Vintage finds!

United States
February 11, 2013 10:36pm CST
I wasn't sure really where to put this post, if it should go in cooking or books but I think because the books are about cooking I will put it here. I found some treasure at recycling the other day. Our place has a bin for books and there laying on top was this vintage looking book. I picked it up and it was old I looked at the date saw it was a cookbook printed in the 1940's and snatched it up. I didn't even really look to see what it was until I got home. Now I cannot stop reading it. Turns out it was a book reprinted from the 1930's and was this one mans collection of old family and local recipes from Williamsburg Virginia. There are all these awesome recipes from the mid 1700's through the end part of the 1920's! I love, love, love old cookbooks and recipes and for me this was a killer find. I love the recipe that in today's world would be off the wall such as snail broth (which includes 20 crushed frog legs with it's 5 dozen large snails) as well as a recipe for soup de tongue a la terrapin which is a nice way of saying turtle tongue soup!..lol, yeah. I have been down right studying the book cover to cover. I am a kitchen nerd I think..he he he.Also in the bin at the same time was a very well kept (like the first) cook book from the 1960's. It had a huge Gingerbread house on the front and my little one immediately snagged it up ( almost three she is still reeling from the Christmas season and everything is still reindeer and and angels the two big impressions this year) just as quick as I had grabbed mine. As it was in good shape and no mold I let her take, I mean worst case scenario I would bring it back next week right. Well the little Pip has an eye. It is a great old Times life book of German recipes. They had an around the world series back then with books featuring the cooking of individual countries. This one was German and thrilled my hubby as he lived there several times during his younger years (army brat his Dad was stationed there 5 times all together though hubby was only born for the last three) and missed the food very much. He has left me book markers on at least 15 pages with notes on them of what he wants me to make. :) As I said I love old cookbooks and have a collection of them. I tend to collect local church and woman's club fundraiser books but these especially the first are awesome too!
3 people like this
4 responses
@marguicha (223720)
• Chile
12 Feb 13
My mother has a posh cook book that someone gave har when she got married in 1944. I could never use it to make anything, but I love to read it. It asks for 2 dozen eggs in a recipe and that has never been the kind of cuisine I can eat. But it is interesting. I would no mind eating the frog leg recipe, but I will not crush them. I like snails too, so send me some when you do it.
1 person likes this
• United States
12 Feb 13
Although I have had escargo and liked it I have never had frog legs in anyway that I have liked them.
@dlkuku (1935)
• United States
12 Feb 13
Oh that's a treasure for sure. I love old books and vintage things. And it's cool to read old recipes and see how they made things back then. Personally I don't think I could eat some of that stuff, but it's fun to read.
1 person likes this
• United States
12 Feb 13
I will never make the before mention recipes but they are going to be great printed off and used as Halloween props this year. There are some recipes I think I will try, some for venison and other wild game, as well as for veggies. I am curious about the beef with marigolds so maybe that one....lol
1 person likes this
@deebomb (15304)
• United States
1 Mar 13
Hello Opinionated. You have a very nice find. I don't collect many cook books but have a very nice one published back in 1974 with short stories and recipes dating back to the pioneers traveling through Nebraska. It contains recipe from those Immigrants and how they lived. It starts with a table of equivalents which is very interesting. with each recipes is a story to go along with it. One story is about a father taking his daughter miles to see a tree There are recipes for the local wild fruit. I bought one for my daughter-in-law one because she collected cook books and after looking at it I decided to get one for myself. I also found one at to yard sale several years ago that has recipe and family stories of the counties of Nebraska. These kinds of books can make history come alive. I hope you continue to find more.
@deebomb (15304)
• United States
3 Mar 13
The books by local author are the best. my Son gave me one about the History of the local stories of Wyoming's first 100 year. I want to find one for Michigan since I live here now.
• United States
3 Mar 13
I hope I find more too! I love history and these books are just that. Yours sound awesome I know little of Nebraska, just a tiny bit really.
• United States
6 Mar 13
Very cool!
@dainy1313 (2370)
• Leon, Mexico
15 Feb 13
Hello OpinionatedLady, I´m very pleased to read about your recent treasure discoveries. I use to buy recent cooking books but I´m not as cooking reading lover as you are. You do love kitchen. You win! It´s so interesting what you describe about your treasures. Snail broth, turtle tongue, frog legs. In my country in some regions insects and exotic animals were prepared 25 years ago, such as armadillo or monkey, however many of them are now protected animals and cooking with them is prohibited. But it´s a time travel what you read on your findings. Thanks you for sharing a bit with us. Good luck! Blessings OpinionatedLady... dainy
@dainy1313 (2370)
• Leon, Mexico
1 Mar 13
Yes so weird!
• United States
1 Mar 13
There are many foods every where around the world lost to us due to over harvesting. I know we can get the snails and the frog legs if needed (my 1 daughter loves frog legs as does my father though not pulverized as in this book to mush) but the turtle I think is endangered or at least very hard to find. I cannot imagine having enough of them to be able to cook a whole meal from just the tongues, to think how many must have been killed at one time back them.
1 person likes this