Lost Recipes: These old treats are so berry good
If you’re a first-time Lost Recipes reader, you picked a “berry” good time to join us. This week, we’re looking at a bunch of sweet berry treats from the Montgomery Advertiser that span from 1893 to the 1950s.
Gooseberry tart
From 1893: Pick off all the stalk and little blossoms, wash the berries and put them on to stew. Put just a tiny bit of water in the saucepan to keep them from burning. As soon as the berries start to break, add ? pound of sugar for each quart of gooseberries. Let them cook a little longer. Add a little more water, and strain. Return it to heat and boil for 15 minutes longer. Line pie plates with pastry, fill with the gooseberries, and cross with strips of pastry.
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Currant jam
Homemade jam is delicious. Here’s how to make some with currants, courtesy of a 1922 recipe.
Wash and stem a huge pile of currants. For each pound of the berry, you’ll need ? pound of sugar and a cup of water. Put it in a large boiler. When warm and beginning to melt, keep stirring and let it get to a gentle boil. The mixture will get thicker as it goes. It should take between 35 minutes to an hour to cook, depending on how much is in the pot. Take it off the heat, let it cool, and then spoon it into jam pots — which should be left open until the jam is cool.
Strawberry omelet
You can’t make an omelet without breaking a few eggs. With this one from 1932, you’ll need to cut up a few strawberries also.
6 eggs
4 tablespoons milk or cream
? teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons butter
One pint strawberries
? cup sugar
Hull and wash strawberries. Cut the larger ones in halves, but don’t crush them. Sprinkle sugar over them, cover them and set aside for several hours. If you’re going to make this for a morning breakfast, it’s best to prepare the berries the night before.
For the omelet, beat the eggs, milk and ? teaspoon of sugar and salt until they’re all blended. Let the butter melt in a hot skillet, and then pour in the egg mixture. Cook it on a medium flame. Keep cooking until its done, and then put the prepared strawberries on one half of the egg. Fold the other half over the strawberries. Remove from the pan to a plate, and then garnish with a few whole berries.
Blackberry sauce
This sauce from 1940 is a simple and tasty addition to your pancakes or toast.
? cup light brown sugar
? cup flour
2 tablespoons lemon juice
? cup blackberries
3 tablespoons butter
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
Carefully blend the sugar, flour and salt. Add rest of the ingredients, and gradually add a little water. Slowly cook until its thick and creamy. Serve warm.
Cranberry pie
When I think of cranberries, juice comes to mind. But here’s a tasty homemade pie from 1947. Maybe you can wash it down with some cranberry juice.
1 quart cranberries
1 cup sugar
4 tablespoons flour or 1 1/3 tablespoons cornstarch
? cup light corn syrup
1 egg slightly beaten
1 tablespoon vanilla
Pastry sheet
Wash and drain your cranberries, and set aside. In a bowl combine sugar and the flour or cornstarch. Add syrup, egg and vanilla, and mix. Then add the cranberries to the mix. Line a pie pan with a pastry sheet, and add the cranberry filling mix. Use strips of pastry in a lattice pattern on top. Bake at 425 degrees for 35 to 40 minutes. Let it cool before serving.
Raspberry whip
Another tasty and versatile topping, this time from 1947.
1 tablespoon gelatin
2 tablespoons cold water
2/3 cup fresh raspberry juice
8 ounces of marshmallow cream
2 teaspoons lemon juice
A few grains of salt
1 egg white
Fresh raspberries
Soak the gelatin in cold water. Dissolve and add to fresh raspberry juice. Place bowl in a pan of ice water. Add marshmallow cream and lemon juice with the salt. Mix and beat. When the mixture begins to thicken, add an egg white that has been beaten but is still moist. Fill parfait glasses one third full of fresh raspberries and pile the whip on top. Chill before serving.
Blueberry chiffon pie
Can’t do a piece on berries without mentioning delicious blueberries. Here’s a pie to try from 1953.
1 nine-inch graham cracker crumb pie shell
1 tablespoon unflavored gelatin
? cup water
1/3 cup lemon juice
1 cup fresh blueberries
? cup sugar
? cup water
1 tablespoon lemon juice
? cup nonfat dry milk
Soften the gelatin in ? cup of water, and let it stand for five minutes. Combine 1/3 cup of lemon juice, sugar and blueberries in a small sauce pan. Put it on low heat and bring to a boil. Add the softened gelatin. Stir until gelatin is dissolved. Remove from heat. Chill until slightly thickened. Pour ? cup of water and 1 teaspoon of lemon juice into a 1 quart bowl. Sprinkle milk powder over the surface of the water. Beat for 8 to 10 minutes until stiff enough to stand in soft peaks. Fold the whipped dry milk into the blueberry mixture, and then pour into the pie shell. Garnish with the whipped milk, topped with additional blueberries.
IF YOU TRY IT
If you decide to try one of these lost recipes please send us a photo and a note on how it went. Send it in an email titled "Lost Recipes" to Montgomery Advertiser reporter Shannon Heupel at [email protected].
This article originally appeared on Montgomery Advertiser: Lost Recipes: These old treats are sooooo berry good