health

  • How to render suet for cooking

    Back when I first started this blog, I learned a few things right away about historical cooking. First, some old recipes are very similar to their modern counterparts (like pie). Second, animal fat is wonderful. From salt pork to lard,… Continue reading

  • Why I love historical recipes

    I’ve been chronicling my adventures in historical cooking for almost two years now (!), but it wasn’t until recently that I began to wonder why. I love history, isn’t that enough? Well, yeah, but what’s the bigger picture? Why does… Continue reading

  • Old-fashioned remedies for everyday illnesses

    hyssop For the past week I’ve been battling a stubborn cold, drinking gallons of tea and piling up the tissues like Typhoid Mary.* Apparently it’s impossible to avoid being sick when you work with middle school children, and all the… Continue reading

  • Nutrition, 1903 style (II)

    Yesterday I posted some of my fan-girl thoughts on Michael Pollan’s In Defense of Food and presented a nutritional table from The “Settlement” Cook Book. Now I’d like to think about what this 1903 table has to do with our eating… Continue reading

  • Nutrition, 1903 style (I)

    Now that we’ve gotten comfortable with the sorts of recipes available in The “Settlement” Cook Book, I’d like to take a look at the book’s attitude towards food. Before this project (and before I did some serious thinking about food… Continue reading