S. T. Rorer (1849–1937)

Sarah Tyson Heston Rorer was born in October of 1849 and died in December of 1937. Housebound as a child, she grew up to have a tremendous interest in healthy food. This lead her to study Domestic Science and to publish numerous books on food preparation.

As the Historic American Cookbook Project explains:

"Rorer founded the Philadelphia Cooking School. Here she offered cooking classes, a chemistry class, and classes on preparing proper meals for both the sick and healthy." http://digital.lib.msu.edu/projects/cookbooks/html/authors/author_rorer.html

Ice Creams, Water Ices, Frozen Puddings: Together with Refreshments for All Social Affairs was published in 1913.

TABLE OF CONTENT
Foreword . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 5
Philadelphia Ice Creams . . . . . . . . . . 13
Neapolitan Ice Creams . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Ice Creams From Condensed Milk . . 29
Frozen Puddings And Desserts . . . . . 35
Water Ices And Sherbets Or Sorbets. . 63
Frozen Fruits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
Frappe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
Parfait . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
Mousse . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
Sauces For Ice Creams . . . . . . . . . . . 88
Refreshments For Affairs . . . . . . . . . . 93
-- Soups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97
-- Sweetbreads . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102
--Shell Fish Dishes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
--Poultry and Game Dishes . . . . . . . . 114
--Cold Dishes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120
-- Salads . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130
--Sandwiches . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143
Suggestions For Church Suppers . . . . 147

I think the book is interesting from two perspectives. As an actual cookbook, of course, but also as a history book or journal. I'll give you an example of what I mean. Right in the Foreward there is some interesting information. Ms. Rorer notes that it's difficult to find good Cream and that people ought to consider Condensed Milk.

She notes::: "In places where neither cream nor condensed milk can be purchased, a fair ice cream is made by adding two tablespoonfuls of olive oil to each quart of milk."

This implies that while canned milk and cream can be hard to come by, that olive oil is a staple. A fact that rather challenges my preconceptions about turn of the century America.

In any case, here is a sample recipe for Philly-style ice cream:

==============================
BURNT ALMOND ICE CREAM

1 quart of cream
1/2 pound of sugar
4 ounces of sweet almonds
1 tablespoonful of caramel
1 teaspoonful of vanilla extract
4 tablespoonfuls of sherry

Shell, blanch and roast the almonds until they are a golden brown, then grate them. Put half the cream and all the sugar over the fire in a double boiler. Stir until the sugar is dissolved, take it from the fire, add the caramel and the almonds, and, when cold, add the remaining pint of cream, the vanilla and the sherry. Freeze as directed on page 7.

This quantity will serve eight persons.

==============================

You might be concerned by the specific lack of instructions about how to do the freezing, but don't worry, those general instructions are given first, with the variations listed as above, later.

And Rorer instructs you on how to chop up or shave the ice and pack and crank the ice cream maker. Obviously, if you are using modern techniques you are going to have to adapt the procedure, and possibly the ingredients. I'm not enough of a cook to be able to guess what might be required. I do plan on making summer of the ices however, and I'll report back with results.

Likewise I'll try her French Potato Salad recipe, although I'll probably pass on the Cheese Sandwich that involves ketchup an butter.

NOTES:::
This book is available as a free download for the Kindle. It is also available free of charge at Google.books.

Drop by my website. I'm making a list of such freebies which you can 'steal from' or 'add to'.

Pam T~
mom/blogger
pageinhistory… (mais)

Sarah Tyson Heston Rorer (1849-1937) was a fairly important Home Economist back-in-the-day. She was the editor at "Household News" and was a member of the staff for "Ladies Home Journal" and "Good Housekeeping". She published "Many Ways for Cooking Eggs" in 1912.

This book --which has no drawings and so is fine for the Kindle-- has recipes for sauces and directions for cooking eggs in a variety of ways. In addition, there's instructions for preserving eggs, and general egg facts. Here's some of what you'll find:

* Sauces

English Drawn Butter, Plain Hollandaise; Anchovy, Bechamel, Tarragon, Horseradish, Cream or White, Brown Butter, Perigueux, Tomato, Paprika, Curry, Italian

* Cooking of Eggs

To Preserve Eggs, Egging and Crumbing, Shirred Eggs, Mexicana, On a Plate, de Lesseps, Meyerbeer, a la Reine, au Miroir, a la Paysanne, a la Trinidad, Rossini, Baked in Tomato Sauce, a la Martin, a la Valenciennes, Fillets, a la Suisse, with Nut-Brown Butter, Timbales, Coquelicot, Suzette, en Cocotte. Steamed in the Shell, Birds' Nests, Eggs en Panade, Egg Pudding, a la Bonne Femme, To Poach Eggs, Eggs Mirabeau, Norwegian, Prescourt, Courtland, Louisiana, Richmond, Hungarian, Nova Scotia, Lakme, Malikoff, Virginia, Japanese, a la Windsor, Buckingham, Poached on Fried Tomatoes, a la Finnois, a la Gretna, a l'Imperatrice, with Chestnuts, a la Regence, a la Livingstone, Mornay, Zanzibar, Monte Bello, a la Bourbon, Bernaise, a la Rorer, Benedict, To Hard-boil, Creole, Curried, Beauregard, Lafayette, Jefferson, Washington, au Gratin, Deviled, a la Tripe, a l'Aurore, a la Dauphin, a la Bennett, Brouilli, Scalloped, Farci, Balls, Deviled Salad, Japanese Hard, en Marinade, a la Polonnaise, a la Hyde, a la Vinaigrette, a la Russe, Lyonnaise, Croquettes, Chops, Plain Scrambled, Scrambled with Chipped Beef, Scrambled with Lettuce, Scrambled with Shrimps, Scrambled with Fresh Tomatoes, Scrambled with Rice and Tomato, Scrambled with Asparagus Tips, Egg Flip

* Omelets

Omelet with Asparagus Tips, with Green Peas, Havana, with Tomato Sauce, with Oysters, with Sweetbreads, with Tomatoes, with Ham, with Cheese, with Fine Herbs, Spanish, Jardiniere, with Fresh Mushrooms, O'Brien, with Potatoes

* Sweet Omelets

Omelet a la Washington, with Rum, Swiss Souffle, a la Duchesse, Souffle

I've not cooked any of these recipes... yet, and am not a good enough gourmet to be able to make a decent comment on what the results would be likely to be.

Available for FREE on Kindle and at Googlebooks.

Pam T~… (mais)