Buckeye Cookery & Practical Housekeeping (Applewood Books)

Delighted with the view of the women of the time. Look forward to trying their recipes!

I volunteer at an 1870's reenactment farm. I've used some of these recipes to cook on the cast iron stove. Lots of interesting household tips, too!

This book is hilarious. The recipes are fine, but its the practical home tips that make this book awesome. It's extremely entertaining to learn how people used to deal with snake bites.

I actually have a copy from 1880 published in Minneapolis MN. It was my Great Grandmother's. She wrote her name on the inside cover. She wrote it several different ways. Mary came to Chicago from Sweden in 1887 so it looks like she was figuring out how to write her name in English. She married my Great Grandfather in 1895. The book is well used. I love reading some of the recipes and tips. The terminology used is quite interesting. For the Indian Pudding you let it sit until blood warm! Or it tells you to bake an item but nothing about times or temps. It might say a slow oven. It is a fascinating book and is special since I know I have something from my Great Grandmother.

No matter whether you are in 1877, 1977 or 2009, the advice and tips in this book will be useful to all women trying to keep a house. The recipes are a bit dated, but can be modified. The housekeeping tips are still quite up to date. I thought the introduction was quite prophetic of our times. I love paging through this book!