A lot of the old time recipes look really good. I even use a lot of them daily. But some have me shaking my head thinking Wow! What were they eating back then? Prairie Oysters? Tongue in Mold? Oxtail soup? I guess they were eating what was available. That could be part of why life expectancy was so short in those days. LOL Sure glad we have more choices today!

I guess it's safe to say that back then nothing went to waste. I am grateful for a much larger food selection too. I think that some parts just were not meant for me to eat. (But hey, if you want to it's okay - just don't invite me over for dinner).

I think they were eating what was available as well. I've ate oxtail soup though and its very good. I wonder how many beans they consumed when on the trail as well. Beans were a staple food because they didn't go bad. Can you imagine what they also had to haul in their wagons just to have enough food to get to where they were going. Maybe thats why they ended up eating such strange foods, because they ran out of those staples before they arrived at their destination or even after because there weren't any stores for miles.

Great question, got me thinking now Margret.

I love oxtail soup, hum...
maybe I was born toooo late?

Brown oxtails in oil,
add:
onion
garlic
celery
carrots
mushrooms
maybe some peppers
caraway seed, crushed with a mallet
maybe a bay leaf
salt, pepper
cook in broth till done, serve with egg noodles.
Yum
lacyj

I love oxtail soup, it's a delicacy around here but the price they charge for good oxtail bones is something.

My granny taught me to cook, peel and jelly a tongue, and I love the taste and texture, but maybe it's because I grew up eating it. She often jellied it into a mold so that might be tongue in a mold, not maybe moldy tongue LOL. Cut slices and it's the nicest sandwich meat you can dream of.

that reminds me, I'd like some. I hold off partly from cost, these meats are pricey, but also because it's a very fatty meat, and dh's cholesterol would bounce up. Ditto the oxtail. Marrow bones is another no no that we like, and don't eat often due to fat. Baked, pick the marrow out and spread on toast!

Dh's family was big on homemade headcheese which I'm partial to as well. Mil made it using pigs feet or knuckles as well as the other odd bits.

I don't want prairie oysters, I know what that is, and I could live without it but

Sweetbreads are the thymus gland, and I had those as a girl and they were soooo good. I miss them.

What can I say, on my mothers side I decend from a long line of haggis eaters. :LOL: And we all know about haggis and what goes into that Scots delicacy! BTW I hate haggis! LOL I like this other stuff though.

but seriously you are right, you have to grow up eating these things. One final thing is moose nose. That is full of gelatine and very tasty done right and I'm serious! My dad and bil fortunately introduced my son and daughter to that one year at hunting camp.

sigh, bet I've grossed you all out, but I really do like those foods with the exception of haggis, and prairie oysters.

Not too grossed out, but moose nose, moose nose. Everytime I see that commercial on tv with the moose, I'm going to think of you Margery. Now dh has brought a lot of moose home in our married life, but we've never thought of eating the nose. :mwhistle:

My grandmother made the most awesome headcheese, but when it came time for me to make it and I found out what was in it, I just couldn't do it. Some homesteader I make, right!!

There is no way I'd eat tongue or brains or prairie oysters either!!!!

Did you hear the story about the lady that was offered a slice of tongue? She said, "No thanks! I'm not eating anything that came out of an animals mouth. Just cook me up a couple eggs."

:D

brains, now that is another of my no eat list! :yikes:

ROFL Margret, love that bit about the eggs! :icon_lol:

And CJ, dear CJ, :popcorn: I'm glad I've changed your life in such a unique way. For the better, or for the worse we aren't sure, but the nose of a moose will never look the same to you! :thanx:

heheheheheh, dd got a recipe for PICKLED MOOSE NOSE!!!! and she was doing a presentation for one of her biology classes and she used that recipe and the info that she had eaten moose nose, to wake everyone up in class. She good a good mark and it was one of the livelier sessions (the other presentations were pretty boring)

Ok ladies, I'm a little under the weather and this thread is not helping AT ALL!!!! LOL!!! :icon_wink

Just have to add that I grew up with grandparents and brains and eggs was a fairly normal breakfast. There is actually an old restaurant here that has it on the menu. I could not possibly eat it now but did as a child. I remember the big jars of pickled pigs feet too but I never ate those.

And does anyone remember pigs tails. Dh asked me if he should save the pig's tails when we butchered the 2 pigs recently and I said "do you know what comes near those". But after reading prairiemaid's posts, I hadn't thought about eggs.

I remember pickled pig's feet as well.

yup, prairie maid put it all into perspective she did ROFL! :hurray:

Well, this is pretty interesting. lol

My mom has cooked and eaten some pretty far out things. This is pretty tame I suppose in contrast though. lol My mom would eat fish brains. I can't even eat fish of any type because of this. :( One of their (she's filipino) customs is pretty gross too.
http://www.filipino.com.au/categ/cuisine/balot.htm

The pigs feet I remember my great grandmother eating. She was Scottish.

That's my contribution to this thread. rofl

Ok, I am respectfully :puke: at this thread....

Calico and Michelle, if this was 100 yrs ago and you were under the weather, you might think the cure is worse than the sickness. lol It might be suggested that you take a tonic or some codliver oil.
Are you sick with fever and ague? I heard the old remedy of squills, honey & paregoric is very good for the cough. ;)

I know some people still eat chicken feet. Can't imagine living on that. Not a lot of meat. I've never seen meaty chicken feet. LOL I know that you blanche the feet and you can peel the skin right off. I think that's just a case of not wasting anything.

Oh and don't forget the mustard plaster Margret. Man was that powerful.

Sara, fish brains. Crumb some of the fish we get are so small, I can't imagine trying to find the brains. I won't ever look at fish the same way again. Wait until I tell dd. rofl

OMG Margret, I remember my grandfather cooking up chicken feet for us. It was actually a delicacy because there was not a lot of meat on the feet. We always had baked potatoes to fill in the rest of the meal.

http://www.fortunecity.com/millennium/balloons/1035/1800recp.htm

mmmmm :icon2:

well, that's ok because they aren't removed separately. They are sucked out of the head. yummy eh? lol

Sara, don't the eyes bother her though when she is doing that. I can't see a fish with its eyes. It just seems to say to me, "look what you've done now". I dunno, I don't think I could eat the fish brains.

Here's a little food timeline.
http://www.gti.net/mocolib1/kid/food.html

and culinary history timeline.
http://www.gti.net/mocolib1/kid/food1.html

There's some other good info on this site too. :)

Hey,thanks for putting the link about this thread in the Village CJ. Nice to see someone else grossing everyone out with culinary gems.:toothy:

For Christmas I recieved a book The American Frugal Housewife written in 1833 and dedicated to those who are not ashamed of economy. It has all kinds of fun stuff in it.

For A sudden attackof quincy or croup, bathe the neck with bear grease, and pour it down the throat. yum yum.

Nothing is better than ear wax to prevent the painful effects resulting from a wound by a nail, skewer etc.It should be put on as soon as possible. Also good for cracked lips.

This book is full of all kinds of recipes and remedies,advice on parenting and the myriad responsibilities of housekeeping.

Ok, this is an interesting thread...;)

Here is my experience with these types of food....my dad has introduced me to a few things you ladies would never eat....As a child I have eaten and enjoyed, pig's tongue...my father makes it so good, seriously, it melts in your mouth, so much it's tender. I think it's the thought that it's a pig's togue that grosses us out...I'm embarrassed to say, that when I see a jar of pickeled tongues, I always want to buy it...I really like it! (I hope you will all be talking to me, after this confession...;) )

I have eaten pigs feet, because my grandma would cook a large stew of these every now and then and especially around Christmas time...and that too, is good, but only the meat...not the fat around it.

I have seen my granddad cook kidneys, but those I never wanted to try, never! They smelled like pipi to me!

What I never want to eat, is brains, and the pig's tail....
I also don't like snails..... :icon2:

I realize now, that my dad being extremely poor growing up, he probably ate alot of tongue, pig's feet, kidneys and anything else more fortunate people didn't want to buy and eat....so I guess he developed the taste for it and passed it on to me. lol :)

I had heard years ago that "Ox tail soup" was a popular staple with pioneers on the move. They could cut off the tail of the animal pulling the wagon and have it for dinner and still have the animal..... Kinda like having your cake and eating it too ! lol

I had friends who would get together & eat pig ears, pig feet:icon2: & other nasty things I'm glad I NEVER had to eat anything that disgusting :puke:
I also had an aunt who loved chocolate covered grasshoppers & chocolate covered ants:icon2: and an old neighbors nephew used to pick ants off the sidewalk & pop them in his mouth:eek: nothing like chomping on some bugs :laugh:
What some peopel eat!

Okay, I'm pretty frugal, but I'm very thankful that I"ve never had to eat any of those things! For those of you who DO enjoy them, my not eating them will leave more for you! :D (Just think, if there were a high demand for them they would suddenly go up in price!....I'm doing my part to keep moose nose, etc. prices down!)

hey simple mom, you and me can have a good feed of tongue together!

Oh and steak and kidney pie is a good british soul food!

My late mil, bless her, made a good Russian soup called Roscolnik, that we all love, and basically it's kidneys, barley and dill pickle. Sounds weird, tastes heavenly, and you wouldn't know it was kidneys.

LOL most people just think they are mushrooms. (slice thin in little bites)

Darlene, I just picked up that book from the library. I was thinking about it as I was reading this thread.

I remember my mom talking about when she had to prepare tongue for a lady she worked for. I can't imagine peeling it. :redsick: My mom has told me lots of stories about making headcheese and other interesting stuff.

Dh remember's his grandfather making fish soup and watching him. He said every fish part was in the soup. I can't even think about having eye balls floating in my soup. :nervous:

Here's my contribution; its from The American Frugal Housewife.

Calf's Foot Jelly

Boil four feet in a gallon of water till it is reduced to a quart. Strain it and let it stand till it is quite cool. Skim of the fat and add to the jelly one pint of wine, half a pound of sugar and the whites of six eggs and the juice of four large lemons; boil all these materials together eight or ten minutes. Then strain into the glases, or jars in which you intend to keep it. Some lay a few bits of lemon-peel at the bottom and let it be strained upon them. (Not sure what the means)

I can't help but wonder what I would think about putting this on my toast in the morning. :ugh:

CG - When you mentioned your mil's Russian soup it made me remember a story. Three years ago my parents and some friends went to a Ukrainian restaurant for dinner. They started with soup, borscht, and when my mom was eating her soup she found a big old ugly PIG'S TOOTH, :yikes: Let's just say they didn't stay and try the main course.

That's it, I am never eating again....lol

I am sticking to my cereal and soup diet until further notice or until i forget everything I've read on here...lol

I think I will pass on dinner at your houses ;) Or maybe I will just bring a P, B and (grape) Jelly sandwich and enjoy the company if not the food.

My mom still makes head cheese but she uses pork from other parts not the head and the jelly is boxed not natural. I love it! It's a Christmas tradition for us.

Mel, you reminded me how my dad used to tell us stories about when he was a kid and the other kids at school had peanut butter sandwiches. They were too poor to buy peanut butter and dad often took lard sandwiches to school for lunch. So if you come to my house for dinner and I'm out of peanut butter...

You wouldn't want to get internal parasites or worms from these odd eatings in the olden days. Their remedy was a spoonful of kerosene.

That's it, I am never eating again....lol

I am sticking to my cereal and soup diet until further notice or until i forget everything I've read on here...lol

:lol2: ...it just came out of me...a loud laugh...this thread is too funny!

Just bumping this up for the newer folks to enjoy. :yuck: