Though our Victorian ancestors had the art of canning at their disposal, they certainly were not privy to the modern conveniences of refrigeration, vacumn sealing, and additives and preservatives as we know them.  Their diet and cooking habits, therefore, were quite dependent on the season and the availability of fresh foods!

"A trip through the June Market cannot fail to afford an object lesson to the housekeeper anxious to provide the very best for her family. Why are fruits and vegetables, fish and eggs so abundant if Nature did not intend that they should be freely eaten at this time of the year? Indeed, she demands them, if health and strength are to be kept at their best. The body needs and craves the fresh, cooling fruit, the potash salts contained in the green vegetables, and the fish, so easy of digestion.   A change of food is necessary during the Summer months, and the markets are full of the fruits and vegetables required to effect it…... Fruit is a great health promoter."

~The Delineator, June 1896

Cherry Pudding

2 eggs                     1 Tbsp. melted butter        1 cup milk               1/2 tsp. salt                        1 1/2 cup flour         1 tsp baking powde          2 pounds of cherries      

  Beat the eggs light, add to them the milk, the salt, and the butter, then the flour, and lastly the baking powder.  Beat well and turn into a well oiled baking tin.  Lay the stoned cherries on the top and press them down, sprinkle them rather thickly with granulated sugar, and bake in a quick oven for 25 minutes.  Serve hot with cream sauce.

~The Delineator           

Fruit Tapioca

1/2 cup of pearl tapioca                 1 pint milk   3/4 cupful of sugar       1 saltspoonful of salt   1 pint of berries or cherries

Soak the tapioca for 2 hours in enough cold water to nearly cover it, add the boiling water and cook until soft and translucent.  Add the salt and a quarter of a cupful of the sugar.  Stir the remainder of the sugar with the fruit, and just before taking the tapioca from the fire stir both fruit and tapioca together.  Set in a cold place and serve with a sauce made of sweetened and flavored milk.

                                                    ~The Delineator

Cucumber Salad

Peel the cucumbers, which should be of a medium size; cut them into halves, take out the seeds and lay the sections in cold, unsalted water for one hour.  When ready to serve, peel ten medium sized tomatoes and chop them fine; also chop a half dozen sprays of watercress.  Mix the two together and add a teas-spoonful of onion juice and salt and pepper to taste.  Drain the cucumbers and wipe them dry on a soft cloth.  Lay them on a bed of lettuce leaves and cover them with the mixture.  Pour  the juice of one lemonover the whole, add a table-spoonful of salad oil and serve.

                                 ~The Delineator

Salad Dressing without Oil

2 eggs                       1 teaspoonful of mustard   1/2 teaspoonful of salt   1 teaspoonful sugar   1 teaspoonful of cornstarch          1teaspoonful of butter       1 cup of vinegar  1/8 teaspoonful of pepper                                Place the mustard, salt, pepper, sugar, and corn starch in a bowl, mix them well together and add the butter and the well beaten eggs, using both yolks and whites.  Set the bowl in a stew pan of hot water and cook until the dressing is thick, stirring constantly.   When done add the vinegar, which should not be too strong. Use when quite cold.                                             

                                                               ~The Delineator