~ My little old world ~ gardening, home, poetry and everything romantic that makes us dream.: A curious Victorian interest in Apples ~ Recipes

martedì 7 ottobre 2025

A curious Victorian interest in Apples ~ Recipes

As we've seen more and more times the Victorian society placed great importance on the home and a woman's role within it. Cooking was not just a task, a chore, or a duty but a significant act of love and care for family and guests. Our Victorians said:

"Food brings people together on many different levels.

It's the nourishment of the soul and body; it's truly love."

So, after considering the singular interest in the cultivation and hybridization of apples which characterized the 19th century which led to obtain a wide range of new ones with the most fancy names, let's start having a look at our Victorian recipes with this disposition of mind I'm fortunate and proud to have inherited from my beloved grandmother and mother.

First of all you have to know that apples were essential in every Victorian home so as it was the APPLE WATER that made a very refreshing and delightful beverage. According to The American Frugal Housewife (1838) cookbook, written by Lydia Maria Francis Child, it had also some others remarkable properties.

At page 32 it reads:

"APPLE WATER — This is given as sustenance when the stomach is too weak to bear broth, &c. It may be made thus, — Pour boiling water on roasted apples; let them stand three hours, then strain and sweeten lightly : — Or it may be made thus, — Peel and slice tart apples, add some sugar and lemon-peel ; then pour some boiling water over the whole, and let it stand covered by the fire, more than an hour."

Apples were preserved not only by drying them, but also by making jams and jellies.

Let's say that, given the properties attributed to apples, APPLE MARMELADE was an excellent food for children and elderly people, especially if eaten for breakfast.

At page 118 the cookbook written by Miss Child reads:

"APPLE MARMELADE — Scald apples till they will pulp from the core ; take an equal weight of sugar m large liunps, and boil it in just water enough to dip the lumps well, until it can be skimmed, and is a thick syrup ; mix this with tlie apple pulp, and simmer it on a quick fire for fifteen minutes. Keep it in pots covered with paper dipped in brandy."

During the Victorian age one of the most common recipes using apples was dumplings. I can’t say that I’ve seen many served during my lifetime, but they were obviously enormously popular then, so much so that there was even the National Apple Dumplings Day, which occured, and still occurs, on September 17th. The every-day cook-book and encyclopedia of practical recipes written by E Neill and published in 1889, at page 162 suggests the most plain recipe for BOILED APPLE DUMPLINGS:

But the most inviting I found out is that made by Mrs Crocombe, the one she used to make following Eliza Acton's recipe: FASHIONABLE APPLE DUMPLINGS. We've already met Avis Crocombe, this Victorian lady who was the head cook at the dreamy country mansion Audley End House in Essex from about 1878 to 1884. Although only a little is known about her life, her handwritten cookery book was passed down through her family for generations and rediscovered by a distant relative in 2009. Her recipes give us a wonderful window into a world of flavour from 140 years ago. How to Cook The Victorian Way with Mrs Crocombe is the definitive guide to the life, times and tastes of the world's favourite Victorian cook. It features authentic do-it-yourself recipes chosen and tested by Dr Annie Gray alongside insights into daily life at Audley End from Andrew Hann, beautiful food photography and a foreword by the 'face' of Mrs Crocombe, Kathy Hipperson - click HERE if you like to read the post ~ My little old world ~ devoted to Avis Crocombe and and the world she lived in.

If you've a few minutes don't miss watching the video below to see Mrs Crocombe making her Fashionable Apple Dumplings, it's very enjoyable!

I want to suggest you another recipe from Mrs Crocombe's cookery book she also copied from Eliza Acton's best-selling Modern cookery for private families, published in 1845, which was one of the rare books of the time not mainly plagiarised from other sources. I'm sure you do remember the post ~ My little old world ~ dedicated to Miss Acton, who became famous because she was the first recipe writer giving a separate list of ingredients at the bottom of each recipe - by clicking HERE you can read it if you want. This one, Mrs Crocombe read in Acton's cookbook at page 460, looks so easy to make, inviting and tasty that I want myself to give it a try: that's the GÂTEAU DE POMMES.

For the execution, I refer you to the video below which is a real gem: to watch it feels like taking a step back in time, don't miss it!

As for baking recipes, the very first I'm suggesting you is the one I've tried some years ago and go on making every Fall as a breakfast cake: it's the

APPLESAUCE CAKE

a true delicacy from The Amish Cook's Baking Book, which collects far ancient traditional Amish recipes.

And, of course, we can't fail to mention the APPLE PIE.

I discovered that this dessert is much more ancient than I thought. The first Apple Pie recipe wasn't American and had no sugar: it dates back to 1381 England the earliest documented Apple Pie recipe and reveals a fascinating glimpse into medieval cuisine marking the humble beginnings of what would become a beloved dessert worldwide.

As I wrote above, sugar, being an expensive luxury in medieval England, was notably absent from this recipe which relied on fruits such as pears, raisins and figs, its natural sweetness while the addition of exotic saffron - a prized spice even by modern standards - demonstrated the sophisticated palate of medieval English cooking. This historic recipe laid the foundation for centuries of culinary evolution, eventually transforming into the sugar-sweetened, cinnamon-spiced apple pie we know today.

But let's come back to our Victorian age Apple Pie recipe.

One thousand and one useful recipes and valuable hints about cooking and housekeeping, another Victorian cookbook dating back to 1890, at page 109 suggest its readers five different ways to prepare it:

Apples were used also for making cocktails and the Victorian age was a gilded age for them too.

Given that, as a teetotaler, I'm no expert on alcoholic drinks, I sought advice from family members on the matter to be able and advise you with criterion.

As first I'm suggesting you an APPLE JACK SOUR taken from one of the most famous and probably amongst the very first Victorian cockyail books, Harry Johnson's new and improved bartender's manual published in 1882.

And eventually let's browse The Mixicologist or How to Mix All Kinds of Fancy Drinks. It was known as a classic cocktail recipe book by C. F. Lawlor, a prominent bartender from Cincinnati, first published in 1895. The book provides clear instructions for a variety of alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks, including juleps, cobblers, punches, and "Trilbys," alongside culinary recipes and general bar-related information. It is considered a scarce and authoritative guide for aspiring bartenders and enthusiasts of vintage cocktail culture. From its pages I draw the APPLE TODDY, a cocktail fit for a cold Autumn or Winter evening: