# colonial cooking and food preserving



## ditzyjan56 (Oct 3, 2009)

Thought this site was interesting and thought others might like to check it out

The Food Timeline: history notes--Colonial America and 17th & 18th century France

there is a wealth of info I thought was appropriate for this site hope you do to.:wave:


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## Emerald (Jun 14, 2010)

Thanks for the cool site! I got it bookmarked for later.
The only thing that I have cooked like the Colonial Williamsburg folks have done is the hanged chicken!

We were camping and had a nice fire pit with big rocks and a up and over set up to hang pots on so I hung a chicken on strings next to the fire and between the biggest rocks and the fire and just kept twisting the sting so that the bird slowly spun around and around with a bowl under it for the drippings and so that the drippings never caught fire under the bird. It took about 1 and 1/2 hours to cook all the way thru and never burnt at all as it was moving almost constantly. (well as long a you remember to twist it up again when it stops going back and forth lol) Very tasty too.
The fire was higher when it started to cook so it sears the outside to seal in the moisture and the it slow cooks the rest of the way. Well worth trying if you are out and camping.


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## *Andi (Nov 8, 2009)

I agree ... Cool Site!

I also bookmarked ... Thanks for sharing!:2thumb:


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## Sonnyjim (Sep 17, 2009)

Thanks for the link. Put into my favorites to read more into it tomorrow.


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## UncleJoe (Jan 11, 2009)

Indeed! Very cool place! :2thumb:


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## ditzyjan56 (Oct 3, 2009)

*another site worth looking into*

From the web site above I went to the following web site and looked at several cookbooks that they have scanned. Several of the cookbooks have good info about preserving food and cooking recipes from the colonial days

Feeding America

Browse the selection of cookbooks and see if you like any of the info there, I liked some of the recipes and some of the general knowledge


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## hooked (Nov 28, 2010)

Interesting sites, thanks.


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## mdprepper (Jan 22, 2010)

Great link. Thank you!


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## semperscott (Nov 7, 2010)

Both good sites; thanks!


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## nj_m715 (Oct 31, 2008)

How about candle making? I can only find info about remelting wax, but nothing about how to make it. It can't be too hard. I found a few easy soap recipes but I haven't tried it yet. Just simply waste vegetable oil and lye, nothing fancy. Wax can't be too different.


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## Emerald (Jun 14, 2010)

nj_m715 said:


> How about candle making? I can only find info about remelting wax, but nothing about how to make it. It can't be too hard. I found a few easy soap recipes but I haven't tried it yet. Just simply waste vegetable oil and lye, nothing fancy. Wax can't be too different.


The paraffin waxes are a petroleum by product of some sort and I'm not sure if a layman can make them. 
But if you have bees-beeswax is all natural and gives off almost no smoke and great light and great smell. -Also if you live in an area where bayberry grows the berries can be gathered and boiled lightly and they give off a bit of wax that is very fragrant and was used mixed with beeswax for candles.
Some people who could not afford to buy beeswax candles but did know where to harvest the bayberry would take them boil the wax off and add to the tallow candles to make the smell more bearable.

Can ya tell I gots too much time on my hands to know all this kind of odd esoteric knowledge!


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## nj_m715 (Oct 31, 2008)

Thanks, I did know about bees wax, but I'm too allergic for that. I has hoping there was a way to do it from animal fat, veg oil or some other natural source. I use veg oil for heat and fuel so I'm looking for other ways to put it to use. It does work ok in oil lamps, but I have an interest in making wax. Heck, we've been doing it for hundreds of years, it can't be too hard. I'll have to look into the berries.


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## gypsysue (Mar 27, 2010)

What about bear or pork fat? There must be a way they made candles out of those in the old days, like tallow candles? I'm not familiar with it, just remembering bits and pieces of books like the Little House on the Prairie books.


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## BadgeBunny (Nov 2, 2010)

I have just gotten interested in fermentation, salting and other ways to preserve food without canning. Got a great book at Hancock's Fabrics (of all places) called The Joy of Pickling by Linda Ziedrich ... 

Between that book and the link you so kindly posted I see a lot of playing around in the kitchen in my future!

Thanks!!:beercheer:


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## nj_m715 (Oct 31, 2008)

That's what I was thinking Sue, but I just can't find anything ( I'm normally pretty good w/ google key words). If veg oil can burn in a wick lantern and soap is just veg oil with a little lye... who knows? I'm half tempted to stick a wick in some home made soap to see what happens. 200 yrs ago everyone had candles. I don't think it all came from bees. That's a lot of hives to tend. 

Bunny, I found a good book at Sam's about preserving food from your garden. Covers freezing, dehydrating, root cellars etc. Tons of info for only $6.


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## Emerald (Jun 14, 2010)

nj_m715 said:


> That's what I was thinking Sue, but I just can't find anything ( I'm normally pretty good w/ google key words). If veg oil can burn in a wick lantern and soap is just veg oil with a little lye... who knows? I'm half tempted to stick a wick in some home made soap to see what happens. 200 yrs ago everyone had candles. I don't think it all came from bees. That's a lot of hives to tend.
> 
> Bunny, I found a good book at Sam's about preserving food from your garden. Covers freezing, dehydrating, root cellars etc. Tons of info for only $6.


With a heat proof jar some wire and wicking you can make a nice veggy oil lamp.
Homemade Vegetable Oil Lamp
I've done it with olive oil and a bit of cotton from a cotton ball.
Olive oil doesn't seem to wick up too far so I did have to adjust the hight of the wick in the oil but it burns clean and doesn't smell funny.


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## tac803 (Nov 21, 2010)

My Mom and I used to make christmas candles out of paraffin. We'd melt the paraffin in a pan placed in boiling water on the stove, use twine for wicks, and a quart milk carton for the mold. We would put a washer through the end of the wick that sits on the bottom of the carton to keep the wick centered, and tie the top of the wick to a pencil, letting it rest on the top of the carton. We used crayons melted in the wax to give it color. Believe it or not, she would also use the egg beater to whip some of the left over paraffin and use it like frosting on the outside of the Christmas candles. We also used cans, as long as they didn't have lips on the top....dang near impossible to get the finished candle out. We would also make multi colored candles. Just pour one color, let it harden...then the next, and so on.
Fun activities for a cold winter day, from a long time ago lol.


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## SaskDame (Aug 27, 2010)

Wax is a petrolium product or a product made by bees in a hive.
Candles were historically made of tallow (seal/beef fat) or bees wax. 
You cannot "make" wax it is a basic ingredient.
Candles are wick and wax in a mold or wick dipped in the wax to build up to a size you want to burn.


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## UncleJoe (Jan 11, 2009)

nj_m715 said:


> Bunny, I found a good book at Sam's about preserving food from your garden. Covers freezing, dehydrating, root cellars etc. Tons of info for only $6.


You can never go wrong with th Ball Blue Book Of Canning. It's been the "bible" of food preservation for generations.

Amazon.com: Jarden Home Brands 21400 Ball Blue Book: No Author Noted: Kitchen & Dining


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## gypsysue (Mar 27, 2010)

nj_m715 said:


> That's what I was thinking Sue, but I just can't find anything ( I'm normally pretty good w/ google key words). If veg oil can burn in a wick lantern and soap is just veg oil with a little lye... who knows? I'm half tempted to stick a wick in some home made soap to see what happens. 200 yrs ago everyone had candles. I don't think it all came from bees. That's a lot of hives to tend.


One of the things I would consider is whether it's safe to burn the homemade soap with lye in it. Could there be fumes that shouldn't be breathed?

I found some directions for tallow candles in "Encyclopedia of Country Living" by Carla Emery:

"Tallow. Save your firm, clean hunks of fat from butchering, about 2 pounds of tallow for each doezn candles you plan to make. Render out the tallow as you do in lard making, by heating to melt it, and then straining through a cloth. Then skim your candle tallow off the top. It helps in final appearance to go through the whole procedure again with your once-skimmed tallow: melt, strain, and skim to get your final candle-making tallow."

In the wicking section it says: "You can buy wicking or make your own. If you're a spinner, you can loosely spin hemp, tow, cotton, or milweed "silk" for wicks. Or just twist the material together tightly as best you can. You can make wicks out of common rushes by stripping part of the outer bark from them, leaving the pith bare. You can make wick out of string or make long cotton wicks out of cloth strings made by tearing cotton rags. It helps to braid it. For wicking you could also use old wicks from used candles, commercial wicking from candle suppliers, or pipe cleaners. A wire center makes it burn brighter. I wick too narrow for the diameter of your candle will not be strong enough and will let the flame get drowned in the melting wax. A wick that is too thick will smoke. To improve the final action, soak your wicking in limewater and saltpeter, limewater alone, vinegar, or saltpeter alone. Then dry."

"Making Dipped Tallow Candles: Tie a wick to a stick and dip into melted tallow. Let harden, and then dip again. Continue in this way until your candle is big enough to suit you. You can make more than one candle at a time by tying several wicks to a stick and dippin them all at once. For the first dip, wet your wicks in the tallow. they will probably want to float, and you'll have to help them into it. When cool, straighten and smooth them. Then dip again. If the bottoms get too large, hold them in the hot tallow until part melts off. After they've hung all night to cool, you can cut off the bottoms and trim around the base to get a nice bottom that will fit into your candleholder."

"More Dipping Tips: Tying a small weight, such as a little steel bolt (I've heard of using washers, too) to the bottom of the wick will help keep it straight. Another hint is to alternate dips into the hot tallow with dips into cool water to speed cooling, but you can't dip it into the tallow again until the candle is dry. About 30 dips make an average candle."

Gee, now I want to try this! I still have rendered bear lard, maybe I should get out a jar. If I do, I'll post pictures.


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## efbjr (Oct 20, 2008)

*Easy solution...*



tac803 said:


> We also used cans, as long as they didn't have lips on the top....dang near impossible to get the finished candle out.


Use a side cutting can opener, the kind that takes the entire can top off, cut off both ends of the can/mold and push finished candle out.


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## nj_m715 (Oct 31, 2008)

Emerald said:


> With a heat proof jar some wire and wicking you can make a nice veggy oil lamp.
> Homemade Vegetable Oil Lamp
> I've done it with olive oil and a bit of cotton from a cotton ball.
> Olive oil doesn't seem to wick up too far so I did have to adjust the hight of the wick in the oil but it burns clean and doesn't smell funny.


Good link. I like the non-spill feature of a candle, but I finally had a chance to try it this weekend when my family went to Hersey Park. They work just like candles.


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## Emerald (Jun 14, 2010)

nj_m715 said:


> Good link. I like the non-spill feature of a candle, but I finally had a chance to try it this weekend when my family went to Hersey Park. They work just like candles.


While at the thrift shop this last week looking for little glass bottles I found something that I had seen years ago in either a magazine or on a crafty type show- it was a wine bottle lamp.
it is basically just a ceramic "cork" that has a nice round cotton wick that goes thru it and fits in standard wine bottles(or my little coke bottle that I found at the park) and a blown glass "chimney" so that once you light the wick it isn't as easy to blow out or to have things get into the flame.
Uses just plain ol' liquid paraffin or lamp kerosene.
Winelight They still make them Just checked out the price of what I got- the wine light ceramic and wick was about $3.95 and the flame protector/chimney sells for $12.50--So I got a deal as it was all brand new in the package for .99¢.


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## JayJay (Nov 23, 2010)

Emerald or anyone here...someone posted to use old blue jeans for wicks...willl they last long or smoke>??

Cause I got lots of jeans too small..


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## nj_m715 (Oct 31, 2008)

I never tried, but it should work. It's cotton. I like fiberglass rope the best. It burns down very slow so it doesn't need as much adjusting as cotton. 
One thing to remember about the jeans and fiberglass is that chemicals from the wick are getting burned and put into the air. If it's outside, then it no problem. But it's something to think about if it's inside. Personally I'm not too worried about it. The lamp's not light all day and the wick is consumed very slowly. It's probably more dangerous to stand on the corner and have a bus drive by or eat fast food.


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## Emerald (Jun 14, 2010)

I didn't know that about jeans, but it is good to know- I use my old jeans to make quilts with.
Now I have heard that you can macrame using cotton twine/or crochet cotton(all cotton) using the same knot that kids make those rainbow bracelets with new wicks for your oil lamps. I also remember the post talking about soaking them in salt water* and then letting them dry as it makes them burn evenly. If I remember which thread(heck even which forum!) I will try to get it and post it.
*Ok the reason for salting is to make the wick 1. last longer and 2. it keeps the wick from charring too much and thus smoking.
I did find the knot that I was thinking of and it was a double half hitch. But you can do the half hitch without using a stick.. lol
Macrame.
Sure making a lamp wick with thin crochet cotton might take awhile but then after TSHTF we will all have much more time to make things when the computers are no longer running!


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## LilRedHen (Aug 28, 2011)

ditzyjan56 said:


> Thought this site was interesting and thought others might like to check it out
> 
> The Food Timeline: history notes--Colonial America and 17th & 18th century France
> 
> there is a wealth of info I thought was appropriate for this site hope you do to.:wave:


I'm really enjoying this site. I think I will use some of the info for a presentation at my historical society:congrat:


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## stayingthegame (Mar 22, 2011)

tallow or beef fat can be used for candles. it will smoke a lot though. you will need a can a little deeper than the length of your candle. basically, take a string and hang a washer or other weight on it. now dip the string in the tallow and let it soak for a few minutes. pull out and take your fingers and "wipe" them gently down the string. let harden and dry about 1/2 to 1 hour. now start dipping the string into the tallow and let hang to dry between each dipping. this will you will need to do until the candle is the size you want. you can also use a candle mold to make these. this way will also work with paraffin wax and beeswax. candle and soap making with generally done shortly after a slaughter. the tallow must be rendered clean just as for soap. no meat or debris. I have used this method for the fun of it when my kids were little, it takes a lot of effort and a long time to make dip candles. but if the shtf happens we will have a lot of time to do things differently. you can also take veggie oil and float it on some water. take a piece of metal and put a small hole in it, bend or dent the metal from edge to edge, now put a very short piece of string though that hole. the oil should be able to reach the wick. this will burn until the water reaches the wick.


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## stayingthegame (Mar 22, 2011)

*the history of candles*

National Candle Association: About Candles - History of Candles
here is a web site about the history of candle making.


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## lhalfcent (Mar 11, 2010)

i have been reading biographies of Ben Franklin and Thomas Jefferson and next will be George Washington. Anyways, something people back then suffered from and is showing up today again is Gout. Gout came about from eating a heavy meat diet without enough greens and such. 
Ben Franklin suffered gout terribly. It turns into a type of arthritis if left without proper treatement and is painful.
Anyway, this got me thinking on preservation methods and trying to learn what not to do in preservation that could end up encouraging things like gout etc.
One thing i been doing alot of is dehyrating greens like kale and spinach and then I grind into a really fine powder and mix into foods and juices. Cuz my two youngest are so cotton pickin finicky the only way i can get proper nutrition in their diet is by making a blend or rainbow blend of fruits and veggies heavy on kale and spinach. mix it right it has a neutral taste only the color is green. lol
but they don't mind the color much anymore. and they know they are eating my blend.
they have such a issue with texture and such it is so hard to get them to eat many fresh foods. 
but we are making progress. the more i involve them in preserving and such the more interested they become in fact my 9 year old finally tried some cured ham and some bacon and loved it! lol
anyway, thought i would add my 1/2 cent worth.


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## lhalfcent (Mar 11, 2010)

stayingthegame said:


> National Candle Association: About Candles - History of Candles
> here is a web site about the history of candle making.


OH! talking about candles, i learned in some old mag i was reading about the native indians and the romans that they would use dried stalks of mullein the top flower part gets super dry and hard and they would dip that in tallow and burn it like torches! 
we tried that last year and I have to tell ya, it works wonderful!
I cut mullein stalks and stripped off all leaves leaving the top to dry. left them to dry upside down so they would be straight and kept as much of the stalk intact. 
then when dry the stalk is real hard so you can stick in the ground if you can or we put them in coffee type cans filled with sand to make them stand up and lit them. 
A few i dipped into tallow or animal fat and a few I dipped in beeswax and a couple i dipped in a 50/50 blend of tallow and beeswax.
the 50/50 blend lasted the longest.  just and fyi


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## oldvet (Jun 29, 2010)

lhalfcent said:


> OH! talking about candles, i learned in some old mag i was reading about the native indians and the romans that they would use dried stalks of mullein the top flower part gets super dry and hard and they would dip that in tallow and burn it like torches!
> we tried that last year and I have to tell ya, it works wonderful!
> I cut mullein stalks and stripped off all leaves leaving the top to dry. left them to dry upside down so they would be straight and kept as much of the stalk intact.
> then when dry the stalk is real hard so you can stick in the ground if you can or we put them in coffee type cans filled with sand to make them stand up and lit them.
> ...


Hey kiddo, what the heck is mullein? Is that what we call cat tails?

Sounds like a heck of a good idea and as soon as i find out what plant it is I will give it a try.


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## mikesolid (Aug 24, 2011)

Great site. thanks for finding and sharing.


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## lhalfcent (Mar 11, 2010)

oldvet said:


> Hey kiddo, what the heck is mullein? Is that what we call cat tails?
> 
> Sounds like a heck of a good idea and as soon as i find out what plant it is I will give it a try.


mullein is that tall plant near marshes or out in a meadow that has those large fuzzy leaves. the flower stalk can get real high and produces sweet smelling yellow flowers that make a great medicine for coughs. Use the leaves for colds and such also.
Anyway, when fall comes and they start drying up they are the tall things that take on a rust brown look. 
just strip the leaves and use the rest.
here is good link with a pictures and medicinal uses.

Mullein

but here is the best site on using mullein.
Mullein Plant: 4 Components for making Fire |


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## dmsublime (Sep 26, 2011)

Great link for the ex culinary student  thanks a ton!


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## oldvet (Jun 29, 2010)

lhalfcent said:


> mullein is that tall plant near marshes or out in a meadow that has those large fuzzy leaves. the flower stalk can get real high and produces sweet smelling yellow flowers that make a great medicine for coughs. Use the leaves for colds and such also.
> Anyway, when fall comes and they start drying up they are the tall things that take on a rust brown look.
> just strip the leaves and use the rest.
> here is good link with a pictures and medicinal uses.
> ...


Thanks for the info and that plant is a new one on me, (not that it's hard for me to miss something like that) :scratch) and I do like that site.


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## lhalfcent (Mar 11, 2010)

that site is a good one for certain. i like finding practical stuff and seeing real people put it to practice.


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## Ezmerelda (Oct 17, 2010)

I don't have anything material to add, I just want to make sure I don't lose sight of this thread, since I don't have the time just now to explore all the great links everyone has posted...

:threadbump::threadbump::threadbump::threadbump:


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