Goodspeed Histories: Home cooking in the 1880s

Okay, I confess, I’m buying a little time with this week’s post. It’s an article by Egbert T. Bush on some of his favorite childhood foods—and keep in mind, he’s talking about the 1880s, so we’re in a very different world, here. And since that is nothing like my own experience, I’m letting Mr. Bush have the stage without interruption. Which means I can continue to work on the last of my articles on properties in the old Haddon Tract. What would I do without E. T. Bush?

Buckwheat Cakes and Trimmer Stew (CLICK to read full article)
I went to Google Images to try to find an image of a kitchen of the 1880s vintage and was disappointed with what I saw. Most of the photos seemed like modern recreations. There were very few old photos, and none of them seemed right for Mr. Bush’s article. Went browsing through some old books of mine, but nothing came up. Lots of sitting rooms, dining rooms, entryways and bedrooms. Very few kitchens.

So here’s the closest I could get. It wasn’t good enough for the article, but I’ll share it here, just to give you a feeling for what it was like cooking in a 19th century kitchen. (Keep in mind, this is an idealized version. The real thing was much messier.)

Now off you go to your local farmers’ market, load up on great ingredients and cook yourselves something comforting for this cool, rainy weekend.
Best wishes,
Marfy