Nearly all of my old Maryland cook-books contain a few pages of ice cream recipes. It was an integral ‘domestic receipt’ by the time Elizabeth Ellicott Lea published the first Maryland cookbook in 1845. Her book contains a characteristically austere four recipes- less than half as many as later authors M.L. Tyson of “Queen of the Kitchen” and Mrs. B. C. Howard in “Fifty Years in a Maryland Kitchen.”
Although it’s been around since colonial times, ice cream experienced a surge in popularity in the 1800′s with the advent of ice-houses and the increased transport of ice.
This popularity continued to grow despite the rather disturbing frequency with which people died from eating it.
Newspapers regularly reported incidents of people – even large groups of people – getting sick or dying from ice cream tainted with “Ptomaines” – essentially a catch-all theory behind food poisoning.
“The average man wants to know whether his food has these things in it, and what antidote he can take if he finds himself poisoned. On these subjects science has little to say. It is established that the poisonous portion of any particular sample of food cannot be distinguished either chemically or microscopically.” – Baltimore Sun, “IN AWE OF PTOMAINES: Scientists Baffled By The Insidious Poison Which Killed Anton Seidl And Others” 1898
The frequency of food poisoning may explain why there were various crackpot beliefs about foods that should not be consumed with ice cream. Later press releases would occasionally assure readers that, as it turns out, it actually was safe to eat ice cream after eating things such as lobster and oysters.
1934
110 years before this exciting news, Mary Randolph had included, amongst her dozen-plus ice-cream recipes in “The Virginia Housewife,” a most revolting-sounding oyster flavor. (I suppose I should mention, if you’ve come across the misinformation that Randolph’s relative Thomas Jefferson introduced ice cream to America, that is incorrect. Read about it here.)
I’ve made custard-based ice creams so many times (my go-to is Ina Garten’s Creme Anglaise) that I kind of forgot there was an alternative. Imagine my surprise when this recipe, taken from the 1874 book “The Queen of the Kitchen: A Collection of ‘old Maryland’ Family Receipts,” was just a matter of combining four ingredients and freezing. Laziest OLP post ever.
1899, Baltimore Sun
One might be inclined to hand-wring over the raw egg-whites. They could maybe be left out. I took my chances, especially since I had some farmers-market eggs.
When we feel compelled to romanticize the past, it is worth remembering that the degree of food safety we now enjoy could not always be taken for granted. We also have the luxury of knowing that it is safe to eat oysters and ice cream together, and the wisdom not to.
Recipe:
2 quarts of rich cream, 1 pound of white sugar, whites of 4 eggs well beaten, and added. Flavor to taste, and freeze. If preferred, leave out the eggs.
Recipe from “The Queen of the Kitchen: A Collection of “old Maryland” Family Receipts for Cooking : Containing 1007 Practical and Useful Receipts, All of which Have Been Tried and Approved, and Been in Use for Many Years”
“Once upon a time, people were wont to talk about the strawberry season and to look forward to it with delightful expectation. It brought visions of strawberry shortcake with mashed berries… and there was the social angle, the strawberry festival which brought together the elite of the neighborhood… Gone are these amenities, sacrificed beneath the juggernaut wheels of advancing science… In Europe, where national boundaries are close together and national self-sufficiency is a coddled ideal, seasons for strawberries are well-defined and short.
In this country, good ripe strawberries at a reasonable price are to be had in the depths of winter, long before strawberry plants have blossomed in Anne Arundel gardens… All this has been brought about through the wide expanse of Uncle Sam’s territory, and through the progress of science in horticulture, refrigeration and transportation. Good old strawberry, long may she wave!“ – Evening Capital, 1940 (Annapolis)
By the time the above editorial ran in the Evening Capital, the strawberry industry in Maryland had been waning for decades. In fact, this essay actually ran in local newspapers all around the country, with the county name swapped out accordingly. But 100 years earlier, in the mid-1800′s, “strawberry fever” was taking hold in the U.S., and Anne Arundel was “the most important strawberry district in the South.[1]”
Wild strawberries had been enjoyed by Native Americans and Europeans alike, before varieties from three continents mingled to create new and improved varieties that were earlier, hardier, redder, and self-pollinating. In 1767, Thomas Jefferson harvested strawberries, noting that “100 fill half a pint.” [2] Jefferson’s petite strawberries may not have had the full benefit of the change that was underway. A French spy named Amédée-François Frézier was dispatched to South America to observe what the Spanish were up to. King Louis XIV also wanted to get his hands on some legendarily large strawberries he’d heard about. Frézier brought specimens home from Chile which had some genes that produced a trait that neither the North American or European strawberries had going for them: size. These in turn were hybridized with North American varieties, and then eventually they made their way back to the Eastern seaboard.[3] This paved the way for the strawberry craze of the 1800′s.
illustration, The Strawberry by George M. Darrow
Increasing acreage was dedicated to strawberry cultivation as these bigger berries allowed for transporting them to markets around the state and beyond. It appears that it was not at all unusual for strawberry farmers to bring samples of their wares to local papers. Notices regularly reported enthusiastically on their quality. In 1893 the editors of the Evening Capital in Annapolis issued this challenge/request:
“The finest strawberries that we have seen this season was a box left at The [Evening] Capital by our old friend Mr. Joseph Beardmore near Camp Parole. We placed them in our front window and they were admired by every passerby… We don’t know the variety but we can vouch for the flavor… If there is another grower… that can excel this we would like to hear from him.”
Churches and civic organizations took advantage the strawberry’s popularity, raising funds each year by holding strawberry festivals in the spring. Newspaper ads from the mid-to-late 1800s demonstrate the popularity of these festivals. Ads appear in the Afro-American Newspapers as well, suggesting a widespread cultural phenomenon in those segregated times.
Some strawberry festival attendees may have partied pretty hard, if this 1868 ad is any indication:
Baltimore Sun, June 1868
Although Maryland hosted the highest acreage of strawberries in the nation by 1910, “Strawberry Fever” had caused overproduction which led to price decline. As the food system – and strawberries themselves- changed, strawberries could travel even longer distances and reach tables earlier than Maryland-grown strawberries. A few years of unfortunate weather, and the Maryland strawberry industry began to take a dive in the 20th century.
All love was not lost for Maryland and strawberries, however. The USDA was reviving the science of perfecting the strawberry. There, George Darrow developed at least twenty-eight varieties. He also conducted research and wrote a book about the history of the strawberry.
His book is available online in its entirety. His two sons opened “Darrow Berry Farms” in Glenn Dale in 1953. I remember going there to pick gallons of strawberries as a child. After hours in the scorching sun we’d have enough strawberries to freeze, eat fresh, and to preserve for the rest of the year. Darrow Berry Farms closed in 2000.
While we may not have the pressing need to capture gallons of strawberries in preserves before they expire, home-made preserves are still vastly superior than commercial preserves. Elizabeth Ellicott Lea’s preservation method appealed to me because of the wine and brandy. My berries shrunk into comical little pellets in cooking but the juicy liquid is no less useful.
After paying a premium at the farmers market these past few years for strawberries that don’t live up to my memories, I’d gladly suffer the blazing hot sun and the temptation for immediate gratification to bring home gallons of Darrow Berry Farms strawberries for freezing, preserving, baking, and eating.
This is the first of several “strawberry-craze” era recipes I’ve made this year. Even with the high cost and my snobbery, I still like to get em while I can.
Recipes:
1 Lb strawberries
1 Lb sugar
1 glass wine, white
1 tb brandy
¼ tsp alum
Pick out the largest and best strawberries, remove caps and cover with sugar and white wine. Let them stand four or five hours. Drain the syrup and heat in a pan, skimming if necessary, before adding the strawberries, and ”to each pound put as much fine alum as will lay on the blade of a pen-knife“ (Lea’s words) Bring to a boil, and gently boil for about three minutes gently shaking the pan. (”But do not stir them with a spoon, as that will mash them.“) Scoop the fruit into a jar and let the syrup boil up before setting it aside to cool. When the syrup is cool, pour over the strawberries and add brandy to the top and seal.
”If you like your preserved strawberries, cherries, or peaches, to have a fine pale color, allow them to boil half the time recommended in the receipt, then spread the fruit thin on dishes, with but little syrup, pour the rest of the syrup also on dishes, and set them daily in the sun; if the weather be clear and the sun hot, four days will be sufficient. Preserves done in this manner do not ferment. You should spread a piece of gauze or netting over them to keep out insects or dust.“ – Elizabeth Ellicott Lea
Recipe adapted from “A Quaker Woman’s Cookbook: The Domestic Cookery of Elizabeth Ellicott Lea”
[1] “Strawberries, Peas, & Beans: Truck farming in Anne Arundel County” by Willard R Mumford.
[2] ”The fruit and fruit trees of Monticello” by Peter Hatch, quoting Jefferson’s Garden Book
[3] “The Strawberry from Chile” George M. Darrow (Chapter 4 of “The Strawberry”) This chapter is a good read!
*I am not considering these a shelf-stable item and they will be refrigerated and used with a few weeks
Update (2023): The recipe in this post was apparently invented by a woman named Connee Rauser Sheckler, who won a contest with it. It appeared in the “Cooking with Old Bay” cookbook under the name she gave it, “Old Bay Bianca Pizza.” I think I should make this dish again and share a few more of the details given to me by Mrs. Sheckler!
After over a years worth of Old Line Plate recipes, I suppose it’s about time that Old Bay, that icon of Maryland food, makes an appearance. I fully admit that the reason behind this lazy recipe and post is partially because I’m gearing up for CSA season. Also, I feel like I have exhausted the topic of manors and hotels for the time being. I’m hoping to get back towards one of my original aims, which is to talk about the actual food once in awhile.
First of all, I feel it necessary to mention that Old Bay isn’t the only game in town and all of the other crab seasonings are worth a try. J.O. is the most notable as it also dates back to the mid-1940′s and is the one most often used by crab houses.
1959 crab house ad
These seasonings are the grand-child of “kitchen pepper,” customized blends of seasonings that varied from cook-to-cook but generally contained pepper, nutmeg, mace or white pepper, cinnamon and other ‘warm’ spices to the cook’s taste. Aside from the convenience of having the spice blend on-hand, the flavors in the pre-mixed seasoning were believed to benefit from mingling before use.
Mrs. B.C. Howard’s Kitchen Pepper, 50 Years in a Maryland Kitchen
Old Bay Seasoning, developed by German immigrant Gustav Brunn, was named after a famous steamship that operated between Baltimore and Norfolk, VA from 1840 to 1962. That whole tale is on Wikipedia so I won’t belabor it.
“[In 1939], crabs were so plentiful that bars in Baltimore, Maryland, offered them free[citation needed] and salty seasonings like Old Bay were created to encourage patrons to purchase more beverages.” – Wikipedia
Citation needed indeed. Many listings for the price of crabs in the newspapers, a 1938 crab conservation bill, and the knowledge that even a free crab has a cost when you factor in the cleanup all run counter to this fun fact.
1950 ad
But all is not lost. I have a new fun fact to replace it. In 1955, the purveyors of Old Bay, Baltimore Spice Company, were fined $500. Apparently it was illegal to ship salt and pepper mixed together across state lines.
I suppose that law was done away with shortly thereafter as Old Bay really took hold and became a household name in the 1960′s. The seasoning company was then, of course, purchased by McCormick in 1990.
This is one of the more modern recipes to ever appear on Old Line Plate. It comes from an early 1990s charity cookbook called “Developmental Delites.” This book raised money for the “The Neonatal Intensive Care Unit Neurodevelopmental Committee” at Franklin Square Hospital. Contributed by nurse Beth Ann Legambi, it is one of two recipes in the book featuring Old Bay.
Nowadays it’s pretty hard to turn your head one way or the other in Baltimore and not have some Old Bay shoved in your face. I tend to believe this is more on the part of advertisements and media than it is the actual people. While it is true that my mother has dutifully provided my California-residing-brother with this necessity, for most Marylanders, Old Bay is a fact of life more than a rabid obsession.
Recipe:
1 12″ pizza crust
2 Teaspoon olive oil
2 Cup picked crab meat, backfin
8 slice cooked and crumbled bacon
1 Tablespoon Old Bay [or other crab -ed] seasoning
1.5 Cup grated sharp Cheddar cheese
Preheat oven to 425°. Place crust onto a greased 12-inch pizza pan. Top with olive oil, crab meat, bacon, Old Bay seasoning and cheese. Bake on lowest oven rack at 425° for 20 minutes or until crust is golden.
“Walter Scott has no business to write novels, especially good ones. –
It is not fair. He has Fame and Profit enough as a Poet, and should not
be taking the bread out of other people’s mouths.– I do not like him,
and do not mean to like Waverley if I can help it – but fear I must.” – Jane Austen
I used to live in a
charming neighborhood called Waverly. When I saw a recipe in the Southern Heritage Cookie
Jar cookbook for “Waverly Jumbles”, I was intrigued but could draw no obvious
connection at the time. Recently, I was pleased to come across this same recipe in the 1907
book “Colonial Recipes, from Old Virginia and Maryland Manors.”
It turns out that this
recipe (probably) originates from the Waverly mansion in Marriottsville, not too far outside the city. Waverly, the neighborhood, must be named for this mansion
then. Nope. As it turns out there are well over 30 places named Waverly or
Waverley around the country, most of which are named after “Waverley,” an 1814
novel by Sir Walter Scott. It seems that this work of historical fiction and the series
of novels that followed were wildly popular in the 1800′s. I’m sure the fact that “Waverly” just
sounds cool played a role.
Waverly in Marriottsville was
first developed by Charles Carroll of Carrolton and was perhaps most notably
the home of Maryland governor George Howard, his wife Prudence Gough Ridgely,
and their fourteen children. Howard had grown up at Belvidere, later home of
Mrs. B. C. Howard (author of
“Fifty years in a Maryland Kitchen”). The Ridgely family, you may recall, resided at Hampton mansion.
The governor and his wife carried on the
tradition of the plantation lifestyle at Waverly, where Howard “led the life of
a country gentleman and a farmer.” Hundreds of people were enslaved at this
plantation, where it is said that one of the buildings served as a “slave jail.”
Other buildings included a corn crib, overseers house, and a dairy.
The mansion and some of
the buildings are still standing, and have been restored. Although the site is
not a historical park, it can be rented out for weddings and events. Some of the
land is used for a golf course, some for a landfill.
“Colonial recipes, from
old Virginia and Maryland manors, with numerous legends and traditions
interwoven,” by Maude A. Bomberger, contains romanticized nostalgia and recipes
from Waverly, Hampton, and several other Maryland manors. It is implied that
the Waverly Jumbles recipe came from the papers of Mrs. George (Prudence)
Howard.
Jumbles are a cookie type
dating back to 17th century Europe. Sometimes they were baked into
pretzel shapes or braids, and boiled instead of baked. They were a popular treat
for travelers because they hold up more or less the same texture for months on
end.
To capitalize on the current
wild popularity of President James Monroe(?), recent books have attempted to
label Waverly Jumbles as “James Monroe’s favorite cookie.” Apparently a copy of
the recipe surfaced in papers of his descendants. Although the rose-water and nutmeg
flavorings are decidedly old-fashioned, the recipe doesn’t make any documented
appearance until about forty years after his death. In 1872, “Waverly Jumbles” first appeared
in the Maryland cookbook “Queen of the Kitchen” by M.L. Tyson and then two
years later in Mrs. B.C. Howard’s book (which pilfered many recipes from the
former.)
The original recipes were even more vague than Mrs. George Howard’s recipe below, instructing
bakers to roll the dough out and “cut with a shape.” Bafflingly, “Fifty Years
in a Maryland Kitchen” removed any instruction about rolling or cutting the
dough at all. In 1879, the Tyson recipe was printed in several newspapers around
the country. Each and every one of these recipes completely omits the part
where you actually bake the cookie. Fortunately I had that Southern Heritage
book to fall back on for some guidance on oven temperature.
1) Higgins totally racked his waverly jumbles on Alex’s knee when he fell off the yoga ball.
2) Those waverly jumbles we ate in class were so fucking good.
¯_(ツ)_/¯
Recipe:
1lb flour
.5 lb butter
.75 lb brown sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 tb rose water
“Roll out long with hands and join in rings (very good).”
Actual directions: Cream butter and sugar, add eggs (beaten) then rosewater and nutmeg. Gradually add flour. Chill dough before rolling out and bake in 350°
oven for about ten minutes, until browned. Cool fully before serving.
