Period Brown or Dyspepsia Bread

JPK Huson 1863

Brev. Brig. Gen'l
Joined
Feb 14, 2012
Location
Central Pennsylvania
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Sometimes I'm convinced we require a bilingual dictionary Found in an 1864 cook book by " An American Lady " this hysterically named bread made with brown flour ( i.e. their version of unbleached meaning entire tree limbs inclusive of acorns went into it- chewy stuff! ) is- swear to goodness - called ' Dyspepsia Bread '.

Dyspepsia is a few things, one being indigestion. You could see that, some flour containing less-than-throughly-milled flour could be rough on your stomach. ? " Dyspepsia- A condition characterized by discomfort to the upper abdomen ". The other definitions? " Bad mood, annoyance, irritation, vexation, exasperation, indignation, huff, moodiness, pet, pique, displeasure, anger, fury, rage, crossness..... "

So bread that will outrage your stomach? Obviously there's another explanation- hence why we require " !860-Speak, A Bilingual Guide For 2019 ",
published by Civil War and Talk, 2019, all rights reserved.

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Then throw it at someone in a fit of pique?

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Camp, Commissary Cox's bread and a LOT it. If dyspeptic bread could explain the whole war.


 
Beyond grumpy bread, what you have to love about so many older recipes is their lack of instructions. Remember finding my great grandmother's handwritten ' cook book '. She was an amazing cook into her 90's and began age 5 or so under her mother's eye up in PEI, Nova Scotia. I still can't make simple oatmeal as well as she did.

Her book is the same thing- ' handful of x, pinch of z, stir and cook in a hot oven etc. Modern recipes make me tired just reading them " Make sure the egg is room temperature separate yolk, beat, beat the whites add to batter, one level tsp of fresh baking powder, set aside in another bowl, measure spices, put aside in a separate bowl, heat oven to 324 degrees, set aside in another bowl.... ". Our ancestors used ' an egg sized lump ' of lard, not 1/4 cup of shortening.

Have to say I generally do it Nana's way after getting a good look at old recipes. Swear it tastes exactly the same you're not as tired and grumpy.
 
Beyond grumpy bread, what you have to love about so many older recipes is their lack of instructions. Remember finding my great grandmother's handwritten ' cook book '. She was an amazing cook into her 90's and began age 5 or so under her mother's eye up in PEI, Nova Scotia. I still can't make simple oatmeal as well as she did.

Her book is the same thing- ' handful of x, pinch of z, stir and cook in a hot oven etc. Modern recipes make me tired just reading them " Make sure the egg is room temperature separate yolk, beat, beat the whites add to batter, one level tsp of fresh baking powder, set aside in another bowl, measure spices, put aside in a separate bowl, heat oven to 324 degrees, set aside in another bowl.... ". Our ancestors used ' an egg sized lump ' of lard, not 1/4 cup of shortening.

Have to say I generally do it Nana's way after getting a good look at old recipes. Swear it tastes exactly the same you're not as tired and grumpy.
It sometimes seems like modern recipes come out of "Cooking for Dummies", but I guess not everyone has had the luxury of a mother who taught you basic kitchen skills. When I copy a new recipe, I do a LOT of editing.
 
My Southern mother still cooks/bakes at age 89 1/2 and she has never used a recipe. I have always been amazed at how she makes biscuits. She has a biscuit bowl, puts all the ingredients in it and using her hand mixes the batter and then pinches off pieces of dough and places them in an iron skillet. She tops off the biscuits usually with bacon grease. They come out of the oven uniform in shape and always taste great. I consider myself a good cook but I need a recipe to follow for items I don't make that often. I rarely make biscuits and they never are as good as mom's.

Of course today we do not have to contend with wood/coal fires which have temperature changes, unlike our electric/gas ranges. My mother used one earlier in her life and says the best invention were these ranges. The type of wood used was important also as they determined how hot the stove became.

I remember visiting one of my mother's older sisters when I was young and watching her make a vanilla cream pie on a big, hot iron stove that used wood/coal. She made everything from scratch and it was one of the best pies I ever ate. This was in July and my mother told her sister, "Lizzy, why don't you buy an new electric range then your kitchen wouldn't be so hot and you wouldn't have to keep fiddling with the wood." My aunt replied, " Oh no. I've been using this stove for years and I'm used to it. I don't want to get used to another one." Ha! She was in her mid 90's when she passed and used this stove up to that time.
 
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