There aren’t many recipes specifically for blackberry pie. Usually, older recipes for “berry pie” will specify that blackberries, blueberries, or raspberries can be used.
Blackberry pie has been a longtime favorite of mine. I grew up making them with my grandmother so I wanted to make one for her birthday in September. I have also been falling behind on blog posts so I searched the newspapers for ‘blackberry pie.’
The recipe was shared in the Afro-American in 1938 by Mrs. Ida Reid. Mrs. Reid said that she enjoyed housework – and blackberry pie – and that she was heavily involved in her husband G. B. Reid’s Washington, DC department store.
The store was a longtime fixture at 11th and U (often stylized as “You”) streets in Northwest DC.
Mrs. Ida Reid’s blackberry pie in the Afro-American women’s pages, 1938
Baltimore Peach Cake seems to be the bane of local recipe writers. By 1966, Evening Sun food columnist Virginia Roeder was exasperatedly telling readers “as for peach cake, I have published the recipe several times.” In 1958, she wrote about how she was bombarded each year with requests for peach cake recipes. Even Roeder’s predecessor, Eleanor Purcell, writing in racist dialect as “Aunt Priscilla” wrote in 1921 that she “done already gib a recipe fo’ peach cake.” (I’ve resolved to make a post addressing this ‘Aunt Priscilla’ elephant in the room before the year is out.) In 1991 the Sun reported that Baltimore Peach Cake was THE most requested recipe.
My own site analytics indicate that while no one has *asked* me for a recipe, plenty of people have done a search which led to my post. This has made me uncomfortable since that recipe was kind of a failure.
1914
I’m willing to bet that modern tested recipes are more reliable, but I thought I’d give it another shot (or two) nonetheless. This time around, I turned to Roeder’s recipe. The results were somewhat better, but I stuck with the regrettable 400° oven temperature – leaving my cake with a surface that was a little too tough. The Aunt Priscilla column was from a time before oven temperatures. In one version the top is dotted with butter. In another, it is topped with meringue after baking. Probably worth a try, frankly.
But again, when it comes to Baltimore Peach Cake, bakeries are considered the final word. The tradition is believed to have originated with the city’s German population. Advertisements in the early 1900s tempted diners to Brager’s Bakery with peach cake, iced tea and deviled crabs. Goetz’s bakery took out an ad announcing that the demand for their “celebrated peach cake” had exceeded supply in 1910. Would-be customers were encouraged to place their Saturday orders on Friday.
1964 Advertisement
In 1911 the prices of peaches went up and the Sun despaired that “Baltimore is writhing in the agony of a peach-cake famine.” Thereafter, the paper continued an annual tradition of singing the praises of peach cake. In 1913 they wrote “It is wonderful how much human enjoyment can be squeezed into the compass of one small piece of peach cake.” Another day that year, there was a snippet that read “Peach cake! ‘Nuff said.” In 1917 they called it “the universal peace-maker.”
Aside from Aunt Priscilla’s topping the cake with some butter, the glaze isn’t mentioned until the 1940s. Silber’s Bakery began to advertise its “sugar n spice glaze” in the 60s. Walter Uebersax of Fenwick Bakery told Sun writer Helen Henry that their caramel glaze was a “trade secret” in 1968.
By this time, Virginia Roeder has acquiesced to running her peach cake recipe annually. “No mention of peaches should be made without including the recipe for the famous Baltimore Peach Cake,” she wrote in 1969. “Requests for this recipe have led all others. Here it is once again.”
One Sun columnist who has never tired of writing about peach cake is Jacques Kelly. His occasional articles on peach cake are always a celebration, and a platform to advise against any cinnamon or glaze. “I think of this glazing as Formstoning what was once a simple and delicious product,” he wrote in 2010. I’m not sure that unglazed peach cakes are even offered by any of the small handful of peach-cake-selling bakeries within Baltimore City, however. Maybe we can compromise just a little, to keep this beloved tradition alive.
Recipe:
Peach Cake With Raised Sweet Dough Base
(Makes two 9-inch round cakes)
1 Cup lukewarm milk
.25 Cup sugar
1 Teaspoon salt
1 cake compressed yeast (2 ¼ tsp dry yeast)
1 egg
.25 Cup shortening
3.5 to 3.75 Cup flourMix together milk, sugar, salt and crumble into mixture, yeast. Stir until yeast is dissolved. Stir in egg and shortening. Mix in first with spoon, then with hands, half the flour, then the remainder of the flour. When the dough begins to leave the sides of the bowl, turn it out onto a lightly floured board and knead. Knead dough, then place in greased bowl, turning once to bring greased side up. Cover with damp cloth and let rise in warm, draft-free spot until double in bulk, about 1 ½ to 2 hours. Punch down, let rise again until almost double in bulk, 30 to 45 minutes. Divide dough in half.Pat dough into greased 9-inch round pan forming a ridge around the edge. Arrange thinly sliced peaches overlapping one another in a circle around the center. To keep peaches from darkening, sprinkle with lemon, orange or grapefruit juice. Cover and let rise until double, 25 to 35 minutes. Bake 25 to 30 minutes in 400-degree oven.
Quick Apricot Glaze:
Add 1 tablespoon hot water to 1/3 cup apricot jam.
While vacationing in 2015, on a day drive down the Delmarva peninsula, we found ourselves in the relatively sparse landscape of Bloxom, VA. We spotted a striped truck off of Route 13 with stenciled letters announcing “Mi Pequeña Taqueria” and pulled over into the scorching parking lot where this taco truck stood. We enjoyed classic tacos filled with meltingly tender tongue or smoky pork prepared ‘al pastor’, and topped with a modest sprinkling of diced tomato and onions. Optional hot sauce waited at the picnic table. This taco truck and the syndicated Spanish-language radio station we listened to were the only indications of another side of the Eastern Shore.
Every summer, droves of people pass to and from the beaches and beach towns, crowding into the narrow slices of paradise in an attempt to squeeze the most joy out of summer vacation days. Off of the back roads is a hidden workforce for whom summer means the opposite of vacation. Summer means crops to be harvested, one after another: strawberries, beans, tomatoes, fruit – first down South and then further North as the climate ripens crop after crop.
As I did research on Strawberries for this post and the previous strawberry post, I was struck by the transience, the true impermanence of this workforce. Whereas immigrant groups have been known to come for the labor, weaving new traditions into local culture, and some people settling down to become a permanent part of it, farm labor is so seasonal and isolated that some of us may hardly know that thousands of people are living nearby.
In our region, it seems pretty glaring that the economic predecessor to this work force was slavery.
After emancipation, the system of labor migration fell into place. In some instances, employers were even caught re-enslaving their “employees.” Involuntary servitude cases occur to this day.
An 1891 Baltimore Sun article described the life of strawberry pickers living in the “farm barracks”:
“About ten thousand men, women and children, armed with cooking utensils and bed clothing, have just invaded Anne Arundel county. Here they will remain until the last vestige of the season’s crop of berries, peas and beans have disappeared… The strawberry pickers are recruited from the neighborhoods about the packing-houses in Baltimore, and they are of almost every nationality. Bohemians, Poles and Germans predominate, with a fair sprinkling of Americans, Italians and colored people.
The barracks where the pickers live while on the farms vary according to the means of the farmer and the size of the patch… often they are simply old tenant houses… The life is as near gypsy-like as anything can be. The first thing done is to build a fireplace of mud in the open air, which is used in common by all the pickers.” – Army of Harvesters, The Sun May 27, 1891
Despite describing the sparse sleeping quarters where workers “sleep close” sometimes even sleeping outside, plus the long hours, and the watchful eyes of the “row boss” ensuring they don’t “eat as many berries as they pick,” the article depicts the situation as a fun “summer vacation” for the workers.
In 1900 the Sun reported that hundreds of African-Americans from the Eastern shore flocked to the strawberry-picking jobs in Anne Arundel County and then in Delaware. This was the height of the strawberry boom and there were not enough laborers to go around.
The labor shortage didn’t last long, however, and job competition may have fueled a spate of terrorism in 1937, as black laborers’ cabins in Somerset County were mysteriously burned to the ground. Several people were killed, and although a coroner’s jury ruled the fires an accident, the State’s Attorney was on record suspecting foul play. The Sun pointed out that even accidental fires should have merited scrutiny of the housing conditions.
Shortly after, an ample labor source came from WWII “prisoners of war.” A few of the camps were later used to house migrant workers.
The state created a commission to tackle the issues of housing and healthcare for the large force of migrant workers in Maryland. Their reports offer at least some insight into the demographics of workers and their lives in labor camps.
The commission reported in 1983 that of the 57 licensed migrant camps in Maryland “more than a third experienced major deficiencies in meeting established health and safety standards.” Westover was a particularly infamous large camp in Somerset County:
“The Westover Camp, once a World War II holding pen for German prisoners, has acquired such notoriety that migrants from as far away as Texas refuse to stay there… Families live in single-room units without running water. Most units have refrigerators and small gas plates for cooking; sometimes doors, sometimes not. Latrines offer stools without stalls, gang showers with no privacy… ditches filled with stagnant water and.. gaping bins of garbage…” – Migrant Workers on Maryland’s Eastern Shore (1983)
In 2014, public health official Thurka Sangaramoorthy reported on her blog that she was “astonished” at the camp’s cleanliness and upkeep, considering its past reputation.
Sangaramoorthy’s website offers a more recent look into the humanitarian issues that still exist in some of Maryland’s labor camps.
While the workforce is now comprised largely of people of Mexican origin, there have been varying percentages of African-American, Haitian, Guatemalan, and Puerto Rican people making up significant numbers of workers over the years. Workers keep to each-other and their families, and travel too frequently to leave many obvious signs of influence on local culture. Aside from the occasional taco truck spotting, many Marylanders have no awareness about this aspect of our economy. And yet most of us partake in it- at the grocery store, the produce stand, and yes, when we eat those ‘fancy’ tacos on the way home from the beach.
Recipe:
1 Pint sharp vinegar
5 Quart strawberry
1 Lb brown sugar
“1 pint sharp vinegar poured on 1 quart of strawberries, to remain 24 hours. Then strain it on a second quart of fruit, and so on until you get the extract from 5 quarts of strawberries; add to it, 1 pound of brown sugar. Then boil and keep skimmed; then let it cool before bottling it. Cork it tightly and keep it in a cool place.Extract of raspberries may be made in the same way.”
Recipe from “The Queen of the Kitchen: a collection of “old Maryland” family receipts for cooking” by M. L Tyson
“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
On a recent hike I noticed that the bushes around me were teeming with the fuzzy red buds of soon-to-be wineberries. I came back and gathered as much as I had the patience for in humid Maryland July weather.
I love to blather on about my childhood days spent gathering, preserving and baking blackberries but those days are indeed gone. The invasive wineberry is now berry queen of mainland Maryland field and forest.
The upside of that is that wineberries are delicious, and that I don’t feel much guilt about tackling their thorny branches, plundering the generous sweet raspberry-like fruits to my hearts content.
The recipe for Raspberry Fool is printed in the “Maryland’s Way” cookbook from a book belonging to Hammond-Harwood house resident Mrs. F.T. Loockerman. The famous Annapolis house was bought for Frances Townley (married name Loockerman) by her father, Judge Jeremiah Townley Chase.
F.T. Loockerman miniature, Robert Field 1803.
The English origin of this dessert is perhaps obvious from its name. If it’s a ‘fool’, a ‘trifle’, or a ‘mess’ then you can safely assume Old World origin.
Many old dessert and beverage recipes tend to call for raspberries, blackberries, strawberries and sometimes blueberries interchangeably.
Although the recipe instructs it to be served with ‘wafers’, my use of vanilla wafers was probably less appropriate for the period.
Modern vanilla wafers would more likely be known as some kind of “little cake,” and “wafers” or biscuits could mean something such as the popular Naples Biscuit, or a dainty wafer made in a press, much like a waffle cone.
This made a refreshing summer snack, wafer scandal notwithstanding. I’ll bet “wafer scandal” is probably some type of British dessert…
Recipe:
2 Cups wineberries or other berry
.5 Cup sugar
.5 Pint whipping cream
Clean and dry berries, add sugar and let stand to extract juice. Mash berries slightly, put in a pot and bring slowly to a boil. Cook until soft, strain through a sieve and chill. When the juice is cold, whip the cream and add the fruit to it. Refrigerate or freeze for at least two hours before serving.
“Any other fruit may be used for a Fool. Serve with wafers or sweet biscuits.”
Adapted from “Maryland’s Way: The Hammond-Harwood House Cookbook”
