Rumford Complete Cook Book

I am away on an impromptu trip at the moment so please ignore my lack of visiting your blogs.  I will be back next week. 🙂

I was thrilled the Rumford Complete Book Book was on top of the pile as it is the one with all the handwritten recipes in my gran and great-gran’s handwriting!  What a nostalgic and wonderful treasure to be able to hold and read them!

A few of the recipes make reference to measurements in teacups – not quite sure what that equates to in today’s terms.  I might find out in one of these wonderful old books.

I soon learnt that Rumford is a brand of baking powder and they are still going strong today.  The book was written by Lily Haxworth Wallace, a lecturer, teacher and writer on domestic science for the department of home economics of the Rumford Company.  The book was first published in 1908 – 106 years ago!

Rumford
The Wholesome
Baking Powder
Best of the High Grade Powders
Made of the genuine Professor Horsford’s phosphate, it restores to the flour the nutritious properties absolutely necessary to health, of which fine wheat flour has been deprived in the process of milling.  Professors Horsford’s phosphate is made by us solely for our own use, none being sold for use in any other baking powder.

Part of the Preface reads: “It is not claimed that these recipes are all new.  Some are original; some the gift of friends who have experimented till good results were obtained; some are old family recipes, never before printed; while others are standard rules that have stood the test of years and are still at the head of their respective lists.  However, all have been tested and may be used by the novice and the same certainly of success as when the ingredients are combined by the experienced cook.”

They must have had very small wine glasses back in the day as 4 wine glassfuls were equivalent to 1 cupful.  I reckon 1 of my wine glasses would equal 3 cups.

A common ingredient through the book was orange being used in everything from omelets to cream pies and steamed puddings with prunes also being a prominent ingredient as well as breadcrumbs and oysters and all the recipes used a minimum of ingredients and none of the recipes mentioned what temperature the oven should be set at.  Guess a moderate oven was the flavour of the day.

I love that the end of each chapter had a few blank pages headed Memoranda, similar to the idea of what I put in my book. 🙂

There is a chapter dedicated to recipes for the sick and advice includes: “Have all hot beverages brought to the door of the sick room in a covered pitcher, then poured into the cup, thus avoiding the danger of spilling liquids into the saucer while carrying them to the patient.  When liquid foods are given, other receptacles than those for medicine should be used, as the association of the two is often times unpleasant.”

“Be very careful to keep such foods as milk, beef tea, etc., covered while in the refrigerator, to avoid contact with other or more odorous foods.  If the refrigerator has more than one compartment reserve one exclusively for the use of the sick room.”

What a lovely old book.