Dictionary of Antique Cookbook Words

This dictionary covers the most puzzling cookbook vocabulary from Colonial times through the extravagant, all-in-French menus of the Victorian era (when "dyspepsia" was the national ailment). Entries are listed by the first word of the natural combination, no matter what part of speech it is. Check the index for possible further information. Whenever possible, appropriate instructions and recipes are provided. 

APOLLINARIES: An old-time soda water.

BLADE OF MACE: The unground inner envelope of a nutmeg.

BLOW: "Boil sugar to the blow" means to 240° F.

BOUQUET GARNI: 3 sprigs parsley, 1 small stalk celery, 1 leek, 1/2 bay leaf, 1 sprig dry thyme--or some variation thereof--tied together and added to a stew or sauce for flavoring.

BRINE THAT WILL BEAR AN EGG: Water with enough salt in it that an egg floats.

BRUNSWICK STEW: Originally squirrel, corn, and lima beans.

CANNED COW: Evaporated milk.

CLOCK-JACK: A device run by clockwork who turned the roast on its spit with regularity as it cooked over an open fire.

FOOL: A stewed fruit served with cream.

GEM IRONS: Iron muffin pans. Grease lightly and preheat in oven.

GILL: Half a cup.

HOOCH: If you mix 1 cup flour, and 2 T. molasses, then allow it to complete a natural fermentation, the deadly looking fluid coating the top is "hooch," named in Alaskan sourdough days when it was the miners' liquor.

KICKSHAW: An unsubstantial, fancy, or unrecognizable dish of food.

KIPPER: To smoke at a relatively high temperature.

METHEGLIN: A drink made from honey, yeast, water, and locust-beans.

MUSKMELON: Cantaloupe.

PIEPLANT: Rhubarb.

QUIDDANY (Quiddony): 1. Quince. 2. A syrup or jelly containing quince.

RAILROAD YEAST: Homemade liquid yeast.

RASPINGS: Fine, browned bread crumbs.

RECHAUFFE: Warmed over. Fancy name for leftovers.

TEACUP: The amount of 1/2 cup.

UNFERMENTED WINE: Grape juice.

WINEGLASS: One-fourth cup.

YOGURT: Thick cultured milk made by adding yogurt-making bacteria to warm milk, allowing it to stay in a warm place until the desired thickness. Believe it or not, once I didn't know what this term meant.

[Adapted from "Dictionary of Antique Cookbook Words" in Chapter 12: Appendix. The Dictionary contains over 650 words.]

Cucumber Recipe Ideas

Cucumbers are good raw in salad and sandwiches. Or peel and cut into sticks and serve plain or with dip. Or make a gourmet salad: sharp cheese, Greek olives, tomatoes, and cukes, all chunked and tossed with raw greens and salad dressing. Or serve cuke slices with chipped onion, tomato, raw greens, and blue cheese dressing.

CUCUMBER BOATS
If allowed to grow, cucumbers will get very large--as long as 10 inches or so. Such a fat cucumber makes a fine child's boat for the bathtub. Cut in half lengthwise, scoop out the seeds, and there's your boat. You can feed the other oversized, yellowed or imperfect cucumbers to the chickens or pigs. When feeding them to chickens, first break cukes open. If the chickens aren't hungry enough to stoop to cucumbers, the cukes will still make a fine compost.

CUCUMBER SANDWICHES
In summer we eat lots of cucumber sandwiches, a quick lunch at a time of year when cucumbers are abundant and time is not. Peel and slice fresh cucumbers. Spread homemade bread with mayo, layer on a sliced cucumbers--maybe add slices of fresh garden tomato--and top with another slice of bread.

INSTANT PICKLES
I usually feel like I'm making oh-so-many of these and then discover by the time the meal is on the table, they are already two-thirds gone, thanks to snitchers and big ones (my husband loves them too). I just peel and slice several cucumbers as for sandwiches. Put them in a bowl with salt, vinegar and water. Now you are going to ask: "How much of each?" Sigh. I never measure, just taste my way to success, so I don't know. It adds up to just barely enough liquid to cover. About half vinegar, half cold water, and maybe 1/2 t. salt. It is a salty dish. The salt pulls the bitterness out of the cucumbers. it needs to be made at least 15 minutes ahead of the meal to let the salt work. The longer ahead you make it, the less salt you should use. It won't keep; it gets too strong.

SOUR CREAM CUCUMBERS
Peel 3 cucumbers. Mix with 1/2 t. salt. While the cucumbers are being worked on by the salt, peel and slice 3 small-to-medium onions, and add. Make a dressing by beating together 1 c. sour cream, 1.5 T. vinegar, and 2 T. sugar or the equivalent in honey. Pour dressing over and serve.

YOGURT CUCUMBERS
Jan Franco, Hamden Ct. says cucumbers are also great in yogurt with a bit of dill weed and salt. She just slices them up and tosses them in the yogurt; there's no need to soak them with salt. Or season them with fresh mint leaves and coriander.

COOKED CUKES
Cukes can also be eaten cooked, as you might a summer squash, in soups and vegetable dishes. See summer squash recipes for more possibilities; you can often substitute cukes for zukes.

[Excerpted from Chapter 4: Garden Vegetables. Illustration copyright 1994 by Cindy Davis.]