Heart to Hearth Cookery

Posted by: hearttohearthcookery | August 7, 2009

Chocolate Demonstration at the Ward-Heitmann House

Preparing a chocolate cake

I am driving to Connecticut today so if you are in the area of West Haven, you might consider visiting the Ward-Heightman House (http//:www.wardheitmann.org) Saturday August 8th from 10 am to 4 pm. This is the museum’s Annual Ice Cream social but I will be doing my complete chocolate cake preparation on the metate and roasting raw cacao beans.

Please make me aware if you visit and have come after reading this blog.

Thank you and hope to see some of you there!

If you cannot come or want hands on experence roasting and preparing 100% pure chocolate, my next Chocolate Workshop is February 6, 2010 and information can be found by clicking the Current Class button on my website www.hearttohearthcookery.com.

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Posted in chocolate, confectionery, culinary history, food history, Hearth cooking classes | Tags: chocolate, confectionery, culinary history, food history

Posted by: hearttohearthcookery | August 5, 2009

To pickle Musherroons

This is one of the receipts (recipes) that I used in my 18th century preservation demonstration at Bolton Mansion’s Summer Fest August 2nd.

Mushrooms were foraged in the 18th century and as I looked at all the mushrooms emerging in my yard, I decided to try this receipt for pickling mushrooms.

The stems of the mushrooms were removed and the “buttons” remaining rubbed with a “flannel ragg”. The pickle was made with white wine vinegar, salt, nutmeg, mace, cloves and bay leaves.

My Historic Speedwell Hearth Cooking classes for September and November 2009 have now been posted to my website at www.hearttohearthcookery.com

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Posted in culinary history, food history, Food preservation, Hearth cooking classes, Pickling | Tags: culinary history, food history, Food preservation

Posted by: hearttohearthcookery | July 31, 2009

Summer Festival at Bolton Mansion

BoltonMansion Tomorrow August 2nd, I will be at Bolton Mansion for their Summer Festival from 9 am to 3 pm. Bolton Mansion as it exists today contains the original 1687 home of Phineas Pemberton (politcal and influential Bucks County leader at the time of William Penn) and its additions which were completed in 1790. Tomorrow I will be preserving cherries and mushrooms at the hearth where I conduct hearth cooking classes twice a year. The next cooking class will be Saturday November 14, 2009 from 10 am to 4 pm. The hearth cooking is done at one hearth and we enjoy our meal with wine in the oldest room of the house. DSCN5133-1 The picture to the right is the meal that was prepared at the hearth at the March 2009 class. Please visit my website for more information on the upcoming class and for registration information: www.hearttohearthcookery.com.

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Posted in culinary history, food history, Food preservation, Hearth cooking classes | Tags: classes, foodways

Posted by: hearttohearthcookery | July 27, 2009

To Preserve Apricocks

I preserved apricots with an early 18th century receipt (recipe). The apricots were preserved in sugar. The apricots were boiled in the sugar syrup that had to be scummed. Then allowed to dry. The apricots were then placed in the crock, the syrup added to cover. The final step was to seal the crock with the bladder.

Visit my website at www.hearttohearthcookery.com

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Posted in culinary history, food history, Food preservation, Preserving with sugar

Posted by: hearttohearthcookery | July 23, 2009

Too Pickell Larg Coucumbrs

Too Pickell Large Coucumbrs

Yes, I can spell but the receipt (recipe) that you are looking at was named by G. Penn. The receipt calls for taking “a splinter” out of the cucumber, filling the cucumber, and then “ty the Coucumber Round with a thred very Close”. These pickles were prepared Sunday July 19th.

Visit my website at www.hearttohearthcookery.com

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Posted in culinary history, food history, Food preservation, Pickling

Posted by: hearttohearthcookery | July 19, 2009

National Ice Cream Day July 19, 2009

Fresh Currants Infused in the Cream Today is National Ice Cream Day! President Ronald Reagan declared the third Sunday in July, the national day for celebrating ice cream in 1984. In the past two days, I have prepared two 1790 ice cream receipts. On Friday, fresh red currants were infused in the cream and then strained out prior to the current flavored sweetened cream being placed in the sabotiere.

Saturday, July 18th, the receipt was Fresh Raspberry ice cream. Fresh raspberries were mashed and the flavor and color was infused in the cream. There was no need for the use of cochineal in this receipt. The color and taste were both spectacular!

Visit my website at www.hearttohearthcookery.com

Fresh Raspberry Ice Cream in the Sabotiere

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Posted in confectionery, culinary history, food history, ice cream, sabotiere

Posted by: hearttohearthcookery | July 14, 2009

Apricot Ice Cream

This past weekend, Heart to Hearth Cookery (www.hearttohearthcookery.com) was at The Mill at Anselma presenting a hands-on ice cream program. I had the opportunity to make an 18th century ice cream flavor that I have been wanting to try for a long time-Apricot. I needed very fresh, ripe apricots which were first mashed, sweetened with sugar and the flavor allowed to infuse in the cream. The coopered bucket was filled with ice crushed from a large ice block and mingled with salt. The picture shows the finished product that was enjoyed by all! My next ice cream program will be Saturday July 18th, 2 pm at the Trent House in Trenton, New Jersey.

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Posted in confectionery, culinary history, food history, ice cream, sabotiere

Posted by: hearttohearthcookery | July 9, 2009

A Penny Lick

: The Penny Lick was used for the street sale of ice cream.

As I was eating an ice cream cone today (my favorite way of enjoying ice cream), I found myself thinking about the ice cream street vendor and penny licks. The penny lick was the 19th century street vendors way of serving ice cream. The small-stemmed, low quality glass was used to dispense ice cream. There were three standard sizes: the halfpenny lick, the penny lick, and the two penny lick.

One would lick the penny lick clean while standing with the vendor and then the vendor would rinse the glass in water prior to serving the next customer! The dietitian in me cringes at the thought!

I am currently working on a new ice cream lecture/presentation. (www.hearttohearthcookery.com)

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Posted in confectionery, culinary history, food history, ice cream

Posted by: hearttohearthcookery | July 5, 2009

Royal Cream Ice

Yesterday I made a 1772 receipt for Royal Cream Ice. The ingredients were cream, egg yolk, sugar, cinnamon and candied orange peel. The flavor was most different from what the public expected but by far the comments were very positive. With several people wishing that the flavor was available for purchase!

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Posted in confectionery, culinary history, food history, ice cream

Posted by: hearttohearthcookery | July 2, 2009