“If the Tomato be as highly medicinal as it has been represented, it may be anticipated that this wine will find favor with the public.” – Milwaukee Sentinal, June 1840 Interspersed with the shrubs, the cherry bounce, eggnog and Fish House Punch in 19th-century Maryland cookbooks are some of the most intriguing and intimidating recipes:…
Aside from the delicious and intoxicating experiment with Cherry Bounce, I’ve neglected to incorporate cherry desserts into this blog. The reason is pretty obvious – cherries rarely outlast the snacking phase. The 1921 “Report of the Maryland Agricultural Society” made note that “Cherries have never been considered as one of the money makers for Maryland,” and…
Before there were ethical questions about organic vegetables, GMOs or factory farming, American consumers were faced with the ultimate ethical consumption conflict: slavery. As we have seen with the issue of baking powder, regional and cultural adoption of foods was sometimes influenced by commitment to the abolitionist movement. While this can mean an aversion to…
According to cocktail historian David Wondrich in his book “Imbibe!”, Fish House Punch should be “made a mandatory part of every Fourth of July.” If the punch’s provenance is indeed as historic as people claim it is, then it may well deserve priority over cans of beer that say “America” on them. And with a…
“If alum is something to be proud of why conceal it on the label in type as small as the law permits?” – Alum in Baking Powder, 1927, Royal Baking Powder Company “Today, the Royal Company is manufacturing and selling a phosphate type of powder such as they condemned and classed as a mineral…