Once again I found myself wandering through our
town antiques emporium, and since I can't control myself, I emerged with a few
interesting old cookbooks. More like
pamphlets, actually—all were promotional giveaways, for spices, the glories of
cooking with gas, or Lydia Pinkham.
Lydia Pinkham is by now forgotten, save for a few sniggers here and there. Why? Because she made a very popular medicinal tonic for "female problems." (It's all right, guy readers—I won't go into details.) She was born in 1819 to the Quaker Estes family in Lynn, Massachusetts and was a strong supporter of the Anti-Slavery movement there. She married local shoe manufacturer Isaac Pinkham in 1843.
Unfortunately Isaac was not the best of
businessmen, and he went bust in the Panic of 1873. That's when Lydia stepped in, with the help
of her offspring, with the production and marketing of her Vegetable Compound,
which became one of the best known patent medicines of the 19th
century. In her advertising copy, women
were urged to write directly to her, and they received answers (from staff
members)—including long after her death.
The original formula contained pleurisy root, life
root, fenugreek, unicorn root, and black cohosh (no, I don't recognize all
those lovely roots). Later motherwort,
Jamaican dogwood, licorice, gentian and dandelion were added.
And the original formula contained 18%
alcohol. No wonder so many women felt
better after taking it!
The pamphlet I acquired is titled Practical Cooking Recipes (no date, but
ca. 1920-25), and the pages contain more or less equal parts recipes and
heartfelt endorsements from satisfied customers. It makes most entertaining
reading.
Lydia Pinkham's Applesauce Cake
The original version is a little strange. If you're wondering, "saleratus" is
baking soda. I did a bit of tinkering to
make the recipe work today.
1 cup sugar
½ cup shortening
½ tsp each: salt, cloves, cinnamon, allspice
1 tsp baking soda
1 cup unsweetened applesauce
2 cups flour
1 cup raisins
The result is a dense, moist cake which surprised me with its
flavor. And note that there are no eggs
or butter in it, so it's good for you!
I just saw the episode of The Andy Griffith Show where Aunt Bea got some tonic- which was 85% alcohol! lol I do love those old recipe brochures. I'd like to try this recipe, but I'll substitute craisins for the raisins.
ReplyDeleteMy Mother made me take some of that when I was a teen for "female" problems. It was the most awful tasting stuff ever!!! The cake looks o.k. though.
ReplyDeleteSheila, this woman cracks me up. I loved that episode of The Andy Griffith Show. I might have to make this cake just to watch the applesauce foam.
ReplyDelete~ Krista
I love old recipe books. That looks pretty good to me!
ReplyDeleteSheila, I admire your commitment to history. Wonderful! And no eggs and no butter? Wow. Got to try this one.
ReplyDelete~Avery aka Daryl
I will try this. I just got applesauce and raisins in, so this is perfect. Also, this makes me wonder why I've never tried recipes from my Grandmother's cookbooks.
ReplyDelete