Pies, pickles and preserves dominate pages of cookbooks in the 1800s

The Canadian Home Cook Book 1877: Compiled by Ladies of Toronto and Chief Cities and Towns in Canada is found in the Central Library's local history section.

It's one of the most complete books on the duties of the 19th century housewife for English Canadians.

It was originally published as a fundraiser for Toronto's Sick Kids Hospital.

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Tried! Tested! Proven! was its enthusiastic slogan and claim on inside pages.

Although much of the copy was apparently taken from The Home Cook Book of Chicago: "compiled from recipes contributed by ladies of Chicago and other cities and towns: Published for the benefits of the Home of the Friendless," the book was so popular, and reprinted so many times, the edition I came across was from the 70th printing.

Simple recipe instructions

Recipes are brief, still written in paragraph style, and credited to individual contributors.

A passage from the introductory pages reads: "No matter how talented a woman may be, or how useful in the church or society, if she is an indifferent housekeeper, it is fatal to her influence, a foil to her brilliancy and a blemish in her garments." 

However, it may or may not have originated here — and very likely not — as the same passage can be found in other texts of the era.

At the time, rhubarb was commonly referred to as "the pie plant" — and is called for in such a way in The Canadian Home Cook Book.

The recipe is written with the briefest possible instruction, of course: one cup of stewed pie plant, one cup of sugar, one tablespoon of flour, yolk of an egg — tip it into a pastry-lined pie tin and top with a thin meringue crust. Or a top crust, of course.

These recipes are little more than guidelines.

Pie plant pie

Ingredients:

1 cup stewed pie plant

1 cup sugar

1 tbsp flour

1 egg yolk

Instructions:

Flavour with lemon; beat all together thoroughly. Don't use pie plant too hot for fear it will cook the egg. Bake with just an under crust, and use white of an egg for frosting.

I found a cup of rhubarb not nearly enough to fill a pie plate, which are much larger now than they were a century ago. In fact, I most often make pie plant pies with chopped raw or frozen pie plant, tossed with sugar and flour — generally about a cup of sugar for three cups of rhubarb, and two tablespoons cornstarch or flour.

Quince jam

Pickles and preserves are always substantial chapters in cookbooks of this era — quince were not particularly common but occasionally grown in backyards and orchards, and more common in the U.K., where recipes often originated.

The quince jam submitted by Mrs. P.B. Ayer is very basic, and can still be made in the same way — quince must be cooked and turn a pale pink with a floral aroma when cooked until soft.

Using brown sugar is a delicious idea — you can store the thick jam, almost a paste, in small jars in the fridge for up to a month, or freeze for longer storage.

If it becomes thick enough to set as quince paste, spread it thin in a baking dish or even a sealable bag, and refrigerate on a flat surface, then cut into cubes to serve on a cheese board. (Quince jam and paste are particularly delicious with Spanish Manchego.)

With files from the Calgary Eyeopener.