I was recently given some reprinted nineteenth century cook books
originally written by Charles Francatelli (Queen Victoria's chef),
Oscar Tschirky of the Waldorf, Eliza Acton and a reprinted edition of
Fannie Farmer's 1896 cook book, and some others.

The language of some of them is rather "quaint", but does anybody
know if any of the recipes are any good by today's standards? I have
been told that even Oscar's original Waldorf salad is not the same as
is served today. Are any of them worth attempting? I am new to cooking
and if I tried some of these recipes and they didn't work out I
wouldn't know if it was just because it was an old-fashioned recipe
or if it was me that had messed up.

Also, does anyone know if there is a compilation of "the best of"
Francatelli, Oscar of the Waldorf, Fannie Farmer, etc. in a single
volume that would be worth getting hold of?

Chris (UK).

On 2006-08-09, Chris > wrote:

> I was recently given some reprinted nineteenth century cook books
> originally written by Charles Francatelli (Queen Victoria's chef),
> Oscar Tschirky of the Waldorf,

Those guys in the Muppets are great!

--
And on special dank midnights in August he peeks
out of the shutters and sometimes he speaks
and tells how the Lorax was lifted away. [Dr. Seuss]

"Chris" > wrote in message
ups.com...

> I was recently given some reprinted nineteenth
> century cook books ... The language of some
> of them is rather "quaint", but does anybody
> know if any of the recipes are any good by today's
> standards?

Sure, depending on the recipe, of course. A number of "today's" recipes are
quite horrifying to my taste, so mileage is always going to vary.

> Are any of them worth attempting? I am new
> to cooking and if I tried some of these recipes
> and they didn't work out I wouldn't know if it
> was just because it was an old-fashioned recipe
> or if it was me that had messed up.

Many old recipes are worth trying. However, a lot of them are predicated on
the idea that you already know how to cook -- that you have a certain
knowledgebase which, if you're new to cooking, you may not have.

If the recipes make sense to you and you can figure out quantities (if
you've got specific quantities listed, your recipes are probably not so very
old), you might find it fun to experiment.

-j

"Chris" > wrote:

>The language of some of them is rather "quaint", but does anybody
>know if any of the recipes are any good by today's standards? I have
>been told that even Oscar's original Waldorf salad is not the same as
>is served today. Are any of them worth attempting? I am new to cooking
>and if I tried some of these recipes and they didn't work out I
>wouldn't know if it was just because it was an old-fashioned recipe
>or if it was me that had messed up.

One thing to keep in mind, and it trips up experienced cooks too [1],
is that the foodstuffs listed as ingredients are sometimes
considerably different from what is currently available today. The
canonical example is pork - which is far leaner today than
historically. (I've had problems with recipies from the *19*70's
because of this.) Another example is bread - the crap that comes from
your mega mart (even from their 'bakery') is considerably different
from what was available then.

[1] Many very experienced cooks have no knowledge of reproduction
cookery, redaction, etc... etc... It's something that simply isn't
taught - and there are no good books on the topic.

D.
--
Touch-twice life. Eat. Drink. Laugh.

-Resolved: To be more temperate in my postings.
Oct 5th, 2004 JDL

Chris wrote:
> I was recently given some reprinted nineteenth century cook books
> originally written by Charles Francatelli (Queen Victoria's chef),
> Oscar Tschirky of the Waldorf, Eliza Acton and a reprinted edition of
> Fannie Farmer's 1896 cook book, and some others.

I actually prefere these old books over more modern versions. and have
a large collection including an 1875 "White House Cook Book" and a
reprint of the 17th century "Williamsburg" cook book. Escoffier's "La
Grand Cuisine" is inspirational for me and i have a small inhereted
collection of recipies cribed from a former chef of the Waldorf Astoria
in the 1920's.

I like the purity of the foods, the lack of commercial ingrediants and
the need to build from the ground up with these recipes, layering
flavors as one goes along.

But then i like Proust and all things recherche.
>
> The language of some of them is rather "quaint", but does anybody
> know if any of the recipes are any good by today's standards?

Many of them are not only very good but i personaly would never have
thought to serve a filet of fish in a baked potato with some prawns and
a cheese sauce.
---
JL

> I have
> been told that even Oscar's original Waldorf salad is not the same as
> is served today. Are any of them worth attempting? I am new to cooking
> and if I tried some of these recipes and they didn't work out I
> wouldn't know if it was just because it was an old-fashioned recipe
> or if it was me that had messed up.
>
> Also, does anyone know if there is a compilation of "the best of"
> Francatelli, Oscar of the Waldorf, Fannie Farmer, etc. in a single
> volume that would be worth getting hold of?
>
> Chris (UK).

JL > wrote:
>Many of them are not only very good but i personaly would never have
>thought to serve a filet of fish in a baked potato with some prawns and
>a cheese sauce.

You could serve a crescent wrench in a baked potato with
prawns and cheese sauce.

--Blair

Blair P. Houghton wrote:
> JL > wrote:
> >Many of them are not only very good but i personaly would never have
> >thought to serve a filet of fish in a baked potato with some prawns and
> >a cheese sauce.
>
> You could serve a crescent wrench in a baked potato with
> prawns and cheese sauce.
>
> --Blair

Yes i suppose you could and you could also osculate my ostentatiously
displayed derriere.
---
JL

JL wrote:
> Blair P. Houghton wrote:
> > JL > wrote:
> > >Many of them are not only very good but i personaly would never have
> > >thought to serve a filet of fish in a baked potato with some prawns and
> > >a cheese sauce.
> >
> > You could serve a crescent wrench in a baked potato with
> > prawns and cheese sauce.
> >
> > --Blair
>
> Yes i suppose you could and you could also osculate my ostentatiously
> displayed derriere.
> ---
> JL

Blair:

I have just beeen presented with an alternative interpretation of your
comment above.

I was not aware of the idiomatic usage by which you refere to a 'monkey
wrench'. It was explained to me that this indicates that virtually
anything in a baked potato with prawns and a cheese sauce would be
good. The type or use of language of the Chef "Emril" was cited as an
example.

While it still seems sarcastic to me, i will admit, less so. And
distinctly leaves open the possibility that i misinterpreted the intent
of your written words.

As a form of humour, I prefere self referential irony over affectionate
sarcasm but to each their own.

I assume the attempted humor of my own responce was enough to render
the more inflamatory aspects of it obviously redundant?
---
Joseph Littleshoes

JL > wrote:
>I assume the attempted humor of my own responce was enough to render
>the more inflamatory aspects of it obviously redundant?

After I ran out of alternative senses for "osculated," yes.

--Blair