How to Cook Civil War Recipes

How to Cook Civil War Recipes

I've become totally fascinated by old-fashioned recipes lately. I've been learning a lot about the Civil War, reading old books, etc., and finding recipes that actually date back to then. It's interesting to see how they made use of the materials readily available back then.

Here's one recipe I like, for Crab Soup:

"Crab Soup.
Three dozen crabs boiled and picked, divide them equally, boil again one half in a full gallon of water, with salt and mace, for about an hour. Then take off and strain, put the soup on again with a teacup of cream, quarter of a pound of butter, two and a half tablespoonsful of flour creamed with the butter and scalded with a little of the hot soup, a tablespoonful of mixed mustard, black and red pepper. Have in your tureen the remaining dozen and a half crabs cleanly picked, and pour the hot soup upon them, and serve without delay, for it is delicious. "

There's another for Sally Lunn bread:

"Sally Lunn (with yeast).
Warm one quart of milk with quarter pound of butter, two heaping tablespoons of sugar, half a nutmeg. Beat up three eggs and put in, with a little salt, and flour enough to make it stiffer than pound cake. Beat it well. Add a teacup of yeast, and let it rise. Butter a fluted cake mould and pour it in Bake in a quick oven one hour.
If you wish tea at 7 o'clock, set it to rise at 11 A.M."

I love the way these old Civil War recipes are written. It's less like a chemistry textbook than modern cookbooks are. It's more like art.

These two recipes are used with permission from "Old Fashioned Recipes - Great Grandma's Cookbook".