On Wed, 20 Mar 2013 10:26:52 -0400, jmcquown >
wrote:

>On 3/20/2013 9:23 AM, Dave Smith wrote:
>> On 20/03/2013 8:43 AM, jmcquown wrote:
>>> On 3/20/2013 12:43 AM, Goomba wrote:
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> I can't imagine how interesting they'd taste with that whopping 1/4
>>>> teaspoon of ginger and allspice in there!?
>>>> I'd certainly double it at least.
>>>
>>> That's one thing I've noticed in these old cookbooks. The people who
>>> submitted them for publication appeared to be terrified of seasonings!
>>>
>>>
>>
>> North American food was more bland back then. It was not until a couple
>> decades later that we started using spicier ingredients in foods. Ginger
>> seems to me to be one of those tastes that a lot of people do no like.
>(snip)
>
>They skimp even on the use of plain ol' black pepper in these old
>recipes. They lean waaaay towards the side of ultra-conservative. 1/4
>tsp. of pepper is hardly worth mentioning in most of the ones I've been
>reading. Granted, I'm not a fan of highly spiced foods; it's too easy
>to go overboard. But measurements like this are a tad goofy
>
>Jill
Alton Brown devotes a whole show to the development of various spice
usage and trade routes and the impact of various social events.
Although most everyone had telephones by the 50's for communication,
you still have to think in terms of generations. Your mother might be
reluctant to try a new herb or spice because her mother never did. The
Watkins man was probably the best exposure most women in the middle US
had to seasonings. Communication was more limited than it is today.
Today if a chef in Hong Kong tries a new approach, it will likely be
on TV and the Internet by next month.
There were a couple of World Wars where every commodity was limited or
unavailable. Women had to go out to work while the men were at war.
Society was changing but the old ways didn't move along at the same
pace.
What I've written is pretty garbled, but just think in terms of
history instead of bad cooks.
Janet US