Retro recipes

I celebrated a birthday last week and my brother gave me a fabulous new cookbook. It is a reprint of the 1934 edition of the Zion United Methodist Church cookbook from Gordonville. Of course being a United Methodist myself, it has extra special meaning. The book includes advertisements, and they are wonderful. What an incredible difference from today's advertising.

All of the recipes in the book are in paragraph form and names of the people who submitted the recipes are ones I have heard all of my life.

It is a special addition to my collection, and I hope you can add it to your collection as well.

I will randomly pull out a few recipes to include here today to give you an idea of recipes from the 1930s.

Take a look at the language in some of the recipes.

Peach Punch

submitted by Mrs. John Deneke

1 cupful sugar, 2 cupfuls water, 1/4 cupful orange juice, 2 cupfuls sliced peaches and juice, 1/4 cupful lemon juice. Mineral or ice water. Boil the water and sugar together for one minute; then set aside to cool. Force the peaches through a sieve and combine the pulp with the orange and lemon juice. Add to the cold syrup and let chill thoroughly. Just before serving strain and dilute to taste with either mineral or ice water.

Baking Powder Biscuits

submitted by Herman Sander

3/4 quart of flour, 2 teaspoonfuls baking powder, 1 teaspoon salt, lard the size of an egg, 1 cupful sweet milk. Make a soft dough and bake in a hot oven.

Pineapple Scotch Cake

submitted by Mrs. William Kuehle

1/2 cupful shortening, 3 eggs, 1 cupful sugar, 2 cupfuls flour, 2/3 cupful milk, 3 teaspoonfuls baking powder, 1/2 teaspoonful salt, 1 teaspoonful vanilla. Grease round skillet, line with 1/2 inch brown sugar, dot with butter. Place slices of pineapple. Pour the cake batter over the pineapple and bake.

Fruit Loaf

submitted by Lillian Nothdurft

Roll powdered sugar smooth. Mix with sweet cream, flavor with vanilla. Must be thick enough to roll out on baking board. Add walnuts, raisins and dates chopped. Roll out, cut into squares.

Peanut Butter Fudge

submitted by Minnie Heimberg

2 cups granulated sugar, 2/3 cups milk, 4 tablespoons peanut butter, 3 teaspoons cocoa, pinch salt, 1 teaspoon vanilla, 3 tablespoons syrup. Mix sugar and cocoa, add milk and syrup, boil to soft ball stage. Remove from the fire, add remaining ingredients. Beat until creamy. Pour into buttered pan. Cool and cut in squares.

Sweet Pickle Relish

submitted by Hattie Fuhrmann

5 cups green tomatoes (cut fine), 5 cups cabbage (cut fine), 3 large sweet peppers, 4 onions, 2 tablespoons mustard, 1 teaspoon celery seed, 4 cups vinegar, 1 cup brown sugar, 1 cup white sugar, salt to taste. Mix all together; cook until tender and seal in tight jars.

Note: This recipe from the 1930s does not include proper canning practices for safe preservation. Now, we would cook and seal jars according to directions for safe canning practices.

Dinner Treat

submitted by Mrs. Arthur Hinck

Boil 3 large sweet potatoes until tender, then peel and cut in halves lengthwise. In shallow baking dish, place the potatoes. Cover with pan-broiled link sausages, two or three to each potato, and sliced apples. Sprinkle with 1/4 cup water. Cover the dish and bake in a moderate oven for 30 to 40 minutes.

Butterscotch Apples

submitted by Luella Deneke

5 apples, 2/3 cup brown sugar, 1/2 cup water, 2/3 cup milk, 1/2 tablespoon cornstarch, 1/2 to 1 tablespoon butter, 1/2 teaspoon vanilla. Wash apples, cut into quarters, pare or quarter. Heat sugar and water in a saucepan. When the syrup boils, add apples. Cover and boil gently until apples are tender. Remove apples from syrup. Place fruit in sherbet glasses. In another pan, mix milk and cornstarch. Stir and cook until it boils. Add to syrup in which apples were cooked. Add salt, butter and vanilla. Stir into mixture; pour sauce over apples. Serve hot or cold.

Cocoa Drop Cookies

submitted by Gladys Rasche

1/2 cup butter, 5 tablespoons cocoa, 1/2 cup sweet milk, 1 1/2 cups brown sugar, 1 egg, 2 cups flour, 1 teaspoon vanilla, 2 cups flour, 1/2 cup chopped nuts. Mix as any butter cake. Drop from spoon on buttered tin. Bake in moderate oven. Caution, these cookies burn easily.

Prune Molasses Cookies

submitted by Mrs. W. F. Neumeier

2 cups cooked prunes, 1 cup shortening, 1 cup brown sugar, 1 cup white sugar, 3 eggs, 1/2 cup molasses, 3/4 cup milk, 5 1/2 cups flour, 8 teaspoons baking powder, 1/4 teaspoon soda, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon ginger, 1/2 cup chopped nutmeats. Boil prunes 30 minutes, then drain. Remove pits and cut in small pieces. Cream shortening with white and brown sugar; add beaten eggs, molasses and milk, mix well. Combine flour, sifted with baking powder, soda, salt and spice. Beat well, add prunes and nutmeats and blend. Drop from spoon into greased pan and bake about 12 minutes in hot oven.

Pfeffernuesse

submitted by Alene Neumeyer

4 eggs, 2 cups sugar, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, 1/2 teaspoon allspice, 1/2 teaspoon cloves, 1/2 teaspoon hartshorn, flour enough to stiffen and roll.

I wish I had room to share other recipes. Have a wonderful week and, until next time, happy cooking.

Susan McClanahan is administrator at the Cape Girardeau Senior Center. Send recipes to smcclanahan@semissourian.com or by mail to P.O. Box 699, Cape Girardeau, Mo. 63701. Recipes have not been kitchen-tested.