Anne McAlpine: February 21, 2019

When Judy Hoppe of Caledonia was going through a box of her mom’s things, she came across a very old cookbook titled The Home Cookbook. The introductory page stated, “Entered according to Act of Parliament of Canada in the year one thousand eight hundred and seventy-seven by Belford Brothers, in the Office of The Minister of Agriculture”.  It was given to her grandmother in 1902 and contains some very interesting recipes. Thanks Judy for sharing your kitchen treasure with us.

Many of the recipes included the ingredients and the amounts, but no instructions as to how to cook them. When there were instructions it often stated “bake in a quick oven” or “cook quickly”. I found this recipe for sponge cake really interesting. I have shared all these recipes exactly as they appear – one long sentence and no directions! The doughnut recipe was equally as intriguing.

I am also sharing some of the section titled Instructions to the Mistress with you. It makes me tired just reading them! I laughed when I read,

“No matter how talented a woman may be, or how useful in the church or society, if she is an indifferent housekeeper it is fatal to her influence, a foil to her brilliancy, and a blemish in her garments.

“There is no earthly reason why girls, from eight to eighteen, should not learn and practice the whole round of housekeeping, from the first beating of eggs to laying carpets and presiding at a dinner party. If Mrs. Smith’s sitting room is always neat and fresh, it is because she sweeps it with tea leaves, and sponges the carpet with ox gall and dusts it with a damp cloth.

“The mistress must observe the outside of her house regularly; on Saturday is the most convenient time to see if window blinds need washing, if the catches are in repair, if the shades inside hang straight, and the curtains drape well, if the walk, steps and piazzas are neat, and the door knobs and paint in order making note of every want and attending to it at once.

“The mistress is responsible for the health of the household and must allow no scent of decay, whether from vegetables or meat, barrels or refuse in the cellar, no slops anywhere about the premises, no moulding food in closets, no bedrooms or closets with old clothes or soiled linen to taint the air, no dead musty smell in any room, however seldom used, no sickly smell escaping from rooms where there is illness.

“The mistress must always put a clean apron on over her clothes when dressing in the morning. The beds must be made every morning after turning down the sheets and opening the window to air them well; beating up the pillows and the mattress”.

In the Necessary Utensils in the Kitchen Tools section, some of the things listed were an ice pick, wooden butter bowl, paddle and crocks – all of which I inherited from my grandma. These recipes for making stale bread or cake fresh and the one simply called ‘Lunch’ were also interesting.