Soup/Stew/Chowder Secesh Soup

secesh soup

(from the Gold Hill Daily News, Gold Hill, Nevada Territory, July 12, 1864)

Ingredients:

3 buckets of water​

4 onions​

2 long-legged collard leaves​

1 small beef bone​

1 tallow candle​

1 pint common salt that has been used in pickling pork​

Instructions:

A Richmond paper says: "A gentleman gave us for publication the following recipe for making good wholesome soup. He obtained it of his landlord: Take three buckets of water, four onions; two long-legged collard leaves and a small beef bone, and put them in a large pot over the smoke. When the pot boils, stir with a tallow candle, and add one pint of common salt that has been used in pickling pork."​

 

[lupaglupa]

This is the first time I have ever seen a candle used as a cooking implement!

 

[donna]

Seems like candle would melt. It is a strange thing to use.

 

[lupaglupa]

Seems like candle would melt. It is a strange thing to use.

It's a strange recipe. At first I thought it might be a satire. Just two collard leaves for three buckets of water? And that's a lot of salt, even if you think the saltiness might have been altered while it was used in curing the pork.

 

[dlofting]

Tallow is animal fat. So I guess it adds a bit to the soup, when you're short on ingredients.

 

[lupaglupa]

Tallow is animal fat. So I guess it adds a bit to the soup, when you're short on ingredients.

That makes sense. But why use a candle to get that flavor? Most people kept animal fats around to use for cooking. Candles take a lot of work to make. It seems odd not to use some lard and let the candle alone!

 

[donna]

Also surely they had spoons to stir with.