Recipes for Erica

[AndyT]

Ken's post about resurrecting old threads jogged my memory.  I think someone had proposed a recipe thread (still a good idea methinks), and I mentioned in passing an old cookery book with a recipe for a happy marriage.  Erica expressed an interest, and now that the book is to hand here it is, with a couple of bonuses.  The publication date isn't obvious, but sometime around 1910 is about right.  Bon appetit!   

[Erica McPhee]

This is GREAT! Thank you so much for remembering! 

[Erica McPhee]

Now if I could just get my hands on a pound of butter of youth! LOL!

[prasad]

This is amazing Andy,

Would love to see what else it has

-Prasad

[AndyT]

I haven't had time to have a proper look through myself, Prasad, but in addition to the recipes there are many household hints such as "To Extend the Life of a Gas Mantle", "To Save the Sweep" (burn half a pound of saltpetre once a month), "To Clean White Kid Gloves",  or "To Make the Most of a Lemon".  There are also some handwritten entries, stuck-in cuttings and quite a few period adverts.  Perhaps I should start an occasional Andy's Bygone Household Wisdom thread for whenever I come across something useful. 

[Erica McPhee]

That would be delightful.

P.S. I love your avatar! 

[AndyT]

That would be delightful.

P.S. I love your avatar! 

Okay, I shall see what I can find!

Milonguera should get the credit for the revised avatar, since she suggested it. 

[Milonguera]

What fun these recipes are!  I think your suggestion to do an Andy's Helpful Recipes thread would be wonderful!! 

I have to ask--in the ink recipe, what do you think the measurement "d" is?  A dram? 

[AndyT]

Oh, now you're asking.  Probably what we call a drachm, which is an eighth of a fluid ounce.  A British one of course.  Which is a generous half teaspoon (British again) or 3.5ml give or take.  Thank heavens for the Metric system I say. 

[IowaPharm2014]

Oh, now you're asking.  Probably what we call a drachm, which is an eighth of a fluid ounce.  A British one of course.  Which is a generous half teaspoon (British again) or 3.5ml give or take.  Thank heavens for the Metric system I say. 

That's interesting. A dram (as a unit of mass) in the American customary (avoirdupois) units system is 1/16 of an ounce but is very rarely used anymore. There is also a fluid dram which is a measure of volume/capacity that is 1/8 of a fluid ounce as you describe.

[AndyT]

There is also a fluid dram which is a measure of volume/capacity that is 1/8 of a fluid ounce ...

For the purposes of the ink recipe the British drachm and the US fluid dram are close enough to treat as interchangeable I should think.  The bigger discrepancy is between the pints (ours is 20% bigger), and as for the cup, who knows?  It's never been a standardised measure here.  The business of converting UK Imperial and US weights and measures can be thoroughly ludicrous especially when you get into more obscure units like grains, scruples, gills and dra[ch]ms, all of which come up from time to time in old ink recipes.