Old Cookbooks

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I just downloaded 28 old cookbooks from Gutenbreg for free. Those of you

unfamiliar with Gutenberg, they are an organization that offers FREE

books online. You can get all kinds of things, as long as they are out

of copyright. These cookbooks are astonishingly funny, being from the

early 1900s and even earlier. Here's a cheesecake recipe from CASSELL'S

VEGETARIAN COOKERY, published in 1891:

 

>CHEESE-CAKES FROM POTATOES.--Exceedingly nice cheese-cakes can be made from

>remains of cold potatoes, and can be made very cheap by increasing the

>quantity of potatoes used. Take a quarter of a pound of butter, four eggs,

>two fresh lemons, and half a pound of lump sugar. First of all rub off all

>the outsides of two lemons on to the sugar; oil the butter in a tin in the

>oven and melt the sugar in it; squeeze the juice of the two lemons, and

>take care that the sugar is thoroughly dissolved before you begin to mix

>all the ingredients together. Now beat up the eggs very thoroughly and mix

>the whole in a basin. This now forms a very rich mixture indeed, a

>good-sized teaspoonful of which would be sufficient for the interior of an

>ordinary-sized cheese-cake, but a far better plan is to make a large

>cheese-cake, or rather cheese-cake pudding, in a pie-dish by adding cold

>boiled potatoes. The plainness or richness of the pudding depends entirely

>upon the amount of potatoes added. The pie-dish can be lined with a little

>puff paste round the edge, if preferred, or the pudding can be sent to

>table plain. It should be baked in the oven till the top is nicely

>browned. It can be served either hot or cold, but, in our opinion, is

>nicer cold. If the lemons are very fresh and green--if the pudding is sent

>to table _hot_--you will often detect the smell of turpentine. If a _large

>quantity_ of potatoes is added more sugar will be required.

>

>

>ORANGE CHEESE-CAKE.--Proceed exactly as above, only substituting two

>oranges for two lemons.

>

>

>ALMOND CHEESE-CAKES.--Proceed exactly as above, only instead of rubbing the

>sugar on the outside of lemons add a small quantity of essence of almonds.

>

>

>APPLE CHEESE-CAKES.--Apple cheese-cakes can be made in a similar manner to

>apple custard, the only difference being that the mixture is baked till it

>sets.

 

The books are available at this link:

http://www.gutenberg.org/wiki/Cookery_%28Bookshelf%29