Mrs. Goodfellow by Becky Diamond

Author:Becky Diamond
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Westholme Publishing

Another of Leslie's cookbooks that smartly filled a market niche, yet had long baffled food historians, was The Indian Meal Book, first published in 1846 in London. In this cookbook, Leslie provides recipes that feature cornmeal as a main ingredient, designed to be a nutritious and less expensive substitute for wheat flour during the time of the potato famine in Ireland. The purpose of this book was to educate the Irish and British about the versatility of maize, or Indian corn, as it was called, thus helping them survive the potato crop failure.69

Americans had been experimenting with cornmeal for years and knew how to incorporate it into palatable baked goods. Indeed, “Indian Pound Cake” was considered one of Mrs. Goodfellow's signature recipes. Leslie included it in many of her cookbooks, and permutations of the recipe also found their way into Philadelphia area manuscript cookbooks of the time.70

It had been assumed that The Indian Meal Book had been first published in 1847 by the Philadelphia publishing house Carey and Hart, as Leslie had worked with them on several of her books, a relationship fostered by her sister Patty's marriage to Henry C. Carey. However, once again, sleuthing by Jan Longone found the two earlier editions published in London. What has never been determined is how Leslie was chosen to write the book. Was it her idea (or even Goodfellow's), or was she commissioned to write it by the London publisher or some other? It remains a mystery.71

The many uses of cornmeal adopted from the Native Americans are just one example of how ingredients and flavors from other cultures were integrated with foods widely available in North America. In New Receipts for Cooking (1854), Miss Leslie's recipe for “Guisada or Spanish Stew” calls for “hare, rabbit, partridges, pheasants, or chickens,” all of which were popular fare in the United States at that time. Stewing was a common cooking method, especially for game meat, but one thing that differentiated this recipe was Leslie's suggestion at the end: “It will be improved by the juice of one or two oranges, squeezed in toward the last.”72

Citrus fruits like oranges were just one of the numerous exotics that were shipped to Philadelphia and other American ports from warmer climates including Spain, India, and the Caribbean. Diverse flavorings such as West Indian molasses, turmeric, cayenne pepper, rose and orange flower water, nutmeg, and cinnamon were among the many others. As a result, recipes such as West India Cocoa-Nut Cake, chicken curry, Alpistekas (Spanish cakes), and Pollo Valenciano were included in Miss Leslie's cookbooks, helping to familiarize Americans with a variety of taste combinations.73

Sauces and condiments using these imported spices and seasonings were central to these multicultural dishes, and Leslie's cookbooks featured instructions for different versions, including what foods they go best with and how to serve them. Her “East India Sauce for Fish” recipe says to “mix well together a jill of India soy; a jill of chili vinegar; half a pint of walnut catchup, and a pint of mushroom-catchup.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.