Recipes from the Past
Traveling to areas with known plague? Make sure that you are properly protected using this Receipt against the Plague. Truly an unexpected find. Camphor is known to be used as a natural mosquito repellant, so perhaps there's validity in this recipe if the ointment is effective in repelling fleas as well? Love the story about... Continue Reading →
I kid you not. A diet drink of pumpkin seeds from 1885. Let's unpack this: Dried pumpkin seeds Boiled water Used for strangury and kindred complaints Strangury is kidney or bladder stones - ouch! Check out the full description of Strangury here. More Fun Discoveries How to Boil Potatoes ~1856 Coffee Custard ~1905 Eating an... Continue Reading →
The 1856 list is a fascinating read, with a clear emphasis on herbal remedies. Our modern checklist is equally interesting, in that the items are essentially treating the same maladies. Sources Practical American Cookery and Domestic Economy, Hall, 1856 Medicine Cabinet Essential Checklist, Real Simple, 2017.
Source: Practical American Cookery and Domestic Economy, E. Hall, 1856. This one is so close, it's painful. If only Elizabeth had kept the wine and ditched the sugar...sigh. Interestingly, the use of wine as an antiseptic had already been discovered, but obviously not well known.
Source: Practical American Cookery and Domestic Economy, Hall, 1856. The next time your child argues about taking a bath, you can cite the indisputable evidence that "during the terrible visitation of cholera in France, out of nearly 16,228 subscribers to the public baths of Paris, Bordeaux, and Marseilles, only two deaths among them were ascribed... Continue Reading →
Source: Practical American Cookery and Domestic Economy, Hall, 1856. This entertaining list of cures for common ails includes: Simple and Effectual Cure for Those Who May Have Accidentally Swallowed a Wasp Note that the instructions indicate the wasp is still alive To Remove Scurvy from the Teeth Red-hot steel rods and white wine vinegar -... Continue Reading →
