The official blog of Denise M. Baran-Unland, author. Discover her books for all ages at bryonyseries.com.
Showing posts with label The Supersizers. Show all posts
Showing posts with label The Supersizers. Show all posts
Thursday, July 21, 2011
Thursday, July 14, 2011
Thursday, July 7, 2011
Thursday, June 30, 2011
Thursday, June 23, 2011
Thursday, June 16, 2011
Thursday, March 3, 2011
Thursday, February 24, 2011
Thursday, February 17, 2011
Food Safety, Victorian-Style
In Part Four of The Supersizers Go Victorian, it is mentioned that half of all the period's street was contaminated.
Certainly, careful food storage was more challenging in the Victorian era than it is today. Perhaps, Melissa's aversion to many of the foodstuffs she encountered in 1890s Bryony kept her safe, a moot point when one is cavorting with vampires.
According to the 1850 version of Miss Beecher's domestic receiptbook: designed as a supplment to her Treatise on domestic economy, the following recommendations are given:
* After smoked beef or ham is cut, hang it in a coarse linen bag in the cellar and tie up to keep out flies.
* To restore rancid butter: Put fifteen drops of chloride of lime to a pint of water and and work the butter in it until every particle has come in contact with the water.
* Flour stored in barrels needs no other care other than putting it in a cool, dry place, where it is well-protected from rats and cockroaches.
* All salted provision must be watched and kept under the brine. When the brine looks bloody or smells badly, it must be scalded, and more salt put to it, and poured over the meat.
* Codfish is improved by changing it, once in awhile, back and forth from garret to cellar. Some dislike to have it in the house anywhere. Salt fish barrels must not be kept by other food, as they impart a fishy smell and taste to it.
* Cabbages and turnips in the cellar often impart a bad smell to the house. All decayed vegetable matter should be kept out of the cellar, as it creates a miasma, that sometimes causes the most fatal diseases.
Excuse me while I check the thermostat on my refrigerator.
Certainly, careful food storage was more challenging in the Victorian era than it is today. Perhaps, Melissa's aversion to many of the foodstuffs she encountered in 1890s Bryony kept her safe, a moot point when one is cavorting with vampires.
According to the 1850 version of Miss Beecher's domestic receiptbook: designed as a supplment to her Treatise on domestic economy, the following recommendations are given:
* After smoked beef or ham is cut, hang it in a coarse linen bag in the cellar and tie up to keep out flies.
* To restore rancid butter: Put fifteen drops of chloride of lime to a pint of water and and work the butter in it until every particle has come in contact with the water.
* Flour stored in barrels needs no other care other than putting it in a cool, dry place, where it is well-protected from rats and cockroaches.
* All salted provision must be watched and kept under the brine. When the brine looks bloody or smells badly, it must be scalded, and more salt put to it, and poured over the meat.
* Codfish is improved by changing it, once in awhile, back and forth from garret to cellar. Some dislike to have it in the house anywhere. Salt fish barrels must not be kept by other food, as they impart a fishy smell and taste to it.
* Cabbages and turnips in the cellar often impart a bad smell to the house. All decayed vegetable matter should be kept out of the cellar, as it creates a miasma, that sometimes causes the most fatal diseases.
Excuse me while I check the thermostat on my refrigerator.
Thursday, February 10, 2011
It's Not All Top Hats, Ball Gowns, and Carriages
Culinary arts student Timothy Baran speaks his mind on the latest Supersizer video.
When you think picnic lunch, do dead, baby squirrels and candied maggots come to mind?
No? Then the Victorian era is not for you. I always thought this elegant time in history would produce elegant food. Now it seems they often cooked with anything they found lying around their backyard or basement.
I'm fairly open about trying new foods, but I don’t know why people didn’t starve back then. Between this meal and the canned meat in the previous episode, I would have died long before the Victorian era ended.
When you think picnic lunch, do dead, baby squirrels and candied maggots come to mind?
No? Then the Victorian era is not for you. I always thought this elegant time in history would produce elegant food. Now it seems they often cooked with anything they found lying around their backyard or basement.
I'm fairly open about trying new foods, but I don’t know why people didn’t starve back then. Between this meal and the canned meat in the previous episode, I would have died long before the Victorian era ended.
Thursday, February 3, 2011
Thursday, January 27, 2011
If I Were Melissa, I Would Have Starved
A picture is definitely worth a thousand groans.
Watching the Supersizers Go Victorian series is really bringing Melissa's culinary experiences to life for me. It's one thing to imagine a calves head sitting on your table, but seeing it makes me want to flee back to the twentieth century, at least until after mealtime.
Another surprise was the tinned meat. Some appeared on Bryony's breakfast tray, but I had envisioned it looking more like Spam (yuck), not the jellied mass in the video. However, had it been true Spam, Melissa, being a child of the '70s, probably would have recognized it and not been so revolted.
I used to be open-minded about trying new recipes (barring allergies), but now, I'm not sure. How adventurous are you with unusual foodstuffs?
Thursday, January 13, 2011
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