that appearance by long trituration in a mortar, gradually adding the alcohol, in which has been dissolved the perfume.
Blanc Mange From “The Great Western Cook Book, or Table Receipts, Adapted to Western Housewifery”, By Anna Maria Collins, 1851
Take two ounces of Russia isinglass (Russian Sturgeon Isinglass is from dried sturgeon bladders of the highest quality), one quart of new milk, half a pound of sugar, flavor it with rose, or peach-water. Boil it five minutes, let it cool till it is about milk-warm, then put it in moulds.
Mince Meat Pie From “The Great Western Cook Book, or Table Receipts, Adapted to Western HoTo Western Housewifery”, By Anna Maria Collins, 1851
Two pounds of beef-suet, chopped fine; two pounds of apples, cored, pared, and chopped fine; three pounds of currants, washed and picked; one pound of raisins, stoned and chopped fine; one pound of good brown sugar; half a pound of citron, cut into thin slices; two pounds of ready-dressed roast beef, free from skin and gristle, chopped fine; two nutmegs, grated; one ounce of salt; half an ounce of allspice, half an ounce of cloves, all ground fine; the juice of six lemons, with their rinds grated; half a pint of brandy, a pint of sweet wine, a quart of good cider. Mix the suet, apple, currants, meat, plums, and sweetmeats, well together, in a large pan, and strew in the spice by degrees; mix the sugar, lemon-juice, wine, brandy, and cider, and pour it into the other ingredients, and stir them well together. Cover it closely, and set it away in a cold place; when wanted, stir up the meat from the bottom, and add some brandy to the quantity you use.
The wife of Confederate President Jefferson Davis wrote an article describing how the Davis family spent the Christmas of 1864 in the Confederate White House, mentioning the following goodies of Egg Nog, Molasses Candy, Soap, Blanc Mange and Mince Pie as being served:
“Then the coveted eggnog was passed around in tiny glass cups and pronounced good.”…. “At last quiet settled on the household and the older members of the family began to stuff stockings with molasses candy….”….. “For me there were six cakes of delicious soap, made from the grease of ham boiled for a family at Farmville….” “Our chef did wonders with the turkey and roast beef, and drove the children quite out of their propriety by a spun sugar hen, life-size, on a nest full of blanc mange eggs. The mince pie and plum pudding made them feel, as one of the gentlemen laughingly remarked, "like their jackets were buttoned," a strong description of repletion which I have never forgotten.”
We hope this joyous season brings love to your families and that the “commercialism” of modern practices is overshadowed by the simplicity of time spent together, as it was in Richmond, 1864! Merry Christmas, Pards!
Egg Nog From "Housekeeping In Old Virginia" By Marion Cabell Tyree, 1877
Three dozen eggs, three pounds of sugar, half a gallon of brandy, half a pint of French brandy, half a gallon of milk. Beat the yolks and whites separately. Stir the sugar thoroughly into the yolks, add the brandy slowly so as to cook the eggs, then add the milk and lastly the whites, with grated nutmeg, reserving enough for top-dressing.
Molasses Candy From "Housekeeping In Old Virginia" By Marion Cabell Tyree, 1877
Boil one quart molasses in a rather deep vessel. Boial steadily, stirring from sides and bottom. When a little, poured in a glass of cold water, becomes brittle, it is done. Pour in a buttered dish and pull as soon as cool enough to handle, or you may stir in, when it is nearly done, some picked kernels of the common black walnut. Boil a little longer. Pour in a buttered disch and cut in squares before it gets cold.
Soap From “The Practical Housekeeper; A Cyclopedia of Domestic Economy”, By Elizabeth Fries Ellet, 1857
Melt the lard in a porcelain vessel by a salt-water bath; then run in the lye, very slowly, agitating the whole time; when about half the lye is in, the mixture begins to curdle; it will, however, become so firm that it cannot be stirred. The creme is then finished, but is not pearly; it will, however, assume that appearance by long trituration in a mortar, gradually adding the alcohol, in which has been dissolved the perfume.
Blanc Mange From “The Great Western Cook Book, or Table Receipts, Adapted to Western Housewifery”, By Anna Maria Collins, 1851
Take two ounces of Russia isinglass (Russian Sturgeon Isinglass is from dried sturgeon bladders of the highest quality), one quart of new milk, half a pound of sugar, flavor it with rose, or peach-water. Boil it five minutes, let it cool till it is about milk-warm, then put it in moulds.
Mince Meat Pie From “The Great Western Cook Book, or Table Receipts, Adapted to Western HoTo Western Housewifery”, By Anna Maria Collins, 1851
Two pounds of beef-suet, chopped fine; two pounds of apples, cored, pared, and chopped fine; three pounds of currants, washed and picked; one pound of raisins, stoned and chopped fine; one pound of good brown sugar; half a pound of citron, cut into thin slices; two pounds of ready-dressed roast beef, free from skin and gristle, chopped fine; two nutmegs, grated; one ounce of salt; half an ounce of allspice, half an ounce of cloves, all ground fine; the juice of six lemons, with their rinds grated; half a pint of brandy, a pint of sweet wine, a quart of good cider. Mix the suet, apple, currants, meat, plums, and sweetmeats, well together, in a large pan, and strew in the spice by degrees; mix the sugar, lemon-juice, wine, brandy, and cider, and pour it into the other ingredients, and stir them well together. Cover it closely, and set it away in a cold place; when wanted, stir up the meat from the bottom, and add some brandy to the quantity you use.