Friday Five for Free (2)

This is a little unusual. It's a 5 volume set of cooking textbooks, published in 1921 (and so now public domain.) Some of the information and recipes contained within will probably make you want to never set foot in your kitchen again! :) Still there is a surprising amount of stuff you can learn from these books, and a lot of it involves cooking from scratch, the budget-minded way to go. Okay, so I can promise you I'm never going to cook up a batch of hominy and then take that and use it in a hominy and cheese souffle, but still, the simple, basic recipes are worth knowing. And, as these are actual textbooks, there are even exam questions included. (More in full post.)

BOOK 1
BOOK 2
BOOK 3
BOOK 4
BOOK 5


Just to note - keeping in mind how long ago these books were written, if you decide to try out any of the recipes, make sure that you're not doing something we've come to learn is not as safe as once believed. (For instance, we now know not to make eggnog with raw eggs unless they have been specially pasteurized.)

If you're the kind of person who finds something like this interesting the way I do, you might also be interested in: SCHOOL AND HOME COOKING - This is another cooking school text. Something in particular that strikes me, as I have noticed it in some of the older cookbooks I've inherited, is the inclusion of a section on feeding someone who is sick. I never seem to come across that in modern cookbooks, and I wonder why we seem to think that doesn't merit special attention any more.