How women kept home in time's past
Skills such as salting, drying, smoking, pickling, and preserving were a necessity rather than an interest as may be the case for some of us today.
This hardworking cook was also not as blessed with such a profussion of ingredients as we have today. Much of what was prepared for meals was what was raised or grown on one’s own land.
Canning fresh fruits, making cheeses from the family livestock, and smoking the recently butchered meat to ensure her family was well fed year round were just a few of the cooking tasks a housewife needed to be familiar with.
During the Victorian era and early 21st century there was no end of good cookery books available to the homemaker. Titles such as Housekeeping and American Coookery described the correct ways to boil meats and how to methods on preparing butter and keeping it fresh.
Into the 1950’s rationing and the war changed the American dinner table. The result of women moving into the workplace meant less time available to prepare foods from scratch and processed and quick fix foods started to become the norm.
In today’s world we’re turning full circle. Attempting to go back to the old ways of scratch. Making our own bread and growing gardens wherever we can. Food tastes better and is better for you that way.
For the urban family making your own butter is not as far off as it seems. All you need is some heavy cream and an empty jar. Add cream and shake until the solid lump of butter hits one end of the jar with a thump! Drain on some cheese cloth and enjoy! Makes a great holiday activity for the kids.
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