chickenflower
Member
Some of the best cookbooks I have are the really old ones. The ones that call walnuts "walnuts meats", instructions on how to prepare poultry includes cutting off the head and feet, and endless pages of jellied salads.
These books were written in a better (maybe) times, when one income could support a family. The husband usually worked, and the little woman stayed home and kept the house. (Before washing machines, who had time for a 40 hour job anyway!) For better or for worse, people believed in conservation, frugality, industriousness and hard work. People probably made their own soap as a necessity, not a fun hobby. And in 1954, Five Roses published a cookbook with these wonderful instructions on how to make soap. No coconut oil or shea butter to be found. How novel would it be nowadays to make soap out of oil that fish has been fried in, or roast drippings, or bacon fat? (Although I know chefs who would buy bacon soap by the truckload.) It's just a step away from preparing your own lye from wood ash, and when I find a cookbook that old, my collection might just be complete.
These books were written in a better (maybe) times, when one income could support a family. The husband usually worked, and the little woman stayed home and kept the house. (Before washing machines, who had time for a 40 hour job anyway!) For better or for worse, people believed in conservation, frugality, industriousness and hard work. People probably made their own soap as a necessity, not a fun hobby. And in 1954, Five Roses published a cookbook with these wonderful instructions on how to make soap. No coconut oil or shea butter to be found. How novel would it be nowadays to make soap out of oil that fish has been fried in, or roast drippings, or bacon fat? (Although I know chefs who would buy bacon soap by the truckload.) It's just a step away from preparing your own lye from wood ash, and when I find a cookbook that old, my collection might just be complete.
