Holiday Baking #32

Riverside California 1935

Mock Mincemeat                          

4 qts. Green tomatoes – grind & draw off juice.  Cover with cold water and let come to a boil and simmer ½ hour.  Draw off the water and add 2 lbs. brown sugar – 1 lb.  raisins (ground), 1 lb. currants, ½ cup butter, 1 scant tablespoon salt and ½ cup vinegar.  Cook slowly until thick – about ½ hour.  When cold add 1 teaspoon each, cinnamon, cloves & nutmeg. 

Cookies Sugar                 

½ cup butter

1 cup sugar

½ cup milk

1 egg

2 cups flour

1 cup walnuts

1 teaspoon baking powder

Soft Sugar Cookies                                  

2 cups of pastry flour

1 cup sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

Pinch of salt

3 tablespoons milk

2 eggs

½ cup butter

Drop from spoon and bake in a moderate oven. 

Sponge Cake – Potato Flour                            

4 eggs

1 cup sugar

½ cup potato flour

1 teaspoon R.B. powder (royal baking powder)

1 teaspoon lemon juice

Beat yolks, add sugar slowly.  Then flour, sifted three or four times with B. Powder.

The lemon juice and lastly whites of eggs beaten stiff. 

You can get potato flour in most grocery stores, or specialty food stores.  If you still can not find it, Bob’s Red Mill Flour web site has it. 

Eggless Sour milk Cake                            

½ cup molasses

½ cup sugar

½ cup shortening – half butter & lard

1 cup sour milk

1 teaspoon soda, dissolved in milk

½ teaspoon of all kinds of spices

1 cup raisins

1 cup currants – citron if desired

2 ½ heaping cups flour

Bake in moderate oven. 

There are no baking temperatures listed in these recipes; during this time, it was assumed you would know how to put together a recipe without directions and what temperature to cook or bake them at.  You gauged your oven temps through experience of working in the kitchen next to your mother and other relatives throughout your childhood and youth.  You learned methods, techniques and timing so you never needed to have it written down in the cook books or diaries passed through each generation of the family

Oven temperatures are seldom given in the old books and recipes; most times the only say something like a slow oven or quick oven.  These are the equlivent to today’s oven temperatures;

A very slow oven equals 250 to 275 degrees.

A slow oven equals 300 to 325 degrees.

A moderate oven equals 350 to 375 degrees.

A hot or quick oven equals 375 to 400 degrees.

A very hot oven equals 400 to 450 degrees.

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