S. T. Rorer (1849–1937)

This was a fascinating read. I've never read a cookbook before with instructions for cooking over a fire. Not bad for 1894.

They certainly went to a lot of trouble to make sandwiches 100 years ago, much more than in today's humble sanger. The book even includes a recipe for making yeast from potatoes.

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." show more target="_top">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
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Beautiful red & black type columns. Testimonials from prominent cook book authors. Very pretty production. Quite collectible.