1800's foods Daily Calendar Recipes admin 5 years agoDecember 3, 2021

April 6th, 1875 Buckwheat Cake & 1912 Baked Pudding or Cake

Burlington Vermont 1875

April 6^th 1875

Buckwheat Cake

1 pint buttermilk

A little more than ½ pint buckwheat

1 teaspoon sugar

A little salt

Saleratus

Enough to sweeten milk

Bake in thin sheets in quick

Saleratus – From the Latin sal aerates, meaning “aerated salt”. A precursor to baking soda, it hit the market in 1840 and was a chalky powder used for the chemical leavening needed to produce carbon dioxide gas that gives the rise in your baked goods. It was made by adding carbonic acid to pearlash, changing the potassium carbonate into potassium bicarbonate.

It had replaced pearlash as the choice of leavening by 1850 but was soon replaced by baking soda in 1860; although baking soda was also called saleratus for a while; I have found recipes into the early 1900’s using the word saleratus instead of baking soda.

To substitute; per 1 teaspoon of saleratus, 1 ¼ teaspoons of baking soda.

https://www.cooksinfo.com/saleratus

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sodium_bicarbonate

Avondale Pennsylvania 1912

April 6th 1912

Baked Pudding or Cake Frances

Cream ¼ cup lard, beat in 1 cup Brer Rabbit Green Label Molasses, 1 beaten egg. Stir in 14 oz. package Butterscotch Pudding. Sift together 2 ½ cups sifted flour, 1 ½ tsp. baking powder, ½ tsp. soda, ½ tsp. salt. Add with 1 cup milk & 1 tsp. vanilla. Bake in 9in. square pan at 350degrees 30 to 40 min. Serve with ice cream or boiled icing.

Boiled Icing

3 tbsp. butter (melted)

5 tbsp. brown sugar

2 tbsp. cream

1 tbsp. Wheaties or corn flakes

¼ tbsp. chopped nuts

Spread over warm cake and place 3 in. under broiler (low heat) until it bubbles & browns.