Frontier Fridays: More Old Time Recipes - including Real Mincemeat.

Here are a couple odd ones I have found along with some more interesting ones...

Cracker Tea (for sickness)

Take 4 Boston crackers, split open and toast to a light brown on each side.  Put these into a bowl or earthen dish of some kind, pour over them a quart of boiling water.  Let it stand on the back of the stove for half and hour.  When cold, give two or three teaspoonfuls to anyone who is sick.  It is nourishing and the stomach will retain it when absolutely nothing else can be taken.
 (TOTAL YUK! LOL)

Crust Coffee

Take the crusts or any pieces of stale bread, and bake in the oven until hard and brown.  Put them into an agate or earthen tea pot.  Pour over them boiling water and boil 10-15 minutes.  Strain and serve hot like any coffee with cream and sugar. 
(Want to try this for your morning Joe?)

Mincement (The Real Thing)

4 cupfuls of Chopped Meat
12 cupfuls of Chopped Apples
2 cupfuls of Chopped Suet
1 cupful of Vinegar
3 cupfuls of seeded raisins
1 cupful of Currants
5 cupfuls of Brown Sugar
1 1/2 cupful of Molasses
6 Teaspoonfuls of Cinnamon
3 Teaspoonfuls of Cloves
1 Teaspoonful of Nutmeg
1/4 pound of Citron Ring
Juice of one Lemon
Butter the size of an egg
Salt.
Moisten with Cold Coffee or Strong Tea. Cook slowly for 2 hours.

Homemade Potato Yeast

4 good sized potatoes
1 quart of boiling water
2/3 cupful of sugar
1/3 cupful of salt
1 1/2 cupful of old yeast
Boil, peel and mash potatoes.  Add boiling water, sugar and salt.  If old yeast can not be obtained, use one and one half cakes of compressed yeast.  Put this into a pitcher or dish which will hold 3 pints.  Place in warm spot to rise, keep covered.  Use 2/3 of a cupful to one quart of flour. 

(This reminds me of the sourdough starter I used to make...)

Crab Apple Jelly

Cover apples with water and boil until tender.
Strain through a flannel bag.  Boil the juice twenty minutes.  Add the same amount of sugar, pint for pint, and cook 5 minutes.  Pour into tumblers, and when cold, cover with paraffin. 

(Their recipes were much simpler than ours today, weren't they?)

Next week...some Halloween type recipes  Enjoy!