Texas Frontier Foods II - Elaine Coleman - Bog

Modern methods of cooking are somewhat based on the same methods of frontier times. The biggest difference is that today we have the aid of modern equipment. Our stoves, mixers, blenders, microwaves, and other utensils were not in existence for our ancestors. Recipes used way-back-when are much the same as today's, merely changed to meet the modern times. In frontier times, they used a "pinch" of this, a "dab" of that, a "dollop the size of an egg or walnut" a "smidgen" of seasoning and sometimes the recipe called for "enough liquid to make dough" or "enough flour to make a stiff dough." That wasn't even the best of it; there were those recipes that read "Use your own judgement". Sometimes I think it must have been difficult for a new bride who didn't know how to cook before she was married to know how to judge how much of an ingredient or how long to cook a mixture. It's funny that with all our modern equipment, most of us have to have the ingredients right down to the exact measurement. My mother cooked with a smidgen and a dash, so why can't I? She taught me and I've tried to teach my daughters. My granddaughters will also be taught what a dollop and a pinch mean, in order to follow family traditions. Even after women were presented with stoves for cooking, were not always assured the baking results. Some women had to heat their stoves with fagots, brush, and light kindling. Then hardwood was used because it heated much quicker. The self-sufficient women used four foot wood, split it finely, and piled it in a crisscrossed manner nearly filling the oven. Usually this made a roaring fire for cooking an hour or more. Temperature wise, if you could hold your hand inside the oven for a count of forty, it was right for baking bread. This could be achieved by raking the coals to one side and sweeping off the oven so that the soot didn't get on the bread. A count of twenty could be sufficient for baking rye or Indian bread. To prevent pies and cakes from scorching, an old broom was soaked in water and put on top of the oven until it dried out and the food was done. Now-a-days, we simply turn a dial on the oven to the desired temperature, set the time, and let it cook. Then there's the microwave and the crock pots which makes life so much easier for a working woman. Compare the recipes from frontier times to those we use now. I think you will be more grateful for your modern day conveniences. Follow along with me through the cooking adventures that follow while I explore Texas Frontier Foods.