Valuable info in Vintage cookbooks

[ice_maiden]

I love really old cookbooks because they are truly from scratch recipes but many of them also contain  very useful (sometimes forgotten) info for van life, camping and homesteading.

I picked up a local church one the other day that had no date but I found that one of the advertisers was in business from 1906 - 1915 so the book is some where in that range.

Beside some good recipes the info that I found that could possibly be useful here is quoted as follows.......

To Prevent Lamp wicks from smoking ... soak in vinegar and let dry thoroughly.

To preserve eggs for winter (without refrigeration)...Take 1 pint of air-slaked lime, 1-2 pints of common table salt, 3 gallons of water; put in a large stone jar and put eggs in carefully, so as to not crack them. This will keep the eggs one year and the whites will beat up fresh. The brine should thoroughly cover the eggs.

The last one intrigued me a bit so I went looking for more info and found someone who had tested it, although he did so without the salt.

Here is an excerpt from that site:

According to Townsend’s video, though, one method stood out. He says the best way to preserve raw eggs is to store them in a solution of slaked lime (you can find it at a building supply store) and water, which, in his test, had a 100 percent success rate after eight months. That same Genesee Farmer article claimed this method could preserve eggs for six years or longer.

full link HERE for those that want to read more

the site did mention that this is for fresh yard eggs and not commercial eggs

 

[wagoneer]

cool!

 

[Weight]

Get your lime from a garden supply. You want hydrated lime. It is used for plants. Other lime is available that can cause burns with skin contact.

 

[ice_maiden]

I only quoted the site but air-slated lime is pickling lime.... so I think I would look more at canning supplies... it is food graded lime

 

[highdesertranger]

I have a few old cook books, what I have difficulty with is sometimes the ingredients they call for I have never heard of before. highdesertranger

 

[Every Road Leads Home]

I like this idea, I think we have some old cookbooks at the family summer cottage, going to have to look next time i'm down there.