Vintage Homemaking

There are three methods in general use of caring for cupboards. Some housewives prefer their cupboard shelves of bare wood, to be well scrubbed with soap and water at the periodical “turn-out.” Others cover all shelves with white American cloth, which only needs wiping over with a wet house-flannel; while still others prefer to dispense [...]

Hoosier Kitchen cabinets were popular during the late 19th early 20th century. Mostly because housewives of this time period did not have all the cupboard space so popular today and well yes hiring servants was becoming less popular with the increase of the middle class.
These kitchen cabinets were fitted with many drawers, cupboards and accouterments [...]

This little ditty (well not really ditty but I like the word) is from a 1913 issue of Armour’s Monthly Cooking Magazine. It was chock full of homemaking tidbits for the housewife. This particular entry is recipes based on using the foods in the pantry to make wholesome (at that time) meals for the family. [...]

Budget Menu Planning is not just a theme for the 21st century. Back in 1948 housewives were just as conscious about how much they were spending on the family meals.
In a vintage 1948 McCall’s one article put together 5 family meals for four people costing about $1.00 per meal. According the the West Egg Inflation [...]

Rules for the kitchen from The Complete Cook 1864
Side note: These rules are for the cook. This was in the day when a middle class housewife had help for the housework. As many of the rules pertained to dishes and utensils we no longer utilize I have only listed a few that I thought could [...]

Edwardian Era (just after the Victorian Era) Nut Recipes. I particularly think the last one, Fruit and Nut Salad, sounds very delicious.
The Housekeeper section of Ladies World was all about nuts come January 1903 so I decided to share. Now I have not tested these recipes so I cannot say that they work out or [...]

Menu planning is big when it comes to saving money. But it’s new. Check out these vintage tips for menu planning from the early 20th century publication Woman’s Institute Library of Cookery

Perhaps the greatest problem in the planning of menus for a family is that of securing sufficient variety. A housewife who uses the same [...]

Thanksgiving Corn Cake
Sift together two cups of corn meal, two cups of white flour, four heaping teaspoonfuls of baking powder, one level teaspoonful of soda, one teaspoonful of salt, and one-half a cup of sugar. Add one cup of sour milk (gradually), three-fourths cup of sour cream, four eggs and one-third a cup of melted [...]

Although we know that the first Thanksgiving was not full of endless eating and savory meats and sauces as we celebrate today we nevertheless love to look at it in the romantic light of the Victorian era. Here below are a few suggested Thanksgiving menus (depending on how many guests and servants you had) taken [...]

As per
Domestic Cookery, Useful Receipts, and Hints to Young Housekeepers
by Elizabeth E. Lea, 1875
…The materials for making cake should be of the best quality, as your success very much depends on it.
Flour should be dried and sifted, sugar rolled fine, spices pounded and sifted. Where brown sugar is used, it
should be [...]