FoodTimeline library
About the origin of alcoholic beverages
"Like so many discoveries, the creating of most fermented liquors probably came about by accident. As certain types of sweet fruit, and also honey, will ferment on
their own accord, it was inevitable that any attempts to collect such fermentable substances in containers would on more than one occasion encourage alcohol
formation...Certainly the fermented drinks of the Old and New Worlds represent independent discoveries, and it could well be that the development of rice
beverages in eastern Asia was quite unconnected with that of the varied cereal and wine concoctions in the European area."
---Food in Antiquity: A Survey of the Diet of Early Peoples, Don Brothwell and Patricia Brothwell, expanded edition [Johns Hopkins University Press:Baltimore MD] 1998 (p. 164-165)
Beer
Ancient brew & recipe ingredient too.
"No one has yet managed to date the origins of beer with any precision, and it is probably an impossible task. Indeed, there are scholars who have theorized that a
taste for ale prompted the beginning of agriculture, in which case humans have been brewing for some 10,000 years...Most archaeological evidence, however,
suggests that fermentation was being used in one manner or another by around 4000 to 3500 B.C. Some of this evidence--from an ancient Mesopotamian trading
outpost called Godin Tepe in present-day Iran--indicates that barley was being fermented at that location around 3500 B.C....We know that not much later the
Sumerians were...making beer...At approximately the same time, people of the ancient Nubian culture to the south of Egypt were also fermenting a crude, ale-like
beverage known as bousa."
---Cambridge World History of Food, Kenneth F. Kiple & Conee R. Ornelas [Cambridge University Press:Cambridge] 2000, Volume One (p. 620)
"The brewing of beer may well have occurred soon after the production of cereal crops, and no doubt for a long time beer was home-produced and in the hands of
the housewives responsible for preparing the 'gruel' or bread. Malting the grain is the first step in beer-brewing, but malting--that is, allowing the grains to germinate
--was initially carried out to make the grains more palatable. After malting, besides being mixed into a nourishing gruel, the grains could also be dried, milled and
baked into a more easily preserved kind of bread. Thus, the first production of beer may be reasonably considered as an accidental discovery resulting from the
malting of grain for other purposes. When cereals came to be more often baked into bread and less often turned into gruel, malting was not so necessary and
became part of the brewer's trade only. By the third millennium BC, Mesopotamia was already well versed in beer-brewing and old Sumerian texts mention eight
barley beers, eight emmer beers and three mixed beers. Aromatic plants were added to the beer to improve the flavour and to assist in its preservation, and extra
honey, cereals and malt gave varying added strengths. Up to the millennium, the grains were de-husked, but husked grains then began to be brewed and beer was
drunk through the drinking-tubes to be seen in several relief carvings...Brewing followed much the same pattern in Egypt, where too it originally went hand in hand
with baking...As early as the Pyramid Age five kinds of beer were noted...Indeed, it is considered that the ancient brewers probably made stronger beer than we
now know, owing to the wild yeast which caused the fermentation that produced a greater alcohol content...Beer, to the Greeks and Romans, was a barbarian
drink...The North European peoples of those days such as the Celts and the Germans did not yet know the wine-grape and the art of viticulture, so after the
introduction of cereal agriculture their drink remained beer for a very long time."
---Food in Antiquity (p. 166-167)
"...much of the artistic evidence of the early days of brewing in the Near East, the commencement of which we believe to be around 8,000 years ago, suggests a
strong link with bread-making. This relationship seems to have been perpetuated by the time that the ancient Egyptians started to brew..."
---A History of Beer and Brewing, Ian S. Hornsey [RSC:Cambridge] 2003 (p. 10)
Beer an ingredient in food
The yeasty connection between beer and bread/cereal grains (batter!) is as old as human agriculture. Beer
as an ingredient in cookery is a specialty of northern European countries, most notably Belgium, the
Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland, and Great Britain. Beer is most often employed as a rising agent,
steaming medium, thinning ingredient, and flavoring additive. Some of the more famous beer/food recipes
are carbonnades flamandes, beer soup, fondue,
batter encrusted cheese, beer batter, and
Welsh rabbit. Beer Waffles are included in A Belgian Cookbook,
Juliette Elkorn [Farrar Strauss and Cudahy:New York] 1958 (p. 210).
Beer batter
Our survey of country-specific cookbooks and beer history texts suggests beer batter, as we know it today, descends from
northern Europe, possibly in the middle ages.
Beer batter seems to gained popularity in the USA during the 1970s and 1980s. Several articles printed in the
New York Times review restaurants featuring a variety of beer batter/deep fried vegetables and meats. Three
of the most popular recipes are for onions, mushrooms and shrimp.
"Beer is one of the world's most favorite drinks, and most Americans think of it as just that and nothing more.
Curious, because it is by no means a novelty in cooking. In the world of international cuisine, perhaps the best
known of all beer dishes is the carbonade flamande of Belgium, a dish made with cubed beef, a lot of onions
and a conspicuous quantity of light beer. Books have been written on cooking with beer...it is not at all
surprising to find it used in recipes that call for a leavening agent. We are not all that enthusiastic about the
universal use of beer in the kitchen with one exception, and that is as a beer batter. A batter containing beer
as a leveaning agent is perhaps the finest of all. It is also one of the easiest of deep-frying batters to prepare,
as it has a multitude of applications."
---"Beer Rises to the Occasion," Craig Claiborne with Pierre Franey, New York Times, June 3, 1984 (p. SM
92)
Recommended reading: Beer Cookery: 101 Traditional Recipes/Michael Harrison [London:1953]...classic & creative "Vitesses" or "On the Dotters" (aka appetizers) to dessert. Reprints readily available.
Wine
"Whilst the Greeks on the whole are responsible for initiating specialized viticulture which ultimately spread throughout the Mediterranean and into France and
Germany, the vine is indigenous to Asia Minor and it was probably among the people of that area that viticulture had its true beginnings. We know from their texts
that the Hittites were enthusiastic vine-growers and wine-producers. Viticulture was known in Mesopotamia as early as the third millennium BC, and was probably
well under way in Egypt even before dynastic times. Although the vine is not indigenous there, pictorial representations appear in tombs of the earliest dynasties and
the Pyramid Texts indicate at least six varieties. All large gardens grew grapes along with dates and figs, but the wine still had to be imported from Syria and
Palestine, where viticulture was of primary importance. So wine remained in Egypt a drink for the rich, with beer and water for the peasants, until the arrival of the
Greeks in the Hellenistic period. Mesopotamia too, whilst producing wind from a very early date, did not make sufficient for the masses...There is some dispute
about the antiquity of wine-drinking in Crete and the Aegean, and it has been postulated that beer was probably drunk prior to wine...Wine-production in Italy is
thought to have been initially introduced by the Etruscans."
"Unlike brewing, wine-making is a natural process which does not strictly require any human intervention--in fact, apes Often seek out fermenting fruits. To make
wine, all that is needed is for the juice of a ripe grape to come into contact with airborne yeast. Wine-making, then, was not 'invented' by man: humanity's role is a
more modest one, to refine and guide...From prehistoric times onwards, wine could be made wherever people and grapes coincided. Yet there is little doubt that,
of all the vitis species, vitis vinifera is the most suitable for wine. Vitis vinefera is believed to have originated south of the Black Sea in Transcaucasia, now the
disputed territories of Georgia and Armenia, since this is the area that had the greatest variability of human population at the time and was therefore where humans
were most likely to have started using it...Archaeologists assume that by 7000 BC previously nomadic farmers in the Near East had taken up grain-farming and
stock breeding. Domesticating fruit trees involves a different kind of existence. The first wild fruits to be domesticated in the Near East were the fig, the date, the
olive and the vine...Deliberate cultivation of fruit trees such as the vine therefore presupposes a fully sedentary way of life and a complete social and economic
system, with one generation leaving property to the next. This stage was probably reached in the 4th millennium BC or possibly the 5th...However, cultivation of
Vitis vinifera is not necessarily the a same thing as wine-making...Archaeologists have found remains of presses dating from the Bronze Age (i.e. c. 3000 to 1050
B.C.). Finds of empty grape skins together with pips and stalks at Myrtos, Crete, from the early Minoan period (i.e. c. 3000BC) are proof of wine-making as
opposed to the production of table grapes. That the earliest piece of evidence is not a grape skin or a stalk or a pip at all; it is a wine stain. In the early 1970s a
Persian amphora dating from 3500BC was found at Godin Tepe, Iran. Recent chemical analysis of the red stain inside has shown that it contains both tannins and
tartaric acid, suggesting that the amphora must have had wine in it."
Origins and Ancient History of Wine/
University of Pennsylvania & grape history.
What is a library wine?
a library wine (an older vintage not usually for sale to the public).
Whats the difference between library wine and a wine library?
How long has the term library wine been used?
[1997]
[2001]
[2003]
[2006]
"The slave labor system and the expansion of international trade that brought sugar, molasses, and rum into prominence also led to the rise of three new
nonalcoholic drinks: chocolate, tea, and coffee. "Groceries" was the term used in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries for newly imported consumable
commodities from distant places."
"...chocolate was a popular drink for all ages. The beverage was simple to prepare for the imported cocoa beans were merely ground and then brewed for the
desired thickness with water or milk. As Americans moved further into the eighteenth century, chocolate and coffeehouses became popular in seaport towns such as
Boston, New York, and Phildelphia...The taste of coffees, teas, and chocolates was unpredictable at best. Today's beverages are a smooth blend of leaves or
beans of many types. However, in colonial times, a ship's cargo usually included not a mixture of several strong and mild beans, but only the products of a single
plantation. Past experiences with the crop of a particular producer were of little value in judging later shipments, for changing climatic and soil conditions altered the
tastes of a particular grower's crop from year to year...When coffee was not available or was beyond the means of the poor farmer, parched rye, chestnuts, or
grape seeds were substituted for coffee beans and brewed into hot drinks...Tea substitutes were also popular, particularly on the frontier where imported
merchandise was difficult to purchase. Sassafras tea was considered particularly pleasing..."
What did patriots drink instead of tea after the famous Boston party?
"The young ladies of Boston signed a pledge, 'We the daughters of those patriots who have, and do now appear for the
public interest, and in that principally regard their posterity, as do with pleasure engage with them in denying ourselves
the drinking of foreign tea, in hope to frustrate a plan that tends to deprive a whole community of all that is valuable
to life.' They were joined by others around the country, drinking instead 'Balsamic hyperion' made from dried raspberry
leaves, or infusions of other herbs. The Boston Tea Party did not destroy the American taste for tea, although few
retailers in Boston dared to offer it for sale for a number of years. George and Martha Washington continued
to serve the best quality tea"
Distilled spirits: Whiskey, Rum, Madiera, Sherry, Brandy, cider & mobby
Non-Alcoholic (Hot): Coffee & coffee substitutes,
Cream Coffee (whipped cream), Chocolate (made with scraped, unsweetened chocolate)&
Cocoa
Non-Alcoholic (Cold):
Iced coffee, Iced tea (with or without lemon),
Lemonade, cider, Raspberry Vinegar
Alcoholic:
Distilled spirits: rum, whiskey, gin, bourbon, rye
Small & large beer: ginger ale, ginger pop, spruce beer, mead (honey beer).
What were the healthful properties of beef tea?
How to make beef tea?
[1849]
[1865]
[1869]
[1875]
[1911]
[1917]
[1961]
"Beef-tea.
[1988]
Who can we thank for inventing the Blood Mary?
"The Bloody Mary is a cocktail made with vodka, tomato juice, lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, cayenne pepper and salt. Folklore
attributes the origin of the Bloody Mary to Ferdinand 'Pete' Petiot, a bartender at Harry's Bar in Paris. Petiot purportedly first
mixed vodka with tomato juice in 1921. After Prohibition ended in 1933, Petoit moved to the United States and became a bartender at
the King Cole Bar at New York's St. Regis Hotel, where he added Worcestershire sauce and pepper to the recipe. Petiot named the
drink either after a girlfriend called Mary or after Mary Tudor, the mid-sixteenth-century Catholic queen of England...While the
story is plausible, it is unlikely. An essential Bloody Mary is tomato juice, which was not available commercially until 1929...
It may never be known who first paired tomato juice with vodka, but the other two claims have some plausibility. The first is that it was
invented in the 1930s at New York's 21 Club by a bartender named Henry Zbikiewcz...A second claim attributes its invention to the comedian
George Jessel, who frequented the 21 Club. The first known recipe for the Bloody Mary was published in Lucius Beebe's
Stork Club Bar Book (1944). Beebe, a columnist for the New York Herald Tribune mentioned the Bloody Mary in December
3, 1939: 'George Jessel's newest pick-me-up which is receiving attention from the town's paragraphers is called a Bloody Mary: half
tomato juice, half vodka.'...The Bloody Mary made its national debut in a magazine advertisement that appeared in late 1955 featuring
George Jessel, who declared he invented the cocktail."
"In its earliest incarnation, the Bloody Mary was little more than tomato juice and vodka in equal measure employed as a hangover
cure. John Steinbeck would later describe its curative powers in terms that embrace the drink's ruddy name and appearance: 'It is elixir,
it is pretty close to a transfusion.' Comedian, songwriter, moveie producer and raconteur George Jessel--the 'Toastmaster General
of the United States'--laid claim to having created the cocktail. In the '50s, he even appeared in Smirnoff ads, declaring
'I, George Jessel, Invented the Bloody Mary.' In his 1975 autobiography, Jessel told a fantastical story about the morning in Palm
Beach when--after a nonstop night of drinking--he devised the first Bloody Mary...Given Jessel's knack for self-promotion, many
doubted his claim, and that opened the door for the head barman at New York's St. Regis Hotel. Fernand 'Pete' Petiot was serving
Bloodies--under the alias 'Red Snapper'--at the hotel's King Cole Bar by the start of the 1940s. Once the Bloody Mary became a national
senation in the 1950s, Petoit would claim that he had invented it while working at Harry's Bar in Paris in the 1920s. But dogged
etymololgist Barry Popik, a consulting editor of the Oxford Encyclopedia of Food and Drink in America, has found that the
earliest references to the Bloody Mary all credit the drink to Jessel. The first was...1939...New York Herald Tribune...
Petoit qualified his own claim in a 1964 interview with the New Yorker. 'I initiated the Bloody Mary of today,' he declared.
'George Jessel said he created it, but it was really nothing but vodka and tomato juice when I took it over.'"
[1940: cocktail introduced to Chicago]
[1955: Jessel connection]
[1964: New Yorker article]
The "curative" property, challenged:
When did we apply the celery swizzle stick?
Who invented the Bloody Mary Mix?
Historic recipes
[1947]
[1961]
[1972]
"Bloody Mary 2
"Bloody Mary 3 (original 1947 Trader Vic recipe)
Red Eye, Red Dog, Red Rooster (beer & tomato juice, morning after hangover "cure")
[1955]
[1956]
[1960]
Related beverage? Bloody Mary.
Entry created: 12 November 2021
Originating in the 1980s in Taiwan, Bubble Tea (also known as Boba) is a sweet drink consisting of tapioca pearls, milk, and tea. Debate has risen over who was the first to create this drink as two stories have existed. The practice of drinking milk tea had existed prior to the creation of bubble tea, but mostly as a hot drink as cold drinks were uncommon. These milk teas were typically made with powdered creamer instead of fresh milk. The first "bubble tea" to have existed was called "shou yao" or "hand-shaken," a tea sweetened with a sugar syrup and then shaken to produce frothy bubbles, hence the "bubble tea" name. This look was achieved by using a cocktail shaker to not only make a silky ice tea but also foaming bubbles on the top.
The bubble tea that we know of today evolved from this shaken tea when tapioca pearls were added, but there is still dispute to this day who was the first bubble tea company to do so. The first claim to the modern bubble tea is by Tu Tsong He of the tea shop, Hanlin. In the 1980s, Taiwan was experiencing rapid economic growth which led to a rise of tea shops in the country. Tu wanted to join in on the tea shop trend and in 1986, the bubble tea shop Hanlin opened. He claims the inspiration for putting tapioca pearls into milk tea involved seeing a traditional snack of tapioca balls called "fenyuan" at a food stall. He added the white fenyuan to a green tea milk tea and called it "zhen zhu lu cha" or "pearl green tea." Tu experimented with different types of tapioca balls before coming up with the black tapioca balls that most bubble tea enthusiasts know today. The store became so popular that there are now more franchises across Taiwan and the world. The second claim to bubble tea is by Chun Shui Tang, the company behind the first shaken foam tea. Product manager Lin Hsiu Hui claims she added tapioca balls to her Assam tea during a staff meeting in 1988 and it was added to the menu after being well received by staff. Both of these tea houses eventually filed lawsuits against each other to stake their claim as the first but neither one was able to effectively prove they were the first. Eventually the drink could be found in other tea houses and by 2009, the court ruled that the drink could be made by anyone that debate over the first is unnecessary. While popular flavors include a black (red tea in China), green, jasmine, or oolong tea with the tapioca pearls, creative shops have whipped up different flavors and toppings for new bubble teas. Variations and flavors of the drink have since been made to appeal to all tastes:
Sources:
"The earliest archaeological evidence indicating wine that might have been made from domesticated vines comes from a pottery jar, dated between 7400 and 7000
years ago, which was found at the Neolithic site of Hajji Firuz in the northern Zagros Mountains."
---Cambridge World History of Food, Kenneth F. Kiple & Conee R. Ornelas [Cambridge University Press:Cambridge]
2000, Volume One (p. 730)
---Food in Antiquity: A Survey of the Diet of Early Peoples, Don Brothwell and Patricia Brothwell, expanded edition
[Johns Hopkins University Press:Baltimore MD] 1998 (p. 167-169)
---Oxford Companion to Wine, Jancis Robinson editor [Oxford University Press:
Oxford] 2nd edition, 1999 (p. 505)
Such a "library wine" can prompt stories about earlier days of the winery that made it, or remind a winemaker of what seemed to be a minus in the weather one year
that ended up a plus in the bottleA library wine, despite some wineries using the phrase as a marketing tool, by definition is one that is no longer available
commercially. What remains of the vintage is collectors' cellars or several cases the winery holds back for private tastings and to serve as a product record.
---Wine--Library Wine Tells Story of Vintage Past, Thomas Skeen, Yakima Herald [WA], June 12, 2002 (p. B1)
---Events, Newsday [NY], December 22, 2004 (p. B52)
A wine library can mean several things.
[1991]
"Wines and Foods of Spain" and "Futures and Library Wine Tasting" $75.
---Sixth Annual World of Wines Festival 1991 Program Highlights Announced, PR Newswire, October 15, 1991 (unpaged).
Library wine tasting ($5)
---Tidbits, Press Democrat [Santa Rosa CA], November 26, 1997 (p. D5)
Oct. 6-7 -- First Weekend in Alexander Valley: "Reserve and Library Wine Tasting," a multi-winery open house, with hors d'oeuvres and wine tasting. Participating wineries: Chateau Souverain, Clos du Bois and Trentadue. 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., $3 (refunded with purchase), no minors.
---Tidbits, Press Democrat [Santa Rosa CA], September 26, 2001 (p. D13)
Napa Wine Lockers, a temperature controlled case wine storage facility serving individuals and small wineries, has announced its expansion, and the hiring of Sheryl Tamietti, formally with WineBid.com, to assist in its operations. Napa Wine Lockers has also enhanced the level and menu of their services. Janine and Chuck Dickenson, owners of Napa Wine Lockers, are both native Napans with long-established ties to Napa Valley and the wine industry. Napa Wine Lockers has tripled in size in its six years of operation In addition to individual case storage lockers, which range in size from 15 to 84 cases, Napa Wine Lockers provides several other storage options. For wine collectors from non-reciprocal states and worldwide, they receive and pick up wine, as well as keep detailed inventories and facilitate shipping. Napa Wine Lockers also provides large lot storage suitable for small wineries, library wine collections, or individuals with large collections.
---Napa Wine Lockers Expands While Keeping Its Cool, PR Newswire, June 25, 2003 (unpaged).
TIM RAMEY: And just one more question, please. Hearing some reports out of the trade that with regard to the Robert Mondavi wine re-brand, you are fairly promotional right now, sort of giving away some library wine with a pallet purchase our something like that. Is that an attempt to get inventories under control there, or is that an attempt to revive sales growth? What is going on there? ..RICHARD SANDS: There is a considerable, considerable library inventory. And that is we think a good way to promote the Robert Mondavi Napa as a very -- an estate with fantastic heritage. So I would say it's not really what I would call promotion. It is about heritage. And when you think about library wines, that's what you're talking about -- it is heritage.
---Event Brief of Constellation Brands Conference Call to Discuss the Companys Outlook and Other AnnouncementsFinal, Voxant FD (Fair Disclosure) Wire, February 17, 2006 (unpaged).
Colonial American beverages
Hot, non-alcoholic
Coffee, tea and chocolate were popular non-alcoholic hot beverages during American Colonial times. These imports were expensive, but not beyond the reach of
the average person. Folks too poor to afford the real thing brewed hot beverages from herbs, flowers, bark, roots, and woody stems. Alas, there was no ready
substitute for chocolate! Presumably, cider could have been served warm too.
---America's Founding Food: The Story of New England Cooking, Keith Stavely & Kathleen Fitzgerald [University of North
Carolina Press:Chapel Hill NC] 2004 (p. 266)
"Colonial tea addicts were sorely tested when the nationwide tea strike
began about ten years before the Revolutionary War. Supporters of the boycott against British tea published numerous testimonials by patriotic doctors who
claimed that tea-drinking not only shortened the life of a drinker, but weaked his spleen and stomach...High prices as well as patriotism discouraged many from
drinking tea...Rhubarb, goldenrod, strawberry, and blackberry leaves were also collected for brewing into tea during the long show of solidarity against the British.
The later revolution saw a great decreas in the amount of American tea-drinking, and in the first years of the new republic, coffee became the overwhelming favorite
drink. Though never to regain its prewar popualrity as a general beverage, tea remained popular as a medicinal home remedy for various illnesses, a turnabout from
the boycott claims to the opposite effect."
---ibid (p. 202)
---A Social History of Tea, Jane Pettigrew [National Trust Enterprises:London] 2001 (p. 48-51)
Brewed: beer, mead & metheglin, (both made with honey)
Wines & wine mixes: raisin, elderberry, orange, gooseberry, currant, cherry, birch, quince, clary or cowslip, turnep, raspberry,
blackberry, damson, grape, apricot, balm, lemon), hippocras (wine & spice mix), Stepony, shrub,
punch & sangria
Cream drinks (served warm or cold): caudle, sack posset,
syllabub
Medicinal beverages (some alcoholic; others not):
cordials, plague water, heart water, hysterical water, fever
water, beef tea, toast water, apple water.
Sources: The New Art of Cookery According to Present Practice, Richard Briggs [1792], Martha Washington's Booke of
Cookery, transcribed by Karen Hess
19th century American beverages
What types of beverages were readily available to Early Americans?
Tea
Switchel, Carbonated water (soda water, with or without flavored syrups) & Mineral water.
Fortified wines: black currant, blackberry, currant, grape, gooseberry
Brandies: blackberry, cherry,
Punch: claret, champagne,
egg nog,
sack posset & shrub.
Sources:
Beef tea
What is beef tea?
A concentrated protein beverage extracted from the essence of beef used to restore human health from the 18th century forwards. Early recipes provided instructions
using real beef. Variations permitted other animal proteins (veal, lamb, chicken) and occasionally included vegetables. Florence Nightengale used
beef tea to restore fallen Crimean War soldiers. American Civil War soldiers were likewise treated. In the 1880s commercial beef extracts
were employed to make a quick beef tea. Some concoctions proved more healthful than others. A survey of late 19th/early 20th century
USA newspapers and cook books confirm the popularity of homemade beef tea for the general malaise called "what ails you."
"Beef tea may be used to advantage
1. To give variety to a liquid diet.
2. When much water is to be ingested.
3. On account of the warmth that it gives.
4. In cases of weakened digestion.
It stimulates the appetite. Meat extractives are the greatest know stimulants to gastric juice."
--- Food and Cookery for the Sick and Convalescent, by Fannie Farmer [Little, Brown:Boston] 1911 (p. 83)
[NOTE: Sample recipe from this book here.]
[1769]
"To make Beef Tea
take a pound of lean beef, cut it in very thin slices, put it into a jar, and pour a quart of boiling water upon it. Cover it very close to keep in the steam, let it stand by the fire. It is very good for a weak constitution. It must be drunk when it is new milk warm."
---The Experienced English Housekeeper, Elizabeth Raffald, transcsribed 1769 edition with an introduction by Roy Shipperbottom [Southover Press:East Sussex] 1997 (p. 160)
[NOTE: This book also offers a recipe for Chicken Water, different from Chicken broth.]
"Beef tea.--Cut a pound of the lean and fresh juicy beef into small thin slices, and
sprinkle them with a very little salt. Put the meat into a wide-mouthed glass or
stone jar closely corked, and set it in a kettle or pan of water, which must be
made to boil, and kept boiling hard round the jar for an hour more. Then take out
the jar and strain the essence of the beef into a bowl. Chicken tea may be made
in the same manner."
---Directions for Cookery in its Various Branches, Eliza Leslie [Carey &
Hart:Philadelphia] 1849 (p. 414)
"-- The waste of beef in making beef tea is enormous. 62,000 lbs. a year are used in one London hospital alone; and if any
head of a household, where there has been long illness, will just sum up the addition to the Butcher's bill in the shape
of beef tea meat, he will be able to form some notion of the quantity used, and (many of the doctors are beginning to tell
us) more than half wasted, throughout the country. At the present price of meat this is a very serious matter. It is
LIEBIG's theory that in beef tea, properly made, you get all the nutritive part of the beef, and leave nothing but a
worthless mass of bouilli behind. The British Medical Journal, on the other hand, asserts that fibrine is absolutely
insoluble in water, and that a dog fed on beef tea dies as soon as one who gets nothing but mere water. If this be true,
LIEBIG is as great a romancer in his way as the cook who, when asked by his noble master what use he could find for some
thirty hams for one dinner, replied, "I shall put them all into no bigger as my thumb." We believe the safest way for the
patient is to drink up that red meaty sediment which the "purists" so generally strain out. The fact is, LIEBIG's pint of
tea, made from a pound of beef, yields by evaporation less than half an ounce of solid matter; and though we cannot admit
that this "represents the whole nutritive matter contained in the pint of fluid," (for do not gases feed us?) the result
is certainly startling. The Medical Journal makes two suggestions -- first, eat the bouilli, which, of course, can
only be done by a stomach capable of digesting boiled beet; next, use more wine and less, beef tea in fever cases and the
like. Wine is seldom rejected by the feeblest stomach, and it contains all the elements of the blood -- alkalies, iron,
albumen, traces of most of the acids; besides, wine by itself will support life for a very long time. We heartily agree
with this latter suggestion. Wine, by all means, for sick poor as well as for sick rich. But how, if you please, are
middling folks to get it? Where is the parson, for instance, to buy it for his poor and for himself? Madeira is not; port
is not -- i. e., not within the means of ordinary people. The Chancellor of the Exchequer has, they say, given us cheap
claret; but will he make his gift doubly precious by telling us where we may obtain it sound? -- Pall Mall Gazette."
---"Beef Tea," New York Times, July 16, 1865
"For the Sick--Beef Tea
Take a slice of beef weighing half a pound, cut it in pieces half an inch thick, half
broil it, put it on a plate, sprinkle it with a little salt, cut it in pieces an inch square,
put it into a pitcher, and turn in it a pint of boiling water. Cover it up tight; let it
stand fifteen minutes, and strain it into a bowl."
---Mrs. Putnam's Receipt Book and Young Housekeeper's Assistant, new and
enlarged edition [Sheldon and Company:New York] 1869 (p. 187)
"Beef Tea from Fresh Meat (Baron Liebig's Recipe)
Take one pound of lean beef, entirely free from fat and sinew; mince it finely and mix it well with one pint of cold water. Put it on the hob, and let it remain heating very gradually for two hours. At the end of that time, add half a teas-spoonful of salt and boil gently for ten minutes. Remove the scum as it rises. This is beef tea pure and simple. When a change of flavour is required it is a good plan to take one pound of meat composed of equal parts of veal, mutton, and beef, and proceed as above. Or, instead of using water, boil a carrot, a turnip, an onion, and a clove, in a pint ot water, and when the flavour is extracted strain the liquid trough a fine sieve; let it get quite cold, and pour it upon the minced meat, soaking and boiling it for the same time. Probable cost, 1s per pint. Sufficient for one pint of beef tea."
---Cassell's Dictionary of Cookery With Numerous Illustrations [Cassell, Petter, Galpin & Co.:London] 1875 (p. 65)
[NOTE: This book offers four additional beef tea recipes, including one made of mixed meat and a "strong" version.]
"Beef Tea II
1 lb beefsteak, cut from round
2 cups cold water
salt
Remove fat, wipe and cut beef in small pieces or put through meat chopper. Put in
canning jar, add cold water, cover, and let stand twenty minutes. Place on trivet in kettle
of cold water, having water surround jar as high as contents. Heat water gradually,
keeping the temperature at 130 degrees F. for two hours, then increase temperature
slightly until the liquid becomes a chocolate color and the albuminous juices are slightly
coagulated; otherwise the beef tea will have a raw taste. Strain, season and serve."
---Food and Cookery for the Sick and Convalescent, by Fannie Farmer [Little, Brown:Boston] 1911 (p. 87)
"Beef Tea
1/2 teaspoon Beef Extract in small Bar glass.
Fill glass with Hot Water. Stir well while seasoning with Pepper, Salt and Celery Salt. Serve with a small glass of Cracked Ice and spoon on the side."
---The Ideal Bartender, Thomas Bullock, (p. 12)
[NOTE: This "cocktail manual" makes no comment about the use of Beef Tea. Beverages are arranged in alphabetical order. Alcoholic, non-alcoholic and "hangover cure" drinks appear on the same page.]
Concentrated consomme or meat juice, obtained by cutting lean beef into small dice and sealing them hermetically in a
wide-necked bottle, or in a special screw-top pewter receptacle (American marmite). Put into a pan of boiling water for 40
to 50 minutes. 500 (1 lb) meat will give about 150 g (4 to 5 oz) liquid. Beef-tea has a greater nutritional value than
ordinary meat-stock but is chiefly given, in small doses, to convalescents, for stimulating the digestive glands and
awakening the appetite."
---Larousse Gastronomique, Prosper Montagne [Crown:New York] 1977 (p. 114)
Laurie Colwin, food writer & essayist wrote about beef tea in her collection of short
stories Home Cooking: A Writer in the Kitchen. In the essay titled "Nursery Food" she
recounts how her mom used to give her beef tea when she was sick. This is her mom's
recipe:
"You take one pound of absolutely fatless silver tip of beef and on a double sheet of
butcher paper or a wood board cut it into tiny dice. Place it and any juices the meat has
yielded in the top of a double boiler and gently cook, covered, over simmering water for
several hours. Do not use salt or pepper. Simply leave the meat alone to give off its
juices. After several hours you will be left with pure essence of beef, perfectly digestible
and nourishing. Strain into a warm bowl, then press out any additional juice from the
meat." (p. 109)
Related health restoring recipes? Bouillon & Consomme.
Bloody Mary cocktail
Bloody Marys (tomato juice & vodka), like Mimosas (orange juice &
champagne), are generally classed today as socially acceptable morning cocktails.
The restorative properties of vitamin C fruit juices infused with the "hair of the dog that bit you" has been
debated for many years. Morning after beer and tomato juice drinks also descend from this
tradition.
Fernand Petoit & George Jessel. Each in his own way. Classic "origin" stories here:
---Oxford Encyclopedia of Food and Drink in America, Andrew F. Smith [Oxford University Press:New York] Volume 1, 2004 (p. 104-105)
---"Pursuits; Food & Drink--How's Your Drink? Hold the Horseradish," Eric Felton, Wall Street Journal, March 2,
2007 (p. 9)
[NOTE: You can read Barry Popik's Bloody Mary notes online.]
"Tried a 'Bloody Mary' cocktail--tomato juice and a jigger of vodka? (Neither have I)."
---"Front Views and Profiles: Add Americana," June Provines, Chicago Daily Tribune, August 2, 1940 (p. 19)
"I, George Jessel, invented the Bloody Mary.' I think I invented the Bloody Mary, Red Snapper, Tomato Pickup or Morning Glory,' reports
George Jessel. 'It happened the Night before a Day and I felt I should take some good, nourishing tomato juice, but what I really wanted
was some of your good Smirnoff Vodka. So I mixed them together, the juice for the body and the vodka for the spirit, and if I wasn't the
first ever, I was the happiest ever. The Recipe: To a glass of the best tomato juice you can get add a jigger of mellow Smirnoff 80
proof. Season with worcestershire and serve ice cold."
---display ad, Smirnoff Vodka, New Yorker, September 24, 1955 (p. 98)
[NOTE: Full color ad features Mr. Jessel with a small white-clothed table supporting a solo Bloody Mary cocktail. He looks like fancy hotel room
service. Happy to send copy if you want.]
"'I initiated the Bloody Mary of today...George Jessel said he created it, but it was really nothing but vodka and tomato juice when I took it
over. I cover the bottom of the shaker with four large dashes of salt, two dashes of black pepper, two dashes of cayenne pepper, and
a layer of Worcestershire sauce; I then add a dash of lemon juice, shake, strain, and pour. We serve a hundred to a hundred
and fifty Bloody Marys a day here in the King Cole Room and in the other restaurants and the banquet rooms.'"
---"Talk of the Town: Barman," New Yorker, July 18, 1964 (p. 19-20)
"A publicity-wise bartender created for Vishinsky, named it after his Soviet inspiration. The recipe, three parts vodka, one part
tomato juice, proved singularly disappointing to those who frequent New York's St. Regis. There, in the King Cole Bar, the same concoction
is called a 'Bloody Mary' and is used specifically to ease the torture of a virolent hangover."
---"Publicity-Wise Gets His Tributes Mixed: To Vishinsky, a Pick-Me-Up," Mary Van Rensselaer Thayer, Washington Post, June 16,
1949 (p. B5)
"In the 1960s, a celery stalk became a requisite garnish for a Bloody Mary cocktail."
---Oxford Encyclopedia of Food and Drink in America, Andrew F. Smith [Oxford University Press:New York] Volume 1, 2004 (p. 198)
[1946]
"Bloody Mary
3 oz. vodka
6 oz. tomato juice
2 dashes Angostura bitters
juice of half lemon
Shake these together with ice or mix in Waring mixer and serve cold in highball glass."
---The Stork Club Bar Book, Lucius Beebe [Rinehart & Company:New York] 1946 (p. 81)
"Bloody Mary
1 1/2 oz. vodka, Chilled tomato juice, 1 slice lemon
Pour vodka into chilled champagne glass; fill with chilled tomato juice and float the lemon."
---Bartender's Guide, Trader Vic [Garden City Books:Garden City NY] 1948 reprint of 1947 Doubleday & Company edition
(p. 328)
"Bloody Mary
(serves 24)
1 qt. plus 4 ozs. vodka
4 1/2 qts. tomato juice
2 teaspoons Tabasco sauce
1/4 cup Worchestershire sauce [sic]
1/4 cup lemon juice
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon celery salt
1 teaspoon pepper
"Bloody Mary 1
1 ounce vodka
1/2 ounce lemon juice
1 drop Tabasco sauce
1 barspoon Worcestershire sauce
Salt and pepper
Chilled tomato juice
Add to Tahitian coffee glass or fizz glass with 3 small ice cubes. Stir well, and add a lemon wedge.
1 ounce vodka
1/2 ounce lemon juice
Chilled Trader Vic Bongo Juice
Pour vodka and lemon juice over 1 large ice cube in a fizz glass. Fill with Bongo juice. Stir well. Add a lemon wedge.
---Trader Vic's Bartender's Guide, revised edition [Doubleday & Company:Garden City NY] 1972 (p. 210)
"Newest Ivy League thriller: tomato juice and beer."
---"Walter Winchell in Broadway: Memos of a Girl Friday," Washington Post, October 9, 1955 (p. H13)
"Beer and tomato juice, called 'Calgary Red Eye,' is a favorite drink."
---"Business Bulletin: A Special Background Report on Trends in Industry and Finance," Wall Street Journal, November 29, 1956
(p. 1)
"...a new pick-me-up...Called a Red Eye in Calgary and Red Dog in Montana, it is a mixture of tomato juice and beer...The two
must be poured carefully...because they don't mix too well."
---"'Little Old Dresses' Usually are New, Eleanor Page, Chicago Daily Tribune, October 2, 1960 (p. E7)
Bubble tea
Entry updated:
"Cappuccino is the Italian term for coffee made with a head of hot frothy milk or whipped cream. The word means literally 'capucin', and its application to coffee is
generally taken to be a reference to the colour of the habit work by monks of the Order of Friars Minor Capuchins, an independent branch of Franciscans (the
word capuchin itself is derived ultimately from Latin cappa, 'hood', which comes from caput, 'head'). Cappuccino probably established itself in English in the coffee
bars of the 1950s..."
---An A-Z of Food & Drink, John Ayto [Oxford University Press:Oxford] 2002 (p. 56)
"Cappuccino...A traditional beverage of Italy, cappuccino is made by forcing steam through milk or cream to form a creamy topping for the coffee, though in
America it may be served simply with whipped cream on top. The drink is supposedly named after a Capuchin monk in whose garden coffee was grown in Brazil in
1774. Others say the name derives from the drink's resemblance to the tonsured heads of Capuchin monks."
---Encyclopedia of American Food & Drink, John F. Mariani [lebhar-Friedman:New York] 1999 (p. 58)
"Cappuccino is said to be named for the Capuchin monks for one or both of these reasons: the cafe au lait hute of the beverage resembles the monks' robes, or the
recipe originated with the monks. Those who once taste it invariably order it again, and it is as popular as any of the coffees served in the [coffee] houses."
---"News of Food: Pauses for Chats in Coffee Houses Help to Slow Down Busy New York Tempo," Sally Dixon Wiener, New York Times, February 27, 1954 (p. 9)
Related beverage? Irish coffee.
According to the records of the US Patent & Tradmark Office, "Instant Breakfast," a nutrient rich meal alternative products targeting adult consumption, was introduced by La Lanne Inc., Hollywood California, December 15, 1961. Jack La Lanne, the popular television "physical culturist" created his own personal product line. Then, as today, nutrition claims were challenged by the US Food & Drug Adminstration. The earliest print reference we find to Carnation brand Instant Breakfast Drink is 1964. The article indicates this product was test marketed prior to flooding the national market. This is a common practice in the food world. Many similar products (Metracal) were introduced in this period. They were aimed at busy, middle-income American women who wanted to lose weight.
[1964]
"Carnation Co. announced a product that it said provides the nutrients of a conventional breakfast when dissolved in a glass of whole milk. The product, Instant
Breakfast, will be introduced in eight Western states, the company said."---"Carnation's Instant Breakfast," Wall Street Journal, August 4, 1964 (p. 15)
"Carnation Instant Breakfast," Coffee, Chocolate or Plain, box of 6, 69 cents."---display ad, Los Angeles Times, December 21, 1964 (p. D18)
[1965]
"Carnation Milk will be one of the exhibitors in the All-Gas Show...Carnation has expanded its line of fine products to include Instant Milk, Coffee-Mate, Friskies Pet Foods, Contadina Instant Breakfast."---"More Than 60 Exhibits Set for May 25-17," John A. Saunders, Phildelphia Tribune, May 15, 1965 (p. 28)
"Carnation Instant Breakfast, pkg of 6 envs. 65 cents"---display ad, New York Times, October 20. 1965 (p. 25)
[1966]
"One of the most familiar names to homemakers in Chicago and elsewhere over the past decade and even before is Carnation...One recent result of...research is the
new instant breakfast product. A packet of instant breakfast added to an 8-ounce glass of milk provides all the nutrients of a complete breakfast. Carnation
researchers developed it especially for people who either skip breakfast or don't take the time for a complete one, but it is also widely used for snacks."---
"Carnation Milk in a Great Decade," Chicago Defender, February 26, 1966 (p. 25)
[1967]
"Carnation's 'instant breakfast.' a powdery non-fat, dry milk that is mixed with an eight-ounce glass of milk, has been 'very well received' since it was introduced a
year ago, said George Wilkins, a company spokesman. Chocolate is currently outselling the other nine flavors, he said."
---"'The Martyred Meal': Some Skip It, Some Splurge," Judy Klemesrud, New York Times, January 21, 1967 (p. 38)
"You should eat a good, nourishing breakfast. Or you should drink one. New Carnation instant breakfast makes milk a meal too good to miss. Each glass delivers as much protein as two eggs, as much mineral nourishment as two strips of crisp bacon, more energy than two slices of buttered toast, and even Vitamin C. Lots of great flavors. In you cereal section. From Carnation."---full page color ad, with photo of box (chocolate flavor), Ladies' Home Journal, January 1967, inside front cover. [No references to other flavors.]
[1970]
"The Carnation Company of Los Angeles has promised to stop making what the Federal Trade Commission called unwarranted nutrition claims in advertising
Carnation Instant Breakfast, the commission announced today. The commission's complaint alleged, among other things, that the advertisements falsely implied that
Carnation Instant Breakfast had the nutritional benefit of two fresh eggs, two slices of bacon, two slices of buttered toast and an orange or a glass of orange juice.
One section of the complaint charged deception because the advertising failed to disclose that part of the nutrients claimed for the product were in the milk mixed
with it by its users."---"Carnation Agrees to Halt Breakfast Product Claims," New York Times, November 1, 1970 (p. 42)
[1974]
"It really isn't who you bat in an athletic contest that shows if you've made the big time. Its' whether the advertisers want to use you that counts. So, welcome to the
very big time, Billie Jean King, and may your relationship with Carnation Instant Breakfast be a long, lucrative and healthy one. The woman tennis star, who has
been drinking Carnation anyhow, will now be starring in a big advertising campaign that will be very heavy in TV."---"Tennis Stars Scoring IN Big Ad Campaigns,"
Philip H. Dougherty, New York Times, March 27, 1974 (p. 69)
[1981]
"Carnation Instant Breakfast, Pkg 10 $2.49; Carnation Breakfast Bars, pkg $1.75"---display ad, New York Times, May 6, 1989 (p. C13)
[1982]
"Instant breakfasts are another example of repositioning, in this case on the grocer's shelf. General foods introduced the mix-with-milk powder in supermarkets' diet
sections. It did not do that well. Carnation resurrected the concept as Carnation Instant Breakfast, and sold it in the cereal section. Sales soared."---"How to
Save an Aging Product," New York Times, January 24, 1982 (p. F6)
What is cider?
"Cider, a term with two meanings. In N. America since Prohibition it refers to unfermented, unpasteurized, and usually unfiltered
apple juice...Alcoholic cider is now described as 'hard' cider...In Britain, cider is an alcoholic drink, for which special
cider apples are used."
---Oxford Companion to Food, Alan Davidson [Oxford University Press:Oxford] 2nd edition, 2007(p. 186)
How old is cider?
"Cider-making in England is already a consequence of 1066. No doubt apple juice had been fermented to make an alcoholic drink
in Anglo-Saxon times, but it was the Normans who introduced it in a big way. At first much of it was imported from Normandy...but
soon cider-apple orchards were being planted in Kent and Sussex, and it was not long before the apples, the technology, and the
taste of the drink spread throughout the more southerly parts of England...The Normans brought the word with them too: cider (or cyder, as
it is sometimes spelled in Britain) comes from Old French sidre, which was adapted from medieval Latin sicera. This in turn came
from Greek sikera, an approximation used in the Septuagint for Hebrew shekar 'strong drink', a derivative of the verb shakar
'drink heavily'. As this potted history suggests, cider denotes etymologically any intoxicating beverage, and indeed that meaning
survived in English as late as the fifteenth century...A drink made by watering and repressing the pulp from with the original
apple-juice for cider was pressed was known in former times as ciderkin or water-cider."
---An A-Z of Food & Drink, John Atyo [Oxford University Press:Oxford] 2002 (p. 77-78)
"The Anglo-Saxons had had some knowledge of 'apple-wine', but there is nothing to suggest that it was either made or drunk to any
extent in England before the Norman Conquest. Cider making was introduced from Normandy about the middle of the twelfth century, and
was at first confined mainly to Kent and Sussex. Sometimes Normandy cider itself was imported...The new beverage soon spread to
other parts of the country...Cider could be made from apples mixed with pears, but if the drink was prepared largely or entirely
of pears, it was usually called perry...Both cider and perry helped to save the grain for brewing, as did other country
drinks."
---Food and Drink in Britain From the Stone Age to the 19th Century, C. Anne Wilson [Academy Broadway:Chicago] 1991 (p. 382-383)
"Fruit juice was not really an option for the Tudors. Unfermented grape juice, 'must', was importd but would surely have been
a luxury as it cannot have lasted long...Citrus fruits were also expensive, and even though apples and pears were widely grown,
preserving the juice was impossible. The only option was to turn it into cider and perry so that the alcohol would act as a
preservative. Cider and perry were still only widely drunk in certain areas of England, and...tended to be a special
occasion drink."
---Food and Feast in Tudor England, Alison Sim [Sutton Publishing:Phoenix Mill UK] 1997(p. 46)
"Home-brewed ale, beer, cider and mead remained the English staples although there was already, by the end of the sixteenth century,
a brisk trade in imported wines."
---Elinor Fettiplace's Receipt Book: Elizabethan Country House Cooking, Hilary Spurling [Elisabeth Sifton Books:New York] 1986 (p. 216)
"[in the 17th century] Cider and perry...maintained their popularity...In the later seventeenth century a specially constructed
cider mill came into use with a wooden cylinder that was rotated by hand...The apple pulp mixed with boiled water and pressed a
second time yielded [non-alcoholic] water-cider. It was ready for consumption in a within a few days, was drunk at family tables in place
of small beer...Or royal cider could be made, a potent liquor comprising...
---Food and Drink in Britain (p. 404)
Selected American cider recipes
Our survey of historic cookbooks, newspapers and corporate texts confirms the word "cocoa" had three distinct meanings in
the 19th century:
A. Raw food/commodity--nut from a New World tree used to create several different products of different grades and processes, including chocolate.
NOTE: It is important for researchers to examine early descriptions closely so not to confuse
cocoa nuts (from the cocoa tree) with cocoa nuts
(tropical fruit).
B. Commercial product--manufactured by several companies, 1828 forwards under different names (breakfast cocoa, prepared cocoa, Broma (enriched
product), ground chocolate, powdered chocolate, granulated cocoa. Not all cocoa was powder: cocoa nibs & cocoa shells are prime examples.
C. Recipe--19th century cocoa recipes (& related beverage, (hot) chocolate) are all over the map. The two most prevalent recipes employ chocolate scrapings (boil with milk/water) or chocolate shells (brew like coffee/tea). Cookbooks did not generally include recipes for cocoa made with chocolate powder, as instructions for these preparations would have been on the company's package or advertisements.
About cocoa
"Cocoa, a brown powder produced by grinding the roasted seeds of a topical American evergreen tree, has had a checquered linguistic
history, owing to its confusion with the coconut. When the Spaniards first encountered cocoa in Central America in the early
sixteenth century, they named it cacao, and adaptation of cacahuatl, the term for 'cocoa bean 'in the Nahuatl language. English
adopted the Spanish word in the mid-sixteenth century,, and used it quite happily for the next 150 years or so. But then, around
1700, we begin to see the first signs of cacoa, and the coco of the coconut...becoming associated in speakers' minds. Early
intermediate forms were cacoa and cocao, which were still pronounced with three syllables, but by the end of the eighteenth
century coca seems to have become firmly established, its -oa spelling revealing its exotic origin, but its pronunciation showing its
complete phonetic assimilation to coco. The drink made from the product of the cocoa tree was originally called chocolate...The term
cocoa was not widely applied to it until the end of the eighteenth century...And the drink we would recognize as cocoa today appeared
later still. The process of manufacturing it, by removing a large proportion of the fat content (cocoa butter) to produce a
lighter drink, was invented in 1828 by the Dutchman Coenraad Van Houten. This cocoa, often adulterated with flour, potato starch,
and even earth, became a staple beverage of the nineteenth-century British working class, enthusiastically promoted by the
temperance societies."
---An A-Z of Food & Drink, John Ayto [Oxford University Press:Oxford] 2002 (p. 83)
"'Cocoa,' which is British English is often used to refer to what Americans call 'cacao' and 'chocolate.' in American English refers only
to the defatted powder invented by the Dutchman Coenraad Van Houten in 1828...to confuse matters, the New York Commodities Market
calls the unprocessed seeds 'cocoa'!"
---True History of Chocolate, Sophie D. Coe and Michael D. Coe, 2nd edition [Thames & Hudson:London] 2007 (p. 18)
Modern chocolate begins in 1828
"In the United States the increased consumption in recent years has been no less striking. The amount of cocoa retained for home
consumption in 1860 was only 1,181,054 pounds; in 1885 it was 8,426,787 pounds (that is, cocoa, crude cocoa and shells, not including
chocolate, which is classes, in the official returns of imports, under the general head of 'farinaceous articles')--and increase
of 614 per cent in twenty-five years."
Baker Company chocolate products
[1886]
First powdered (granulated, prepared, breakfast, ground cocoa/chocolate)?
[1867]
[1874]
[1877]
[1878]
[1879]
[1880]
[1886]
[1911]
[1912]
Survey of 19th century USA cocoa recipes
"Cocoa Shells.--These can be procured at the principal grocers and confectioners, or at a chocolate factory. They are the thin shells that
envelope the chocolate kernel, and are sold at a low price; a pound contains a very large quantity. Soak them in water for five
or six hours or more, (it will be better to soak them all night,) and then boil them in the same water. They should boil two
hours. Strain the liquid when done, and let it be taken warm."
[1862]
[1863]
[1878]
[1879]
"Cocoa.
"Broma.
[1880]
"Cocoa-Prepared.
"To Make Chocolate.
[1886]
"Baker's Prepared Cocoa.
[1886]
Related recipes? Hot chocolate, Chocolate gravy & Chocolate milk.
[1832]
"Chocolate Frothed or Whipped. Put half a pound of chocolate to a glass of water over a small fire, stirring it with a wooden spoon
until perfectly dissolved; then take it off and add six yolks of eggs, a pint of double cream, and three quarters of a pound of
powder-sugar. Pour the whole into a pan, and when cold, whip it up as directed. See Cream Frothed."
[1845]
[1847]
[1849]
"1828 marks the beginning of the modern era in chocolate making and production. In that year, a Dutch chemist named Coenraad Johannes
Van Houten took out a patent on a process for the manufacture of a new kind of powdered chocolate with a very low fat content.
As early as 1815, in his own Amsterdam factory, he had been looking for a method better than mere boiling and skimming to remove most
of the fat of the cacao butter from chocolate. For this, he eventually developed a very efficient hydraulic press untreated
chocolate 'liquor'--the end result of the grinding process--contains about 53 percent cacao butter, but Van Houten's machine managed
to reduce this to 27 or 28 percent, leaving a 'cake' that could be pulverized into a fine powder. This was was we know as
'cocoa.' To cause this product to mix well with water, Van Houten treated it with alkaline salts (potassium or sodium
carbonates). While this 'Dutching,' as it came to be known, improved the powder's miscibility (not, as some believed, its
solubility) in warm water, it made the chocolate darker in color and milder in flavor...At any rate, in the year 1828, the age-old,
thick and foamy drink was dethroned by easily-prepared, more easily digestible cocoa. Van Houten's invention of the defatting and alkalizing
processes made possible the large-scale manufacture of cheap chocolate for the masses."
---True History of Chocolate, Sophie D. Coe and Michael D. Coe, 2nd edition [Thames & Hudson:London] 2007 (p. 235-236))
---Cocoa and Chocolate: A Short History of Their Production and Use [Walter Baker & Company:Dorchester MA] 1886 (p. 5)
[1847]
"W. Baker's American, Homeopathic and French Chocolate, Prepared Cocoa, Cocoa Paste, Broma, Cocoa Shells, etc."
---Bangor Daily Whig & Courier, May 6, 1847 (p. 3)[No mention of packaging or powder]
"Baker's Breakfast Cocoa, in 1/2 lb. packages (tin), Is made from selected cocoa, with the excess of butter of cacao removed,
and guaranteed to be absolutely pure. It is more than three times the strength of other cocoas, making an economical, excellent,
and delicious beverage for breakfast or supper, Costing less than Once Cent a Cup."
---Cocoa and Chocolate (p. 160) [NOTE: this book also offers descriptions for "Baker's Prepared Cocoa, in 1/2 pound packages, yellow
label and Baker's Broma in 1/2 lb packages (tin), preparation of pure cocoa and other highly nutritious substances, pleasantly
flavored and sweetened."]
We know Van Houten made this product possible in 1828. Early commercial references confirm powdered cocoa product was promoted as health food.
"Digestibility" was the key selling point.
"Schweitzer's Cocoatina. Anti-Dyspepsic Cocoa or Chocolate Powder. Guaranteed Pure Soluble of the finest Quality, with the excess
of fat extracted. The Faculty pronounces it 'the most nutritious, perfectly digestible...for Breakfast, Luncheon or
Supper and invaluable for Invalids and Children...made instantaneously with boiling water, a teaspoon to a
Breakfast Cup costing less than a halfpenny."
---Edinburg Evening Courant [UK], January 14, 1867 (p. 8)
[Company: H. Schweitzer, 10 Adams Street, London. Earliest print evidence we find for this product in USA source: March 27, 1884
(p. 7), Sterling Standard (IL).]
"F. EVANS & T. SYSON. Apparatus for Preparing Chocolate and Cocoa.
No,153,325. Patented July 21,1874.
THE GRAPH 1C CO. PHOTP-UTH.39 *41 PARK PLACE,N.V. United States Patent Office.
FBEDERICK EVAN'S AND THOMAS DYSON, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.
IMPROVEMENT IN APPARATUS FOR PREPARING CHOCOLATE AND COCOA.
Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 153,325, dated July 31,1874; application tiled June 30,1874.
To all wliom it may concern :
Be it known that we, Frederick Evans and Thomas Dyson, of the city, county, and State of New York, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Bolls for Preparing Chocolate and Cocoa; and that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters of reference marked thereon, making a part of this specification.
This invention is in the nature of an improvement in rolls for preparing chocolate and cocoa; and the invention consists in a series of hollow rolls or drums, arranged and constructed so that a continuous current of cold water or steam may pass through them, in the manner and for the purpose hereinafter fully described.
In the accompanying sheet of drawings, Figure 1 represents an end view of our rolls, partly in section; and Fig. 2, a side view of same, partly in section.
Similar letters of reference indicate like parts in the several figures.
As is well known, in the preparation of the cocoa-beau for the purpose of rendering it marketable as cocoa or chocolate, expensive and complicated machinery has heretofore been employed for this purpose; and in addition to this machinery, it has always been found necessary to subject the cocoa to repeated grinding, mixing, scraping, and melting, in separate operations, before it was rendered in a marketable condition as cocoa and chocolate. By our invention, however, this process is simplified and the cocoa-beans prepared as cocoa or chocolate without the use of expensive machinery or the loss of time in its preparation.
A series or train of rolls, A, are constructed with hollow interiors, and are provided with hollow journals, a, and the necessary couplings, 1). These rolls are supported in suitable bearing-frames, B, and they are placed in pairs, one above another. To the end of each roll are secured gear-wheels e, that mesh into one another, and into the gears of a drivingwheel, E. Immediately over the surface of the upper rolls is provided a hopper, /, and between the rolls A, and also below the under
rolls, are affixed scrapers g. These scrapers are adjustable by set-screws, and the rolls themselves are rendered adjustable by means of the adjustable bearings H, which, by the operation of the set-screws i, permit the rolls to be moved nearer to or farther from each other.
Our rolls being constructed substantially as above described, they are operated as follows: Power being applied to the driving-wheel E, the rolls are caused to revolve, and if it is designed to prepare the cocoa-bean for merchantable cocoa, suitable pipes are attached to the couplings Z* and a current of cold water directed into the several rolls, filling them and finding exit through the couplings c at the other end of the rolls, keeping the rolls at all times thoroughly cooled. The cocoabeans, having been roasted in the ordinary way and deprived Of their shells, are cracked and introduced into the hopper/, whence they come in contact with the upper pair of rolls, A, and being crushed and ground between them, they pass to the second pair of rolls, (which may be brought closer together than the upper pair of rolls,) and in this way the cocoa is reduced until it emerges from beneath the rolls in a fine, granulated state, and it is at once ready for market and for use. If the rolls were not kept cool by the current of cold water through them, the friction created by the passage of the cocoa-beans between the rolls would heat them to such an extent as to partially liquefy or soften the oleaginous principle in the bean, and the cocoa would mass together in a stiif and almost unyielding substance, rendering it difficult to pass between the rolls and destroying its granulated form.
When the rolls above described are to be used for the manufacture of chocolate, live steam, instead of a current of water, is passed into the rolls A in precisely the same manner as was conducted the water above mentioned, and by this means the rolls are heated to the temperature of the steam, so that when the cocoa-beans pass between them the heated rolls at once liquefy the oleaginous principle contained in the cocoa, and the heat, together with the pressure of the rolls, at once melts, as it were, or dissolves the cocoa into a homogeneous, ungranulated, and smooth mass, so that when it finally issues below the rolls it is iu the form of an unctuous paste, and is at once, and without farther preparation, ready for the market. If sweet chocolate is desired, sugar or other saccharine substance may be added to the chocolate, either as it passes through the rolls or afterward. To prevent the rollers becoming choked or clogged when in operation, scrapers <7, which are adjustable, as before mentioned, are secured to the frame B of the rolls, and these remove any surplus cocoa that may adhere to the surface of the rolls.
153,325
Having thus described our invention, what we claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is
Rolls for the manufacture of cocoa or chocolate, constructed with hollow interiors, in combination with steam or water pipes, substantially in the manner and for the purpose described.
FREDERICK EVANS. THOMAS DYSON. Witnesses: H. L. Wattenbeeg, G. M. Plympton."
"Cocoa, so much enjoyed by invalids, and supposed to be the purest of all articles used for beverages, is just as liable to
adulteration at the hands of the manufacturer and dealer as tea and coffee...Genuine cocoa is exceedingly hard to find. Many of
the preparations...sold under the name of chocolate shells and chocolate powder, consist of a disgusting mixture of bad or musty
cocoa nuts with their shells...of the poorest quality, ground up with potato starch...chalk, sulphate of lime...."
---Elyria Constitution [OH], November 15, 1877 (p. 4)
"There is a preparation of cocoa, already powdered, called 'cocoatina,' which needs no boiling. It is very good, and saves the trouble of
grating and cooking. I regret that, although I have used it frequently and with great satisfaction, I have forgotten the name of the
manufacturer. It is put up in round boxes, like mustard, and is quite as economical for family use as the cakes of cocoa."
---The Dinner Yearbook, Marion Harland [Charles Scribner's Sons:New York] 1878 (p. 15)
"United States Patent Office.
JOHN G. FINKE, OF NEW YOBK, N. Y.
IMPROVEMENT IN GRANULATED CHOCOLATE.
Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 215,341, dated May 13, 1879; application filed February 27, 1879.
To all whom it may concern:
Be it known that I, John Geokoe Finke, of the city, county, and State of New York, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Granulated Chocolate, of which the following is a specification.
The object of this invention is to furnish chocolate so prepared that it may be ready for immediate use without scraping or grating, and so tbat one cup or more may be made ready at a time, as may be desired.
The invention consists in granulated chocolate prepared by coating the grains of granulated sugar with melted chocolate, and in the process of preparing granulated chocolate by melting the chocolate cakes in a water-bath to which the heat is applied, stirring the granulated sugar into the melted chocolate until the grains of sugar are thoroughly coated, and then pouring the mixture upon a stone and stirring it until cold, as hereinafter fully described.
In preparing my improved granulated chocolate, one or more cakes of chocolate, as found in market, are placed in a water-bath, to which the heat is applied. When the chocolate cakes are melted, granulated sugar, in the pro
portion of ten pounds of sugar to one and three-fourths pound of chocolate, is poured in, and allowed to stand until the sugar is thoroughly heated, usually about two hours. It is then thoroughly stirred until every grain of sugar is coated with chocolate. The mixture is then poured upon a stone and stirred until cold. The granulated chocolate thus prepared is then sifted, and is then ready for use, or to be put up for market.
I am aware that it is not newto form a chocolate-powder by triturating roasted cocoa or chocolate beans or nuts to a paste in a heated mortar with sugar and aromatics, cooling this in molds, and, finally, grinding to a coarse powder.
Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent
A chocolate breakfast-powder consisting of sugar coated with chocolate and in a granulated form, as described.
JOHN GEOKGE FINKE.
Witnesses: James T. Graham, C. Sedgwick".
"Cocoa is from the seed of the fruit of a small tropical tree. There are several forms in which it is sold, the most nutritious
and convenient being chocolate, the next cocoa, then coca nibs, and last cocoa shells. The ground bean is simply cocoa; ground fine
and mixed with sugar it is chocolate; the beans broken into bits are 'nibs.' The shells are the shells of the barn, usually removed before
grinding. The beans are roasted like coffee, and ground between hot rollers."
---Buckeye Cookery and Practical Housekeeping, revised and enlarged [Buckeye Publishing:Minneapolis MN] 1880 (p. 142)
"Cocoa, or chocolate nuts, are the seeds of the Theobroma Cacao, a handsome tree from fifteen to twenty feet in height, growing
in Mexico, the West Indies, and South America. These seeds, or cacao beans, are roasted the same as coffee until the aroma is brought
out. They are then pounded into a paste in a hot mortar, or ground between roller. The preparation thus produced, when mixed with sugar, starch,
cinnamon, and vanilla, forms the chocolate of commerce. Cocoa is the bean ground fine, the oil partly extracted, and the remaining powder
mixed with a small quantity of sugar. Cocoa Nibs is the bean deprived of its husks, and then broken into small rough pieces. This is the
purest and best cocoa in our markets. The shells or husks are also used to make a weak decoction for persons with delicate stomachs."
---Mrs. Rorer's Philadelphia Cook Book, Mrs. S[arah] T. Rorer [Arnold and Company:Philadelphia] 1886 (p. 542)
"Cocoa, The ground cocoa bean, from which part of the oil or fat has been extracted, sold in powdered form. Because of the smaller quantity of oil cocoa
is more acceptable to many digestions than the richer chocolate. It may be added that the fact that the cocoa tin is not full when
opened does not necessarily imply short measure. The tins used by manufacturers are larger than required for the weight called
for, as cocoa fresh from the machines bulks a little larger than after it has been shake down in commercial handling."
---The Grocer's Encyclopedia, Artemas Ward [New York] 1911 (p. 150-151)
"Lowney's 'Always Ready' Sweet Chocolate Powder has a rich chocolate flavor--especiallyw hen boiled five minutes--for drinking, and besides makes the simplest and best icing for cake,
by simply pouring hot water over it. It is delicious as flavoring for ice cream....Lowney's [Breakfast] Cocoa is made form the choicest cocoa beans--the highest priced--ground very fine, with a part of the cocoa
butter pressed out to make it more digestible. Every atom of it is cocoa. It contains not one particle of adulterant, substitute, coloring matter, or chemical. Lowney's Cocoa has a perfect
natural flavor. Cocoa should be boiled from three to five minutes, but the milk should not be boiled."
---illustrated advertisements, Lowney's Cook Book Illustrated, Maria Willett Howard, revised edition [Walter M. Lowney Co.:Boston MA] 1907, 1912 (unpaginated ads, end of book).
[1852]
"Cocoa.--Put into a sauce-pan two ounces of good cocoa (the chocolate nut before it is ground) and one quart of water. Cover it, and as soon as it has
come to a boil, set it on coals by the side of the fire, to simmer for an hour or more. Take it hot with dry toast. Baker's
prepared cocoa is excellent."
---Directions for Cookery in its Various Branches, Miss [Eliza] Leslie [Henry Carey Baird:Philadelphia] 47th edition, 1852 (p. 418)
"To Make Shells or Cocoa.
They require two or three hours to boil. Some persons like cocoa roasted and pounded before boiling."
---Mrs. Putnam's Receipt Book and Young Housekeepers Assistant, Mrs. Putnam [Blakeman & Mason:New York] 1862 (p. 115)
"Cocoa. Put in a tea or coffee cup, one or two tablespoonfuls of ground cocoa, pour boiling water or boiling milk on it while stirring
with a spoon, and sweeten it to your liking. A few drops of essence of vanilla may be added, according to taste."
---What to Eat and How to Cook It, Pierre Blot [D. Appleton and Company:New York] 1863 (p. 17)
"Cocoa.
6 tablespoonfuls of cocoa to each pint of water.
As much milk as you have water.
Sugar to taste.
Rub cocoa smooth in a little cold water. Have ready on the fire the pint of boiling water. Stir in the grated cocoa-paste. Boil
twenty minutes; add the milk and boil five minutes more, stirring often. Sweeten in the cups to suit different tastes."
---The Dinner Yearbook, Marion Harland [Charles Scribner's Sons:New York] 1878 (p. 15)
"Chocolate.
Scrape fine one square of Baker's chocolate (which will be an ounce). Put it in a pint of boiling water and milk, mixed in equal
parts. Boil it ten minutes, and during this time mill it or whip it with a Dover egg-whip (one with a wheel), which will make
it foam beautifully."
To one pint milk and one pint cold water add three tablespoonfuls grated cocoa. Boil fifteen or twenty minutes, milling or
whipping as directed in foregoing recipe. Sweeten to taste, at the table. Some persons like a piece of orange-peel boiled with it.
---Housekeeping in Old Virginia, Marion Cabell Tyree [John P. Morton:Louisville KY] 1879 (p. 65)
"Cocoa.
This is a very delicate drink. Persons who cannot drink coffee and tea, make use of this with impunity. Take two ounces of cocoa-shells
and put them in a coffee boiler (but which has never been used for making coffee,) with two pints of water; allow it to simmer for
eight hours by the side of the fire, and then pour it gently off for use, leaving the shells in the boiler, to which, if another ounce is added, it
will make two pints, but it should not be used oftener than twice.
This beverage is prepared the same as chocolate, omitting the sugar. Milk may be used altogether if preferred. Never boil prepared
cocoa more than one minute. Too much boiling makes it oily. The quicker it is used after making, the better it will be."
Scrape or grate the chocolate, take a tablespoon of it for a half pint, half-and-half milk and water; put it in a perfectly clean stew
pan, make the chocolate a smooth paste with a little cold milk, and stir it into the mik and water when it boils, cover in for
ten minues or longer; add sugar to taste, unless Fench chocolate is used, which is prepared sweet enough. Serve soda biscuits or
rolls, or toast with it."
---The Home Cook and Receipt Book and General Guide, Mrs. Ella E. Myers [Burlock & Co.:Philadelphia] 1880 (p. 176)
"Baker's Breakfast Cocoa.
Into a breakfast-cup ut a teaspoonful of the powder, add a tablespoonful of boiling water and mix thoroughly; then add equal parts of
boiling water and boiled milk, and sugar to the taste. Boiling two or three minutes will improve it."
---Cocoa and Chocolate [Walter Baker & Co.] (p. 99)
To one pint of milk and one pint of cold water add three tablespoonfuls of cocoa; boil fifteen or twenty minutes. Any other proportions of milk and
water make a pleasant beverage."
---Cocoa and Chocolate (p. 101)
"Cocoa is rich in nutritive elements...There is a number of forms in which it is sold on the market, the most convenient and
nutritious being chocolate. Next comes cocoa, then cocoa nibs, and lastly cocoa shells. The beans of the cocoa are roasted in the same
manner as coffee. The husks or shells are taken off and the beans then ground between hot rollers. Sometimes the husks are not
removed, but ground with the bean. The ground bean is called cocoa; and mixed with sugar, after being ground very fine, is
termed chocolate. Vanilla is often added as a flavor. Sometimes the cocoa is mixed with starch. When the bean is broken in
small pieces, these are called nibs."
---Miss Parloa's New Cook Book, Maria Parloa [Estes and Luriat:Boston] 1886 (p. 386)
Was powdered cocoa used in baking (cakes, cookies, puddings, candies, etc.) in the 19th century?
Our survey of 19th century USA cookbooks does not suggest/confirm powdered cocoa was used in cooking. Primary push in those early days was drinkable
chocolate easily digested by infants and invalids. Mid-19th century USA chocolate cake recipes were in fact white cakes with chocolate icing achieved by scraping
chocolate. Evidence suggests powdered cocoa substitutions were early 20th century, most popular during the leanest of years when real chocolate was scarce.
Think: Great Depression & WWII. Subsequent cocoa cake recipes were purely a convenience. Early chocolate cake recipes
here.
Hot chocolate
Ancient Aztecs consumed chocolate drinks as part of religious ritual. 18th-19th century
English and Americans drank hot chocolate (along with tea and coffee) for breakfast. Cocoa, a related product requiring additional
proceesing, was popular in the second half of the 19th century. Early American recipes for "chocolate" confirm this hot beverage
was inspired by Mexican roots. Frothing the beverage with a stick honors the Aztec molinillo. Early European/American hot chocolate
was made from brick product. Flavors (some add nutmeg) and textures (cream, milk, water, froth) vary. Chocolate
creams, custards,
puddings and even chocolate wine were also known at this time.
[1769]
To Make Chocolate. Scrape four ounces of chocolate and pour a quart of boiling water upon it, mill it well with a chocolate
mill and sweeten it to your taste. Give is a boil and let it stand all night, then mill it again very well. Boil it two minutes, then mill
it till it wll leave a froth upon the top of your cups."
---The Experienced English Housekeeper, Elizabeth Raffald, facsimile 1769 edition with an introduction by Roy Shipperbottom
[Southover Press:East Sussex] 1997 (p. 163)
"Chocolate. According as you wish to make this beverage, either with milk or water, put a cup of one or other of these liquids
into a chocolate-pot, with one ounce of cake chocolate. Some persons dissolve the chocolate in a little water before they put it
into the milk. As soon as the milk or water begins to boil, mill it. When the chocolate is dissolved, and begins to bubble, take it off the fire,
letting it stand near it for a quarter of an hour; then mill it again to make it frothy; afterwards serve it out in cups. The
chocolate must not be milled, unless it is prepared with cream."
---The Cook's Own Book: Being a Culinary Encyclopedia, Mrs. N.K.M. Lee, facsimile 1823 edition [Arno Press:New York] 1972 (p. 51)
---The Cook's Own Book: Being a Culinary Encyclopedia, Mrs. N.K.M. Lee, facsimile 1832 edition [Arno Press:New York] 1972 (p. 51)
"A Spanish Recipe for Making and Serving Chocolate.
Take the best chocolate an ounce for each person, and half a pint of cold water; rasp or break it small in a mortar, set it over a slow
fire, and stir or mill it gently until it has become quite smooth like custard; pour it immediately into deep cups, and serve it with a
glass of sugar and water, or with iced water only to each cup; and with plates of very delicate dried toast cut in narrow strips, or with the
cakes called 'ladies' fingers.' Should the chocolate appear to thick, a little water must be added. Milk is sometimes substituted
altogether."
---Modern Cookery for Private Families, Eliza Acton, facsimile 1845 edition with an introduction by Elizabeth Ray
[Southover Press:East Sussex] 1993 (p. 489-490)
"To Make Chocolate.
Scrape or grate the chocolate, take a tablespoonful of it for half a pint, half-and-half milk and water; put it in a perfectly clean
stew-pan, make the chocolate a smooth paste with a little cold milk, and stir it into the milk and water when it boils, cover it for
ten minutes or longer; add sugar to taste, unless French chocolate is used, which is prepared sweet enough. Serve soda biscuit, or rolls, or
toast, with it."
---The American System of Cookery comprising every variety of information, By a Lady from New York (Mrs. T.J. Crowen)
[T.J. Crowen:New York] 1847 (p. 330)
"To Make Chocolate.
To each square of chocolate cake allow three jills, or a chocolate cup and a half of boiling water. Scrape down the chocolate with a
knife, and mix it first to a paste with a small quantity of the hot water; just enough to melt it in. Then put it into a block tin
pot with the remainder of the water; set it on hot coals; cover it, and let it boil (stirring it twice) till the liquid is one third
reduced. Supply that third with cream or rich milk; stir it again, and take it off the fire. Serve it up as hot as possible, with dry toast, or
dry rusk. It chills immediately. If you wish it frothed, pour it into the cup, and twirl round in it the little wooden
instrument called a chocolate mill, till you have covered the top with foam."
---Directions for Cookery in its various branches, Miss [Eliza] Leslie [Carey & Hart:Philadelphia] 1849 (p. 387-388)
How does this compare with Chocolate gravy?
"Chocolate Wine. Take a pint of Sherry, or a pint and a half of Port, four ounces and a half of chocolate, six ounces of fine sugar, and half an ounce of white starch, or find flour; mix, dissolve, and boil all these together for about ten or twelve minutes. But if your chocolate is made with sugar, take double the quantity of chocolate, and half the quantity of sugar."
---The Cook's Own Book: Being a Culinary Encyclopedia, Mrs. N.K.M. Lee, facsimile 1832 edition [Arno Press:New York] 1972 (p. 51)
American pioneers improvised creative methods for achieving drinkable pot of coffee. Success varied according to supplies and the exprience of the cook. A person who could brew a delicious pot of coffee was highly respected. Eggshells were commmonly employed as clarifying agents. Civil War soldiers craved real coffee. When the real deal was unavailable, a variety of creative substitutes were employed.
Early American brewing methods
"In the predominantly rural United States of the mid-nineteenth century, people bought green coffee
beans (primarily from the West or East Indies) in bulk at the local general store, then roasted and
ground them at home. Roasting the beans in a frying pan on the wood stove required twenty minutes of
constant stirring and often produced uneven roasts. For the affluent there were a variety of home
roasters that turned by crank or steam, but none worked very well. The beans were ground in a
manufactured coffee mill or a mortar and pestle. Housewives usually brewed coffee just by boiling the
grounds in water. In order to clarify the drink, or "settle" the grounds to the bottom, brewers employed
various questionable additives, including eggs, fish, and eel skins...The routine American ruination of
coffee must have surprised sophisticated European visitors. During the first half of the nineteenth
century there was a veritable explosion of European coffee-making patents and ingenious devices for
combining hot water and ground coffee, including a popular two-tier drip pot invented around the time
of the French Revolution by Jean Baptiste de Belloy, the Archbishop of Paris. In 1809 a brilliant,
eccentric expatriot named Benjamin Thompson--who preferred to be known as Count Rumford--modified the de Belloy pot to create his own drip version. Rumford also made a corred brewing
pronouncement: Water for coffee should be fresh and near boiling, but coffee and water should never
be boiled together, and brewed coffee should never be reheated. Unfortunately for American
consumers, however, Rumford's pot and opinions did not travel back across the Atlantic. Nor did the
numerous, elegant brewers from France and England...Typical North American coffee of the period
was boiled until it was a bitter brew badly in need of milk and sugar to make it palatable."
---Uncommon Grounds: The History of Coffee and How It Transformed Our World, Mark
Prendergrast [Basic Books:New York] 1999 (p. 46-7)
"Virtues of Coffee: Coffee accelerates digestion corrects crudites, removes colic and flatulencies. It mitigates headaches,
cherishes the animal spirits, takes away listlessness and languor, and is serviceable in all obstructions arising from languid
circulation. It is a wonderful restorative to emaciated constitutions, and highly refereshing to the studious and sedentary.
The habitual use of coffee would greatly promote sobriety being in itself a cordial stimulant; it is a most powerful antidote to the
temptation of spiritous liquors. It will be found a welcome beverage to the robust labourer, who would despise a lighter
drink.---Family Receipt Book, 1819."
---Early American Beverages, John Hull Brown [Bonanza Books:New York] 1966 (p. 100)
"For Improving Coffee: To valetudinarians and others, the following method of making coffee for breakfast is earnestly recommended as
a most wholesome and pleasant jentacular beverage, first ordered by an able physician. Let one ounce of fresh ground coffee be
put into a clean coffee-pot, or other proper vessel well thinned: pour a pint and a quart of boiling water upon it, set it on
the fire, let it boil thoroughly, and afterwards put by to settle: this should be done on the preceding night, and on the
following morning pour off the clear liquor; add to it one pint of new milk; set it again over the fire, but do not let it
boil, Sweetened to every person's taste, coffee thus made is a most wholesome and agreeable breakfast, summer, or winter, with
toast, bread and butter, rusks, biscuits, &c. This process takes off that raw, acidous, and astringent quality of the coffee,
which makes it often disagree with weak stomachs. It should not be drank too warm. A gentleman of the first fortune in the
kingdom, after a variety of medical applications in vain, was restored to health by applying to the above beverage morning
and afternoon.---Family Receipt Book, 1819"
---ibid (p. 100)
"Coffee Milk: Boil a dessert spoonful of ground coffee in about a pint of milk, a quarter of an hour; then put into it a
shaving or two of isinglass, and clear it; let it boil a few minutes, and set it on the side of the fire to fine. This is a very
fine breakfast, and should be sweetened with real Lisbon sugar. Those of a spare habit, and disposed towards affections of the lungs,
would do well to make this their breakfast.---Mackenzie's 5000 Recipes."
---ibid (p. 100-101)
A sampler of 19th American coffee instructions:
I,
II,
III,
IV,
V &
VI
[Click title of book for complete citation]
Pioneer coffee
"Although Peter Burnett advised his family, "If you are heavily loaded let the quantity of sugar and coffee be small, as milk
is preferable and does not have to be hauled," his counsel was the exception. Most emigrants took the advice of Anna Maria
King: "Fetch what coffee, sugar and such things you like, if you should be sick you need them." By the time the travelers were nearing
either Oregon of California, coffee was sometimes the only provision left. Catharine Amanda Scott Coburn, and Oregon pioneer,
recalled those times: 'We still had coffees, and, making huge pot of this fragrant beverage, we gathered round the crackling
camp fire--our last in the Cascade Mountains--and, sipping the nectar from rusty cups and eating salal berries gathered during
the day, pitied folks who had no coffee.' A story about coffee illustrates the relationship between Ellen Tootle and her husband,
newlyweds on their way to Colorado to look over the possibilities of expanding their dry-goods business to Denver: 'Mr. Tootle says I
cannot do anything but talk, so would not trust me to make the coffee. Boasted very much of his experience. He decided to make it
himself, but came to ask me how much coffee to take, for information, I know, but he insisted, only out of respect. The coffee pot
holds over 1 qt.; I told him the quantity of coffee to 1 qt. He took that, filled the coffee pot with water then set it near, but not
on the fire. I noticed it did not boil, but said nothing. When they drank it, they both looked rather solemn and only took one
or two sips. I thought it was time to have an opinion upon it. As Mr. Tootle would not volunteer one, I inquired how the coffee
tasted. He acknowledged it was flat and weak, but insisted I did not give him proper directions. He consented to let me try it
at supper time.' Later that evening Ellen Tootle had her chance to prove her culinary skills: 'I was all impatience to try my s
skill in making coffee. I watched it anxiously until it was boiling and waited with the greatest solicitude and I must
acknowledge some misgiving, for them to taste it. Oh, but I was rejoiced and relieved when they pronounced it very good.'
Before making a cup of coffee, the green coffee beans had to be roasted in a skillet and then ground in a grinder. The names of
the beans indicated their place or origin, and we find Rio, Havana, and Java coffee beans listed for sale in the mid-
nineteenth century. If tea was preferred, the buyers chose from a list of brands that featured Gunpowder, Imperial, Young Hyson,
Souchong, and Poushchongre. Not until after the Civil War did manufacturers devised good way of preserving the flavor of preroasted
or ground coffee, sometiems referred to as essence of coffee. But from March 30, 1850, St. Louis Missouri Republican this
ad suggests that they certainly tried. 'California Outfits. Ground Coffee--Put up in water-proof and air-tight packages and
guaranteed to retain its strength and flavor for years.' The credit for a good roasted coffee goes to Arbuckle Brothers, whos
offices were in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The company patented a method of sealing in the roosted flavor by coating the
beans with a mixture of egg white and sugar. Roasted coffee beans in paper bags were then shipped throughout the West, and
Arbuckle coffee was the most popular brand."
How much did coffee cost? 10 cents/pound, according to this
">provisions list.
Civil War Soldier coffee
"Coffee wes issued to Yankees rather steadily, in the form of raw beans that the men first had to roast without burning and
then crack with their rifle butts or somehow grind before boiling with water. At every meal the coffee came out, and if there
was a halt of more than a few minutes on a march, some men were bound to start a fire and begin making the brew, often mmerely
to be told to throw it out unfinished as they resumed the march. While the coffee's caffeine may have been stiumulating to their
spirits, the boiling also providentially killed much of what inhabited the poor water usually to be had. Confederates, by
comparison, cut off from sources of importation, usually had to substitute chicory, burnt corn and peas, and even potatoes and
peanuts, with far less satisfactory results. "Our coffee when we first went out was issued to us green, so that we had to roast
and grind it, which was not always a success, some of it being burnt, while some would be almost green," said Bellard. "In roasting
it we put a quantity of it in a mess man, and placing the pan over the fire would have to keep stirring it round with a stick in
order to have it roasted as evenly as possible." They could never properly grind the beans, cracking them instead, and
inadequate roasting could turn the beverage awful."
"In 1861, the standard daily ration in the Union army was based on the assumption that not all required ingredients would be
available at all times and places. As a result, it operated on an equivalent or what some called the "lieu thereof" or the "or" system...
Each day a soldier ought to be issued three-fourths of a pound of pork "or" bacon "or" one and one quarter pounds of fresh "or"
salt beef...His bread ration was to be eighteen ounces of fresh bread or flour or theree-fourths of a pound of hardtack or one and one
quarter pounds of cornmeal. Additionally, each 100-man company was to share eight quarts of peas or beans or ten pounds of rice,
ten pounds of coffee or one and a half pounds of tea, fifteen pounds of sugar, four quarts of vinegar, and two quarts of salt. In 1861
the Confederate War Department adopted precisely the same ration allowance as the old United States prewar, excepting that it
recognized the scarcity of coffee and sugar by reducing those from ten pounds of coffee to six and from fifteen pounds of sugar
to twelve. In any event the Southern commissary was rarely able to provide either of those items or those quantities after 1861, ar
at any distance from principal commissary and transport centers...In 1863, responding to the rigors of campaigning, the Union War
Department revised the ration to...[for every 100 rations] ten pounds of green coffee beans or eight pounds of roasted beans,
or one and one half pounds of tea..."
"Finally there was coffee. Soldiers could go for days without food, if only they ahd their coffee. In the Confederacy it became as
highly prized as shoes, and commanded outrageous prices in times of scarcity. Substitutes were tried using chicory or
parched corn, but nothing approaced the real article. As a result, coffee was the item most often requested when Rebs informally
met Yanks between the lines for illict trading. Virginia tobacco being the commodity exchanged. In the North, by contrast, there
was rarely any shortage of coffee beans, and many regiments were actually issued special rifles, one per 100-man company, with a
coffee grinder built into the butt stock. The best coffee was slow roasted over a low fire, "until of a chestnut brown color and not burnt, as
is so commonly done." It was to be boiled briskly for two minutes, then take from the fire at once, a little cold water thrown in, then the
boiler's contents poured through a piece of flannel after it had settled for five minuutes."
"The manner in which each man disposed of his coffee and sugar ration after receiving it worth noting. Every soldier of a month's
experience in campaigning was provided with some sort of bag into which he spooned his coffee; but the some sort of bag he used indicated pretty
accurately, in a general way, the length of time he had been in the service. For example, a raw recruit just arrived would take it up in a
paper, and stow it away in that well known receptacle for all eatables, the soldier's haversack, only to find it a part of a general
mixture of hardtack, salt pork, pepper, salt, knife, fork, spoon, sugar and coffee by the time the next halt was made. A
recruit of longer standing, who had been through this experience and had begun to feel his wisdom-teeth coming, would take his up
in a bag made of a scrap of rubber blanket or poncho; but after a few days carrying the rubber would peel off or the paint of the
poncho would rub off from contact with the greasy pork or boiled meat ration which was his travelling companion, and make a black,
dirty mess, besides leaving he coffee-bag unfit for further use. Now and then some young soldier, a little starchier than his fellows,
would bring out an oil-silk bag lined with cloth, which his mother had made and sent him; but even oil-silk couldn't stand everything,
certainly not the peculiar inside furnishing of the average soldier's haversack, so it too was not long in yielding. But your plain,
straightforward old veteran, who had shed all his poetry and romance, if he had ever possessed any, who had roughed it up and down had ever
possessed any, who would roughed it up and down "Old Virginny," man and boy, for many months, and who had tried all plans under
all circumstances, took out an oblong plain cloth bag, which looked as immaculate as the every-day shirt of a coal-heaver, and into
it scooped without ceremony both his sugar and coffee, and stirred them thoroughly together. There was method in this plan. He had
learned from hard experience that his sugar was a better investment thus disposed of than in any other way; for on several occasions
he had eaten it with his hardtack a little at a time, had got it wet and melted in a rain, or what happened fully as often, had
sweetened his coffee to his taste when the sugar was kept separate, and in consequence had several messes of coffee to drink without
sweetening, which was not to his taste. There was one and then a man who could keep the two separate, sometimes in different ends of the
same bag, and serve them up proportionally. The reader already knows that milk was a luxury in the army. It was a new experience for
for all soldier to drink coffee without milk, But they soon learned to make a virtue of necessity, and I doubt whether one man in
ten, before the war closed, would have used the lactic fluid in his coffee from choice. Condensed milk of two brands, the Lewis and
Borden, was to be had at the sutler's when sutlers were handy, and occasionally milk was brought in from the udders of
stray cows, the men milking them into their canteens; but this was early in the war."
Coffee substitutes
"Beverages also were scarce in the Confederacy and coffee was the most sorely missed of them all. Certainly the shortage of no other
beverage was responsible for such frequent complaint by contemporaries. One wrote that 'The coffee shortage caused more actual
discomfort among the people at large' than did any other. This commodity began to disappear before the summer of 1861 had passed,
and it was rarely seen after the fall of the same year. When one woman had to give it up, she wrote that she lost her
'elasticity of spirit.' Another cried 'Sour Grapes' to those who vowed that they did not miss the universal brew. But as one saw apple pies
without apples, one also found 'coffee' houses where no coffee was served. So dear did coffee become that the jewelers in
Atlanta were reported to have bought all the coffee available 'for sets in breast pins instead of diamonds.' There were those,
however, who managed to have a little coffee from time to time. Some had hoarded a supply, and a small quantity continued to
come through the blockade. Rhose who had coffee usually brewed a weak beverage and added other ingredients to make it go
further. These blends might include parched corn, rye, wheat, okra seed or chicory, and the resutls were not always satisfactory.
One diarist declared that such adulterated coffee was delicious, another thought it nauseating. Whenever the real product made
its appearance, it was the signal for unrepressed glee. Sometimes it was referred to as 'true-true' coffee, and one young lady,
in recording the day's menu in her diary, underlined 'real coffee' twice. When a train carrying 'blockade' coffee was wrecked nar
Sumpter, South Carolina, the eager, thirsty, inhabitants of the area rushed to the scene of the wreck and took home sacks of the
real bean. One editor worte that 'more real coffee has been drunk in that neighborhood within a few days than for a long time. The civilian population attacked the problem of substitutes for coffee with a determination and energy unlike that exhibited in
the search for other expedients. No other single item had more substitutes. The people worked at the project unceasingly, with
the result that 'few were the substances which did not...find their way into a coffee pot.' Boundless was the pride of the housewife
who discovered and put into use a substitute that would deceive her guests into thinking that they were drinking the real thing.
Nearly all women had their own combinations, but usually they shared the secret with those who were interested. Among the most popular, and
apparently the most successful, of the substitutes was rye. This was boiled, dried, then ground like coffee. A mild debate was
carried on through the newspapers as to whether or not rye thus used was harmful to the body; regardless of the points made,
people continued to use it. Another substitute frequently use was okra seed. More expensive and troublesome than rye, it was
nevertheless popular. Its proponents were convinced that it was by far the best substitute. The okra seeds were dried and parched in a similar
manner to rye. Corn, too, was used and prepared in a like manner, and there were thouse who preferred corn 'coffee' to any
other. The dashing General J.E.B. Stuart was reported to be of this group. Sweet potato 'coffee' was another of the more popular wartime
expedients. Potatoes were peeled and cut into 'chunks' about ths size of coffee berries. The pieces were spread out in the sun
to dry, then parched until brown, after which they were ground. The grounds were mixed with a little water until a paste resulted, after
which hot water was added. When the grounds settled to the bottom of the coffee pot, the beverage could be poured and drunk...Other coffee
substitutes were acorns, dandelion roots, sugar cane, parched rice, cotton seed, sourghum molasses, English peas, peanuts, wheat,
and beans."
Recipes & brewing notes
Acorns
What was Chicory?
Sweet potatoes
Okra
Corn
"Dyspepsia Coffee.
Rye
"Hunts Breakfast Powder"--Rye roasted with a little butter and ground fine. An excellent substitute for coffee. Boil thoroughly. Coffee (cheap substitute)--Chop
beet root fine, and dry in a closed pan over the fire. Then roast with a little fresh butter until it can be ground."
Related beverage? Cappuccino.
"French 75. A French creation from the imagination of one Henry of Henry's Bar, Paris, to celebrate the fire power of the famous
French 75 light field gun, used during the First World War. Originally called the '75 Cocktail,' the combination was added to by Harry of
Harry's New York Bar, Paris, after the War and became known as the French 75. He added champagne to a short drink with a gin
base and a dash of lemon juice."
[1927]
[1946]
[1947]
[1948]
[1949]
[1962]
[1975]
[1988]
[2004]
"Ginger ale--a carbonated beverage sweetened and flavored with the extract of ginger root...serves
as the transitional link between the home-brewed alcoholic small beers and small ales of old and
modern-day mass-produced soft drinks. Small beers had been prevalent for centuries as
affordable, if far less potent, alternatives to commercial alcoholic brews. Derived from almost
any part of almost any plant available in England and colonial America, small beers and ales
were generally presumed to be tonic in contrast to civic water supplies, which were believed to
be potentially toxic. Ginger beer, which peaked in popularity in the early nineteenth century, was
certainly considered to be healthy: Ginger's reputation as a counterirritant and digestive aid,
among other things, was firmly entrenched in folk medicine...Though the precise circumstances
of its invention remain unknown, ginger ale, also called ginger champagne or gingerade, achieved
immediate fame throughout the British Isles and overseas as a product of Belfast..."
[1832]
Beer, Ginger, Quickly Made. A gallon of boiling water is poured over three-quarters of a pound of loaf sugar, one ounce and a quarter
of ginger, and the peel of one lemon; when milk-warm, the jice of the lemon and a spoonful of yeast are added. It should be made in the
evening, and bottled the next morning, in half-pint stone bottles, and the cork tied down with twine."
[1833]
[1849]
[1858]
[1878]
Ginger Pop.
[1880]
"Ginger Wine
[1890]
[1911]
[1925]
"Specialty Beverages. Here are included those drinks of a standard proprietary nature and medicinal value. Many progressive dispensers have come out as
flatly agains tthe serving of medicines at the fountains.Others in charge of large and successful establishments have been equally positive in their
devensse of the sale of certain preparations of this nature. There is room for argument on both sides and the individual fountain
owner or manager must, in each case, decide what he had best do. Those to do not consider that medicinal drinks have any place on
the fountain menu point out that taking medicine is never a pleasant thing and that the sight of a person taking medicine may take the keen
edge off one's appetite...But notwithstanding these possive objections, there are many fountains which do no inconsiderable
budiness in 'bracers,' 'headache cures,' 'salts,' etc...
Ginger Ale
"Ginder Ale (To Charge In Fountain
"Old Fashioned Ginger Pop
Old Fashioned Ginger Beer
Examining American print in hopes of discovering "the truth" behind Irish coffee is like sifting through another family's
secret treasures. Articles chip uncomfortably at obscure shadows reconciling professional passion and human fortune. The real story
behind Irish coffee may just be: If you're not careful, you'll get what you ask for.
[1942]
"American soldiers in Ulster...profess a liking for the friendly people and the pretty girls, but find fault with the coffee and the
beer. Whiskey is expensive and high-powered, the beer flat and less palatable than the American variety and the coffee weak.
Most of the griping comes from the coffee addicts. It is by far the most popular drink among the expeditionists. Irish cooks, it seems,
simply do not know how to make good coffee, a blind spot they share with most American cooks...Any good coffee hound, even at an
airline distance of 4,500 miles, can tell you what's the matter with Irish coffee. it is weak, it tastes like an infusion of dishrags,
and its original bouquet is lost amid the assorted smells which come from pots not properly aired and sunned...But poor coffee
isn't peculiar to the warmhearted Irish people. It is practically universal among all the races of mankind...We hope the coffee in Ulster doesn't
drive our boys to harder stuff."
[1943]
"This restaurant had been considered to be one of
the best restaurants in Ireland at that time. Chef Joe Sheridan, originally from Castlederg, County Tyrone, had been recruited by Brendan. When
Joe was asked to prepare something warm for the passengers, he decided to put some good Irish Whiskey into their coffees. One of the
passengers approached the Chef and thanked him for the wonderful coffee. He asked Joe did he use Brazilian Coffee? Joe jokingly answered,
"No that was Irish Coffee!!"A few weeks later, Chef Sheridan knocked on Brendan O'Regan's office door. He showed Brendan this new drink in a
stemmed glass and asked him "How about that for eye appeal". Brendan answered "Genius Chef" and so began Irish Coffee. Irish Coffee continued
to be served at Foynes to all passengers and is still served to this day to all dignitaries arriving at Shannon Airport."
[1950]
"You ever tried Irish coffee at 4 a.m. on a cold and rainy night in Shannon? You haven't lived. I'm rolling across Newfoundland at this
writing on a TWA Constellation and I'm still smacking my lips of that astonishing nectar the Irish provided at their snug little
airport a few hours and one ocean ago. The recipe is simple: You take a goblet with a long stem so you'll have something to hold on to. Into the bottom of it you
sprinkle a teaspoon of sugar. On this you pour a jigger if Irish whisky. You stir it. Then you fill the glass to within a
half inch of the top with strong, black coffee...On to this mixture, carefully so it won't mix, you ladle stiff
sweet cream into the brim. That does it. Now you sip appreciatively and silently thank the Irish for inventing such a brew to warm
the inner and and quell the terrors of the night. Something else cheered me in Shannon, too, something with red hair and jeweled
blue eyes: one of the prettiest sights I ever saw. Our plane had soared up from Orly Airport in Paris earlier in the night, circled
once around the Eiffel Tower, cut through the blackness over France and England, and eased down in Shannon with the propellers beating
cascades of rain against the windows. We weary-eyed passenger stumbled down the aluminum steps to stretch our legs (we didn't know that
we were about to learn the delights of Irish coffee;) and there she was. This colleen in the deep green uniform of her government, waiting
to greet us. There were rain drops on her eyelashes, and, in the floodlights by the plane, they glistened like diamonds. We, who have
just left the mascarred and rouged ladies of a Parisian hot spot, stopped and stared. I'm, afraid we weren't very polite. She
laughed, shook the rain from here eyes ...and led us into the lounge by the fire where the waiters already had mixed the sugar and
the whisky in the glasses and were poised with the coffee and the bowls of cream. Most of the big airliners these days give Shannon the
old go-by. Only when they are heavily laden with passengers and plunder from the far corners of Europe do they put down in Ireland
to fill the gas tanks for the hop access the Atlantic. This, I think, is too bad. Those passengers who skip Shannon miss one of the
pleasantest interludes available anywhere to the traveler."
[1951]
"Don't have time for a full dinner?...Gaelic Coffee...hot and strong, with whipped cream and Irish Mountain Dew liquors."
[1953]
"The dinner at Shannon, as is usual on these trans-Atlantic air flights, are quite an international affair. There were
10 passengers at our table...After a leisurely dinner, followed by Irish coffee (hot coffee with whipped cream served in glass goblets fortified with Irish
whiskey for flavoring), the 42 passengers climbed back into the giant 80 seat Boeing Stratocruiser and settled themselves..."
---"Slow Plane to America," John B. Crane, Post-Standard [Syracuse NY], January 12, 1953 (p. 4)
[1954]
"Irish coffee has become a nobel experiment in San Francisco these days. I claim a modest share in this since I ruined a bottle of the
best John Powers trying to make the cream float. For some reason the cream floats beautifully in Dublin. But for me in the States
it sinks. Irish coffee is compounded of hot coffee, sugar and Irish whiskey in a bell-shaped glass. On the top of this you float a
half inch of chilled cream. One of them takes the chill off. Two of them set you to singing 'Down Went McGinty to the Bottom of
the Sea.' I ran into it first at Shannon airport. I had spent the raw, rainy day in nearby Ennis with a sentimental American
journalist with an Irish name. He was looking for relatives of his great-grandfather. And for some reason he sought them only in the
Ennis pubs. I was extremely sore-footed. I had climbed into my first Irish bed. It was cold as Cromwell's heart at the top. And
someone had tucked a blistering bottle of hot water at the bottom. I sat before the peat fire in the Old Ground with my shoes off.
'What you need,' said the waiter, 'is a Gaelic coffee.' "Drink a health,' I said...Now the only reason I bring this up is because
it us customary to speak well of the Irish this day. And I cannot speak any higher than of their coffee. It is smooth as nectar.
The steaming fragrance rises through the collar of Irish country cream. I have had some strange experiences in the making. The
trick is to make the cream float. 'You must have the coffee well-sugared,' a waiter told me in Dublin. Old Bailey in
Duke street. He mixed his dollop of whiskey and two spoons of sugar and coffee up to an inch below the rim of the class. Then he
laid a spoon bottom side up on top of the coffee and poured the cream slowly over that. In the Red Bank of Dublin, the waiter poured
the cream from a little pitcher down the side the glass. I have tried both. Sometimes my cream floated. Sometimes it didn't. The
oddest performance was at breakfast in Massachusetts. My cream floated wonderfully on the first batch. It and despairingly thereafter.
I checked every possible angle. Finally we discovered the second pot of coffee had been made with an eggshell in it. We made new coffee
without the eggshell and the cream rode the top again. No particular reason for all this. Except as I say it is the day of the Irish.
And I have been considering the luck of the Irish. And come to the conclusion that the luckiest thing is that they have Irish coffee. It keeps
the end of you warm that is not warmed in the Irish beds. The middle then takes care of itself."
"'Chef by the name of Joe Sheridan invented Gaelic coffee,' said the man at Shannon airport. 'Twas in the old days the flying boats
were landing at Foynes. About '38 I should say. The passengers would come in by launch, shivering and shaking for to die with the
cold and all. 'Surley,' said Joe Sheridan, 'we must invent a stirrup cup for the pour souls, and them not able to put their
shivering hands in their pockets for a shipping to pay unless we warm them...We have been serving Gaelic coffee since...And where is
Joe Sheridan now?...Ah said the Shannon man, 'Joe Sheridan went to Chicago to make his fortune. The last I've heard, he was chef
at the Chicago airport.' I asked him if he know that Chicago's airport was dry. A technicality of state law since the school system
owns the property. Poor Joe...sighed the airport man."
[1955]
"The news that Mr. Pat Moriarity's Chophouse on Sixth Avenue in New York is serving 'Irish Coffee Royal' brought Mr. Joe
Sheridan to my door...Mr. Shereidan is the inventor of Irish or Gaelic coffee...I ran into it first at rainy Shannon Airport. It appears on
all Irish menus. It spread to San Francisco, to the Hotel Sherman in Chicago, to the Mapes in Reno...'Now I invented it in the old
days when the flyin' boats were coming to Foynes in Ireland. They were havin' a celebration like for the new lines and they wanted a drink with
a warm glow to it. There's some say that I put the whisky in it to take away the taste of the horrible Irish coffee. But that's
not true.. It is a drink I took myself every morning for my hangover. I put a little whisky in the coffee. I don't drink now...for it became bad
for the health and I couldn't do it financially. As a matter of fact I'm a member of the AA, a back-sliding one in a way. For sometimes
I've gone for a good one and worked by way from the elegant Hotel St. Francis down to Skid Road and back again. I brought
my friend from the St. Francis down to Skid Road...but the St. Francis objected when I brought my friends from Skid Road up to the
St. Francis. Mr. Joe Sheridan is a chef. He has been chef at Shannon and at Waikiki and presently at Place Pigalle in San
Francisco...'Now I've kept under cover while the Irish coffee thing was beginning in the United States...until I could see which
way the wind blows. I'm in hopes that it will go through the hotels down to the bars.'...I asked Mr. Sheridan if he had a preference in
Irish whisky for the makings. 'In the old days I used John Powers or John Jamieson's. it was served in the best hotels in
Ireland and was drunk by the elite of Ireland. now in those days, William of Tullamore was a small concern and was not used by
the high class people. The O'Regans would never dream of it. But now I see Tullamore Dew has gone all out and captured the export
trade in many places.'...I asked Mr. Sheridan how much sugar he put in the coffee-and-whisky. 'Two lumps, cocktail size...When
I made it for myself for the hangover, I drank it black. But with all the vice presidents and the big people comin' to Foynes for
the celebrations, I floated the cream on top for the taste and the looks of it. I called it Gaelic coffee. But here in America it
would be alright to call it Irish coffee. It being an Irish drink, invented by an Irishman and served in Ireland."
[1955]
"On a chilly fall day at Shannon Airport five years ago, San Francisco Chronicle Columnist Stan ('Postcards') Delaplane stepped up to a bar for a bracer. From the other side,
he was handed a drink he had never tasted before . Delaplane inquired and got--complete with an Irishman's flair for a tale--Bartender Joe Sheridan's explanation of the
origin of the drink. Back in San Francisco Columnist Delaplane remembered the drink and the story. In his column, he wrote: 'Twas in the old days the flying boats were
landing at Foynes--about '38 I should say: the passengers would come in by launch, shivering and shaking for to die with cold. 'Surely,' said Joe Sheidan, 'we must invent
a stirrup cup for the poor souls and them not able to pub their shivering hands in their pockets for a shilling to pay unless we warm them. What is more 'warming,' said
Joe, 'thank Irish whisky, smooth as a maiden's kiss? To take the chill off their poor shaking hands we will fill the glass with coffee black as Cromwell's heart. We will top it
with a floating inch of Irish cream.' The result: Irish coffee. The memory of the drink was not enough for Columnist Delaplane. One night at San Francisco's Buena Vista
bar, he showed the bartender how to make Irish coffee. The drink that Columnist Delaplane mixed (and reported in his column), packed a wallop felt far from San
Francisco. A few weeks after Delaplane's demonstration came a startled cable from Ireland to a San Francisco liquor importer: What;s Happening? The answer: Delaplane
had touched off a craze for Irish coffee. In San Francisco's Buena Vista bar alone, consumption of Irish whisky leaped from two cases a year to 1,000 cases, an average
of 700 Irish coffees a day. Visitors from some 40-odd cities where Delaplane's columns turned up in droves to sample the magic dew. The consumption of Irish coffee
has become to great that exports of Irish whisky to the U.S. increased 40% last year, to 10,000 cases. In Manhattan, bistro from Pat Moriarity's Chop House (price: 85
cents) to the 21 Club ([price $1.75) have begun ladling out Irish coffee. TV Star Jack Webb built an entire Dragnet around Irish Coffee...This fall the flabbergasted Irish
whisky industry begins a campaign to put Irish coffee on the menus of bars and restaurants all over the U.S. But the men who introduced the drink to America, Bartender
Joe Sheridan and Columnist Stan Delaplane, will not be part of the campaign. Joe Sheridan, who left Ireland and drifted to Canada, Hawaii and finally by sheer coincidence,
to San Francisco, cannot stand to even look at the drink any more. Instead of taking a place of honor he has been offered behind the bar at the Buena Vista, he works as
a cook in Tiny's Waffle Shop, an all-night restaurant near San Francisco's Union Square. 'Whisky and me, 'tis the sad truth,' he says, 'do not get along, whether it be in
coffee or not.' As for Stan Delaplane, he avoids Irish whisky even straight (as it should be drunk), and will have not truck with Irish coffee. Says he: 'I can't stand the stuff
any more.' Recipe: preheat a six-ounce glass with very hot water. Empty and refill the glass there-fourths full of hot, black, strong coffee. Add three cubes of sugar and
stir until dissolved. Add a full jigger if Irish whisky and float whipped cream on top."
[1955]
[1960]
"Other than the society pages, you'll probably see more social celebs at the San Francisco Buena Vista Cafe sipping Irish coffee and
chatting about their next yacht trip than in any other place in town. This foot of Hyde street restaurant and bar helped put Irish
whisky on the bal when they started serving their now-famous Irish coffee. Excellent cafe for dining with an ocean view for a
panoramic backdrop."
[1964]
"Irish Coffee was evolved late in the 1930s at Shannon Airport by the head chef, a Gael named Joe Sheridan. And America
provided an assist. The drink was inspired by a group of tourists from this country who arrived at the airport on a cold,
wintry night in dire need of stimulant. Their plan had been delayed and they were weary and wet. The waiter became confused by the
several orders if it coffee and hot toddies, Sheridan rose nobly to the occasion. In a burst of enthusiasm and inventiveness he
combined a jigger of Irish whiskey, sugar, hot black coffee and whipped cream, all in preheated glass. Anyone who has seen or sampled the
Irish Coffee knows the cream must be poured gently to form a white collar above the black base. Of course, uninspired bartenders in
this country can, and do, employee whipped whip cream, but Sheridan used the fresh variety...It is only fair to San Francisco
to explain Irish Coffee, although not originating there, was given a boost by the writings of a transbay travel columnist
who we'll call Stan Delaplane. He sampled the nectar at Shannon and wrote about it. Word spread through California, across the
Rockies and eventually to New York. Now Irish Coffee is as well-known in our country as the martini...Perhaps readers of this piece will
image I exhumed these enlightening facts during an extended stay in Ireland last year. Journalistic integrity insists credit be given
where credit is due--to the Department of External Affairs of dear old Ireland..."
---"The Truth About Irish Coffee," Alan Ward, Oakland Tribune [CA], March 20, 1964 (p. 32)
[1966]
"'There we were, Brandon O'Regan and I...having an Irish coffee to the memory of Joe Sheridan, who invented it. 'Joe
Sheridan wrote me,' said O'Regan. 'And he said in his letter, 'There's some say it wasn't me that invented Irish coffee and maybe
you'd better set them straight...For you must remember you asked me for a warm drink for the passengers when the old flying boats
used to come into Shannon.' 'And that's true, said O'Regan, 'and I did remember. But I didn't say so. For some other people in
Ireland were claiming it. And it looked like I would be blowing my own horn too much since I'm still running Shannon Airport. And
now that Joe Sheridan is gone, It's a thing I regret not doing.' That was a few weeks ago. So off today to the Buena Vista Cafe on
San Francisco's waterfront. It made Irish coffee famous. And by it became famous itself all over the world...The coffee (Irish whisky
and coffee topped with a collar of cream) has spread to places you wouldn't believe. They serve Irish coffee in the Parisian Grill
in Hong Kong...Joe Sheridan kept a clipping of mine. It said flatly that he invented the heart-warming drink. He kept it in his
foxy pocket. Which shows how much store he put by it (Seamen sew a hidden pocket in their clothes--they foxy pocket). 'This is the
proof of it,' Joe told me. I don't know why some of the Dublin people said it was somebody else invented Irish coffee. I guess when
something becomes famous, a crowd of people rise up to take credit for it,' said O'Regan...Joe Sheridan didn't die in Ireland.
He went to sea. Sailed out of here through the Golden Gate and never came back. He died in some Far East Port, a lonely seaman's
death. It was his heart, I think. I can't even remember the city where he was buried."
[1973]
"Now year year it told by some that Irish coffee--and it was known then as Gaelic coffee--was invented in the Green Dolphin in Dublin.
That's long gone...No matter. The truth of it is the Gaelic coffee was first put together by Joe Sheridan who was chef here when the
flying boats used to put in at Foynes on the river. He's dead now...."
[1978]
"'The plaque to Joe Sheridan who invented Irish coffee?...Ah, it's in the back room for polishing.' [The bartender] went back and brought
it our. Propped it on the bar. And I had an Irish coffee in memory of Joe who made the first of those heartwarming drinks when
the flying boats were crossing the cold Atlantic to Ireland."
[1983]
"Irish coffee...was first introduced in America by Stanton Delaplane, the Pulitzer Prize winning columnist for the San
Francisco Chronicle. Although Delapane did not win the prize for his introduction, it should be, nonetheless, a grateful nation that
raises its mug on St. Paddy's Day...'To Delaplane.' 'It was invented back in 1945, or '48, by a bartender at
Shannon Airport whose name was Joe Sheridan,' Delaplane recently recalled. 'The first time I had it was about 1950. I was with Earl
Wilson and a bunch of guys, and we got into Shannon at about 5 on a real rosy Irish morning. 'We'd blown an engine--it was pretty
standard back then to blow an engine going over the Atlantic--so we had to stay over. At that time Shannon was a very small airport.
There were no big shops, no hotel. Nothing. There were a couple of Quonset huts that we stayed in, and that's how I got into Irish
coffee; there was nothing else to do. 'When I came back to San Francisco, I went down to the Buena Vista, a little bar on the
waterfront frequented by newspapermen. The place as doing so badly back then there were only about three guys in the place.
We decided to work out the recipe for Irish coffee. 'Our first attempts...were so bad we couldn't even get the cream to
float. Anyway, one of the guys there was a guy who would drink anything. We'd mix one up, hate it, and sent it on down to him...
and he'd drink it. They were kinda milky-looking things and terrible. We kept on trying...and that guy just got drunker and
drinker. The problem was the cream. Irish cream is much heavier than American cream. 'The viscosity--the surface tension--holds
up the cream,' Delaplane reveals. 'When you hae think cream to start with, and you add sugar to the coffee, well, it's
difficult. The solution was eventually discovered, and is still used at the Buena Vista. The cream is aerated for a second or two
in a blender before it is oured over the back of a spoon into the coffee, where it then flats. Irish coffee turned the
Buena Vista around, according to Delaplane, and made its reputation. The establishment, adjacent to the cable care turn-around
at Fisherman's Warf, is immensley successful; 36 1-quart bottles of Irish whiskey have been poured every single day for the
last 20 years. Delaplane feels 'very little remorse' about frayning the American moral fiber with his Irish coffee. He is, in fact,
somewhat proud. 'They put up a bronze plaque outside the Buena Vista in my honor...I don't drink Irish coffee much over here. I
drink it sometimes when I'm in Ireland as a kind of gesture or a vote of confidence; getting it now is different. I don't get the
same feeling I used to get back then. It's like a time that was baked in my life, like your first date...It was like a time and a
place that were just right for me. Life was a little more adventurous back then. What you need to do...is fly all night from Newfoundland
in a propeller-driven airplane. We flew so low we could see icebergs, and we'd get into Shannon at 5 o'clock on one of those
wonderful Irish monrnings. There was snow on the runway and it was bitterly cold. The we'd take the Irish coffee, and it was great.
I'll never do that again,' Delaplane says with a sad fondness...
[1984]
"One of the recent calls I received came from Ireland...Eugene McSweeney, chef-owner of Lacken House in Kilkenny called. McSweeney telephoned
recently with only the slighted degree of ire, to set the record straight on Irish Coffee. It seems that many American food writers
have been perpetuating the rumor (like Chinese chop suey and French tast) Irish Coffee was actually invented in the United
States. The place of origin supposedly is the bar of the St. Francis Hotel in San Francisco. Not so, claims McSweeney with a
sheaf of historical documentation to prove the drink's actual source. Since Irish Coffee is certainly a favored libation from coast
to coast, it seemed high time to get the facts nailed down, so I did. And pried a recipe for the spirited drink from McSweeney
in passing. According to McSweeny, Irish Coffee was the invention of bar man Joe Sheridan who tended the pub at Shannon
Airport in 1949 when it was known as Foyne's Flying Boat Basin. As the story goes, one morning when the clipper was overdue from
America, passengers were so cold that they begged him for a quick hot toddy to revive their flagging spirits. Being a creative
fellow, he whipped up a drink of what he had on hand: fresh brewed coffee, brown sugar and Irish whiskey. He floated some whipping
cream on top. The rest is history, and there is even a plaque commemorating Sheridan's stirring arm at Shannon Airport."
[1988]
"Stanton Delaplane, Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist for the San Francisco Chronicle and a world traveler with
popularizing Irish Coffee in the United States, died in San Francisco on Monday at the age of 80...Delaplane, who spent about half
the year overseas to create his six-day-a-week columns, joined the Chronicle in 1938 as a reporter. He became a syndicated
columnist when a series of 'Postcards' he went back from a trip were collected and published. His subjects ranged from unusual people
to those he knew best, his family and friends...Delaplane's connection to Irish coffee is part of San Francisco history. After
sampling the libation at Shannon Airport, he returned to America and spent a long evening studiously working out the proper balance
of whiskey, coffee, sugar and cream at the Buena Vista Cafe near the food to Hyde Street. Overnight, Jack Koeppler, the late owner
of the bar, found himself overrun with patrons and the drink's popularity spread rapidly. Later, Delaplane was quoted in Time
magazine as saying , 'I can't stand the stuff anymore.'"
Related beverage? Cappuccino.
About modern lemonade
"From its simple seventeenth-century beginnings as a drink made from lemon juice and water,
usually with sugar, lemonade has diverisfied widely...The term is an adapation of French
limonade, a derivative of limon...It was the first example in English of a word for a fruit drink
ending in -ade (orangeade followed in the eighteenth century), but it was not really until the late
nineteenth century that the suffix took on a life of its own with new formations such as cherryade,
gingerade, and limeade."
"Lemonade, which in its simplest form is a drink made with lemon juice, sugar, and water, has a
history dating back at least to the thirteenth century, when Arab cookery books offered recipes
for drinks made from lemon syrup. The Mongols enjoyed a sweetened lemon drink preserved with
alcohol, and the Persians enjoyed sharbia, from which English "sherbet" derives. By the
mid-seventeeeth century the drink was popular in Europe when limoadiers, street vendors in
France,
sold lemonade at modest prices. A lemonade recipe appeares in the 1653 English translation of La
Varenne's The French Cook. Lemonade arrived in America no later than the eighteenth
century,
imported from the various European cultures of immigrants...lemonade's image underwent a
transformation engendered by the temperance movement, which turned lemonade into a genteel
Victorian drink...Modern technology also helped the juice flow...Lemonade's popularity rose
unabated, prompting the 1901 New Orleans Times-Picayune's Creole Cook Book to
proclaim, "Lemonade is among the most delightful and most commonly used of all Fruit Waters."
Lemonade was also considered a tonic, served to those suffering from colds...or to invalids."
Grocer's notes, circa 1883:
[1653]
[1769]
[late 1700s]
[1845]
"Excellent Portable Lemonade. Rasp, with a quarter-pound of sugar, the rind of a very
fine juicy lemon, reduce it to powder, and pour on it the strained juice of the fruit. Press the
mixture into a jar, and when wanted for use dissolve a tablespoonful of it in a glass of water. It
will keep a considerable time. If too sweet for the taste of the drinker, a very small portion of
citric acid may be added when it is taken."
[1857]
[1878]
[1884]
[1891]
[1892]
[1906]
[1913]
[1920]
[1936]
[1944]
[1956]
[1963]
[1973]
Orange juice
Orange juice, as we Americans know it today, is a relatively modern item. Before mass
production and refrigerated transportation, few people enjoyed orange juice as a regular part of
their diet. In the United States, health food advocates and nutritionists promoted orange juice in
the 1920s. Commercial operations began selling frozen orange juice to the public just after
World War II.
[1892]
[1916]
[1921]
Frozen orange juice
"Minute Maid brand of orange juice is the category brand leader in the United States with a well-differentiated line of frozen concentrate and chilled
varieties. Minute Maid has been offering consumers...frozen concentrated orange juice since 1946...Minute Maid was the first orange juice brand
developed as a frozen concentrate. In 1946 John M. Fox, the brand founder, initially marketed the concentrate through door-to-door
salesmen in Massachusetts. Fox founded Florida Foods, Inc. in 1945. Within a year, the company name was changed to the Vacuum Foods
Corporation. Vacuum Foods was affiliated with the National Research Corporation which had developed a high-vacuum evaporation process
that eliminated 80 percent of the water to reduce orange juice to a concentrate while retaining the full flavor. Ultimately,
the concentrate was frozen and successfully marketed as a convenient product available year round...Early marketing stressed
the superior taste of Minute Maid's frozen concentrate as opposed to canned orange juice, as well as its convenience compared to
squeezing fresh oranges. Minute Maid's name had ben created to focus customer's attention on how quickly the product could be transformed
into orange juice. Early advertising emphasized Minute Maid's time savings, claiming the product saved a full five minutes in
preparation time. The 1948 launch of the Bing Crosby radio campaign boosted early sales dramatically...a label with a black background was
adopted in 1964. At that time it was extremely uncommon to associate the color black with food products."
[1946]
[1948]
"In a surprise move yesterday, Vacuum Foods Corporation, maker of Minute-Maid concentrated frozen orange juice, began processing for the
1948-49 season in its $2,500,000 plant at Plymouth, Fla. General production of concentrated juices was not expected to start for another
thirty days, according to industry observers...Mr. Boerner pointed out that very favorable consumer acceptance of frozen concentrated orange juice has
caused a backlog of orders that have been on an allotment basis since midsummer...The company's total production for this season has
been placed at 2,250,000 gallons of concentrate, which is roughly three times last year's output...a survey just completed by the
company in over 200 food shopping points in the metropolitan area shows average individual consumption of frozen orange juice concentrate
to be four cans weekly."
[1949]
Related beverages? Tang & Orange Julius.
PDQ
[1963]
[1965]
[1969]
"Solow/Wexton, which gave us the Herring Maven, is now out to further popularize two American slang words of derision--gooky and
yucchy. The agency will be doing it for PDQ, a chocolate additive for milk made by the National Sugar Refnining Company ('not all
gooky and yucchy like other chocolate stuff'). For eight weeks, even New York radio stations are going to be saturated with gooky-yucchy, and there'll also
be four-color ads in the The York Times Magazine."---"Agency to Popularize Slang Words," New York Times, October 6, 1969 (p. 74)
"PDQ Beads is the fastest and neatest stuff for milk. And a lot of other tings. Such as: It's a great snack right from the jar. It's
a swell ice cream topping. It's dandy for chocolate sauce, chocolate cake, pinwheel cookies. And lots more. But mostly it makes
the best chocolate drink in town. Those PDQ flavor beads really dissolve and disappear into the milk--not onto the glass. You'll
know PDQ. It's the big 14 ounce jar of chocolate flavor beads sitting alongside chunky, cardboard cartons on your grocer's shelf.
So get PDQ--quick. And save a dime. (PDQ and Jack Frost sugar are products of the National Sugar Refining Company.)"
---display ad with coupon, Bridgeport Telegram [CT], October 23, 1969 (p. 34)
[1971]
PDQ advertised in cartoon-strip form. "Petey Q. and The Stolen Rocket Tent ad was published in the comic section of several USA newspapers. Ad invited consumers to purchase the
PDQ Rocket Tent ,a portable play space for children, for $2.50. This example came from the San Antonio Light [TX], March 14, 1971 (p. 26).
[1980]
US Trademark registrations:
"Word Mark PDQ CHOCO CHIPS Goods and Services (EXPIRED) IC 030. US 046. G & S: SOLID FOOD FLAVORING MATERIAL IN GRANULAR
FORM. FIRST USE: 19720303. FIRST USE IN COMMERCE: 19720303 Mark Drawing Code (1) TYPED DRAWING Serial Number 72418568
Filing Date March 16, 1972 Current Filing Basis 1A Original Filing Basis 1A Registration Number 0966645 Registration Date August 21, 1973
Owner (REGISTRANT) SANDOZ-WANDER, INC. CORPORATION DELAWARE 59 ROUTE 10 07936 EAST HANOVER NEW JERSEY 07936
Assignment Recorded ASSIGNMENT RECORDED Prior Registrations 0798139 Disclaimer APPLICANT CLAIMS NO REGISTRATION RIGHTS
HEREIN FOR THE WORD "CHIPS" APART FROM THE MARK AS SHOWN, BUT APPLICANT WAIVES NONE OF ITS COMMON LAW
RIGHTS IN SAID MARK OR ANY FEATURE THEREOF. Type of Mark TRADEMARK Register PRINCIPAL Live/Dead Indicator DEAD"
?
"Word Mark PDQ BERRY BITS Goods and Services (EXPIRED) IC 030. US 046. G & S: SOLID FOOD FLAVORING MATERIAL IN GRANULAR
FORM. FIRST USE: 19720510. FIRST USE IN COMMERCE: 19720510 Mark Drawing Code (1) TYPED DRAWING Serial Number 72445282
Filing Date January 5, 1973 Current Filing Basis 1A Original Filing Basis 1A Registration Number 0976041 Registration Date January 1, 1974
Owner (REGISTRANT) SANDOZ-WANDER, INC. CORPORATION DELAWARE 59 ROUTE 10 EAST HANOVER NEW JERSEY 07936
Assignment Recorded ASSIGNMENT RECORDED Prior Registrations 0798139 Disclaimer APPLICANT CLAIMS NO REGISTRATION RIGHTS
HEREIN FOR THE WORDS "BERRY BITS" APART FROM THE MARK AS SHOWN, BUT APPLICANT WAIVES NONE OF ITS COMMON
LAW RIGHTS IN SAID MARK OR ANY FEATURE THEREOF. Type of Mark TRADEMARK Register PRINCIPAL Affidavit Text SECT 8
(6-YR). Live/Dead Indicator DEAD"
Pink Lemonade
Newspaper articles reporting Mr. Allott's death (1912) mention he invented the drink when he was 14 of 15. They do not, however, reveal his birth year or tell us
how old he was when he died. Federal census records list two Henry Allotts. By process of elmination, our Henry was born in Wisconsin, 1858. He was 54 when
he died in 1912. That would place his invention around 1872-1873.
The "legend"
"The man who invented pink lemonade crossed over the river last week and now rests with the departed souls...He was Henry E. Allott, a circus man, who was
brought up in the Middle West--of course he was a circus man, for pink lemonade and the circus were as closely linked, say, as galluses and overalls. But Allott,
besides being a child of the three-ringed tent and the animal side show, was a child of Fortune, too. For the discovery of the dink which gave him fame was sheer
accident--perhaps it was...Fortune's wings that brushed the cinnamon red candies off the box into Allott's tub of lemonade and changed the color to a
flowing pink--and pink lemonade had arrived. This is just how it happened. Allott was 14 years old at the time, and running the candy and lemonade "concession,"
following a circus around the country...After the cinnamon candies had accidentally dropped in and suffused the lemonade on the instance we are speaking of, the
new drink sold better than the old, and it was plain to Henry Allott that if the people who attended circuses had not been crying in divine high Pehlevi for lemonade,
red lemonade, they had, in their own language, been hankering for it. Tub after tub was emptied, while the old yellow drink remained untouched. Thereafter the
circus marked pink lemonade for its own...And the pink lemonade was there...It was there just as sure as the lady bareback rider came in gracefully balancing herself
on her toes on the back of a white Chippendale horse...In your pocket you had 10 cents or maybe a quarter. Soon the men in red coats come up the aisles with the
baskets of popcorn done up in red and blue and white oiled paper, with a prize in each, and peanuts, and--pink lemonade in glasses set in trays, with a straw in
each and a piece of lemon floating on top--they myrmidons of Henry Allott... 25 years ago every boy and man...would have said that if pink lemonade went the
circus must fall with it...It is a comfort to observe how sternly this institution kept to its early traditions; and never lost its colors even in its battle with the hosts of
the pure-food forces. Pink it was when the cinnamon drops of Henry Allott first dissolved themselves in the wassail bowl he was mixing, and pink it remained--
faded, perhaps, in the once-cent-a-glass grade which Allott never knew--but still a tint of the original color. And it would have been easy for an innovator in this age
of change, you might think, to have mixed his wares with a little copperas, or carbide, or paris green, or whatever it is that one person says makes a food product
one color and another fellow says it doesn't--easy, you would think, to put green lemonade on the market, or purple, and wean a portion of the public away from
the original brand...But not, Pink it remained, ranging in the better grades to red...But the people, as a whole, which is the only way to speak of the pink-lemonade-
drinking public, kept to their first love, and there has been much quiet satisfaction on this score among those who otherwise might have been prone to see in this
country a tendency to lapse from the older thinking which have made the nation stable, even though times of unrest--times when pink lemonade itself might not have
brooked the assaults against its bastions."
The earliest print reference we find in an American source does indeed link pink lemonade with the circus:
[1887]
"...we might cut a watermelon and stir up a tubful of pink lemonade."
[1892]
How did the cocktail get its name?
"Cocktail. There are well over 50 theories as to the word cocktail's origin, H.L. Mencken alone presenting seven plausible ones in his American Language. These include a derivation from the French
"The etymology of cocktail has long engaged the learned, but without persuasive result. It is thus set forth by William Henry Nugent in Cock Fighting Today, American Mercury, May 1929, p. 80: 'Feeding is an important thing in the process [of conditioning game-cocks]. The old-time English and Irish trainers made a specially prepared bread of flour and stale beer or ale. They also added white wine or sack, gin, whiskey or other spirits, and a whole materia medica of seeds, plants, roots, barks, and leaves. In sampling this concoction before pouring it into the dough they found it an appetizing tonic, not only for pit flow, but also for man. They named it cock-bread ale or cock ale, and in the spelling of the time it became cock ail. Americans knew a variant of this beverage, as early as 1900, ad the cocktail, Somehow a t had got into the mixture.' Early in 1926 in ,Le Figaro Hedomadiare (Paris) arguing that cocktail was derived from coquetel, the name of a drink known for centuries in the vicinity of Bordeaux. See Cocktail French Invention, Baltimore Evening Sun Feb. 11, 1926."
"Sir Edward's [McCubbin] treatise upon the cocktail (it was privately printed in a limited deluxe edition and I have, I believe, the only copy in America) deals at great length with the origin of the name. He says that it was first applied to a drink in the middle of the eighteenth century. The first drink to bear it was a diabolic sort of concoction of beer and brandy much affected by the officers of the Second Regiment of Royal Sussex Fusiliers, in the British Army. The men of this regiment, because they wore plumes resembling rooster feathers in their caps, were commonly called 'the cocktails' by the men of other regiments. The new drink, when it began to attain fame, took the name. No doubt much of this is true. I have seen several references to the Second Regiment's plumes in old newspapers of the period, and in at least one case the men are referred to as 'the cocktails.' But as for the rest of Sir Edward's story, there is no proof whatever. His book contains no bibliography, and he doesn't mention his authorities, and when I wrote him several years ago, asking for information, I received a reply from his secretary stating that, on account of the infirmities of age, it was impossible for him to discuss the matter."
"J.A. of New Orleans writes, 'I recall reading many years ago (but made no note of it) that the cocktail originated at an English
function centuries ago when someone drank to a group of soldiers who wore cock tails in their hats. In giving the toast with a
mixed drink he said, 'Here's to the cock tail.' Another theory, often quoted but regarded as dubious by some informed persons, is set
forth in the book "Old New Orleans,' by Stanley Arthur (published by Harmanson). In 1793, a young Frenchman, A.A. Peychaud, and his
sister Lauthenie fled to New Orleans to escape an uprising on the island of San Domingo. He established an apothecary shop at
437 Royal St. Peychaud possessed a formula for making a remarkable tonic called 'bitters.' It was Peychaud's custom to serve the
dram of cognac and bitters in one end of an old-fashioned double-ended eggcup. The French word for eggcup is
'coquetier,' pronounced: kaw-kuh-TYAY,' The new drink soon became known as 'coquetier,' and the pronunciation was corrupted by
non-French-speaking persons to 'cock-tay.' It is thought that, in the slurred speech of those who had drunk too many of M. Peychaud's
coquetiers, the word became further corrupted to 'cocktail,' which, early in the 1800s, came to be accepted as the official name
of the drink."
The first American cocktail?
The first modern American cocktail?
"'The cocktail,' said an intellectual Baltimore street bartender the other day, 'Is a distinctively American invention. True enough the name originated in England and
was there applied to mixtures as early as the time of Dr. Johnson; but the true cocktail, as every patriotic American knows it to-day, was invented in the State of
Maryland on April 17, 1846...'The great alcoholic statistician, and genealogist, Prof. Ferdinand Braun, of Halle, insists that the cocktail was invented in the Middle
Ages by Wolfram von Spiegeleisen, the minnesinger, who is best known to fame as the discoverer of yodling. Braun devotes a whole chapter in his mammoth work
'Die Alkoholismus,' to the demonstration of his theory, and quotes 100 forgotten books and manuscripts, but his argument for all that is ridiculous. 'As a matter of
fact, whisky and gin were entirely unknown to the human race until toward the middle of the seventeenth century, and a cocktail without whisky or gin, as everyone
knows, would not be a cocktail at all. 'On Braun's own showing the drink that Spiefelesen invented was a sort of cheap brandy punch, made of Bordeaux brandy,
nutmeg and sugar. One might conceivably call this drink a flip, but it was in no sense a cocktail...'The Smithsonian Institution, in a somewhat elaborate report upon
heavy drinking customs in the United States, says that the cocktail was invented in London in 1834 and introduced into this country, by way of New York, the year
after. The University of Chicago, in a later work upon the same subject, repeats this error. 'That this is an error is shown by the diary of Herman Smith, published
by the Falstaff Society in 1884. Smith was employed as head bartender at various New York hotels during the period 1832-1840, and later became
superintendent of the wine cellars at Delmonico's. He kept an elaborate diary from 1832 to 1838, in which he noted down innumerable facts and happenings of
interest to students of alcoholiania... In his book Dr Edward [McCubbin] admits freely that there is nothing in common between the cocktail of to-day and the
horrible mess swallowed by the officers of the Second Fusiliers.
"He seems to hold that the modern cocktail was invented was invented in 1836 by George Brooks, proprietor of the famous Brooks Club, in London. Again his
authorities do not appear, and again, I doubt that he is true. As a matter of fact, Brooks was not a bartender at all, but a fishmonger, and his club was noted less for
its wet goods than for its gambling tables, through its wine cellar at one time was very extensive...Sir Edward says that when Brooks perfected the new drink he
was at a loss for a name for it, and that 'cocktail' was suggested by Colonel William de Forrest, of the British Army, who had served in the Second Fusilliers years
before and recalled the old brandy-and-beer cocktails. Colonel De Forrest, he says, as a celebrated bonvivant of the period, and spent much of this time at
Brooks's Club. Chiefly as a matter of idle curiosity, I recently communicated with the British War Office regarding this Colonel De Forrest. What was my surprise to
learn that he was killed on July 18, 1831...This you will note, convicts Sir Edward of a serious error, for he says that De Forrest named the cocktail in 1836...
Meanwhile, you are probably recalling my statement that the modern cocktail was invented in 1846, and wondering how I will prove it. Attacking the subject in the
scientific manner, we find that it breaks up into definite questions, to-wit: The first cocktail manual? You can read The Bar-Tender's Guide or How to Mix Drinks (and try his recipes yourself, in our modern age with wider access to ingredients) online. Also, be sure to check out his decorative drink garnishes!
By the late 19th and into the early 20th centuries, bartending schools became popular--places where aspiring showmen (and show-women) could learn the art of crafting drinks. Schools often had manuals of their own for their students, chock full of hints, rules, tips, tricks, and tools that would make one stand out. Our holdings at Virginia Tech include two such digitized manuals from the Los Angeles Bartending School in the 1930s/1940s. (We also have one from Houston!) These include a "secret" for students: the so-called "tropical recipes," which were actually recipes from the early days of what would later be considered "Tiki" drinks after World War II (they actaully began appeared in the early 1930s).
The earliest print reference we found for "Happy Hour" dates to 1907. It involves alcoholic beverages but was a solo event.
The term "Happy Hour" has also been use to name for restaurants, cafes, night clubs, theaters, aprons, canned foods,
dance halls, newsies gatherings, high society social clubs and a poem. We have no clue if those patrons tippled during said
happy hour.
General definition
[1907]
[1914]
[1951]
[1957]
[1959]
"The most dramatic spectacle of our time, with the possible exception of the explosion of a hydrogen bomb, is the sight of a long-range missile
blasting off its launching pad at Cape Canaveral. Relatively few men, though, have seen a sight that is almost as spectacular--the flight of a
missile in mid-course...Those who do witness these scalp-tingling displays are a few Air Force officers and men, and the 1500 employees of Pan
American World Airways and the Radio Corporation of America, who work 'down range' manning the tracking stations and picket ships that stretch
southward for 5000 miles...It is this isolation--and this peace--that many of them come to find. Weary of what they describe profanely as that
'damned rat race back home,' they came seeking a place where a man, without neglecting his job, can still find time to fish and swim and putter
with his hobbies...Except for those who spend too much during 'happy hour' at the bar--and there are a few of these--the money mounts up
fast."
[1960]
[1961]
[1964]
[1965]
"What these restaurateurs won't think of! Now, the Pepper Milll Steak House is Pasadena has a double 'Happy Hour.' Double drinks
are served at regular prices from 4 to 6 p.m., Monday through Friday. Then, there's another
'Happy Hour' (doubles) from 10:30 p.m. to 1:30 a.m. The idea is that you can enjoy the first 'Happy Hour' and then settle down to a steak
until the second one rolls around."
"The pre-dinner cocktail has been made even more delightful by gracious hospitality and fine music at Kutcher's Country Club
here. The hospitality is evidenced by generous hors d'oeuvres, king-sized drinks and fine music provided by Sonni Rossi, Hal Fields,
Bey Perry and the Gullivers Travlelers Go Go Band. The Happy Hour takes place each afternoon from 6:15 p.m. to 7:15 p.m. in the
beautify new cocktail lounge adjacent to the Kutsher dining room."
[1984]
[1989]
"Cordial. Whether adjective or noun, is derived from the Latin word for the heart, "cor." As a noun, it may mean a medicine, or
medicinal food or drink, with the property of stimulating the heart and therefore the circulation. The term came also to mean a fruit
syrup or concentrated and sweetened fruit-based beverage, presumably because it was believed that a preparation of this sort would
have this effect. This sense of the word dates back to medieval times...Reference to cordials were far more frequent 100 eyars ago
than now, and the sense of the term far wider."
"Cordials, sometimes referred to as liqueurs...are made from distilled spirits flavored with fruits, herbs, spices, or other botanicals;
they are sweetened with sugar, honey or other agents and diluted with wine, ater, or other liquids bearing less alcohol than
spirits. Coridal are one of the earliest forms of distilled beverages and frequently were used as medicines, since it was believed that
the curative properties of certain herbs could be preserved in spirits...Early cordials were used both as potable medicines and
as liquid ointments for bathing wounds."
Related beverages: punch, shrub & switchel.
Artificially sweetened low-calorie carbonated beverages first surface in the 1950s. The earliest products were promoted to
diabetics and dieters searching for sugar-free alternatives. Kirsch introduced No-Cal 1952, selling the
product in selected NYC diet food stores. One year later, several major beverage
companies penetrated the sugar-free carbonated drink market. By the early 1960s dozens of
companies were competing for supermarket shelf-space. Coca Cola and Pepsi were not leaders, but followers. This new diet drink
was not embraced without challenge. Huge sales
and high public demand helped companies
overcome federal and state government regulations forbidding the use of artificial sweeteners in
carbonated beverages. The reason behind the regulations are not addressed (protect the sugar industry? health concerns?).
Diet sodas are challenged today for health reasons.
The Wall Street Journal reported the first results of the diet soda industry: "The collective summer thirst of Americans in all parts of the country is also boosting sales of some relative
newcomers to the carbonated market--quinine water, now used chiefly as a mixer for 'gin and tonic,' and low-calorie soft drinks, for people
who want to watch their waistlines. The latter drinks, sweetened with a chemical sugar-substitute, do not loom large in proportion
to the total soda pop sales, but they're coming up fast, bottlers report. This year's low-calorie drink sales, nationally,
are expected to run between 6 and 12 million cases. 'That's a drop in the bucket, compared with the total soft drink market...
But then, a rise from nothing to 12 million cases, for a brand new type of product in one year, is something you can't laugh off.'"---
[1952]
Records of the US Patent & Trademark Office confirm Kirsh No-Cal soft drink was
introduced to the American public March 3, 1952. The earliest ad we find was published in the New York Times touted:
"No-Cal...Turning the town upside down! Absolutely non-fatteneng. Ginger Ale-Cola-Cream Soda-Black Cherry-Root Beer. Everybody's
wild about the lively taste of No-Cal. No-Cal means no calories, No trace of sugar whatsoever, All the flavor is in-all of the
sugar is out, Three full glasses to each 16 oz. bottle, Perfect as an extra-dry mixer. Insist on No-Cal, the original non-fattening
soft drink with the revolutionary new sweetening discovery. Made only by Kirsch, famous for over 50 years for quality
beverages. Buy 16 oz. bottles, 2 for 29 cents, no deposit. Thrills Your Taste!...Trims Your Waist!" (April 7, 1953 p. 15)
"To Hyman Kirsch, Simferopol in Russia's Crimea seems no further from Brooklyn than No-Cal is from the soft drink syrups he compounded there before the turn of the
century. No-Cal is a soft drink brand which is described as the fastest growing in its field...No-Cal is made in a half-dozen flavors, none of which contains sugar...Devising
No-Cal came from a kindly thought. When Hyman Kirsch came from Simferopol to Brooklyn in 1903 he prospered in the manufacture of ginger ale and soda opo. By the time
he became a vice president of the Jewish Sanitarium for Chronic Disease is on Morris had joined him in the business in 1923 and became later a director of the
sanitarium. Both of them were worried about the number of diabetics in the home who could find no sugar-free, non-alcoholic beverage. They got together in their own
laboratories with Dr. S.S. Epstein, their research man, and explored the field of synthetic sweeteners. Saccharin and other chemical sweeteners left a metallic aftertasted.
Then, from a commercial laboratory, they got cyclamate calcium, and No-Cal was accepted by the diabetic and those with cardio-vascular illnesses who could not
tolerate salts in the sanitarium. The drink was introduced modestly in the New York market, chiefly on dietict counters. But there were more sales than there were
dieters. A survey by Grey Advertising Agency, Inc., which has the account, revealed that only half the buyers of No-Cal were on a diet. So the campaign was aimed
at the girth-conscious men and women: the budget was quintupled...and No-Cal was off."
[1953]
According to the records of the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office, Diet-Rite low calorie beverage was introduced to the
American public by Nehi, December 22, 1953:
"Word Mark DIET-RITE Goods and Services IC 005. US 045. G & S: DIETETIC SOFT DRINKS AND CONCENTRATES FOR MAKING THE
SAME. FIRST USE: 19531222. FIRST USE IN COMMERCE: 19531222 Mark Drawing Code (1) TYPED DRAWING Serial Number 71659080
Filing Date January 6, 1954 Current Filing Basis 1A Original Filing Basis 1A Change In Registration CHANGE IN REGISTRATION HAS
OCCURRED Registration Number 0600085 Registration Date December 28, 1954 Owner (REGISTRANT) NEHI CORPORATION
CORPORATION DELAWARE 10TH STREET AND 9TH AVE. COLUMBUS GEORGIA (LAST LISTED OWNER) ROYAL CROWN COMPANY,
INC. CORPORATION BY CHANGE OF NAME FROM DELAWARE 900 King Street Rye Brook NEW YORK 10573 Assignment Recorded
ASSIGNMENT RECORDED Attorney of Record Daniel Chung, Esq. Type of Mark TRADEMARK Register PRINCIPAL Affidavit Text SECT 15.
SECTION 8(10-YR) 20050110. Renewal 3RD RENEWAL 20050110 Live/Dead Indicator LIVE"
"Nehi Corp., a widely diversified soft drink maker...has entrenched its Royal Crown Cola in several key markets, particularly in the South. It has also developed
low calorie drinks under the label Diet Rite,"
"Refreshing Royal Crown Beverages in handy cans...Diet Cola...3 12 oz cans, 29 cents."
"The popularity of Diet-Rite Cola, which was introduced in Chicago more than a hear ago, has inspired Nehi Royal Crown corporation to increase its line of
sugar-free carbonated drinks by adding three delicious new flavors--Diet-Rite Lime-Lemon, Diet-Rite Orange, and Diet-Rite Strawberry. As is the case with
Diet-Rite Cola, each large half-quart bottle of the newcomers contains less than three calories, the Royal Crown people tell us. Ths certainly should be welcome
news for weight watchers and dieters. Besides, the new drinks are so delightful in taste, full of zest, and naturally good that they should appeal to children as well as
adults...The economically-priced Diet-Rite drinks, which come in tall, slim returnable bottles, are available in a rainbow Pak of six bottles, two of each flavor.
Or, if you prefer, you can mix and match to make up a carton of your own selection."
"Drink gingerale without adding pounds. And root beer, cream soda and cola too, for that matter, That's the beauty of a new line of
sugar-free beverages, introduced on the market this week by Cott Co. Absolutely non-fattening, the six different flavors
taste just like the calorie-heavy kind. At supermarkets and chain stores."
"Now available...non-fattening in six naturally wonderful flavors. Not one bit fattening! Yet delicios flavor-quality, in all 6 popular flavors. That's Cott Sugar-Free
beverages! You know Cott quality, from Cott beverages with sugar...Now you can enjoy this same famous quality, but ALL FLAVOR...NO SUGAR!...No fear
of adding weight, or breaking your diet. Cott quality may cost a little more, but you know why at first TASTE. Now--enjoy yourslef, with these delicious new
dietetic treats."
"The so-called dietetick or nonfattening, drinks have sprung up in considerable numbers during the past year. They're marketed
primarily by their substitution of an artficial sweetener for sugar, and they're sold mostly in fruit flavors. Most brands are marketed
in no-return bottles...retailing at 15 cents each. Though saccharin-sweetened drinks have been tried
with more or less success for many years, today's types of dietetics first got rolling in New York and New England markets in
early 1952. Most of them use calcium cyclamate, produced by Abbott Laboratories, North Chicago, under the name 'Sucaryl.' Kirsch
Beverages, Inc., Brooklyn N.Y., with its 'No-Cal',' and Cott Beverage Corp., New Haven Conn., with 'Cott Low Calorie
Beverages,' are among pioneers in the field. John J. Cott, president, says his firm will turn out 2.5 million cases of low-calorie
drinks this year, and expects to increase that by more than 10% next year. Within a month, Cott will introduce in Connecticut a
new 26-ounce 'family size' low-calorie drink. It will retail for 25 cents in a no-return bottle. Kirsch Beverages refuses to give
case figures, but Morris Kirsch, president, says his 'No-Cal' business in two years has spurted well ahead of its 50-year-old
regular soft drink line. Tested in five new markets this year, No-Cal will be marketed in '30 or 40 cities' next year...All the
dietetics are still encountering difficulty with some state food laws that ban artificially-sweetened soft drinks. Cott is
curently engaged in litigation in Pennsylvania to open that state's markets to its low-calorie line."
[1963]
"The nation's calorie-counting citizens have suddenly seemed to capture the attention of the major soft drink producers. Both Coca-Cola and Pepsi Cola this week
have put two major new low-calorie soft drink products into test markets, and the other new products are in the offing. Pepsi-Cola Company is testing its new
drink, Patio Diet Cola, in Greenville, S.C., and seems to be beaming its campaign mainly at the feminine market...If all goes well, Pepsi-Cola will move its new
product into Philadelphia and Pennsauken, N.J., early in March for additional testing. Meanwhile, Pepsi's arch rival, Coca-Cola, has low calorie plans of its own.
The company has started testing a sugarless soft drink called Tab in Springfield, Mass. Tab tastes very much like Coca-Cola, officials say, it contains only 2 calories
in each 12-ounce bottle...J. Paul Austin, president of Coca-Cola, notes that low-calorie soft drinks have not as yet proved popular among the steady consumers
of soft drinks. But, in his view, introduction of Tab might open the way to a new market that has not as yet been fully exploited by soft drink companies."
LO LO (HOFFMAN BEVERAGE)
According to the records of the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office Lo Lo brand diet soda was introduced by the Hoffman
Beverage Company February 11, 1963:
"...[Hoffman Beverage Company] was independetly owned until December, 1945, when the Pabst Brewing Company acquired it. Pabst sold it in 1961 to a group
headed by Mr. Sealfon...While a subsidiary of Pabst, the company in 1954 introduced "Tap-A-Cola" in a 12-ounce flat-top can. It was the second company to
can a cola but the first to bring it out in a flat-top container. A year before, C & C Super Cola Corporation packaged cola in a conical-top can. In 1963, while
under the direction of the Sealfon group, Hoffman introduced Lo-Lo Cola, a dietitic drink. It is best known for club soda, ginger ale and a complete line of flavored
sodas sold in bottles or cans."
Need more information? "Sweet Nothing, the Triumph of Diet Soda",
Benjamin Seigel, [American Heritage].
Related beverage? Carnation Instant Breakfast.
The earliest print references we find to "iced coffee" describe a granita or iced cream type product. The earliest USA reference we find for "iced coffee," meaning a
cold beverage, is 1887.
[1869]
[1886]
[1887]
[1896]
[1899]
[1907]
[1939]
Print evidence confirms this soothing beverage was prescribed in the mid-19th century for medicinal purposes.
Iced Tea Week surfaces in the 1920s.
Jist of the "traditional" 1904 claim:
"Iced tea appeared in the United States, the creation of some anonymous individual, prior to the
Civil War. In 1860 a writer for Horace Greely's Tribune, Solon Robinson, published a
small
volume How to Live. In this appeared the sentence Last summer we got in the habit of
taking the
tea iced, and really thought it better than when hot. By 1871 the new beverage competed with
iced milk, and iced water on hot summer days at the Fifth Avenue Hotel. In New York...By 1878,
travelers found iced tea for sale on the Rock Island Railroad and a popular beverage in Sidney,
Nebraska. Cookbooks began to offer recipes for iced tea and in 1886 Senators in their
Washington offices were said to have had large coolers of it to mitigate the force of the
weather.'"
"Exactly when the custom of drinking iced tea began is unknown, but it dates back at least to the
1860s, if not long before. A hot drink in vogue in the 1870s, tea a la Russe, made with sugar and
sliced lemons, was also enjoyed cold. Iced tea was also available in the 1870s in hotels and on
railroads."
A survey of iced tea recipes through time
[1868]
[1875]
[1877]
[1884]
[1887]
[1896]
[1908]
[1930]
[1948]
[1949]
Iced Tea Week
[1925]
"Iced Tea Week: The most economical of Drinks."
[1932]
[1938]
[1949]
[1951]
Related beverage: iced coffee.
The history of milk is a complicated and fascinating topic. Mother's milk has nurtured the human race from the dawn of
time to present day. Generally, the emergence of milk as an
industry traces back to the agricultural revolution, 10,000BC. Prehistoric hunter-gatherers captured
animals but did not domesticate them. Once people had the wherewithall to settle down, they
domesticated animals and learned to utilize their byproducts. Dairy foods (milk, cheese, yogurt)
flourished. Pasteurization [1861]
played a significant role in the history milk production.
"Throughout the history and prehistory of the human species, breast milk provided the major sustenance for a person's first
year of life...It was also widely used in women's healing remedies. In other words...[it] represented a significant part of the
human food economy."
"The milks of other species of mammal is one of humankind's most ancient foods--it was in fact
the most
significant single contribution of the Neolithic peoples' domestication of animals to the human
diet. Over the
millennia most species of livestock have been milked, including in various parts of the world
horses,
donkeys, camels, buffaloes, and yaks (the only major exception is the pig...), but today in the
West the
term milk, unless further qualified, is generally taken to refer to cow's milk...The word milk is
ancient too. It
can be traced back to our Indo-European ancestors, who used a verb something like *melf- for
wiping' or
stroking'. Since the action of milking involved the pulling the hand down the animal's teat, this
verb
eventually came to mean milk'. But it was the Germanic languages that picked it up, in the form
*meluks,
as a noun."
"The oldest known record of animals being kept in herds and milked is a series of cave paintings
in the
Libyan Dahara, showing milking and perhaps cheese-making too, and possibly older than 5,000
BC. The
Sumerians, around 3500 BC, and the Egyptians a few centuries later used milk and have left
reliefs and
records showing that they prepared curdled milk products."
"Domestication of cattle probably started because wild cattle were attracted to the fields of grain
grown by
early farmers and robbed these abundant supplies of food...Exactly when domestication took
place is
uncertain, but by 3000BC there is evidence for several well-defined breed in representations of
cattle from
both Mesopotamia and Egypt..."
"Although cattle have been domesticated for less than 10,000 years, they are the world's most
important
animal, as judged by their multiple contributions of draft power, meat, milk, hides, and
dung...Evidence for
the domestication of cattle dates from between 8,000 and 7,000 years ago in southwestern Asia.
Such
dating suggests that cattle were not domesticated until cereal domestication had taken place,
whereas
sheep and goats entered the barnyard of humans with the beginning of agriculture...As with sheep
and
goats, the process of domesticating cattle resulted in animals smaller than the wild progenitor.
Dated
osteological material from Neolithic sites establishes the transition from wild to
domesticated...The Fertile
Crescent has long been considered the place of initial cattle domestication, but that view tends to
reflect the
large number of excavations made there. Early signs of Neolithic cattle keeping have also been
found in
Anatolia (Turkey), where the osteological material at Catal Huyuk provides evidence of the
transition from
the auruchs of 8,400 years ago to cattle by 7,800 years ago. In short, it is still premature to
specify where
the first cattle were domesticated...Westward diffusion of cattle throughout Europe was tied to
the invention
of the wooden plow. The harnessing of a powerful animal to that device made it possible to
greatly extend
cultivation without a corresponding increase in human population..."
"The second unlooked-for benefit of animal domestication...was milk. The fact that animals
suckled their
young...must have been known from the earliest times, but the full value (and volume) of the milk
that
animals could be induced to supply to their new masters must have come as a revelation. Milk
being highly
perishable...a few hours would be enough to start it fermenting in the climate of the Near East.
Depending
upon the temperature and the kind of bacteria in the air, the curds might develop into something
pleasant
and refreshing, or something quite uneatable even by Neolithic peoples...Throughout much of
history, and
especially in hot climates, milk has always been most used in one or other of its soured or
fermented
forms."
"Archeologists excavating lake dwellings on the banks of Lake Neuchatel have found potsherds
pierced
with holes which date back to at least six thousand years BC. They conclude that these vessels
could have
been drainers for separating curds from whey...What kind of milk might the ancient lake-dwellers
have
been processing in this way?...Although domestication of goats and sheep was beginning to
change the
way of life of the Mediterranean peoples at this period, we do not yet know if they had reached
the stage of
milking the animals and making dairy produce to keep. Cows did not appear on the Alpine scene
until after
the Roman conquest of the Valais 53 centuries later...Noah's descendant Abraham, very rich in
cattle'
presented to him by Pharaoh, gave butter, and milk, and the calf which he had 'dressed' to the
three angels
who came to visit him (Genesis 18, viii). We can roughly situate that possible existing of the
father of the
Jewish nation in the second millennium BC...A kind of strip cartoon depiction on a polychrome
Sumerian
fresco of 2500BC....gives some idea of the methods used. It shows cows with their calves, still
not very far
from the primitive aurochs cattle, being milked by peasants on both sides of the gates of a
corral...The milk
is put into large, carefully cleaned jars...Goats and sheep will adapt easily to any climate and
browse on any
kind of weed; goats will eat most prickly plants as well. They long supplied most of the milk that
was drunk
or made in to butter and cheese. Cattle, worked to the bone as draught animals, provided hardly
any. We
may assume that the Babylonian cows gave milk only at calving time, when they were enjoying a
respite
from work. Virgil does not seem very keen on cow's milk, at least, he recommends its use only for
rearing
calves."
"Milk had an unusual status as a food item in the classical world, because milk, as such, will not
keep (without the use of refrigeration or other modern techniques). So the drinking of fresh milk
was a luxury shared by farmers and nomadic shepherds with those in cities and royal courts who
were rich enough to pay for express delivery...Aristotle observes that sheep, goats and cows all
produce more milk than is needed for their own offspring. These were the sources of most of the
milk that Greeks and Romans used; mare's milk and ass's milk were also sometimes used. The
milk of any of these five animals might be used as an ingredient in kykeon [a magical and
medicinal drink]. Aristotle also refers to the drinking of camel's milk. Much of the milk that
domestic animals produced was turned into cheese, a far more stable substance and an excellent
food. Both milk and cheese were typical foods of shepherds."
"Neither milk nor butter occurs among the lists of ingredients required by cooks in classical Greek
comedy scenes. Milk is called for, incidentally, in only three of the Roman recipes of Apicius. In a
pre-technological age milk, gala, was available as a beverage only to those who lived close to the
land. Hence, in Greek literature, milk-drinking is a mark of the pastoral peoples who did not, like
the Greeks themselves, live in towns."
"Sheep and goats were introduced into Britain by the first farmers. They may have brought cows
and pigs
with them as well, and in any case they must soon have begun to tame the native wild stock.
Cattle were
the most important animals in neolithic Britain, as their bones are far more numerous than those
of other
livestock on contemporary habitation sites...About 250 BC Britain's climate became drier and
warmer, and
animals could survivie more easily in the open...Cows supplied milk as well a meat, though the
lactation
period was much shorter than now."
"Milk played a part in the diet of the people of Britain from the time when the first neolithic
farmers brought
their domestic cows, sheep and goats into the coutry. At that period cow milk was the kind most
often
drunk; for cows, which could live off the leaves of the forest that covered almost the whole
country, far
outnumbered the grazing animals. Over several hundreds of years some parts of the woodland
were
gradually cleared, and by Bronze Age times there was more open terrain in which sheep and goats
could
be kept. Ewes, like cows, were milked; so also were she-goats."
"The pattern of animal husbandry changed only very slowly through the years following the
Norman
Conquest. But eventually the number of cattle on the manors rose as cow's milk came to be
preferred to
ewe's milk."
"The milking of ewes was abandoned altogether by some farmers in the sixteenth century on the
grounds that
it took too much of the animal's strength...Ewe's milk was given up reluctantly, for it was thought,
at least by
some people, 'to be fulsome, sweet and such in taste that no man will gladly yield to live and feed
withal'...Milk and milk products were useful adjuncts to the cuisine of the gentry, and enriched
certain of
their dishes...The peasant's cow was his commonwealth, providing him and his family with
butter, cheese,
whey, curds, cream, sod (boiled) milk, raw-milk, sour-milk, sweet-milk, and butter-milk'...The
well-to-do
rarely consumed milk in its raw state, for it was known to curdle in the stomach, and was though
to
engender wind there..."
Biestings
"Tradition attributes mystical curative powers to beestings, and it has often been used to make special curds and other
dishes for invalids."
Buttermilk
"Buttermilk was drunk in N. Europe throughout the Middle Ages; and in Britain it was for many centuries a 'perk' of
shepherds and dairymaids. In the 17th century, and on into the 18th, both buttermilk and whey became fashionable city drinks
(being drunk by the diarist Pepys, for instance, in 1664). In recent times, after a long period when buttermilk was in
low esteem, more people have come to regard it as a healthful alternative to ordinary milk, having much less fat. Its slightly
sour taste is seen as an attraction: less cloying than whole milk and more interesting than plain skimmed milk."
"If buttermilk is strained, it yields some curds which are put to various uses in e.g. C. Asia, the Middle East, and Scandinavia.
...In the Netherlands buttermilk is hung up in a cloth until all the whey has drained, and then eaten on a rusk with sugar
and cinnamon. This is called hangop."
"Secretary Wilson has utilized a moment of respite from investigating scandals in his department to take up with the head of his
Dairy Department, E.F. Webster, the subject of dried buttermilk. "There is no better drink," said Secretary Wilson, "than
buttermilk when it comes fresh from the churn. Two days later it is so fermented that it makes pigs squeal to smell it. i think
there should be some way to preserve it for commercial uses. I said to Mr. Webster, 'Try and see fi you can preserve it in some
practical and inexpensive way. Perhaps it can be done in tins. If not, it may be dried, possibly, by driving the water cut of it,
and then the consumer may restore the water and have his buttermilk fresh and wholesome any time.' We hope to get some sort of practical
results from our experiments."
"Buttermilk Chicken Feed. Sincerity Egg mash with Dried Buttermilk promotes healthy normal growth...The dried buttermilk furnishes
butter fat. The dried buttermilk eliminates digestive troubles and increases assimilation."
"Buttermilk is the residual milk left over after churning and having removed the fat. It forms a capital beverage and it allays thirst
most effectively. Buttermilk is extensively used by the peasantry of some European and Asiatic countries. It must of
necessity be used while cool and fresh as it rapidly decomposes and becomes rancid. Its action is diuretic to meet most
individuals and unfortunate by most of it is fed to swine instead of being utilized by the human race...Dietitians serve it
freely to patients in hospitals and in X-ray or Roetigenologic work as it is generally agreed that buttermilk is the ideal medium
for carrying bismuth of barium sulphate in suspension. it is not feasable to even attempt to have an adequate supply of fresh
buttermilk always on hand, of course...To meet these very requirements, therefore, scientists and rentgenologists have made extensive
experiments and have successfully found that buttermilk in a dehydrated form is satisfactory and none of its virtues are impaired
by sujbjection to that process. Just as the buttermilk comes from the churn it is dehydrated. The water is expressed from the
liquid, but nothing is added to the buttermilk solids thus obtained. When it is intended to be used, water is added to the dry
product and you have fresh buttermilk again. This 'pan-dried' buttermilk is highly recommended as it permanently retains its
properties, whereas in the natural state buttermilk spoils very quickly...Where there is an unusual degree of humidity, it may cake
if not carefully stored; a little crushing in a mortar renders it normal and ready for use..."
"In the world of instants, there's a new product with old-fashioned appeal. It's cultured buttermilk powder, with when mixed with
water, can be used in biscuit, muffin, pancake, and cake recipes in place of fluid buttermilk. The product, which hails from
Wisconisn, the dairy state, is just being introduced in our markets. It offers economic benefits as well as shelf stability.
But what about product performance? To find out, we pitted the powder against fluid buttermilk in the two most popular
buttermilk-based recipes--biscuits and chocolate cake. The results were promising...The convenience from of old-fashioned
buttermiilk does have some economic benefits. A canister containing a pound of powder, when reconsittuted, makes 5 quarts of
buttermilk. Suggested retail price for the powder is $1.89. Five quarts of fluid buttermilk costs about 67 cents a quart, or about
$3.35 for an equivalent amount. The buttermilk product is also shelf-stable...Though the product has only been on retail shelves
a few short months, it already has gained a good following, according to the company representatives...Buttermilk has been a home
baking ingredient for nearly 50 years, according to the company literature. Originally, it was strictly a farm product, but in the
1920s the by-product of buttermaking became a commercial commodity. What makes buttermilk so special is that it gives baked goods
a lighter, more fluffy texture. Real buttermilk contains a natural emulsifier that helps disperse fat throughout a mix or batter...
The product, Saco cultured buttermilk powder, currently is available at selected A&P, Scott Lad, and Kohl's food stores."
Related food? Sour milk.
Chocolate milk
Our survey of U.S. patent records and New York Times articles suggests commmerial pre-made chocolate milk products
probably originated in local dairies. It may be very difficult to pinpoint which company was first to offer chocolate
milk to its customers. Local dairies did not generally seek (nor did they need) national trademark protection. The
earliest chocolate milk products we find registered with the U.S. PTO are from the 1920s.
Bottled chocolate drinks (Yoo Hoo was one of the first) were introduced during Prohibition.
[1922]
[1925]
[1928]
[1930]
[1930]
[1934]
[1935]
[1949]
[1953]
[1962]
[1970]
[1983]
[1993]
Related quaffables? Cocoa & hot chocolate
Lowfat milk
"The cholesterol wars arrived several generations after three strategic developments that don't do much for cause of good plain milk but would enable the industry to
reinvent itself under fire. In the end, these bits of technical progress would give dairy processors the tools for taking Nature's Perfect Food apart-the really decisive
factor-putting it back together with selling points that nature hadn't thought of. The first break through, in the 1880s, was the mechanical separation of cream by
centrifuge, far more thorough than any hand skimming. The next came in 1890, when a University of Wisconsin dairy chemist invented the eponymous Babcock
test for measuring the precise fat content in milk-at the time, the chief indicator of quality. These two advances led to intense growth in the butter industry, which
became the most lucrative destination for milk. The third crucial achievement was homogenization, or the technique of crushing milkfat globules into droplets too
small to rise to the surface in a cream layer. Homogenization had to overcome several obstacles before it could be coupled with the first two advances. It disrupted
the chemical structure of the milkfat so drastically as to release a torrent of enzymes that promptly turned raw milk rancid. Even when dairy chemists learned to
sidestep rancidity by combining the steps of pasteurizing (which inactivated the enzymes) and homogenizing, there remained the age-old consumer habit of judging
milk by its richness-i.e. the thickness of the cream layer on top. When packaging in glass bottles came in toward the start of the twentieth century, one of its
advantages from a buyer's point of view was the plainly visible 'creamline.' The fact that homogenized milk in glass tended to acquire an unpleasant oxidized flavor
on exposure to light more rapidly than creamline milk was another strike against it. As a result, until shortly after World War II few people saw any reason to want
homogenized milk. Milk for drinking was almost without exception available in only two degrees of richness: with or without all the original fat. Skim milk, or what
was left when the cream was separated for other purposes, was the ugly sister. Health experts warned mothers that it was paltry stuff, deficient in crucial nutrients.
(Most state required that it be fortified with vitamin A to replace the fat-soluble beta-carotene that disappeared along with the cream; this step is still mandatory for
fat-free and most reduced-fat milk.) At the nation's creameries skim milk was an unvalued by-product, often dumped for lack of any profitable use. As early as the
late 1930s a few dairy processors had been trying to win people over to homogenized milk. The turning point came with a postwar shift to opaque paper or
cardboard containers in place of returnable milk bottles. This in turn accompanied another shift away from home delivery and toward supermarket purchases of
milk..."From the '60s or '70s on, hasty public health re-education campaigns sought to convert consumers to 'the less, the better' attitudes regarding fat percentages
in milk, with zero being the new ideal. Zero was easily attainable through centrifuging, but centrifuged skim milk lacked the flavor-saving smidgin of cream that
remained in the milk after hand skimming. Some people uncomplainingly adopted zero-fat milk; many more balked. The milk-processing industry eventually arrived
at a spectrum of products starting with 0 percent milkfat milk and progressing through various homogenized gradations of fat content: .05 percent (officially
'low-fat'), 1 percent, 1.5 percent, and 2 percent (these last three 'reduced fat'). All quickly acquired fan clubs that are now an entrenched part of American culture.
For a long time the hardest sell remained skim milk, and for good reason: The usual commercial versions are a singularly thin, vapid travesty of decent
hand-skimmed milk. But eventually processors hit on the stratagem of using dried skim milk solids to add body and selling the result under names like 'Skim Milk
Plus.'.""
"Milk, that all-American food, is taking on some all-American names--like "fat free," "reduced fat" and "light." Starting Jan. 1, 1998, the labeling of fat-reduced
milk products will have to follow the same requirements the Food and Drug Administration established almost five years ago for the labeling of just about every other
food reduced in fat. From now on:
2 percent milk will become known, for example, as "reduced fat" or "less fat" instead of "low fat"
1 percent milk will remain "low fat" or become, for example, "little fat"
skim will retain its name or be called, for example, fat-free, zero-fat, or no-fat milk.
Also, the regulations that implement the labeling changes give dairy processors more leeway to devise new formulations. As a result, consumers may see a broader
range of milk and other dairy products, including "light" milk with at least 50 percent less fat than whole, or full-fat, milk and other reformulated milks with reduced
fat contents but greater consumer appeal."
Powdered milk
[13th century Asia]
[1870s: enriched milk powders recommended as infant formula]
[1880s: dessicated (dried) milk]
[1890s: albumin enriched milk is recommended for invalids: natural ingredient & egg white supplement]
"Where a larger amount of nutritment is required, albuminized milk is valuable." (p. 11)..."Albuminized Milk. 1/2 cup milk.
White 1 egg. Put the white of egg in a tumbler, add milk, cover tightly, and shake thoroughly until well mixed." (p. 496)
[1900s: Plasmon & milk powder]
"Milk powder: is dessicated milk, either 'whole' or 'skim,' sold in bulk and canned. It is used principally by bakers and manufacturers of
milk chocolate. 'Whole milk' powder contains from 25% to 27% fat, 30% to 32% protein and 30% to 32% milk sugar."
[20th century: commercial powdered milk]
[1950s: nonfat powdered dairy creamers]
Skim milk
During WWII skim milk flooded the American market in both liquid and dried forms. For obvious reasons. For the first time, commercial dairies & government
agencies combined forces by actively promoted this particular dairy option as healthy and "all American." Folks farming Victory Gardens gladly gulped skim milk.
Once the War was over, middle-class suburban baby-boomers fed their babies gallon after gallon of whole milk. In the 1960s-1970s the skim milk phoenix rose
again. This time the product was marketed as a healthy alternative to the regular fat-filled variety. Thus initiating the long parade of low-fat grades we encounter
today. In sum? If you're looking for an example of how a particular food has been used to promote political agenda, you'd be hard pressed to find a better
specimen than skim milk.
English language evidence
The OED dates the print term "skim milk" in our language to 1596:
[1875]
"A construction of the Butter and Cheese law of Illinois, passed in 1869, has been given by the State Supreme Court. The Chicago Tribune says that it settles the
legal status of 'skim-milk,' as the housewives called it. There are a great many uses to which this article of dairy refuse may be put, as milk consumer in large cities
can testify to their sorrow, but there is a point where the watery stuff ceases to be legal tender. While a farmer, accroding to the decision, may skim the milk on the
top, bottom, and edge, and strip it of the last globule of cream when he sells it to a cheese manufacturer who does business on his own account, he must deliver
the square article just as the cow yields it when it goes to a co-operative factory. The law was evidently enacted more for the benefit of the milk-producer than of
the manufacturer, as, but the decision of the Supreme Court, its penalties operate only to prevent dairymen from swindling each other, leaving the rest of the
commmunity to look out for themselves."
[1881]
"Milkmen have suffered more annoyance and trouble from the [New York City] Board of Health than all other classes in the community put together. The action of
the Board of Health has caused the milkmen to lose their self-resepct and the respect of the community at large...We have been searched, as though we were
common criminals, and our propert [skim-milk] confiscated and destroyed. For ever child that has died in the city, unless it was struck by lightning or a lager-beer
wagon, we are in some way held responsible...We don't claim..that skim-milk contains as much nourishment as full cream milk, nor do we ask that we may obtain
the same price for it. But...we do claim the right to sell it as skim-milk. Skim -milk is preferable to cream or full-cream milk as a drink. Thousands of children are
born in this City every year of inexperienced mothers. Such children are often sickly and need bracing up in order to rear them to manhood and womanhood. A
child is given milk, and in the weak condition of its stomache it throws off the curd that forms. The mother rushes for the doctor, and he at once attacks the milkman
as the cause of the trouble...We have cheap groceries, cheap dry goods, cheap labor, and each has its place in our community. Why not, then, have cheap
milk?..the existing Sanitary Code resulted in the loss of 100,000 quarts of milk daily to the dairyman..."
[1942]
"Greater production of dried milk will help win the war...The report...says that 61,000,000 quarts daily of separated milk, now of limited commercial value, could
be turned into an asset...'No other single food of comparable cost can match dried skim milk in the quantities of calcium, protein and phosphorus found in a quart
of this powdered milk.'...'The many demands at present for casein temporarily complicate the problem and, if the American people would awaken to the value of
dried separated or skimmed milk, production would have to be stepped up very materially."
[1948]
"Though dry skim milk may not sound particularly enticing, it has been the outstanding news in this column in 1948. Directions for using it in a whipped topping and
frozen desserts were the most popular offered this year...The idea of making a creamless 'ice cream' with dried skim milk was conceived by Mrs. Ruth P.
Casa-Emellos, the Times' home economist. High in nutrients, especially calcium, and low in calories and cost, this is a smooth-textured dessert that tastes just as
rich as standard ice cream."
[1954]
"There is magic in milk these days. A powder has appeared that, when combined with water, gives a liquid-mik instantly in a kind of presto-chango process. This
immediately soluble powder is the latest edition of that familiar product, dry skim milk, or as it is technically termed, non-fat dry milk soluble. Up until now, home
cooks could only reconstitute dehydrated milk with water by vigorous agitation. The fact that dry skim milk now dissolves as readily as soluble coffee obviously
makes it easier to use and thus stengthens its appeal. The wider and stronger the appeal the better, say those concerned with family health, because dry skim milk is
high in nutrients, low in cost--the thriftiest form available of a food that is indispensable in the American diet. Three manufacturers, now turning out instantly soluble
dry skim milk, are trying with all speed to achieve national distrubution. They are the Borden Comapany, the Carnation Company and the Pet Milk Company...The
new milk, like the older product, is one of the most economical sources of protein on the market; its protein is of the same high quality as that found in meat, poultry
and fish...Skim milk is such a stock part of any reducing diet that it may seem a bit obvious to insert, by way of reminder, that the dry product is very low in
calories...How does the liquified milk taste? If chilled, it is comparable to fresh skim milk. Those accustomed to whole milk find the skim product, whether or not it
was derived from a dehydrated powder, a little sweet."
[1964]
"Consumer use of skim milk continues to increase at a much sharper rate than that of whole milk. The Agriculture Department reports that sales of skim milk in 83
major fluid markets of the country in the first six months of this year were 12 percent above those of a year earlier.'"
[1991]
"All that the scientists at the Electric Power Research Institute were trying to do was find a way to conserve power in the dairy industry. But, inadvertantly, they may
have developed a process that makes skim milk taste like whole milk. Instead of heating milk to drive off water to produce concentrate or powder, as is usually
done, institute researchers and representatives of the Dairy Research Foundation called it. Some of the water formed ice crystals, which were filtered out. The
resulting concentrate was reconstituted by adding water. The researchers were surprised to find that the resulting skim milk tasted better than normal skim milk.
'We put the water back in, and it tasted like whole milk.'...According to officials of the institute, freezing is a more energy-efficient means of concentrating milk and
other dairy products than heat evaporation."
Recommended reading:
Sour milk
What is sour milk?
What's the difference between sour milk and spoiled milk?
How was sour milk used?
Why don't we have sour milk anymore?
[20th century USA sour milk milestones]
[1907]
[1910]
During the Great Depression sour milk was promoted as a viable alternative for sweet/fresh milk. Newspaper food columns
sell "old fashioned sour milk" on three points: health, econonmy, and versatility. Recipes and instructions suggest
this generation was unfamiliar with the product and how to use it.
[1931]
[1932]
World War II-era cookbooks promote sour milk for its flavor and texture. Instructions for "souring" milk suggest the item
is not generally available for sale.
[1942]
"Sour Milk is often needed for the invalid, for cooking or baking. It can be made for fresh milk by the addition of 2 tablespoons
white vinegar or lemon juice to each pint of milk. Allow to stand in a fairly warm place at room temperature for one-half your, then
return to refrigerator. The same proportions obtain for evaporated or irradiated evaporated milk after it has been diluted one-half
according to directions. In baking, use one-half teaspoon soda for every cup of sour milk or cream."
[1947]
"Sour milk" is maligned when it is used as a synonym for "spoiled" or "bad" product.
[1961]
Our survey of USA culinary literature suggests "sour milk" was generally promoted as a variation of traditional recipes.
Think: sour milk waffles, muffins, cakes, and cookies. Chemical leavening proprtions required adjustment based on the higher level of acid in the
milk.
"Old-Fashioned Sugar Cookies
[1932]
[1942]
"Sour Milk Pudding
Related foods? Yogurt, sour cream & buttermilk.
When was milk first sold to consumers by the gallon?
Milk Plant Monthly, an industry publication, offers several articles detailing the gallon jug debate and related issues. Samples:
"Development and present status of the big milk bottle; market requirements, practices, and onions of milk dealser to the gallon jug and the half gallon bottle,"
[September, 1939] & "The Gallon Jug," T.M. Shorts [December 1940].
Citations to this publication, and related resources, from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's report The Marketing of
Dairy Products 1936-1940 . NOTE: Milk Plant Monthly is not avialable free on the Internet or from article databases. Use
WorldCat to identfy holding libraries. Your local public librarian can help you obtain copies of specific articles. FT library does not own this publication.
[1939]
[1950]
[1955]
[1957]
"The 'gallon jug' bill was approved unanimously by the Senate today. It goes to Governor Harriman. The measure is designed to bake clear that milk may be sold legally
in four-quart containers. Governor Harriman vetowed a similar measure last year as unnecessary, but it is reported that he will approve the bill this year. Milk in gallon
containers is sold in Buffalo, according to the Department of Agriculture and Markets...Some milk dealers have opposed the 'gallon jug' bill because of the cost
involved in acquiring the larger containers and in setting up the machinery to fill and cap them."
[1956]
What is mint julep?
"Mint Julep. A cocktail made from bourbon, sugar, and mint. It is a classic drink of Kentucky and is traditionally served at the
running of the Kentucky Derby on the first Saturday in May. The word first appeared printed in John Davis's Travels of Four Years and a Half
in the United States (1803) as a 'dram of spiritous liquor that has mint in it, taken by Virginians in the morning.' The
origin of the word 'julep'...indicates a very sweet concoction known since the fifteenth century. Mint juleps were known in the
United States by the end of the eighteenth century, long before bourbon became the ingredient most associated with the
drink, and one will find mint juleps made with whiskeys other than bourbon, though this would be heresy in the state of Kentucky,
where there is also great debate as to whether the mint leaves should be crushed in the traditional silver mug."
"Americans in Virginia, according to Richard Barksdale Harwell, the author of The Mint Julep, added spirits in 1878 and mint
in 1803 and originated the mint julep. Deciding that the English might like this new version, Captain Frederick Marryat, who had been traveleing
in America, reintroduced the mint julep to the English in 1837. Marryat noted that the mint julep is 'one of the most
delightful and insinuating potations that ever was invented.' The first mint julep recipes called for brandy or rum, but local
whiskey, frequently home-distilled rye or bourbon soon became the spirits of choice. Charles Joseph Latrobe, who described the mint
julep in 1833 at a meeting of the Anti-Temperance Society in Saratoga, Florida, declared the mint must be unbruised. Jerry
Thomas, in How to Mix Drinks, which was published in 1862, called for bruising the mint. The issue is still being
debated. Both Latrobe and Thomas called for filling a tumbler or glass with shaved ice. Preparation of mint julep is seeped in
ceremony and is a symbol of southern hospitality...Although the mint julep is appreciated throughout the South, Kentuky, proud
of its bourbon, popularized the drink in the twentieth century. The years and date are unknown, but a letter written by Judge
Soule Smith in the late nineteenth century makes clear that Kentucky bourbon should be the whiskey of choice for a mint
julep. Mint julep in a glass maked 'Kentucky Derby' was first served in the dining room at Churchill Downs, home of the derby,
in 1938."
[1803]
[1845: British aristocracy acknowledges this unique American beverage]
[1862]
188. Mint Julep
[1882]
[1904]
[1939]
Pendennis Club Mint Julep...Martin Cuneo has for many years manufactured his own conception of a proper mint Julep to
members of Louisville's famous Pendennis Club...There are several minor varations in the gentle art of Juleping, and his is enough off the
unusual track for inscription here--as he does not bruise mint, even slightly. Take a sixteen ounce silver Julep cup, or the same in class. Into the
bottom put a lump of sugar and dissolve it in a little spring or well water. Choose the tenderest mint sprigs and toss in
three-arranging them in the bottom, and don't crush or bruise at all. Fill the chalice with finely crushed ice. Turn in two
jiggers of the best old bourbon the cellar can afford, and stir once to settle. Add enough more ice to fill; a complete small bundle of
tender mint comes next, trimmming the stalks fairly short, so as to give out their aromatic juices into the Julep. Place in the ice, and
stand aside for a few minutes to frost and acquire general merit."
[1946]
According the Oxford English Dictionary [online edition], the term "Mobby" has several different meanings. All of them point to fermented beverages made from various ingredients, including: sweet potatoes, ginger, apples or pears. In keeping with the times, spelling variations are rampant. Notes here:
Forms: 16 mabby, 16 mobbi, 16- mobbie, 16- mobby, 18- mobee Brit. / mo m bi/, U.S. / bi/. [Origin uncertain. Perhaps Carib mabi sweet potato (1665 in R. Breton Dict. Caraibe-Franois), although this is not found in other Carib sources. Compare MAUBY n.]
1. Caribbean.
a. An alcoholic drink made from sweet potatoes. Now hist.
1638 T. VERNEY in V. Papers (1853) 194 This as we call mobby is only potatoes boyled, and then pressed as hard as they can till all the juce is gon out of the root into fayre water, and after three houres this is good drink. 1657 R. LIGON True Hist. Barbados 31 The first [drink], and that which is most used in the Iland, is Mobbie, a drink made of Potatoes. a1726 H. BARHAM Hortus Americanus (1794) 153 Potatoes, or Batatas... An excellent drink is made of the roots, called mobby. 1750 G. HUGHES Nat. Hist. Barbados 34 (note) Mobby is a Drink made with pounded Potatoes, and Water fermented with Sugar or Molasses. 1826 H. N. COLERIDGE Six Months W. Indies (ed. 2) 42 (note) Their suppers being a few potatoes for meat, and water or mobbie to drink. 1961 F. G. CASSIDY Jamaica Talk 204 Mobbie..was originally made with sweet potatoes. 1984 William & Mary Q. 41 228 He wrote that the favorite drink on Barbados was mobbie, a beverage made from boiled potatoes.
b. A drink made from ginger (see quot. 1859). Cf. MAUBY n. 1. Obs.
1833 MRS. A. C. CARMICHAEL Domest. Manners W. Indies II. xiv. 68 Ginger beer, mobee, and orgeat are always plentiful [in the market]. 1859 J. R. BARTLETT Dict. Americanisms (ed. 2), Mobee, a fermented liquor made by the negroes in the West Indies, prepared with sugar, ginger, and snake-root.
2. N. Amer. The juice of apples or peaches, often fermented and used to make brandy. Also: the brandy itself, or a punch made with it (more fully mobbie punch). Obs.
1705 R. BEVERLEY Hist. Virginia IV. xxii. 78 Others make a Drink of them [sc. peaches], which they call Mobby, and either drink it as Cyder, or Distil it off for Brandy. 1722 R. BEVERLEY Hist. Virginia (ed. 2) IV. xvii. 254 Mobby Punch, made either of Rum from the Caribbee Islands, or Brandy distill'd from their Apples and Peaches. 1800 J. BOUCHER Glossary p. xlix, Mobbie; the liquid, as first expressed from the fruit, and which is afterwards distilled, and thus becomes peach or apple brandy. 1810 Inventory Estate S. E. Butler in Georgia Hist. Q. (1946) 52 218, 9 Mobby Stands..1 tight hogshead & 5 Casks..1 pr. Mill Stones. 1860 J. E. WORCESTER Dict. Eng. Lang., Mobby, the liquid or juice first expressed from apples and peaches, and afterwards distilled to make apple or peach brandy. 1871 M. SCHELE DE VERE Americanisms, Mobee or Mobby..is frequently applied in the South to what in England would be simply called a punch.
Caribbean maubey
Puerto Rican interpretation
"Hot spiced wine, often called "mulled wine," is typically made by simmering red, and occasionally white, wine with a mixture
of citrus (juice, slices, or zest from lemons or oranges) and virtually any combination of spices, including cinnamon,
clove, allspice, ginger, cardamom, nutmeg, or mace. Wines ranging from dry table wines to sweet ports or fortified wines
(strengthened with additional alcohol) are used...This beverage has an ancient history, stemming from early
civilization of 5000 B.C.E. (Mesopotamia and Egypt) and subserquently Greece and Rome. Wines were sometimes infused with
herbs and spices for a range of gastronomic, hallucinogenic, medicinal, religious, and preservation purposes. In medieval
Europe wine was customarily consumed as a safer, healthier alternative to often-contaminated water. In colder climates, wine and
other fermented beverages were sometimes heated to create longed-for and much-needed warmth...The introduction of tropical
spices to medieval Europe opened the door to a wide range of flavors. Wildly expensive and exotic at the same time, they were
available only to the wealthy and were used to enrich the libation hippocras, the descendant of an ancient Roman drink.
Hippocras was made from wine heated with honey, pepper, and many other spices, such as galingale (similar to ginger), and
it was often consumed as an elixir at the end of a large feast. Although it occasionally appeared later in seventeenth-century
cookbooks, it had lost most of its high status and popularity by then. By the later part of the seventeenth century, European trade
with India and the Indonesian Spice Islands had begun to flourish...These tropical spices (such as cinnamon and nutmeg) began
to replace earlier European flavorings in heated wines and dramatically changed the taste and character of the wines. In addtion,,
the British in India encountered a local spiced "paunch" (later called "punch"), a warmed beverage consisting of a fermented
drink, sugar, water, citrus, and spices...These appeared in the American colonies as mulled wine, sometimes made with
thickening raw eggs or yolks, which would be cooked by the hot wine. The resultant curdling was reminiscent of such other
period concoctions as possets, caudles, and syllabub. Many English, German, Dutch and Scandinavian emigrants who came to
America brought these long-held traditions and prepared heated and spiced libations for winter festivals, in particular,
Christmas...By the late 1800s these warmed spiced wines had become an integral part of the American Christmas menu, largely because
of the strong influence of the middle nineteenth-century novel A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. Hot spiced wine was
frequently served alongside or in lieu of eggnog enjoyed at middle-class tables, sometimes with appropriate temperance
substitutions of fruit juice."
Want to examine 18th-19th century American "mulled" recipes? Michigan State
University's
Feeding America digital cookbooks are perfect. There you will find recipes for mulled ale, cider, jelly &
wine.
Why is it called "punch? & what were the 5 original ingredients?
"Punch. The vogue for punch started in England in the early seventeenth century, imported by officers of the East India Company.
it was a traditional long drink in India, and its name is generally supposed to be of Indian origin, too. This conjecture seems to have
started with John Fryer, who in his Acccount of East India (1698) derived punch from Hindi panch meaning 'five', from the
five ingredients of the drink: sugar spirits, lemon or lime juice, water, and spices. However, in the seventeeth century the word
would have been pronounced not, as now to rhyme with lunch, but with a short "oo' sound, 'poonch', and this is not really consistent
with a borrowing from Hindi panch; so it has been speculated that it is short for puncheon, a large cask from which the
drink might have been served. The classic simplicity of the original type did not survive long; and assortment of variations was soon dreamed up,
including punch made with tea, with milk (this enjoyed a wave of popularity in the early eighteenth century), and
without any alcohol. Nowadays almost any sort of festive amalgam of drinks served in a bowl, with or without bits of fruit
swimming in it, is dignified with the name of 'punch'...One drink to maintain the tradition in the rum-based West-Indian planter's
punch..."
"Rum was the most popular distilled liquor of the [Colonial American] time. It was widely served in taverns, sold in an
assortment of measures, ranging from the gallon to the glass. The most expensive variety was imported from the West Indies (the
rum of Jamaica was especially prized); both New England and Pennsylvania, however, manufactured their own rum from imported
Island Molasses...Plain (straight) rum was identified as the drink of the working classes...Rum was also the main ingredients in
what one writer described as "a very good, pleasant and healthful drink, punch." A popular beverage, punch was considered as genteel
as imported tea. It was routinely served at every conceivable tavern event from political gatherings to the meetings of men's clubs, before
and after a meal, or during an eventing's activities...punch was a combination of then luxurious ingredients. The drink was made using the
rinds and juice of imported lemons, limes, and even oranges, commonly mixed with rum, and white or brown sugar. In some taverns,
customers paid extra for the inclusion of sugar and fruit in their drinks. Lime punch was the most popular version of the drink, and the
beverage was aptly described as "Sower punch."...Punch was also made with eggs and milk...Like some other beverages, punch was served
warm and sold in taverns by the bowl. A quart of the mix would fill about half a large punch bowl. Tavern inventories indicate that
both delft...and china...punch bowls, in large and small sizes, were used. Since delft was widely available and inexepensive,
most tavern keepers kept only a modest supply of punch bowls on hand...That punch had a special place in the tavern is also
evident from the number of silver punch strainers, punch ladles, punch spoons, and even in one cakse, silver punch bowls found
among the stocks of taverns in centers like New York, Boston, Charlestown, Philadelphia, and Williamsburg. With those exceptions,
silver rarely appears in 18th-century tavern inventories."
"Punch. Although much was said in praise of wine, more was said of punch. This was the Tidewater's standby drink.
"Punch" is the English rendering of the Hindustani paunch, meaning five, for the five ingredients --spirits, water,
sliced lemons or limes, sugar, and spice...The recipe for the immortal drink came to England from the Far east, together
with tea, root ginger, and spice, fine East Indian muslins and cashmere shawls, and other new delights, either by way of
the fourteenth-century caravan root or by sea around the Cape of Good Hope. In the Tidewater, rum from the West Indies
and brandy were the chief ingredients of punch...A bowl of punch was the planters' most companionable drink. Many a
political strategy was hatched, many a long evening of pleasure was spent with a small punch bowl at each right elbow. The
punch made by one of Williamsburg's tavernkeepers, Henry Wetherburn, figures in a story that is still remembered today.
In May 1736, after planter William Randolph agreed to sell some of his farm land to Thomas Jefferson's father, he insisted
on Henry Wetherburn's "biggest bowl of Arrack punch" to seal the bargain."
[1839]
"Milk Punch
"Italian Punch.
"Tea Punch
Related beverages? Shrub & cordials &
syllabub.
According to the Oxford English Dictionary (2nd edition), the earliest print reference to
"root beer" was published in 1843. Nathaniel Hawthorne mentions both "root beer" and "ginger
beer" in his House of Seven Gables [1851].
"Now a sweet soft drink flavored with a mixture of herbal essences, root beer was originally a real
beer and a tonic health drink. Small beers, or low-alcohol beers carbonated by the action of
yeasts, have been traditional and nutritious drinks for children, women, and the elderly in England
and Europe for centuries. Although many of these small beers were flavored with ginger or
lemon, another common flavoring and one popular for its antiscurvey properties was that of the
bark of spruce or birch trees. When colonists arrived in North America, they found new varieties
of the traditional spruce and birch for their beers, but discovered Native Americans using such
novel flavorings as the roots of sarsaparilla (Smilax ornata) and sassafras (Sassafras albidum) as
well. Both of these were similar to spruce and birch in taste, and the colonists soon learned to use
them in their small beer, often with molasses as a sweetener and fermenting agent. Exactly when
sweetened small beer made with various roots was first called "root beer" is unknown. One of the
earliest mentions is in Dr. Chase's Recipes from 1869...In 1876, Charles E. Hires, who claimed to
have invented root beer, began marketing packets of the herbal ingredients necessary to make "the
Greatest Health-Giving Beverage in the World" at the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia. This
kit for making root beer was supposed to contain sixteen roots, herbs, barks, and berries,
including sassafras, the dominant flavoring, and required home fermentation with yeast. In 1884
Hires decided consumers would be more interested in an easier-to-use product and began selling a
liquid concentrate and soda fountain syrup, as well as bottled root beer."
"By 1819 a patent was issued for "carbonated mead," and in 1824 one for sarsaprilla..."Birch
beer" came along in the 1880s to compete with Philadelphian druggist Charles E. Hires's "Herb
Tea," later changed to "Root Beer" (a previously common term for soda flavored with various
roots and herbs). Hires had first made the beverage in 1875, advertised it as "the National
Temperance Drink" and first served it at the 1876 Philadelphia Centennial Exposition."
A sampler of American root beer recipes
[1831]
[1838]
[1869]
[1925]
Spanish sangria
"Spaniards like their drinks simple...The general rule is that wines, liquors, and liquers, as well as nonalcoholic beverages, should
be pure and unadulterated. The most outstanding exception to this rule is sangria, a wonderfully refreshing summer drink that became
immensely popular through advertising, then fell into disrepute because of bottling. It is as distasteful to bottle sangria
as it is to can paella and gazpacho...sangria...must be mixed with sweet succulent fruits shortly before drinking to preserve
its lovely fresh flavor...Nothing is more satisfying in summer than an icy cold sangria."
Americans rediscover sangria:
"Sangria has hit the American shore like the red tide. Two years ago it was little mroe than a name to drop at a poolside cookout or
cocktail party, or a delicious, exotic memore from vacationing in Mallorca or Marella. Serving it to guests was a sure way of
scoring a 'first' in any custom housing development. Thsi summer one brand of sangria comes in six packs. At least a half dozen other brands,
imported and domestic, are best sellers in liquor stores. In most cases, what you buy is a mixture of light, inexpensive red wine,
citrus fruit juice, a bit of sugar, and perhaps water or soda water. This, like the man says, is your basic sangria, and it can be
made at hoem for about $1.75 a half-gallon. There are hundreds of recipes. Sangria comes from the Spanish 'sangre' [blood], and covers
almost any fruit punch containing red wine. If economy is not a major factor in its production, there are many elegant,
expensive, and potent versions."
"As recently as a decade ago, Sangria was a cooling summer quencher known only to a limited handful of aficionados. Then the Spanish
red wine and fruit juice combo became a national rage, especially among the post-Pepsi generation. Now Sangria has setteled into a
comfortable niche of year-round poplarity, fueld by one of the newer introductions, white sangria. Like the original, white
sangria is wine and citrus juice, but with white wine isntead of red. A natural innovation, considering the greater popularity of
white wine."
[1862]
[1875]
[1947]
[1952]
[1967]
[1972]
[1975]
[1977]
"Shrub has now had its day, but in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries it was a
popular drink made from a spirit (usually rum), sugar, and orange or lemon juice...The
word comes from Arabic shurb beverage, 'drink', and is related to English sherbert,
sorbet, and syrup."
"Shrub was another such drink, with an Arabic name
denoting a middle eastern origin. It first became popular in the early eighteenth century and was made with brandy, lemon juice
and peel, sugar and white wine. Later rum-shrub became very usual; and there were also fancy shrubs flavoured with ground almonds
or currant juice."
"Recipes for shrub, an alcoholic version of sherbet, were also developed [in the 18th century]. The following comes from Eliza
Smith's Compleat Houswife. Although first published in 1727, it probably reflects culinary practices some decades earlier:
'To make shrub
Take two quarts of brandy, and put it in a large bottle, adding to it the juice of five lemons, the peels of two, and half a
nutmeg; stop it up and let it stand three days, and add to it three pints of white wine, a pound and a half of sugar; mix it,
strain it twice through flannel, and bottle it up; it is a pretty wine, and a cordial'."
"Old World fruits were introduced in America by European settlers in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries...Beginning in the
nineteenth century, the most common way of serving fruit juice was with added sugar and water in the form of
"ades," such as appleade, lemonade, orangeade...Fruit juices also were cooked with a large quantity of sugar and preserved for
future use, mainly for use in cooking and baking. In addition, juices were fermented into flavorful vinegars, and they were used
in alcoholic and temperance beverages, including shrubs, which were composed of fruit juice plus spirits or vinegar."
Typical early American
shrub recipe [1803].
Compare the 1803 recipe for shrub with these 1824 recipes for raspberry cordial and
raspberry vinegar:
"Raspberry cordial.
"Raspberry vinegar.
Related beverages: punch, switchel & cordials.
According to the smoothie experts (cookbooks, articles, industry Web sites) a true smoothie is
usually a milk-based product. This is part (calcium/protein) of what is supposed to make this drink
healthy. In Mexico and Latin America "Licuado" is the popular local word for smoothie (milk &
fruit based health drink). It does seem to imply a milk-base. According to the Cassell's Spanish
Dictionary, the word "licuado" (in its purest sense) simply means liquefy, as in: mixed in the
blender. It does not imply specific ingredients or a particular recipe.
"Old world fruits were introduced in America by European settlers in the sixteenth and
seventeenth centuries...Apples, lemons, and oranges were the main juice fruits, but currants,
grapes, peaches, pineapples, plums, raspberries, and strawberries were also used for juice.
Beginning
in the nineteenth century, the most common way of serving fruit juice was with added sugar and
water in the form of "ades," such as appleade, lemonade, orangeade, and strawberryade. These
juices were sometimes served ice-cold and called "sherbet." For a lighter drink, a few spoonfuls of
these sweetened juices were stirred into cold water. By the nineteenth century, a wide range of
fruit juices were used to flavor ice cream and soda fountain drinks...In the home, fruit was juiced
by hand until 1930, when the first commercial juicing machine was marketed by Norman
Walker, who encouraged a diet of raw food and juices. Juicing became popular in America during
the 1970s. Smoothies, thick drinks consisting of fresh fruit blended with milk, yogurt, or ice
cream, became popular in the 1980s. Juice bars, which frequently serve smoothies, were launched
in the early 1990s in health food stores and quickly evolved into major independent
businesses."
"Juice bars, a billion-dollar business, began modestly in 1926 in Los Angeles when Julius Freed
opened a shop selling fresh orange juice. His real estate agent, Bill Hamlin, a former chemist,
suggested an all-natural mixture that gave the orange juice a creamy, foamy consistency. It
contained orange juice, water, egg whites, vanilla extract, sugar and ice. When Freed and Hamlin
started selling the new beverage, sales soared from twenty dollars to one hundred dollars a day,
and then name for the product arose from the way customers asked for the drink: "Give me an
orange, Julius." By 1929 Orange Julius had grown into a chain with one hundred stores in the
United States. The macrobiotic vegetarianism fad of the mid-1960s stirred up the juice-bar
business with the creation of smoothies, originally a mixture of fruit, fruit juice, and ice cold in the
back of health-food restaurants and stores. Steve Kuhnau started a health-food store in 1973,
offering nutritious energy-packed smoothies as an alternative to the ubiquitious high-fat food of
New Orleans and to help resolve his own health problems. In 1987 Kuhnau and his wife Cindy,
co-founded one fo the major smoothie companies, Smoothie King Franchises Inc. A competitor,
Jamba Juice Company, bagan in 1990 in California as a store that offered fresh-fruit
smoothies...Bt the end of the twentieth century, regional and independent juice bars had sprouted
up across the country...Mobile smoothie stations in carts and kiosks make the drinks even more
available and less expensive to purvey...Many dessert-style smoothies contain milk; ice cream or
ice milk; yogurt or frozen yogurt; sorbet; or soy, rice, or nut milk. Nutritional supplements may be
added."
"Though Kuhnau created Smoothie King and the 20 trademarked drinks sold at Smoothie King
stores, he didn't actually invent the smoothie, a generic name for a non-alcoholic blended fruit
drink. It was born in the counterculture health food stores of southern Califomia in the 1950s and
exists in a variety of forms at different health food stores around the country today."
"The smoothie has been around since the 1960s, though its resurgence has been just since the 80s
when the modern sports and fitness craze began to catch on. Today, it is common to drink a
smoothie as a power drink or as a meal replacement. In doing so, it's important to remember that
adding supplements can give your smoothie that extra punch for energy. Jamison Starbuck,
herbalist for Better Nutrition and practicing naturopathic physician says, "As a physician, I think
smoothies with soy protein are a great energy alternative to high-fat traditional breakfasts like
bacon and eggs." Whether you drink yours for breakfast or have it as a snack, the following five
supplements are good choices for giving your smoothie an extra energy boost. They're readily
available at your local health food store and will blend well into your favorite homemade smoothie
recipes."
"Smoothie. A drink with a thick, smooth consistency made from pureeing fruit with yogurt, ice
cream, or milk. The term dates to the 1970s."
"A lot of things are being sold as smoothies today, but generally, they're loaded with fresh fruit,
nonfat frozen yogurt, vitamins, minerals, fibers, active cultures, immune-system boosters and
sometimes protein powder. And they can be blended to order in less than a minute. Actually,
smoothies have been around since the early 1970s. They were created on the West Coast as a
refreshment at health clubs and juice bars. If you've ever had an Orange Julius, you've had a
smoothie."
About Orange Julius & Smoothie King.
If you are researching the smoothie industry for business class, ask your librarian how to access
consumer & trade magazine databases such as EBSCO's MasterFile, Business Source,
ProQuest's Research II, Gale's Business and Company Resource and DIALOG's Business &
Industry. Here you will find articles on companies, market data, consumer trends and pricing
strategy. Ask your librarian about access...many of these databases may be available to you from
your own home computer. All you need is a library card! The Juice and Smoothie Association may also be
useful.
Related foods? Lemonade & milk shakes.
"Switchel. [Origin unknown. A name for various intoxicating drinks.] A drink of molasses and
water, often seasoned with vinegar and ginger, and sometimes with rum." 1790. Freneau,
Poems (1795) 375 "For such attempts men drink your high-proof wines. Not spiritless switchel
and vile hogo drams."...1946. Yankee August 9 "Our grandfathers would be drinking Switchel for
refreshment: a mixture of water, ginger, molasses or vinegar, and sometimes rum."
"Switchel. A Colonial drink made from molasses, vinegar, and water. It is sometimes called
"haymaker's punch." Brandy, cider, or rum was often added."
"As the time for harvesting the New England hay crops draws near, old-times are likely to sigh
for the earlier days when every farmer was expected to "do the honors" to the men he
employed to work in the hayfields. These consisted of sumptuous meals and plenty of switchel.
Possibly this cooling, delectable drink is known in fields afar today, but it was originally a New
England beverage, seldom manufactured or served except during haying. It was a concoction of
molasses, sugar, vinegar and water, and many good farm wives had their own secret formulas.
Some simply stirred until well blended, added ice if it were available and served. Others cooked
the mixture and allowed it to cool naturally. Generally switchel was carried to the hayfields in one
or two gallon stone jugs, wrapped in wet cloths and placed somewhere in the sahd. By keeping
the cloth wet the mixture would remain cool for hours. While switchel was originally devised as a
strictly non-alcoholic, and peculiarly cooling, drink, some farmers who believed their men cut
more hay when warm than when cool more or less liberally fortified the contents of the jug with
New England rum; which was cheap; pure and plentiful. Such employers had little difficulty in
obtaining plenty of hands during haying time."
"Many of the large New England hayfields have disappeared; so has the switchel, which
is now merely a name. Switchel was a mixture of molasses, ginger, water and a dash of
vinegar, contained in a brown jug cached under the shade of a bunch of alders or partly
submerged in a spring hole. On a hot day when men were mowing, raking, or pitching
hay, frequent trips were made to the switchel jug. Dusty throats needed something to
wash away the hayseed, and switchel was the answer. It was consumed in quantities.
The coldness of the water was tempered by the molasses, while the ginger and vinegar
prevented cramps."
How to make Switchel?
[1855]
[1857]
[1869]
[1877]
Related beverages? cordials, shrub & punch.
[1957]
"General Foods Corp.'s Post division will introduce in selected test markets this September a new instant orange-flavored breakfast beverage called Tang. It is a powder which can be mixed instantly in cold water. Each serving, according to General Foods, contains more vitamins C and A than equivalent amounts of fresh or frozen orange juice. It is packed in seven and 14-ounce jars; the seven-ounce jar makes 12 individual four-ounce servings."
[1958]
[1961]
[1962]
[1969]
"Tang Instant Breakfast Drink has gone along with our astronauts since the Gemini flights of 1965...General Foods is quick to point out that it was not it that
approached Aeronautics and Space Administration by the other way around, and that 'there are no contacts of payments involved.' Tang just met the space food
requirements, that's all."
NASA recap
Tang wasn't the only American product to capitalize on the space program. Remember
Space Food Sticks? Tang's inventor also created Pop Rocks.
Why the worm?
Pulque & mescal
"If food was hedged about with prohibition, fermented liquor was even more so. There was, of
course, no distilled liquor unti the arrival of the Europeans, but there were many kinds of fermented
drinks. Alcoholic liquids could be made from maize, honey, pineapples, cactus fruits, and many other
things. The most important, which we have encountered in the Aztec version of the Aztec banquet,
was pulque, a name of Antillean origin that replaces the Nahuatl uctli. It was made from certain
species of the Agave, or century plant, or maguey, a spicy rosette-forming plant which is not a
cactus, belonging to the Agavacae family. When, after years of growth, the maguey is about to shoot
up a flowering stalk, the bud is cut out and the plant produces great quantities of sweet juice for about
two months. This juice, today called aguamiel, or honeywater, can be drunk as is, boiled down to
make syrup, boiled down more to make sugar, or fermented into pilque or vinegar. Pulque could be
flavored with many roots and fruit, but the simple version is a whitish liquid with a peculiar but not
unpleasant taste. Some of the additives were reputed to make it much stronger, but without them
pulque contained only a few percents of alcohol. There are different stories as to who was permitted
to drink pulque. Cooper-Clark says that it was old men and women over seventy who had children
and grandchildren...Motolinia said it was permissible for those over fifty, because that was when the
blood turned cold, and pulque warmed it and made it easier to sleep...In any case, only a few small
cups were allowed. At weddings and certain religious festivals the young were given pulque; one
feast was even called "when the children drink pulque," but it was always in strictly limited
quantities. Drinking was acceptable, intoxication was not. Pulque drinking must have been thought of
as plebian, because Motolinia says lords, princes, and warriors made it ia point of honor not to drink
it, preferring to drink chocolate, which was the prestige drink."
Margaritas
"The margarita, a cocktail made of tequila, triple sec, or Cointreau, and lime juice served in a
salt-rimmed glass, was popularized by Victor J. Bergeron in his chain of Senor Pico restaurants
in California during the 1960s...While Bergeron popularized the margarita, he did not invent it.
Several different origin stories for margaritas have circulated. According to Marion Gorman and
Felipe de Alba's The Tequila Book, one story traces the margarita to the bar at the Caliente Race
Track in Tijuana, Mexico about 1930. Another credits Dona Bertha, owner of Bertha's Bar in
Taxco, Mexico, with the invention of a drink that later evolved into the margarita. The former
Los Angeles bartender Daniel Negrete claims to have originated the cocktail in 1936 at the Garci
Crespo Hotel in Puebla, Mexico...Whatever its origins, the margarita cocktail quickly spread
throughout America during the 1960s. It became a staple of Mexican restaurants in the United
States. In Mexico, restaurants that attracted the American tourist trade adopted margaritas. From
the original margarita, Anglo tastes encouraged adaptations."
"Margarita...there are several claims as the creation of the drink. One story traces the margarita to
the bar at the Caliente Race Track in Tijuana, Mexico, about 1930. Another credits Dona Bertha,
owner of Bertita's bar in Tasca, Mexico, as having made the drink about 1930. Former Los
Angeles bartender Daniel Negrete claims to have originated the cocktail at the Farci Crespo
Hotel in Puebla, Mexico, in 1936 and named it after a girlfriend named Margarita. Still another
story gives the credit to a San Antonio, Texas, woman, Margarita Sames, who made the drink for
houseguests in 1948 while living in Acapulco. Yet another claim pinpoints the drink's birthplace
as the Tale of the Cock Restaurant in Los Angeles about 1955 and says it was named after a
Hollywood starlet."
Recommended reading: The Tequila Book/Marion Gorman
"The Campbell Soup Company's first major diversification was in tomato juice. The drinking of tomato juice was a mid-twentieth-century
phenomenon. According to several accounts, tomato juice was the creation of the American-born French Chef Louis Perrin. In 1917
he experimentally served tomato juice to his guests at a resort in French Lick Springs, Indiana. Chicago businessmen who spent
their vacations at French Lick Springs purportedly spread the word to others about the 'tomato juice cocktail in lieu of stronger
mixtures.' Although canned tomato cocktails were growing more popular by the 1920s, none of the existing products yielded juice
with just the right color and flavor. Tomato juice cocktails were heralded during a Tri-State Packers Convention at Philadelphia;s
Adlephia Hotel in 1922. A can manufacturer served tomato juice free of charge to each participant in the annual banquet in
hopes that canners would pack tomato juice. By this date, tomato juice was touted as a health drink and was served in hospitals. According
to Dr. Hugo Friedstein of Chicago's Children's Memorial Hospital, the vitamin content of tomato juice did 'marvelous things in
cleansinhg the system.' Yet it was not canned commercially. The reason for the failure of canned tomato juice as that tomato solids settled
atthe bottom of the can, or the class the juice as poured into. In 1924 an Indianapolis pediatrician discussed this problem with his
friend Ralph Kemp of Frankfort, Indiana. Kemp had majored in agricultural engineering at the University of Wisconsin and at
the time worked with his father, John Kemp, operating a canning plant. Intrigued with the challenge, the Kemps began experimenting
to find a way to break tomato pulp into minute particles that would float in the juice. Their solution was to use a viscolizer
previously employed in the manufacture of ice cream. It required a great deal of adaption to be used successsfully canning tomato
juice. After four years of work, the Kemps finally succeeded. In 1928 they applied for a patent and initiated the first national
advertising campaign for their tomato juice. Tomato juice was an instant hit with the American public. The Campbell Soup Company moved itno
high gear to produce its own tomato juice. Campbell converted part of Camden's Plant No. 2, built during the 1920s, for makin
tomato soup. The problem now became what tomato variety should be grown for making juice. After experimentation, a tomato was found that met the
needs. Campbell released its version of tomato juice in 1931. In 1932 Campbell launched a major marketing drive for its tomato
juice, and by 1935 30 percent of Campbell tomatoes went into making that product. By the following year, cookbooks included
recipes using Campbell's tomato juice as an ingredient. Another reason tomato juice was so succesful was the end of Prohibition. A
cocktail made of tomato juice and vodka was probably first developed at Harry's Bar in Paris by Ferdinand 'Pete" Petiot. Petiot
moved to New York in 1933 and introduced his new creation. After experimentation, he added Worcestershire sauce and called it
a Bloody Mary. Its name was supposedly derived from the British Queen Mary I, who killed many Protestants during her reign in the
mid-sixteenth century, Others claim that Mary was Petiot's girlfriend...Tomato juice was a natural addition to the Campbell Soup
Company, which had been built on the tomato. Its introduction, however, reversed the corporate decision to focus soley on
soupmaking. The implications of this trend would not be felt for decades. Shortly after World War II ended, Campbell Soup
Company made another logical addition when it purchased V8 juice from Standard Brands."
[1913]
[1922]
Michigan State University's
Feeding America historical cookbooks offers 13 pre-1922 recipes using Tomato Juice.
[1928 & 1953]
Related foods? Tomato Sauce, Gazpacho &
Bloody Mary cocktails.
"Storing food and drink in low temperatures is an ancient practice The cold air of a natural cave
or the cool environment of a well-insulated underground pit or chamber worked as natural
refrigerators for grains and root crops. Furthermore, just as hunters on the arid plains found their
kill would dry out in the sun, so hunters of the icebound regions must have discovered that meat
left in the snow or freezing, icy winds would also keep, at least until it thawed. Keeping food cool
slows down the bacterial action in food, thereby helping the food stored safely for longer, a
process now known as refrigeration. Microoganisms do not like the cold. It slows down their
metabolism and makes them sluggish, unable to reproduce...freezing does not actually destroy the
organism; it merely puts them into a chilling limbo until they and the food they inhabit are
defrosted. While the hunter may have temporarily lost some meat in the freezing snow, he might
also have buried some "overkill" of meat or fish in the ground to hide it from predators or rival
hunting parties....Sometimes, where the right conditions were available, the technique developed
of freezing food to preserve it....In...northern regions, food became frozen unavoidably, and the
fact that the food was preserved was a fortunate by unsought side effect...
"In warmer regions, ice was only used for cooling, although people have enjoyed chilled
drinks and cooled food in the most unlikely places. Ice pits and icehouses were known to have
been built in Mesopotamia almost four thousand years ago, and the powerful and wealthy men
and women of Persia, Egypt, Rome, and Greece were accustomed to being served cold drinks and
chilled fruits even in the hottest weather. Alexander the Great ordered trenches to be dug at Petra,
filled with winter snow, and covered with oak branches so that his soldiers could drink cooled
wine in summertime. As well as chilling drinks, snow and ice were also used by physicians to treat
patients with fever, inflammation, and stomach complaints. So all around the Mediterranean, snow
was collected from the mountains and carried down to the cities, where it was sold daily or stored
in ice houses. The snow was packed hard into pits and covered with branches, straw, leaf mats, or
coarse cloth. The Chinese...were harvesting and storing ice by at least 1100 B.C....Sometimes the
ice had to travel many miles. Thirteenth- and fourteenth-century Egyptian royalty had their ice
shipped from the mountains of Lebanon all the way to Cairo...Like sugar, ice became a part of the
fabulous sparkling jewelery of banquets, with centerpieces of elaborate ice sculptures, sugar
trifoni, chilly jellies, iced sherberts, and glass or silver bowls of ice-encrusted fruits...By the
sixteenth century numerous palaces, estates, chateaux, abbeys, and monestaries throughout
Europe, the Middle east, and China had their own icehouses. Soon, anyone with aspirations to
elegant living had ice or snow houses built, and by the eighteenth century many of these had
acquired architectural pretentions, with Gothic arches or Grecian pillars...The basic
construction...changed little up to the nineteenth century...But ice was not just the preserve of the
rich; in some parts of Europe the peasants erected simple ice stacks made from branches, heather,
and pete near ponds, flooded meadows, lakes, and slow-moving rivers that froze in winterime.
Although icehouses were principally used for storing ice rather than for preserving food, they
gradually came to be seen as useful refrigerators for food...The increasing demand for clean,
good-quality ice opened an important new market. In Europe, when a mild winter failed to
produce ice, people had to look north, to Greenland and Norway...In nineteenth-century Paris and
London, cooks, confectioners, butchers, fishmongers, and wine merchants all rushed to buy from
ship bringing cargoes of ice form the "Greenland seas." Ice harvesting was a dangerous
business...competition...soon began flooding the market..."
"Ice has been used to preserve food and cool beverages for thousands of years. Wealthy
Europeans brought their appreciation of icy desserts and iced drinks with them to the New World.
Archaeolgists at Jamestown, Virginia, found ice pits dating from as early as the seventeenth
century. The colonists cut ice from ponds, lakes, and rivers during the winter and stored it in
caves and underground cellars to last through the hot summer months. In the eighteenth century,
icehouse, which are more efficient than cellars, provided cold storage, as well as preserving ice for
chilling food and drink and making ice cream. Ice was advertised for sale in Philadelphia
newspapers as early as 1784, and Europeans visiting Philadelphia and Baltimore in the 1790s
reported that Americans drank water with ice and that containers of ice were used to cool hotel
rooms. The first recorded cargo of ice was shipped from New York to Charleston, South
Carolina, in 1799, and between 1805 and 1860 Frederick Tudor, a Boston merchant, grew rich
shipping harvested ice from Massachusetts ponds overseas. Tudor, known as the Ice King,
promoted the construction and use of ice chests, sent agents to help establish businesses selling
ice cream, extolled the virtues of ice for preserving food, and promoted the sale of carbonated
water, which he thought tasted better cold. He even offered bar owners free ice for a year if they
agreed to sell iced drinks at the same price as warm ones."
Recommended reading:
"Today it may be taken for granted that wine bottles of different colours and shapes will hold a precise capacity. Nor is it questioned that a paper label will be firmly
fixed to the bottle to give a plethora of information, much of it required by law. These are recent developments. In classical antiquity wine was stored and transported in large,
long jars called amphorae. They varied considerably in size but it would certainly be difficult to pour a drinking quantity form such an awkward and big vessel, without using some sort of
intermediate container. The Romans invented the technique of blowing glass bottles and some of these may well have been used to serve wine. Pottery and stoneware jugs
were used for centuries in Europe for serving wine, but glass took over as technology to make glass in commercial quantities spread in the 17th century, and by the end of it
glass bottles were plentiful, although reserved for the upper classes. Shape. Early bottles have more or less globular bodies with long conical necks. The form developed...
becoming lower and wider in Britain, while on mainland Europe the flask-shape with an oval cross-section was popular. From c. 1690 to 1720, the outline of a bottle
resembled that of an onion--a wide compressed globlular body with a short neck. Larger bottles were made too, whose shape resembled an inflated balloon or
bladder...By the 1720s the 'onion' became taller and the sides flatter...Naturally occurring impurities in the constituent ingredients gave glass an olive green hue which varied from pale
to almost black and was beneficial to the bottled wine as it excluded light. Most bottles had an applied ring of glass just below the neck which gave an anchorage to the string used
to hold in a variety of stoppers...Wine drinkers made an important discovery in the 1730s. While it was known that some vintages of wine were better than others even in
prehistory, their keeping and consequent maturing qualities were not realized until the introduction of binning, the storing of wines in bottles laid on their sides...In 1821
Rickets of Bristol patented a machine for moulding bottles of uniform size and shape...Thus the modern wine bottle had evolved...From 1636, at about the time of the first
appearance of glass bottles in post-Roman Britain, it was illegal to sell wine by the bottle. The consumer protection measure was on account of vintner's willingness to take
advantage of the varying capacity of blown bottles. From that time and for the next 230 years, wine was sold by the measure and then bottled. Customers who bought
regularly had their own bottles and had them marked in order to distinguish them from any other that might be at the vintner's premises waiting to be filled. The usual marking was the
attachment at the end of the production process of a disc seal of the same glass as the bottle, upon which was impressed the owner's initials, name, or heraldic device, often
accompanied by the date, Innkeepers and taverners had appropriately marked, or 'sealed', bottles too. It may be noted here that these seals did not indicate contents...
Bottles with paper labels indicating the contents, first had written and later printed, emerged during the opening years of the 19th century, but in Britain the law
prohibiting wine from being sold by the bottle was not relaxed until 1860...
The size and shape of early bottles was, to an extent, a hit and miss affair. Perhaps the 'standard' size was the natural result
of a lungful of air, but bottles were made in a variety of sizes from early times."
When did the large format bottle names begin?
USA wine bottle sizes & standardization
[1889]
[1902]
[1952]
[1965]
[1971]
[1972]
[1973]
[1974]
[1977]
About culinary research & about copyright
According to primary documents pioneer (aka "cowboy") coffee was a hit or miss affair. Same as today,
everyone had their own idea as to correct proportions and cooking time. Filters ranged from fine
cloth to non-existent. Coffee grinders were often carried, and beans were ground on site. Ground
coffee was also available for purchase (in towns, packed in tins), but would probably not have
produced as fresh a brew.
---Wagon Wheel Kitchens: Food on the Oregon Trail, Jacqueline Williams [University of Kansas Press:Lawrence KS] 1993 (p. 38-41)
Coffee beans were on the list of rations for both North and South. Primary accounts confirm they were highly prized.
Substitutes were used when rations were gone.
---A Taste for War: The Culinary History of the Blue and the Gray, William C. Davis [Stackpole Books:Mechanicsburg PA] 2003 (p. 27)
---ibid (p. 45-6)
---Civil War Cookbook, William C. Davis [Courage Books:Philadelphia:PA] 2003 (p. 16)
---Hardtack and Coffee: or The Unwritten Story of Army Life, John D. Billings, facsimile 1887 edition [Univeristy of
Nebraska Press:Lincoln NE] 1993 (p. 123-5)
When real coffee was unavailable, a variety of alternative substitutes were employed. The final brew varied from borderline
acceptable to downright undrinkable. The best documented examples come from the American South during the
Civil War. Mary Elizabeth Massey's research is regularly referenced by contemporary authors. Every sentence is footnoted
back to the primary document. Comprehensive bibliography and excellent index are also offered. In Ms. Massey's own words:
---Ersatz on the Confederacy: Shortages and Substitutes on the Southern Homefront, Mary Elizabeth Massey, with a new
introduction by Barbara L. Bellows [University of South Carolina Press:Columbia SC] 1952, 1993 (p. 72-72)
"Coffee Substitutes: As substitutes for coffee, some use dry brown bread crusts, and roast them; other soak rye grain in rum, and
roast it; other roast peas in the same way as coffee. None of these are very good; and peas so used are considered
unhealthy. Where there is a large family of apprentices and workmen, the coffee is very dear, it may be worth while to use the
substitutes, or to mix them half and with coffee; but, after all, the best economy is to go without. French coffee is so
celebrated, that it may be worth while to tell how it is made; though no prudent housekeeper will make it, unless she has
boarders, who are willing to pay for expensive cooking. The coffee should be roasted more than is common with us; it should not hang
drying over the fire, but should be roasted quic; it should be ground soon after roasting, and used as soon as it is ground. Those
who pride themselves on first-rate coffee, burn it and grind it every morning. The powder should be placed in the coffee-pot in
the proportions of an ounce to less than a pint of water. The water should be poured upon the coffee boiling hot. The coffee
should be kept at the boiling point; but should not boil. Coffee made in this way must be made in a biggin. It should not be clear
in a common coffee-pot. A bit of fish-skin as big as a ninepiece, thrown into coffee while it is boiling, tends to make it
clear. If you use it just as it comes from the salt-fish, it will be apt to give an unpleasant taste to the coffee: it should
be washed clean as a bit of cloth, and hung up till perfectly dry. The whites of eggs, and even egg shells are good to settle
coffee. Rind of salt pork is excellent. Some people think coffee is richer and clearer for having a bit of sweet butter, or a
whole egg, dropped in and stirred, just before it is done roasting, and ground up, shell and all, with the coffee. But these
things are not economical, except on a farm, where butter and eggs are plenty. A half a gill of cold water, poured in after you
take your coffee-pot off the fire, will usually settle the coffee. If you have not cream for coffee, it is a very great
improvement to boil your milk, and use it while hot.---Amercian Frugal Housewife, 1830."
---Early American Beverages (p. 88-89)
"Acorn Coffee: Take sound a ripe acorns, peel off the shell or husk, divide the kernels, dry them gradually, and then roast them in
a close vessel or roaster, keeping them continually stirring; in doing which special care must be taken that they be not burnt
or roasted too much, both which would be hurtful. Take of these roasted acorns ground like other coffee) half an ounce every
other morning and evening, alone mixed with a dram of other coffee, and sweetened with sugar, or with or without milk. This receipt
is recommended by a famous German physician, as a much esteemed, wholesome nourishing, strengthening nutriment for mankind;
which, by its medicinal qualities, had been found to cure slimy obstructions in the viscera, and to remove nervous complaints
when other medicines have failed. Remark: Since they duty was taken off, West India coffees is so cheap that substitutes are not
worth making. On the continent the roasted roots of the wild chicory, a common weed, have been used with advantaged. ---Family
Receipt Book, 1819."
---Early American Beverages (p. 100)
"1282. Cheap and valuable substitute for Coffee.--The flour of rye, and yellow potatoes, are found an excellent substitute for coffee. Boil, peel, and mash potatoes, then mix with the meal
into a cake, which is to be dried in an oven, and afterwards reduced to a powder, which will make a beverage very similar to coffee in its taste, as well as other properties,
and not in the least detrimental to health."
---Mrs. Hale's Receipts for the Million, Mrs. Sarah Josepha Hale [T.B. Peterson:Philadelphia] 1857 (p. 352)
[NOTE: Mrs. Hale's Good Housekeeper c. 1841 does not include the above recipe. In addressing coffee substitutes it reads: "Several substitutes for coffee are used by
those who cannot afford the real berry--rye, peas, &c. None of these are very healthy, and certainly are certainly not good." (p. 111)]
"Ochra: It is said that the seeds of the ochra burnt like coffee, made a beverage almost exactly like it.--Beecher's Receipt Book, 1857."
---Early American Beverages, John Hull Brown [Bonanza Books:New York] 1966 (p. 89)
Betty Fussell's Story of Corn mentions corn [maize] was used as a coffee substitute during the Civil War but does not elucidate or provide reference. She also
mentions this recipe for "Dyspepsia Coffee," which may or may not be similar:
Libbie Thompson, Leroy.
Take a pint of corn meal and mix with molasses enough to wet it; put in a bake pan and brown the same as coffee. Put half meal and half coffee, which makes the
coffee excellent."
---Kansas Home Cook-Book, Mrs. C.H. Cushing and Mrs. B. Gray, facsimile 1886 edition [Creative Cookbooks:Monterey CA] 2001 (p. 269)
The only recipe we find employing rye is connected with Texas, c. 1900. It also offers a recipe using beet root!
---A Pinch of This and a Handful of That, Delma Cothran Thames [Eakin Press:Austin TX] 1988 (p. 3)
French 75 cocktail
The classic formula for this early 20th century cocktail combines gin, champagne, powdered sugar and lemon. Named after the
popular quick-firing French 75 weapon used in
World War I, this powerful beverage packs a punch. Like so many war-time cocktails, the origin is generally attributed to
Harry's (Paris), a popular establishment with American soldiers. Our survey of historic mixology manuals and American newspapers
suggest the French 75 was a popular cocktail through the 1940s. It was not, however, a "standard" drink. Many bartender guides
published in this period omit it. In subsequent decades the French 75 enjoyed brief periods of nostalgic rediscovery. In
2013 it is a popular choice for people exploring historic cocktails.
---Classic Cocktails, Salvatore Calabrese [Sterling Publishing Co.:New York] 1997 (p. 109)
[NOTE: We are still looking for a print reference to the original "75 Cocktail."]
French 75
"This drink is really what won the War for the Allies:
2 jiggers Gordon water;
1 part lemon juice;
a spoonful of powdered sugar;
cracked ice.
Fill up the rest of a tall glass with champagne!
[If you use club soda instead of champagne, you have a Tom Collins.]
---Here's How>, Judge Jr., [Judge Publishing:New York] 1927 (p. 36)
[NOTE: Gordon's water was gin.]
"French 75. In the same family as the various versions of champagne cocktail is the celebrated French 75, and elixer which, if it did not actually have its origin in the first of the German wars, at least come to the general attention of American drinkers at that time and was immediately enshrined in the pharmacopoeia of alcohol artistry in the United States upon the conclusion of hostilities in 1919.
French 75
2 oz. gin
1 tsp. powdered sugar
juice of half lemon
cracked ice
Top with champagne and serve in a tall glass."
---Stork Club Bar Book, Lucius Beebe [Rinehart & Company:New York 1946] (p. 45)
"French "75"
1 oz. dry gin
Juice 1/4 lemon
1/2 tsp. powdered sugar
Champagne to fill
Shake with cracked ice, pour into highball glass filled with cracked ice; fill with chilled champagne."
---Bartender's Guide, Trader Vic [Garden City Books:Garden City NY] 1947 (p. 333)
"...the guests consumed loads of Hors d'Oeuvres and gallons of French 75, a kind of champagne cocktail which is slightly terrific
in taste and effect."
---"Who Said Californians Can't Give Parties Outta This World?" Bill Chase, New York Amsterdam News, August 21, 1940 (p. 12)
"French "75" Cocktail
2/3 Dry Gin
Juice of 1/4 lemon
1 spoon Powdered Sugar
Pour into Tall Glass
Full of cracked ice
Fill with Champagne."
---The How and When: An authoritative reference guide to the origin, use and classification of the world's choicest vintages and
spirits, Hyman Gale and Gerald F. Marco [Island Press:Chicago] 4th revised edition October, 1949(p. 146))
"After the first World war, the height of alcoholic kick was thought to be embodied in a cocktail known as a French 75, named
after the artillary piece which was regarded as the ultimate in lethal effect in those innocent days. Nowadays the missile is reat
more ultimate.."
---"Grandson of the French 75," Chicago Daily Tribune, August 13, 1962 (p. 16)
[NOTE: The "grandson" of the French 75 according to this article is the Martini.]
"French 75 Pitcher
Ice cubes
1/2 cup brandy
2 dashes Angostura bitters
3 twists lemon peel
1 large bottle demi-sec champagne, chilled
Fill a large pitcher with ice cubes. Add brandy, bitters and lemon peel (that has first been twisted over ice cubes). Stir and set
aside. Just beford serving, pour into champagne or cocktail glasses and garnish with orange slices or maraschino cherries, if
wished. (If a drier champagne is used, add 1/2 tsp. sugar). Makes 10 (3-ounce) servings. Note: To make punch, double the recipe and use
an ice ring in place of ice cubes. Float garnishes of orange slices and maraschino cherries in punch, if wished."
---"An Appropriate Ambrosia for Welcoming 1975," Rose Dosti, Los Angeles Times, December 26, 1974 (p. K8)
"Harry's has been well known to American visitors to Paris almost since it opened on Thanksgiving Day 1911. A
modestly built establishment at 5 Rue Daunou in the Opera area...Harry's was never and is not now ranked as an architectural or
artistic monument. Its principal fame derives from a highly successful record of inventing and serving alcoholic drinks, especially
cocktails, and for the clientele this talent attracts. Among the many cocktails born in Harry's establishment are the
French 75, made with gin, champagne, lemon juice and sugar."
---"American Oasis at Harry's Bar," C.L. Sulzberger, New York Times, January 3, 1988 (p. XX12)
French 75
Adapted from the Rainbow Grill
2 ounces of Cognac
1 ounce maraschino liqueur
1 ounce of Cointreau
1 dash of fresh lemon juuice
Orange twist
2. Strain and pour into a cold martini glass. Top with Champagne to brim. Garnish with flamed orange twist."
---"Shaken and Stirred: In the Sky, a Classic," William L. Hamilton, New York Times, February 29, 2004 (p. ST9)
Ginger ale & ginger beer
The history of ginger ale (aka ginger beer) begins with small beer (low alcohol content). Recipes first surface in the early 19th
century. Root
beer shares a similar history. Using ginger as the primary flavoring agent, this
product has long been recognized for settling upset stomachs. American commercial production began in
the mid-1860s. As a cooking ingredient, ginger ale has been combined with gelatine to make molded salads and cake batter (cola cake style).
---Oxford Encyclopedia of Food and Drink in America, Andrew F. Smith editor [Oxford
University Press:New York] 2004, Volume 1 (p. 569)
[1820]
"To Make Ginger Beer. To every gallon of spring water add one ounce of sliced white ginger, one pound of common loaf sugar, and
two ounces of lemon juice, or three large tablespoonfuls; boil it near an hour, and take off the scum; then run it through a
hair sieve into a tub, and when cool, (viz. 70 degrees F.) add yeast in proportion of half a pint to nine galons; keep it in a temperate situation two
days, during which it may be stirred six or eight times; then put it into a cask, which must be kept full, and the yeast taken off at the bung-hole
with a spoon. In a fortnight add half a pint of fining (isinglass picked and steeped in beer) to nine gallons, which will, if it has been properly
fermented, clear it by ascent. The cask must be kept full, and the rising particles taken off at the bung-hole. When fine (which may
be expected in twenty-four hours) bottle it, cork it well, and in summer it will be ripe and fit to drink in a fortnight."
[NOTES: (1) A "bung" is a large cork stopper that fills the mouth (hole) of a cask. (2) A fortnight is 14 nights.]
Beer, Ginger. For a ten-gallon cask, eleven gallons of water, fourteen pounds of sugar, the juice of eighteen lemons, and one
pound of ginger are allowed; the sugar and water are boiled with the whites of eight eggs, and well skimmed; just before coming to the boiling point, the ginger, which must be bruised,
is then added, and boiled for twenty minutes; when cold, the clear part is put into the cask, together with the lemon-juice and
two spoonfuls of yeast; when it has fermented for three or four days, it is fined, bunged up, and in a fortnight bottled. It may be made without the
fruit."
---The Cook's Own Book, Mrs. N.K.M. Lee, 1832 facsimile edition [Arno Press:New York] 1972 (p. 19)
"Ginger beer is made in the following proportions:--One cup of ginger, one pint of molasses, one pail and a half of water, and a cup of
lively yeast. Most people scald the ginger in half a pail of water, and then fill it up with a pailful of cold; but in very hot weather
some people stir it up cold. Yeast must not be put in till it is cold, or nearly cold. If not to be drunk within twenty-four hours, it
must be bottled as soon as it works."
---The American Frugal Housewife, Mrs. [Lydia] Child, facsimile 1833 twelfth edition [Applewood Books:Cambridge MA] (p. 86)
"Ginger Beer.--Break up a pound and a half of loaf-sugar, and mix it with three ounces of strong white ginger, and the grated peel of
two lemons. Put these ingredients into a large stone jar, and pour over them two gallons of boiling water. When it becomes milkwarm strain it,
and add the juice of the lemons and two large table-spoonfuls of strong yeast. Make this beer in the evening and let it stand all night.
Next morning bottle it in a little half pint stone bottles, trying down the corks with twine."
---Directions for Cookery in Its Various Branches, Miss [Eliza] Leslie [Carey & Hart:Philadelphia PA] 1849 (p. 391-391)
"Ginger Beer Powders, and Soda Powders
Put into blue papers, thirty grians to each paper, of bicarbonate of soda, five grains of powdered ginger, and a drachm of white
powdered sugar. Put into white papers, twenty-five grains to each, of powdered tartartic acid. Put one paper of each kind to half a pint of
water. The common soda powders of the shops are like the above, when the sugar and ginger are omitted. Soda powders can be kept on
hand, and the water in which they are used can be flavored with any kind of syrup or tincture, and thus make a fine drink for
hot weather."
---Miss Beecher's Domestic Receipt-Book, Catharine E. Beecher, facsimile 1858 edition [Dover Publications:Mineola NY] 2001 (p. 184)
[NOTE: This recipe appears in the "Temperance Drinks" section.]
"Ginger Beer.
Stir up in a gallon of boiling water, one pound of loaf sugar, one ounce and a half of the best ginger bruised, and one ounce of cream
of tartar, or, if preferred, a lemon sliced, until the heat falls to that of new milk. Then having poured one table-spoonful of good
yeast upon a piece of bread, put it inte middle of the vessel letting it float in the mxiture. Cover the whole with a cloth, and let it stand twenty-four
hours, after which, strain it and put it into bottles, filling each only about three parts full, cork them tightly, and tie them
down. In warm weather this ginger beer will be ready to drink in two days." (p. 270)
Take three quarters of a pound of white sugar, one ounce of cream of tartar, the juice and rind of a lemon, one oucnes of ginger, put the whole
into a pan, and pour over it four quarts of boiling water; let ut stand till lukewarm, and then add a table-spoonful of yeast. When it has ceased boiling, bottle it off in small soda
water bottles or jars. It will be fit for use in twenty-four hours." (p. 272)
---Jennie June's American Cookery Book, Mrs. J. C. Croly [G.H.W. Bates & Co.:Boston MA] 1878
"Ginger Beer, or Pop
Pour two gallons of boiling water on two pounds brown sugar, one and a half ounce of cream of tartar, and the same of pounded
ginger; stir them well, and put it in a small cask; when milk warm. put in a half a pint of good yeast, shake the cask well, ant top it close--in twenty-four
hours it will be fit to bottle--cork it very well, and in ten days it will sparkle like champagne--one or two lemons cut in slices and put in, will improve
it much. For economy, you may use molasses instead of sugar--one quart in place of two pounds. This is a wholesome and delicious beverage in
warm weather."(p. 186)
To three gallons of water put three pounds of sugar, andfour ounces of race ginger, washed in many waters to cleanse it; boil them together for one hour, and strain
it through a sieve; when lukewarm, put it in a cask with three lemons cut in slices, and two gills of beer yeast; shake it well, and
stop the cask very tight; let it stand for week to ferment, and if not clear enought to bottle, it must remain until it becomes so;
itwill be fit to drink in ten days after bottling." (p. 182)
---The Home Cook and Receipt Book and General Guide, Mrs. Ella E, Myers [Burlock & Co.:Philadelphia PA] 1880
"Ginger Drink. Ginger, as a rule, agrees wth the stomach, especially in warm weather. Dissolve two and three-quarter pounds
of sugar in two gallons of soft water; then add the well-beaten whites of three eggs and two ounces of Jamaica ginger. It is well to moisten the
ginger in a little cold water before adding it to the whole amount of water. Bring all this slowly to boiling point, skim, and stand aside to cool. When cold add
the juice of one large lmeon and two tablespoonfuls of yeast, or a quarter of a compresed cake dissolved. Fill it into bottles, cork tightly, and tie the corks down.
Stand the bottles in a cool place for ten days, and they are ready for use."
---Table Talk, July 1890, Volume V, No. 7. (p. 282)
"Ginger Ale: if of good quality, consists of distilled water, ginger, lemon and other flavors (such as sarsaparilla), the product being finally
carbonated to give the effervescence desired. Inferior products frequently contain red capsicum ('red pepper') partly or wholly in place
of ginger. Ginger Ale is greatly improved by adding a sprig or two of bruise mint to the glass shortly before drinking."
---The Grocer's Encyclopedia, Artemas Ward [National Grocer:New York] 1911 (p. 267)
Ginger Ale.--a non-alcoholid beverage prepared form sugar, water and a soluble extract of ginger flavored with various aromatic
substances or essential oils, frequently combined with cpsicum or the pungent principle of capcisum, and charted with carbonic
aced gas." (p. 29)
[NOTE: This book also offers this defintion for pop: "A non-alcholic beverage made with sugar, flavoring (ginger, lemon, etc.)
and carbonated water, and marketed in bottles. It is so named because the cork is expelled with a pop from the bottle on opening."]
The ale is more brilliant of the syrup is used on the day it is made. To make a temporary filter, take a large tub, perfectly clean and
sweet, having a faucet at the bottom; over the top of the top stretch a clean, wet, cotton cloth, firmly secured in position by a
cord around the outside of the tub; press the cloth down in the center firmly with the hand, and lay on it a large No. 80 size filter
paper. With a long-handled dipper or ladle pour the mixture on the center of the filter until it is full. Draw from the tub the
first run, and if not clear, return it to the mixture, and again pass through the filter. The filter when set can be used for several
lots. The filter gub should be scalded after use to keep it sweet. Tin-lined copper tanks are preferable to tubs for mixing and
filtering. Acid and color must not be added until after filtering. The best way is to use color is to mix a pint of color and a pint of hot
water, and filter. Use one-fourth ounce to the gallon. Fruit acide is made as follows: Citric acid....4 ounces, Boiling water....
8 ounces. Dissolve thoroughly, and strain through a flanned cloth. Keep the acid solution will deteriorate if kept too long. The came
ginger ale does not suit all localities. To make the befeage stronger use more extract; if sweeter, use more sugar; if dryier, use more
acid. Stick to the method of manipulation. The quality depends to a great degree on the method.
Place in a suitable fountain 1 1/2 gallons of any ginger ale syrup and water enough to make 10 gallons, and charge with gas to a pressure
of 100 pounds. To be drawn from the apparatus in the manner of soda water, but without syrup. The beverage can be dispensed more
readily from a beer pitcher (made to draw from the bottom) by use of which the tumbler is partially filled with solid beverage, and the
remainder drawn directly into the tumbler."
Boil 2 ounces of best white Jamaica ginger, bruised, in 6 quarts of soft water; strain and add 1 ounce of cream tartar and 1 pound sugar.
Put on the fire and stir until the sugar is dissloved, then pour into an earthen jar and add 2 drams of tartaric acid and the grated rind of
one lemon. Let cool down to the surrounding temperature, add 1 ounce of fresh yeast, stir well and bottle at once, tying the corks
down firmly. The 'pop' will be ready for used in two or three days if the weather is warm, or if kept in a warm place.
Boiling water...2 gallons
Sugar...2 pounds
Cream of tartar...2 ounces
Ginger root...2 ounces
Lemon (sliced)...1 ounce
Let the ingredients stand until lukewarm, them put into a stone jar, add a large slice of stale bread and two cakes of compressed yeast.
Allow to reamin over-night in a warm place. Strain and bottle, filling bottles only two-thirds full and fasten corks. Bottles with patent corks are best. In from
three to four days the ginger pop will be ready for use."
---The Dispenser's Formulary, Soda Fountain (trade magazine), 4th edition [Soda Fountain Publications:New York] 1925 (p.84-86)
Irish coffee
Food historians generally agree Irish coffee, a warming composition of coffee, whiskey, sugar and heavy cream,
is a 20th century libation. The credits are constant and documented: Shannon airport (first location), Joe Sheridan (chef inventor), Stan Delaplane (syndicated columnist credited
for making beverage popular in USA), and Buena Vista Cafe, San Francisco (signature drink). Simple as that? It could be.
Dozens of articles published in USA newspapers chronicled American visitor experiences in Ireland. General concensus among USA coffee
afficianados: Irish attempts were seriously sub-par. No mention of whiskey or floating cream.
---"Cuppa Cawfee," Abeline Reporter-News [TX], January 30, 1942 (p. 4)
Irish aviation museum confirms Joe Sheridan's employment at Shannon Airport circa 1943. Text states Sheridan
was recruited by Brendan O'Regan. Sheridan later recounts concocting Irish Coffee at Foyne's Flying Boat Basin (later renamed Shannon Airport) in
1938. We wonder if Mr. O'Regan "recruited" Sheridan (to stay) because he knew a lucrative bartender when he saw one.
---SOURCE: Flying Boat Museum
Early print reference to classic Irish coffee confirmed the beverage was served to tired international travelers at Shannon Airport. Article personally
recounts an American reporter's experience, confirming pressmen frequented the facility. "Irish coffee" (aka "Gaelic coffee") is forever transformed from swill
to swank.
---"Irish Coffee at 4 a.m. Is a Little Bit of Heaven," Frederick C. Othman, El Paso Herald-Post, October 17, 1950 (p. 11)
Irish coffee lands in San Francisco bay area, early 1950s.
---display ad, International Room Restaurant and Cocktail Lounge, Oakland Airport [CA], Oakland Tribune, December 1, 1951 (p. 9)
Dinner & drinks at Shannon; Irish Coffee welcome is expected by international travelers.
Stan Delaplane's legendary syndicated column "introducing" Irish coffee to the USA. When he wrote, people read. And he wrote often. Predictable St. Patrick's Day columns celebrating Irish
coffee were supplemented with additional tidbits all year long.
It was almost like? If Delaplane had nothing new to say, he said it about Irish coffee.
---"A Postcard From Stan Delaplane," Reno Evening Gazetter [NV], March 17, 1954 (p. 4)
---"Stan Delaplane's Postcard...The Black and White of it," Bakersfield Californian, July 8, 1954 (p. 31)
Delaplane serves up a wee bit'o personal history regarding Shannon Airport's Irish Coffee inventor, Joe Sheridan.
Apparently the legendary beverage creator was also
a drinker who sometimes hit bottom. We learn Sheridan relocated to the USA, working in San Francisco, Waikiki & Chicago. There is no doubt
Delaplane's articles made Sheridan famous by association and thereby a desirable hire. We have no clue if Delaplane financed Sheridan's relocations, when they happened,
or why Sheridan moved from one place to another.
---"Stan Delaplane's Postcard: When Irish Eyes," Bakersfield Californian, March 17, 1955 (p. 29)
Time magazine reports the socio-economic phenomenon sparked by Irish coffee sales. Syndicated columnist Stan Delaplane published
his first personal encounter with Irish Coffee in 1954. One year later, Delaplane backdates experience to 1950, echoing tales already printed by less famous colleagues Othman
and Crane. "Black as Cromwell's heart" appears to be a standard Irish phrase; both Sheridan and Delaplane quote. Time is the only publication
referring to Joe Sheridan as a bartender. USA journalists took the liberty of elevating Sheridan to chef. We think
Time got it right. Fact neither Sheridan nor Delaplane in later years professed preference for Irish Coffee must mean something in retrospect.
---"Delaplane's Dew," Time, August 29, 1955 (p. 51)
"Transatlantic travelers come home with glowing reports of a marvelous new drink. Irish Coffee. Americans stopping at the famous
Shannon Airport first discovered the unique delight of Irish Coffee. Now, more and more smart spots are serving this
fabulous drink...more and more people are making it at home. In San Francisco, for example, Irish Coffee is becoming as popular
as the Dry Martini. The magic of Irish Coffee lies in the fact that the coffee, the JOhn Jameson and cream combine in some
mysterious way to create a seductive new flavour. It is what scientists call synergistic action, which means that the cooperative
action of the ingredients is infinitely more delightful than any of them taken independently. Skeptical about that synergistic
action? Well, try Irish Coffee....How to make Irish Coffee. Into a pre-warmed stemmed 7-ounce goblet or a coffee cup, put jigger of
John Jameson Irish Whiskey and 1 to 2 teaspoons of sugar. Fill to within 1/2 inch of top with strong black coffee. Instant coffee
may be used if desired. Stir until sugar is dissolved. Top to brim with chilled whipped cream, so that cream floats on top. Do
not stir after adding cream. The true delight of Irish Coffee is obtained by drinking the hot coffee and John Jameson through
the cream. P.S. It is important to use all pot still Irish whiskey..."
---display ad, John Jameson Irish Whiskey, Gourmet, October 1955 (p. 9)
Buena Vista Cafe prides itself as the American celebrity epicenter for Irish coffee drinkers.
---"Society Sips Irish Coffee at Buena Vista," San Mateo Times [CA], June 28, 1960 (p. 21A)
The first of several "the truth about Irish coffee" investigations.
Delaplane & O'Regan share Joe Sheridan's death. Tone is whistful, almost remoresful. It is not the festive Irish wake
we expected. We wonder why Sheridan disappeared from
Delaplane's personal radar while the columnist continued cashing in his story for 30 years. O'Regan was mentioned over the years
in management capacity at Shannon. Like Delaplane, O'Regan seems squirmy and uncomfortable here. Obviously, there
is more to this story. We give Delaplane & O'Regan kudos for having the guts to publish this tribute.
---"Late Joe Sheridan Invented Irish Coffee," Stan Delaplane, Lowell Sun [MA] November 22, 1966 p. 26)
In the USA, Joe Sheridan's spirit lived on.
---"Gaelic Coffee," Stan Delaplane, Bakersfield Californian, July 24, 1973 (p. 19)
In Ireland, Sheridan's memory collected dust in a back room.
---"A Shannon Shop Sells for Less," Stan Delaplane, Los Angeles Times, March 19, 1978 (p. E15)
Toward the end of his life, Delaplane shares his personal cup of nostalgia with a hit of wisdom.
Buena Vista's Irish Coffee
Farmer's Brothers coffee
3 lumps sugar
1 ounce Buena Vista (or Tullamore Dew) Irish whiskey
Fresh whipped cream
Fuill prewarmed, 6-ound bell-shaped fizz glass 2/3 full of fresh coffee. Add sugar and whiskey. Stir and then top with fresh
whipped cream. (Although the barman at the Buena Vista did not mention this, a little bit of sugar and vanilla can be added
to the cream brefore it is whipped; it's a sensuous touch.)"
---"Now Sip, Sip Hooray for Irish Coffee," Rhyder McClure, Los Angeles Times, March 17, 1983 (p. J1)
[NOTE: The Irish Coffee Story, as told by The Buena Vista Cafe, San
Francisco.]
Bert Greene's "truth about Irish coffee" echoes Ward's investigation published 20 years prior. Variables on the
"truth about" Irish coffee theme include (1) year: late 1930s, 1938, 1942, 1945, 1948, 1949 (2) place: Foyne's Flying Boat Basin, Shannon Airport
(same establishment, known by different names in different years, like Idelwild and JFK) (3) time of day: always dark (sometimes predawn other times
late night).
---"Setting the Record Straight on the True History of an Old Irish Favorite," Bert Greene's Kitchen, Los Angeles Times,
November 23, 1984 (p. Q12)
Stan Delaplane's obituary seals the lid forever on his Irish coffee connection.
---"Obituaries, Stanton Delaplane; Award-Winning Trave Columnist," Times Staff, Los Angeles Times, April 19, 1988 (p. C25)
[NOTE: Mr. Delaplane was awarded 1941 Pulitzer Prize for reporting "The Free State of Jefferson," four
Nothern California counties and one Oregon county that threatened to break away and form a 49th state in a dispute over
highway construction in the gold and copper mining areas.]
Lemonade
Lemonade is
(along with several other popular food innovations) sometimes touted as having been
"introduced" at the St. Louis Exposition in 1904. This is not true.
Food historian Clifford A. Wright confirms the
earliest lemonades originated in the Mediterranean region. Indigenous lemons were valued for their medicinal as well
as flavorful properties.
Lemonade was introduced to America by European settlers in the 17th century. Economics of the ice trade and temperance advocates expanded the markets for sweet cold drinks in the mid-nineteenth
century.
Pink lemonade
also surfaced about this time. Lemon slices served with bottled table water
appears in the early 20th century.
---An A to Z of Food and Drink, John Ayto [Oxford University Press:Oxford] 2002 (p.
188)
---Oxford Encyclopedia of Food and Drink in America, Andrew F. Smith editor [Oxford
University Press:New York] 2004, Volume 2 (p. 30-1)
"Lemonade. A beverage made from the juice of the lemon, for the purpose of allaying thirst. It is also used for medicinal purposes, when it is made either hot or
cold, according to the complaint. The vendors of lemonade use citric or tartaric acid, or even a few drops of sulfuric acid, to make their mixture, and only slice a
few lemons to float on the surface and please the eye. Most of the lemonade powders declared to be pure, are made in a similar way. Reliable brands of lime-juice
are preferable, unless the fresh fruit is at hand."
---The Grocer's Companion and Merchant's Hand-Book [New England Grocer Office:Boston] 1883 (p. 74-5)
"How to make Lemonade
It is made several waies, according to the diversity of the ingredients. For to make it with Jasmin,
you must take of it about two handfull, infuse it in two or three quarts of water the space of eight
or ten houres; then to one quart of water you shall put six ounces of sugar. Those of orange
flowers, of muscade roses, and of gelliflowers, are made after the same way. For to make that of
lemon, take some lemons, cut them, and take out the juice, put it in water as abovesaid. Pare another lemon, cut it into slices, put it among this
juice, and some sugar proportionately. That of orange is made the same way."
---The French Cook, Francoise Pierre, La Varenne, Englished by I.D.G. 1653, introduced
by Philip and Mary Hyman [Southover Press:East Sussex] 2001 (p. 238-9)
[NOTE: Gellifllowers (gillyflouwers) are carnations or clove pinks.]
"Lemonade for the same use. To one quart of boiled water add the juice of six lemons, rub
the rinds of the lemons with sugar to your own taste. When the water is near cold mix the juice
and sugar with it, then bottle it for use."
---The Experienced English Housekeeper, Elizabeth Raffald, (1769), with an introduction
by Roy Shipperbottom [Southover Press:East Sussex] 1997 (p. 172)
"To Make Sirrup of Leamons. First cut your leamons in 2 & pick out ye [the] stones & prick
them well with a knife, & ye Juice will come out ye better. Then wring them as long as you can
get out any Juice, & to every pinte of it take a pound of sugar. Set them on ye fire together &
make them boyle as fast as you can, to a thin sirrup, for If you boyle it too much, it will candy
presently. It will require a great many leamons to make a pound."
---Martha Washington's Booke of Cookery, transcribed by Karen Hess [Columbia
University Press:New York] 1995 (p. 370-1)
[NOTE: Karen Hess adds this note: "On the medicinal virtues of lemons, Gerard says: "Two
poundes of the juyce of Limons, mixed with the like quantity of the spririt of wine...and drunk at
the first approach of the fit of an ague, taketh away the shaking presently." He cautions, however,
that "the Patient be covered warme in a bed, and caused to sweat."
"Delicious Milk Lemonade. Dissolve six ounces of loaf sugar in a pint of boiling water, and
mix with them a quarter of a pint of lemon-juice, and the same quantity of sherry; then add
three-quarters of a pint of cold milk, stir the whole well together, and pass it thorugh a jelly-bag
till
clear."
---Modern Cookery for Private Families, Eliza Acton (1845) with an introduction by
Elizabeth Ray [Southover Press:East Sussex] 1993 (p. 481)
"Hot Lemonade. Cut up the whole of a lemon, rind and all, add one teascul full of white sugar, and pour on boiling water. This is
good for colds, and is a pleasant drink for the sick."
---Practical American Cookery and Domestic Economy, Elizabeth M. Hall [Miller, ORton & Co:New York] 1857 (p. 328)
"Lemonade. Steep the peel of 6 lemons in 1 quart of syrup at 35 degrees F.; Press out the
juice of the lemons; add 2 quarts of water, and filter the whole through a jelly-bag with some
paper; Strain the syrup through a silk sieve; mix it with the filtered juice, and pour the Lemonade
into glass jugs."
---Royal Cookery Book, Jules Gouffre, translated from the French and adapted for
English use by Alphonse Gouffe [Sampson Low, Son, and Marston:London] 1869 (p. 567)
"Staten Island Lemonade
Take half a dozen fresh lemons, and a half dozen smooth Seville oranges, at rub loaf sugar on the otuside, until the flavoring oil is all
extracted from the rind; roll them soft, press out the juice, add the sugar to the juice, strain off the seeds, a bowl of
pounded ice, a pint of Sherry, and a quart of water. Shake all together very thorougly. It is a delicious summer drink."
---Jennie June's American Cookery Book, Mrs,. J. C. Croly [G.H.W. Bates & Company:Boston MA] 1878 (p. 273-274)
"Lemonade.--Squeeze the juice from one lemon and add one tablespoonful of sugar. Pour on
one cup of boiling water, and cool. Or take hot for a cold, after retiring."
---Boston Cooking School Cook Book, Mrs. D.A. Lincoln (facsimile 1884 reprint) [Dover
Publications:Mineola NY] 1996 (p. 420)
"Effervescing Lemonade.--Boil two pounds of white sugar with one pint of lemon juice;
bottle and cork. Put a tablespoonful of syrup into a tumbler about three parts of cold water, add
twenty grains of carbonate of soda, and drink quickly."
---Modern Home Cook Book: With Helps and Hints for the Household [Hurst &
Company:New York] 1891 (p. 72)
"Lemonade.--Use three large or four medium-sized lemons for each quart of water and from
six to eight tablespoonfuls of sugar. Rub or squeeze the lemons till soft. Cut a slice or two from
each, and extract the juice with a lemon drill; strain the juice through a fine wire strainer to
remove the seeds of the pulp, and pour it over the sugar. Add the slices lemon, pour over all a
very little boiling water to thoroughly dissolve the sugar; let it stand ten or fifteen minutes, then
add the necessary quantity of cold water, and serve. Or rub the sugar over the outside of the
lemons to flavor it, and make it into a syrup by adding sufficient boiling water to dissolve it.
Extract and strain the lemon juice, add the prepared syrup and the requisite quantity of cold
water, and serve."
---Science in the Kitchen, Mrs. E.E. Kellogg [Modern Medicine Publishing Co.:Battle
Creek, MI] 1892 (p. 362)
"Lemonade. Lemonade whould be made in the proportion of one lemon to each large goblet.
Squeeze the lemons and take out any seeds. If you do not like the pulp strain the juice. Sweeten
the drink well though that is a matter of taste. The pleasant tart taste should be preserved. Add
water to the juice and when serving put cracked ice and a thin slice of lemon into each glass.
E.J.C."
---The Blue Ribbon Cook Book, Annie R. Gregory [Monarch Book Company:Chicago
IL] 1906 (p. 344)
"Lemonade.
4 lemons
4 tablespoonfuls sugar
1 qt. Water, or a bottle of Apollinaris
Four lemons, rolled, peeled, and sliced; four large spoonfuls of sugar; one quart of water. Put
lemons (sliced) and sugar into a pitcher and let them stand for an hour, then add water and ice. If
you substitute Apollinaris for plain water you have a most refereshing drink."
---The American Home Cook Book, Grace E. Denison [Barse & Hopkins:New York]
1913 (p. 454)
"Lemonade. Lemonade is entitled to the first place on the list of fruit beverags, refreshing as
it is in itself, and capable as it is of numerous variations. Proportions for mixing are 3 times as
much sugar as lemon juice, and 6 times as much water, but it may be wise to hold back part of the
sugar until after mixing, in case it should be too sweet. It is quite easy to add more sugar, but not
so easy to add more lemon juice and water. In hot weather it is most convenient to have lemonade
syrup "on tap." It will keep in the refrigerator for a week."
---What and How: A Practical Cook Book for Every Day Living [Greenwood Book
Shop:Wilmington DE] 1920 (p. 27)
"Lemonade or Orangeade.
2 tablespoons sugar
Juice of 1/2 lemon or orange
1 cup water
Mix and stir until dissolved. Or boil sugar and water to a syrup, cool, add to juice. Serve hot or
cold."
---The Settlement Cook Book, Mrs. Simon Kander [Settlement Cook Book
Co.:Milwaukee WI] 1936 (p. 36)
"Lemonade (Basic Recipe)
3/4-1 c. Granulated sugar
5 c. Water
3/4 c. Lemon juice
Skins 3 lemons
Combine sugar, 1 c. water and skins left after squeezing lemon juice. Simmer, covered, 6 min.
Cool. Squeeze out skins and discard. Add lemon juice and remaining 4 c. Water. Carbonated
water may be substituted for this water. Serve well iced with lemon slice garnish. Serves 4-5. Crn
Syrup may replace half the sugar."
---The Good Housekeeping Cookbook, New edition, completely revised [Farrar,
Rinehart:New York] 1944 (p. 81)
"Lemonade. Combine in saucepan 1 cup sugar, 1 cup water, rind of 2 lemons, cut into pieces.
Stir over low heat until sugar is dissolved. Boil about 1 min. Strain; discard rind. Cool. Add...1
cup fresh or frozen lemon juice (45 6o 6 lemons), 4 cups water (1 qt.). Pour over ice in pitcher or
tall glasses. Amount: 6 to 8 servings."
---Betty Crocker's Picture Cook Book, revised and enlarged, Second edtion [McGraw
Hill:New York] 1956 (p. 74)
"Lemonade
HOMEMADE: Combine 2 cups lemon juice, 4 teasp. Grated lemon rind, 1 1/2 cups granulated
sugar. Pour into glass jar; cover. Keep on hand in refrigerator.
To serve: Allow 1/4 cup syrup for each glass. Fill with ice cubes and water. (Nice tinted
pink with grenadine.) Makes 2 2/3 cups syrup.
JIFFY:Just open a can of frozen or canned lemonade or pink lemonade concentrate; add water
and ice as label directs; enjoy a pitcherful of luscious lemonade in no time at all."
---The Good Housekeeping Cookbook, Dorothy B. Marsh [Good Housekeeping:New
York] 1963(p. 684)
"Fresh Lemonade.
3 lemons, 3/4 cup sugar, Ice cubes, Maraschino cherries with stems, drained.
1. With a sharp knife, very thinly slice lemons crosswise. Discard end slices and seeds.
2. Put lemon slices into a large bowl or sturdy pitcher. Add the sugar.
3. With a wooden spoon or potato masher, pound until the sugar is dissolved and slices are
broken.
4. Add 1 tray of ice cubes and 2 cups cold water. Stir until very cold.
5. To serve: Pour lemonade, along with lemon slices, into glasses. Garnish each glass with a
cherry.
Makes 5 cups, or 4 tall glasses."
---The New McCall's Cookbook, Mary Eckly, food editor of McCall's [Random
House:New York] 1973 (p. 72)
The story of orange juice begins with oranges. Food historians tell us citrus fruits originated in
Asia thousands of years ago. They were introduced to America as part of the Columbian
Exchange.
Early cooks valued oranges for their zesty flavor and health properties. English and American
cookbooks from early times through the 19th century contain many recipes with oranges. Some
of
these are flavored with oranges (orange cheesecake, orange foole, orange snow, orange
Charlotte, orange sherbet); others feature oranges as the primary ingredient (orange marmelade,
orange compote, fresh fruit salad with oranges). Perhaps the earliest recipes for orange juice
(besides the "just squeeze it!) "orangeade," or "orange water." These combined orange
juice/extract with a sweetener. According to the old cookbooks, this drink was served both as a
refreshment and to the sick. Lemonade shares a similar history.
Tomato juice was also considered a restorative during the early 20th century.
Ella Eaton Kellogg's (Battle Creek, Michigan) recipe for
orangeade.
Sunkist brand advertising booklet, circa 1916:
"In pressing the juice from Sunkist Lemons and Oranges, the glass or china squeezers are best
and most convenient. The best orangeade is undiluted Sunkist Orange Juice, served in thin glasses,
one-third full of cracked ice. For young children, strain the Sunkist Orange Juice through a fine
wire strainer or through cheesecloth, and serve in a thick punch-glass."
---Sunkist Recipes Oranges-Lemons, Mrs. Alice Bradley [California Fruit Growers
Exchange:Los Angeles CA] 1916 (p. 5)
"For That Acid Stomach, cut down the daily ration of starchy foods--drink a glass of water on arising, then a glass of
orange juice just before breakfast. Make your 'meat' Shredded Wheat. Heat two of these crisp brown loaves of whole wheat in the
oven to restore crispness and eat them with butter--the more you chew the shreds the more easily digested and greater the food
value."
---display ad, Pacific Coast Shredded Wheat Co., Oakland CA, Los Angeles Times, August 10, 1921 (p. B2)
Our research confirms Minute Maid brand orange juice concentrate was developed by Vacuum Foods Corporation in 1945.
Originally created for the U.S. Army, the product was
introduced to the American public April 30, 1946. The company changed its name to Minute Maid in 1949. In the summer of
1949, Minute Maid ran a major ad campaign in major popular magazines/newspapers.
---"Minute Maid," Encyclopedia of Consumer Brands, Janice Jorgensen editor [St. James Press:Detroit MI] 1994, Volume 1: Consumable
Products(p. 376)
US Patent & Trademark Office states Minute Maid brand juice was introduced to the American public April
"Word Mark MINUTE MAID Goods and Services IC 032. US 046. G & S: FROZEN CONCENTRATED JUICES OF CITRUS FRUITS. FIRST USE: 19460430. FIRST USE IN COMMERCE: 19460430 Mark Drawing Code (5) WORDS, LETTERS, AND/OR NUMBERS IN STYLIZED FORM Serial Number 71615870 Filing Date June 6, 1951 Current Basis 1A Original Filing Basis 1A Registration Number 0555105 Registration Date February 19, 1952 Owner (REGISTRANT) MINUTE MAID CORPORATION CORPORATION FLORIDA 488 MADISON AVENUE NEW YORK 22 NEW YORK
(LAST LISTED OWNER) COCA-COLA COMPANY, THE CORPORATION BY MERGER WITH DELAWARE One Coca-Cola Plaza Atlanta GEORGIA 30313
Assignment Recorded ASSIGNMENT RECORDED Attorney of Record Dinisa H. Folmar Description of Mark Color is not claimed as a
feature of the mark. Type of Mark TRADEMARK Register PRINCIPAL-2(F) Affidavit Text SECT 15. SECTION 8(10-YR) 20120302.
Renewal 4TH RENEWAL 20120302 Live/Dead Indicator LIVE"
"Frozen orange juice concentrate is the 'hot' item in the food industry at the moment. John M. Fox, president of Vacuum Foods Corp. told
stockholders at the annual meeting. The company, a pioneer in the field, is producing and marketing its produce under the Minute
Maid trade name. Mr. Fox stated that while the outlook is excellent, the business is very competitive. He said Birdseye division
of General Foods Corp. is moving to take a dominant position in the concentrate field, if it can do so. Clinton Industries, through
Sno Crop Marketeers is also going out aggressively for the business. 'A battle of the brands' as the companies fight for the
market was predicted by Mr. Fox. To meet competition, Vacuum Foods plans an aggressive advertising program, which is expected to require
a large part of the company's returns in the next four or five years, according to Mr. Fox. The company believes if found a partial
solution to its advertising problem when it obtained the services of Bing Crosby, who is now a director and owner of 20,000 shares of
Vacuum Foods common stock. Starting around December 1, Mr. Crosby will go on the air five days a week selling Minute Maid orange juice
concentrate...The arrangement with Mr. Crosby is said to be a new one in the entertainment world, whereby an entertainer owns a share in the
company whos product he is advertising. This program will be supplemented by other forms of sales promotions...The company is
experimenting with citrus fruit blends. In addition, it is test-marketing an orangeade product, made with an orange concentrate
base, in the Atlanta, Ga., area."
---"Bing Crosby to Go on Air for Vacuum Foods," Wall Street Journal, October 7, 1948 (p. 7)
---"Output Hastened by Vacuum Foods," New York Times, November 3, 1948 (p. 43)
According to the records of the US Patent & Trademark Office, PDQ brand granular beverage mix was introduced to the American public
January 23, 1962. The original manufacturer was Krim-Ko Corporation, Bensenville Illinois. The mark was later acquired by
the National Sugar Board and finally Sandoz (now Novartis). There were two variations on this mark: Choco Chips (1972)
and Berry Bits (1973). All of these marks are "dead," indicating the item is no
longer in production.
Records of the US Patent Office indicate Krim-Ko was experimenting with chocolate milk flavoring processes as early as
1941. Irish moss was the "secret" ingredient.
?
"PDQ Beads Chocolate, 14 oz can,"---Columbus Daily Telegram [OH], September 25, 1963 (p. 17)
"National Sugar Refining Co. directors agreed to the acquisition of Krim-Ko Corp...Krim-Ko makes chocolate and eggnogg flavorings for
milk under the PDQ brand."---"National Sugar Board Backs Plan to Acquire Privately Held Krim-Ko," Wall Street Journal, August 27, 1965
(p. 3)
"The National Sugar Refining Company, the crowd that produces Jack Frost Sugar and PDQ chocolate additive, is placing its
advertising future in the hands of Solow-Wexton. This just happens to be the agency for No-Cal sodas, flavoring and sugar substitutes. Ah, sweet
mystery of business. 'Of course, there really should be no conflict, says Marty Solow, agency president. 'The per capita
consumption of sugar, 97 pounds per person, has not gone down in the past five years. As a matter of fact, the projection is for
increased sales, oddly enough of sugar-free sodas.'"---"Advertising:: Times Square of Ted Bates," Philip Dougherty, New
York Times, July 7, 1969 (p. 48)
[Full page ad published November 9, 1969]
"Dessert. Take a big cocktail glass. Dip ice cream into the glass. Put a little bit of PDQ (like you use to make cocoa) on the
ice cream. Put more ice cream and PDQ--until it gets pretty full. Then you put a cherry on top!!"---"Kindergarten Recipe
Book Guarantees Enjoyable Reading," Pharoh-Tribune and Press [Logansport IN], March 3, 1971 (p. 3)
"PDQ Choc. beads, 9 1/2 oz jar, 89 cents."---Valley Independent [PA], November 17, 1980 (p. 22)
"Word Mark P.D.Q. Goods and Services (EXPIRED) IC 030. US 046. G & S: SOLID FOOD FLAVORING MATERIAL IN GRANULAR FORM.
FIRST USE: 19620123. FIRST USE IN COMMERCE: 19620821 Mark Drawing Code (1) TYPED DRAWING Serial Number 72168420 Filing Date
May 8, 1963 Current Filing Basis 1A Original Filing Basis 1A Registration Number 0798139 Registration Date October 26, 1965 Owner
(REGISTRANT) KRIM-KO CORPORATION CORPORATION ILLINOIS 26 N. GARDEN ST. BENSENVILLE ILLINOIS
(LAST LISTED OWNER) SANDOZ NUTRITION CORPORATION CORPORATION ASSIGNEE OF DELAWARE 5320 W. 23RD STREET
MINNEAPOLIS MINNESOTA 55440 Assignment Recorded ASSIGNMENT RECORDED Type of Mark TRADEMARK Register PRINCIPAL
Affidavit Text SECT 15. Renewal 1ST RENEWAL 19851026 Live/Dead Indicator DEAD"
?
The origins of pink lemonade is a curious thing. Legendary concensus credits Henry E. Allott, a circus vendor, for accidentally inventing this drink. Our survey of
American newspapers and cookbooks reveals several period references for coloring lemonade with pink or red fruit. Most notably watermelon, raspberries,
cherries, currants, and strawberries. Which came first? It's hard to say.
"Henry E. Allott, known all through the Middle West as 'Bunk' Allen, member of the old Chicago gambling syndicate, saloonkeeper, theatrical promoter, circus
man, and inventor of pink lemonade, died here today. At 15 he ran away with the circus and obtained a lemonade concession. One day while mixing a tub full of the
orthodox yellow kind he dropped some red cinnamon candi es in by mistake. The resulting rose-tinted mixture sold so surprisingly well that he continuted to
dispense his chance discovery."
---"Inventor of Pink Lemonade Dead," New York Times, September 18, 1912 (p. 11)
---"When Lemonade Was Pink," Washington Post, September 29, 1912 (p. M3)
[1879]
"That man selling pink "lemonade" at a stand in front of the bear's cage, was the "bar" keeper."
---"Five Minutes With the News," Wheeling Register [West Virginia], May 16, 1879 (p. 4)
[1863]
"Lemonade or Orangeade
Put two ounces of loaf sugar in a quart of water, also the rind of an orange or of one lemon. Half an hour after strain the whole, and press into it the juice of the
orange, and a few drops of lemon juice. If found too strong, add water and sugar. It is a very good drink in summer, or for evening parties. A little currant jelly may
be added to make a variety."
---What to Eat and how to Cook It, Pierre Blot [D. Appleton and Company:New York] 1863 (p. 18)
[NOTE: currants are red or black berries. When crushed, as in for jelly, the resulting color varies from deep red to pink.]
---"The Glorious Fourth," Atlanta Constitution, June 13, 1887 (p. 4)
"Pink Lemonade. Add to a pint of Lemonade prepared in the usual manner half a cup of fresh or canned strawberry, red raspberry, currant or cranberry
juice. It gives a pretty color besides adding a pleasing flavor."
---Science in the Kitchen, Mrs. E.E. Kellogg [Modern Medicine Publishing Co.:Battle Creek, MI] 1892 (p. 362)
Cocktails
Last updated: 30 November 2021 (new section on the first cocktail manual)
Mixed drinks combining alcohol and other ingredients have been served from ancient times forward. Think: Punch.
Cocktails appear to be the modern refined answer to the original mixed drink. Careful, calculated, scientific & classy.
Cocktails first surface in the early 19th century. Recipes evolved. Origination stories are understandably fuzzy and
amazingly prolific. Our favorite "first cocktail" story features a duel and makes this a
morning drink. Cocktail parties soon followed. Happy Hour
surfaces about the same time but not for the reasons we expect. How much did cocktails cost during Prohibition?
"The word 'cock-tail,' describing a drink, first appeared in print in 1803. Several sources place its origins in the late
eighteenth century. New York author and historian Washington Irving wrote in 1809 that this class of beverages had originated in
Maryland, whose inhabitants 'were prone to make merry and get fuddled with mint-julep and apple-toddy.'...New York State novelist
James Fenimore Cooper attributed the invention of the 'cock-tail' to one Elizabeth 'Betty' Flanagan, a war widow who lived on the road from
Sleepy Hollow...at the time of the American War...In his novel The Spy (1821), Cooper makes the real Flanagan a colorful character...
Many other tales have been offered as how the the cocktail acquired its name. The only common thread among them was that it was an American
invention. Recipes for cocktails appeared in print starting in the early nineteenth century, although there were different views on the meaning of
the word. The first definition appeared in 1806, when the editor of a New York magazine, The Balance, defined the cocktail as
'a stimulating liquor, composed of spirits of any kind, sugar, water, and bitters.'"
---Drinking History, Andrew F. Smith [Columbia University Press:New York] 2013(p.128-129)
---Facts on File Encyclopedia of Word and Phrase Origins, Robert Hendrickson, 3rd edition [Facts on File:New York] 2004 (p. 162)
---The American Language, H. L. Mencken, 4th edition corrected, enlarged and rewritten [Alfred A. Knopf:New York] 1974 (p. 149)
---"History of the Cocktail: Intellectual Bartender Recalls Duel That was Responsible<" Washington Post, December 20, 1908 (p. M2)
---"Many Theories Offered on Origin of 'Cocktail,' Frank Colby, Los Angeles Times, April 3, 1949 (p. A5)
"Believe it or not, the cocktail is an American innovation as well as a currently popular institution. Originator of the cocktail was one Betsy Flanagan, who owned and operated a tavern during Revolutionary times near Yonkers. The Hotel Roosevelt, which is introducing the Betsy Flanagan cocktail for the first time with the same ingredients the tavern proprietress used, is holding a Betsy Flanagan cocktail party at its bar today from four p.m. to closing. The historical origin of the American cocktail will be depicted in authentic revolutionary costumes."
---"Origin of the American Cocktail," Wall Street Journal, November 22, 1935 (p. 2)
This account, circa 1908, flatly states the cocktail was created in Marlyand April 17, 1846. Details are stunning.
1. When was the cocktail invented?
2. By whom?
3. Where?
4. Who were present?
5. Who drank the first cocktail?
6. Who gave it its name?
My answers to these questions are as follows, viz.:
1. On the 17th of April, 1846, at 8:15 a.m.
2. By John Welby Henderson, a native of North Carolina
3. At the old Palo Alto Hotel, at Bladensburg, Md.
4. Colonel William Mattingly, member of Congress from Geortia and Mssrs. John A. Hopkins, beside the aforesaid Henderson.
5. John A, Hopkins, of Fairfax Va.
6. I don't know.
The story is an interesing one, and as it has come to me, bit by bit, out of the dim limbo of the past. It has entralled me like some medieval romance. Bladensurg, in
those days, was a place of spirited combats and heavy dirnking. The old duelign grouns were still in use, and almost daily a party of gentelmen--members of
Congress, diplomats or high officials--would come to settle some affair of honor...The party rode in two groups, oen of which contained seven and the other five. In
the first tgroup were the Baron Henri de Vrie et Chellono, an attache of the French Legation; his fellow-diplomat, Chevalier Luitgi Lugno, representative of King of
the Two Sisilies; Messrs. Jones, Lorrimore and Burton, members of the lower house of Congress, and Drs. John Maloen and Guilford Galloway of the Army
Medical Corps. In the second group were Mr. Hopkins, Colonel Maglone and Messrs. Mattingly, Benson and Alison. As you have, no doubt suspected ere this it
was a dueling party. Baron Challono and Mr. Hopkins were the principals and Chevalier Lugno and Colonel Maglone were their seconds. The cause of the
different I have never learned, but it was a gentleman's fight and it was to be conducted in a gentlemanly manner. Shortly after 9 o'clock the 12 men reached the
Palo Alto Hotel and there enjoyed an excellent supper. At 10 o'clock, after coutreous good-nights, they retired to their chambers. At daylight, next morning they
were awake and ready for the journey to the dueling ground, a few hundred yards away. The chronicles are obscure as to what happened on the field, but I rather
judge that Baron Challono was badly wounded. At any rate, he required the services of both surgeons for more than two hours, and the ground where he fell was
drenched with blood. His courtly adversary, Mr. Hopkins, rushed to his side as soon as he fell. Mr. Hopkins, it appears, was a man of delicate perceptions in spite
of his intrepid daring, and the sight of the Baron's gushing blood made him ill. As a result, through he was not scratched himself, he staggered and seemed about to
faint. His second, Colonel Maglone, and the other gentleman rushed to his side atn took him off at once to the Palo Alto. Once there they conducted him to the old taproom and
called upon Jack Henderson who was on watch behind the bar, to set up something stimulating at once. Jack a manof resource, saw that something unusally tempting and powerul was
needed. Grabbing up a champagne glass he filled it half full of good old Maryland ryeand then seizing a bottle of bitters he heaved in a few drips. As he stirred up the mixture
of bottle of sirup caught is eye, and he pt in a swig. Then he pushed the mixture forward--and thie first Manhattan cocktail in the world was born. Mr. Hopkins seized the glass, poured down the
liquor and at once recovered. Another! he dreied, enchanged. Jack made a second one with more care, and, seized by a hap[py thoguth, dropped a brandied cherry into it.
Mr. Hopins gulped it down and then insisted that his friends try the new drink. They were charmed, as one might be expected, and when they sat down to breakfast a half an hour
after they were all in high, good humour. Colonel Magione, who was a celebrated connoisseur of wet goods, saw at once that the
moment had been an historic one, and soon after caused to be inserted in the old National Intelligencer, a newspaper of the day, and account of the new drink. He proposed that
it be called Royal Jack, in honor of Jack Hnderson, its inventor, but somehow the old name of cocktail became attached to it and the cocktail it as been ever since.
The generlemen who were actually present when the first cocktail was compounded and swallowed were Mr. Hopkins, Colonel Maglone, Mr. Benson and Mr. Allison, with
Jack Henderson behind the bar. A few years later, after the new drink had attained world-wide repute, Colonel Maglone employed a Washington aretist named Tomothy
Pollard to make a darawing of the scene...The cocktail spread throughout the wold like some genial pestilence, and by 1850, four years after its invention, it was a vafoute dirnk
in all parts of the United States. It was known, too, in England, and Thackakeray mentioned it in 'The Newcomes; written in 1854. Two years before that our own Nathaniel
Hawthorne had immortailzed it in 'The Blithedale Romance.' Many other authors have referred to it in their works. Even Walter Pater, purist that he was, has given it a
complimentary notice of a few lines. The late Lord Tennyson, it is said, left a manuscript sonnet to the cocktail, but his family deemed it inadvisable to include it in the definative
edition of his works. Kipling, Conan Dye, Zangwill and other later writers have referered to it often...Ibsen, as it is well known, drank four cocktails a day during the last
30 years of his life, and ascribed his good health to their virtues. Tolstoi is generally supposed to be a teetotlar, but a recent biographer asserts that he frequently takes a
Manhattan cocktail before dinner."
---"History of the Cocktail: Intellectual Bartender Recalls Duel That was Responsible," Washington Post, December 20, 1908 (p. M2)
The first cocktail manual was published in America. "Professor" Jerry Thomas' The Bar-Tender’s Guide or How to Mix Drinks came out in 1862. Thomas himself was bartender, among other professions, with a penchant for showmanship. You can read more about him David Wondrich's book Imbibe!: From Absinthe Cocktail to Whiskey Smash, a Salute in Stories and Drinks to "Professor" Jerry Thomas, Pioneer of the American Bar Featuring the Original Formulae (2007, updated in 2015). Thomas' book, though, was the first of its kind and reflects early cocktail history. Today, access to ingredients allows the home bartender to devise syrups, bitters, and craft cocktails--and if you aren't feeling creative yourself, you can buy ingredients ready-made. In the 1860s, cocktails were not something the average person would make a home--rather, they were something you would go acquire in a bar or saloon by a professional--or at least someone who had access to more unique ingredients like Boker's bitters, pineapple syrup, or even ice. Thomas' guide was intended not for the everyday consumer of cocktails, but the professional behind the bar, and it opens with tips and hints. The book includes variations on early classifications of cocktails (things like daisies, flips, cups, cobblers, and juleps, and a large number of punches), as well as some of the earliest "named" cocktails, like the Jersey Cocktail, the Japanese Cocktail, the Manhattan Cocktail, the Martinez Cocktail (in which you might see the origins of the Martini), and more. Places were often, but not always, the inspiration for early named drinks. In cases where it wasn't, sometimes we know the story (as with Thomas' own creation of the Japanese Cocktail), sometimes we may not (see the "Saratoga Brace Up"), and sometimes there is a great story that may not actually be true (Thomas, for example, tried to take credit for the "Tom and Jerry," and while his version of its origin is entertaining, the egg-nog like drink pre-dates his professional career as a bartender). In addition, the 1862 edition had recipes for ingredients like bitters, tinctures, colorings, and syrups, as well as for non-alcholic beverages.
Happy hour
Who introduced Happy Hour & when? Interesting question because, like most foods & meals, "Happy hour" was not invented. It
evolved. The term "Happy Hour" precedes the current USA definition (discount cocktails served in foodservice establishments
for a designated period of time) by about 30 years. The US Navy designated Happy Hours in World War II. These were R&R periods which
may (or may not) have included alcoholic beverages. The nautical venue, presumably a continuation of practice from retired
sailors, prevailed in early accounts. Happy Hours surface after WWII, took hold in the 1950s and flourished in the 1960s. In the 1980s there
was major concern about the relationship between Happy Hours to drunk driving. Some states enacted laws prohibiting Happy Hour practices.
"Happy hour. n.
1. Navy. a scheduled period for entertainment and refreshments on shipboard. 1920. Belknap Yankee Mining sq. 52 [ref. to 1918]: Boxing and wrestling were taken up by the individual ships and, generally speaking, one evening each week was given over to 'happy hours,' for bouts in the ring and on the mat...1945 in J. Utley Amer. Battleship 133: U.S.S. Tennessee Happy Hour in Japan. Monday Oct. 1st at 1400. 1946 Heggen Mr. Roberts 137: The crew held a 'Happy Hour,' devoted almost entirely to skits on the broadest and most animalistic sort...
2. a time, usu. in the late afternoon, when a bar lowers the price of drinks or serves free snacks. Now colloq."
---Random House Historical Dictionary of American Slang, J.E. Lighter, editor, Volume II [Random House:New York] 1997 (p. 28)
"Hobo Nelman is in jail, but he neither murmurs nor repines. Neither present restraint nor prospect of future punishment can take away form him the gorgeous memories of the
halcyon hours that he spent in a box car at Imperial junction. Hobo Nelman blew in on a desert breeze in the night and sought a place to lay his frowzy head. He found it in a freight-car, but did not take advantage
of it. Instead he gave his attention to boxes and cases. He went through these with skill, piling into a basket a dozen pairs of ladies shoes two dozen lovely kimonos, embroidered jackets and other feminine apparel and
prepared to go on his way rejoicefully. But first he took another look around to make sure that he had not neglected his opportunities and just for luck, he broke
open another case. Then he almost fainted, recalling how near he had been to making the mistake of his life. A bottle of Burgundy sluced the desert dust from his throat, and two more only
stimulated his thirst. Half a dozen quarts of old California port a 'chaser' of apricot brandy (a quart) put him into just the right condition that completed the assortment in the
case. When Detective Howler looked into the car, the case was empty, but Hobo Nelman obviously was not. He as arrived in a red kimono dotted with golden butterflies and as sleeping with his
head pillowed upon a pack of plunder and with a champagne bottle lovingly to his heart. Now he is in jail, but a yet he is neither sober or sorry. A
'jag' like that lasts surprisingly and the memory of never fades."
---"Sweet Memories of Happy Hour," Los Angeles Times, December 24, 1907 (p. I19)
"The 'Happy Hour' on board the U.S.S. Arkansas is setting a record for contentment of the crew in the Atlantic fleet now in the harbor.
The happy hour is really several hours set apart three nights a week for entertainment of the crew, both officers and men, while the ship
is at sea. The entertainment consists of moving pictures, boxing bouts, chorus singing of popular songs and dramatics from
vaudeville to tragedy and the tango."
---"'Happy Hour' Aboard Ship Makes U.S. Tars Contented, The Day Book [Chicago IL] May 8, 1914 (p. 13)
"And, if you think people have lost their price consciousness, you ought to see the stampede at a Valley tavern during its 'Happy Hour' from 5 to 6
p.m. when all drinks are 25 cents."
---"A Little At A Time," Art Ryon, Los Angeles Times, November 26, 1951 (p. A5)
"Among 18 Americans who wintered at the South Pole, the older men stood up better than the young ones...Their operation started Feb. 12,
1957...Strangely, Dr. Taylor found, the men appreciated cold drinks, particularly iced tea, no matter how low the thermometer went. Ice cream
was a popular dessert. They were allowed whisky and brandy during a 'happy hour' each Saturday night. There was no official restriction but the
per capita consumption of alcohol was only 4 to 6 ounces a month. Beer, which was routinely available, was acceptable mainly as a thirst
quencher."
---"Older Men Fare Best at 50 below, Winter at South Pole Discloses," Rennie Taylor, Washington Post, November 30, 1957 (p. A1)
"A series of Happy Hours in the homes of members of the Santa Ana Auxiliary of the Children's Home Society preceded the Camellia Ball at the
Santa Ana Country Club last week end. A black tie affair, the ball was staged as a fund-raising project to further the work of the Children's Home
Society, California licensed adoption agency, and was acclaimed a success...Before-the-Ball cocktails were served in the home of Mr. and Mrs.
Samuel Kinwald."
---"'Happy Hours' Get Camellia Ball off to Glittering Start, Virginia Reagan, Los Angeles Times, March 15, 1959 (p. OC_A22)
[NOTE: There were several "Happy Hour" cocktail parties held in members' homes preceding this event.]
---"The Men Who Chase Missiles, Harold H. Martin, Saturday Evening Post, April 25, 1959 (p. 23-25)
"Cargo-passenger ships...vary among themselves. Some are deluxe in accommodations...Others have plain staterooms and simple fare. They are all
equipped, however, for a happy holiday...The food is hearty, well-prepared and varied enough so that only steak (Saturday nights)
and prime rim (on Sunday) showed up on the menu more than once in a sixteen-day trip we took. It started out a fifteen-day voyage but
because cargo governs everything, the Junior made an unscheduled stop at Norfolk to pick up supplies for the United States Naval Base at
Guantanamo Cuba. As it turned out the stop at the Cuban base was the highlight of the voyage. Tourists are a rarity at that highly restricted military
reservation on the south shore of the island. The military greeting was warm, and almost as if it had been planned that way. Our
arrival coincided with 'Happy Hour' at the officers' club. Drinks were 10 cents apiece, the food was excellent and everyone on the base
who was not busy seemed to find time to try and chat with the passengers."
---"Banana Boat Cruise a Passport to Relaxation," Joseph C. Ingraham, New York Times, January 24, 1960 (p. XX30)
"Because you cannot win a race every day, food is one of the most important diversion on a sailing vessel. This is the observation
of William Smith, the rugged and tanned skipper of Figaro III...Companionable though a boat may be, it is also confining, and after several days under sail the members
of the crew may tend to become 'edgy.' To mollify, if not obviate such an eventuality, Mr. Smith has devised a 'happy hour' beginning at
five o'clock each afternoon when the boat is under way. Then fruit juice coolers, lightly spiked with rum or bourbon, are served. 'It
relaxes the tension and allows time for jokes,' Mr. Smith said. Other than that, most drinking is discouraged aboard Figaro III. Beer is carried
aboard for short races."
---"Boat's Crew Delights at Turn in the Galley," Craig Claiborne, New York Times, June 1, 1961 (p. 38)
"You know how many restaurants and cocktail lounges reduce the price of drinks during what they wont to call 'the Happy Hour,'
usually from 4 to 6 p.m.? Well, the Dover House, at the top of Restaurant Row on La Ciegna doesn't reduce prices but increases size.
From 4 to 6 p.m., it serves what it calls 'Bird Bath' Martinis and Manhattans in big, 6 oz. glasses...And it's astonishing the
breweries haven't leaped on this."
---"Roundabout...with Art Ryon," Los Angeles Times, February 24, 1964 (p. C13)
"Cocktails 50 cents each at our Happy Hour, 3-6 p.m. daily."
---display ad, Bruno's Restaurant, No. Easton MA, Jewish Advocate, January 21, 1965 (p. A7)
---"Roundabout...with Art Ryon," Los Angeles Times, June 2, 1965 (p. 28)
---"Happy Hour Catches on at Kutcher's," Jewish Advocate, August 5, 1965 (p. 7)
"Drinkers mourned the death of the happy hour today, the last workday before Massachusetts bans bars from luring in customers with cut-rate
cocktails. But tavern managers said they won't miss the after-work drinking promotions. New regulations outlawing liquor promotions such as
two-for-one specials and chug-a-lug contests take effect Monday throughout the state as part of a campaign against drunken driving...A few
bars and restaurants have advertised last-chance happy hours, but most said they planned to pass the final weekend without fanfare."
---"Massathusetts' Happy Hour Ban Begins in Sorrow, Washington Post, December 8, 1984 (p. A3)
"The perception of happy hour as a time for the rapid guzzling of discounted cocktails has dogged the restaurant industry, particularly in recent
years when increased emphasis has been placed on liability for drunken driving. Happy hour promotions, such as two-for-one deals or discounts on
particular drinks, have been denounced by such groups as Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD), who maintain that such practices encourage
excessive drinking...'There's been a move away from price-oriented happy hours,' said Stan Kyker, the executive vice president of the California
Restaurant Assn 'Now food-oriented happy hours are the more typical approach. Instead of offering discounted drinks, restaurants are saying
'Come in between 4 and 6 and enjoy our happy hour buffet.'' Kyker said the gradual change has not come about because of pressure from any
governmental or legislative group, but is seen as 'a way to increase traffic. That's what happy hour is intended to do. It's not intended to
increase the consumption of alcohol by individuals...There are no laws governing happy hour practices in California, and the last time such
legislation was proposed, in 1985, it was defeated in committee...Such a law would not be unique in the United States. At least 14 other states,
including Massachusetts, Ohio and Michigan, have either banned or tightened regulation of happy hours."
---"Criticisms Change Happy Hour's Focus," Patrick Mott, Los Angeles Times, March 16, 1989 (p. OC-F1)
What were "cordials?"
Cordials, also known as cordial waters, were medicinal tonics concocted at home for "what ails you." Recipes vary, though most
are fruit flavored.
---Oxford Companion to Food, Alan Davidson [Oxford University Press:Oxford] 2nd edition, 2006 (p. 216)
---Oxford Encyclopedia of Food and Drink in America, Andrew F. Smith editor [Oxford University Press:New YOrk] 2004, volume 1 (p. 339)
Diet soda
Unflavored, unsweeted, no-cal carbonated water products [soda water and tonic water] have been consumed from the earliest days
of soda fountains. Soda water and tonic water were generally mixed with other ingredients (sweet syrups, liqueurs, ice cream) for
flavor. These products were initially promoted as health drinks. Especially as alternatives to *demon* alcohol. By the 1880s,
sweentened carbonated beverages became a product in their own right. Think: Dr. Pepper and Coca Cola.
"Soda Pop Surge: Bottlers Expect 1953 Sales of Fizzy Drinks to Set a New Record," Wall Street Journal, July 15, 1953 (p. 1)
NO-CAL (KIRSCH)
DIET-RITE (NEHI/ROYAL CROWN) & COTT SUGAR FREE BEVERAGES
---"Abreast of the Market," Wall Street Journal, August 3, 1956 (p. 15)
---display ad, Chicago Tribune, August 9, 1956 (p. N7)
---"'Round the Food Stores: For a Look at the Latest Ideas,"
Lois Baker, Chicago Daily Tribune, February 8, 1963 (p. B8)
---"Out, Pesky Tarnish...," Dorothea Pattee, Washington Post, May 10, 1953 (p. S11)
---display ad,Washington Post, May 22, 1953 (p. 17).
[NOTE: flavors listed in this ad are: Pale Dry Ginger, Concord Delite, Root Beer, Cola,
Cream Soda & Raspberry.]
---"Soda Pop: Soft Drink Companies Step Up Tests of Cans, Bigger Bottle Sizes," Doyle Smee and Kenneth Smith,
Wall Street Journal, November 22, 1954 (p. 1)
PATIO DIET COLA (PEPSI) & TAB (COCA-COLA)
---"Advertising: Low-Calorie Soft Drinks," Peter Bart, New York Times, Feburary 20, 1963 (p. 18).
---"Beverage Maker Seeks Court Help: Hoffman Asks Arrangement Under Bankruptcy Act," Clare M. Reckert,
New York Times, September 22, 1964 (p. 55)
Iced coffee
Which came fist iced tea or iced coffee? Excellent question with two possible answers. Happy to elaborate.
Iced tea/coffee, as we Americans know them today are cold, refreshing beverages. In this quaffable form, iced tea precedes iced coffee. The phrase "iced coffee" precedes that of cousin tea by at least a decade. A closer examination of primary sources (cookbooks/newspapers) confirms the earliest references to "iced coffee" are for solid frosty confections similar to coffee ice cream or granita. So? The answer to this particular bar bet depends on whether you mean first print reference (iced coffee) or oldest evidence of the beverages we know them today (iced tea). Either way, the topic makes for some interesting conversation on a hot summer day.
[1857]
"It is now 1 o'clock, the Court has retired--we will take one more dance...and cool of with an iced coffee and a
glass of champagne (not a bad mixture) and go home."
---"Paris Gossip," New York Times, February 21, 1857 (p. 2)
"Iced Coffee.
---The Royal Cookery Book, Jules Gouffe, translated from the French and Adapted for English Use by Alphonse Gouffe [Sampson Low, Son, and Marston:London]
1869 (p. 565)
"Frozen Coffee
1 quart of water
4 heaping tablespoonfuls of ground coffee
1/2 pound of sugar
The coffee should be ground very fine, then put in a farina boiler. Add one quart of freshly boiled water, and steep for
fifteen minutes, then strain through a very fine muslin, add the sugar, and stir until dissolved. Turn into the freezer, add one
tablespoonful of the white of egg, and freeze until the consistency of soft mush. Serve in goblets. Frozen tea may be made in the
same way."
---Miss Rorer's Philadelphia Cook Book, Mrs. S[arah]. T[yson]. Rorer [Arnold and Company:Philadelphia] 1886 (p. 466)
"Iced Coffee.
Make more coffee than usual at breakfast time and stronger. When cold put on ice. Serve with cracked ice in each tumbler."
---White House Cook Book, Mrs. F. L. Gilette [L.P. Miller & Co.:Chicago] 1887 (p. 409)
"Iced Coffee.
Prepare a quart of coffee as for Black Coffee, and have also a quart of well heated milk, but not boiled, and pour the coffee and milk
into an ice-cream freezer, sweeten with a little powdered sugar, cover the freezer and place it in a tub of ice and rock-salt, a little higher than the
pot of coffee, then turn the handle of the cover in various directions for five minutes, and sere in coffee glasses with
powdered sugar separately."
---The Cook Book By "Oscar" of the Waldorf, Oscar Tschirky [Saalfield Publishing Co.:Chicago] 1896 (p. 807)
"Approaching Fourteenth Street the facilities for accommodating the thirsty became more apparent. In one resort, a short distance
about Houston Street, the waiters served 'iced coffee' in large cups and saucers. This apparently harmless beverage smelled and
tasted like iced beer, and was consumed in great quantities and with exceeding relish by the patrons. Everybody preferred coffee to
ginger pop, or even the ample and seductive schooner of sarsaprailla."
---"Coney Island Opening Up," New York Times, June 5, 1899 (p. 8) \
"4997. Iced Coffee
Gradually pour 7 1/2 dl (1 1/4 pt or 4 1/4 U.S. cups) boiling water over 300 g (11 oz) freshly ground coffee and allow to filter
slowly. Place in a pan with 600 g (1 lb 5 oz) loaf sugar and allow to cool. Now add 1 litre (1 3/4 pt or 4 1/2 U.S. cups) boiled
milk which has been flavoured with vanilla and allowed to cool, and 5 dl (18 fl oz or 2 1/4 U.S. cups) very fresh cream. Freeze
in the ice-cream machine but see that the mixture remains almost liquid. Serve in very cold cups."
---The Complete Guide to the Art of Modern Cookery, Escoffier, first [1907] translation into English by H.L. Cracknell and
R.J. Kaufmann of Le Guide Culinaire in its entirety [John Wiley & Sons:New York] 1997 (p. 587)
"Iced Coffee
Fill beverage glasses with ice cubes or crushed ice. Pour over freshly made, double-strength coffee. Serve with confectioners' sugar and plain or whipped cream."
---My Better Homes and Gardens Cook Book, 5th edition, thirty-first printing [Meredith Publishing Co.:Des Moines IA] 1939 (Chapter 3, p. 4)
Iced tea
Iced tea was mass marketed to the general public at the 1904 Exposition in St. Louis (as were
many other foods we now consider popular) but it was not invented there. Food history is full of
interesting stories when examined are not sometimes supported by documented evidence. Savvy readers know story
repetition/republishing doesn't make it true. But? Iced tea is mentioned in cook books, articles and traveler's diaries at
least forty years before the
1904 Exposition.
"In 1949, the Post-Dispatch [newspaper] announced the 45th anniversary of the invention of iced tea in
St. Louis. When the Tea Bureau, Inc., in New York held its 1951 competition for "Miss Iced Tea," only St. Louis women could
enter the race. The Tea Bureau was affirming the story that the Fair was, indeed, the birthplace of iced tea. Here's how the
story, as it is recorded in a number of sources, unfolds: Richard Blechynden, the special commissioner from the India Tea
Association, was in the business of selling the traditional hot drink. During the hot summer of 1904, his hot tea was not exactly
in demand. So he seized the moment by sending his Singhalese waiters out with the and ice cubes in glasses--offering a
refreshing
new drink. Hence, the beginning of 'iced' tea! Even the most liberal World's fair buff acknowledges that this story and the accolade
'new' attributed to this drink might be a bit exaggerated. Many suggest that Blechynden did not invent the drink, but
'popularized' it, or, as some say now 're-invented' it."...Both hot and iced tea appeared on most menus at the Fair...It is
highly unlikely that all these restaurants jumped on the bandwagon of Blechynden's 'new idea,' and scurried to the print shops
to have their menus reprinted!...Blechynden was hardly a desperate tea vendor! In fact, he was the highest-ranking
representative from India and the director of the East India Pavilion...His waiters were not Singhalese (from Ceylon), but were
turbaned and bearded natives of India who were clad in white and who served their customers in balcony cafes rather than on
streets...Duane Sneddeker, director of library and archives for the Missouri Historical Society in St. Louis...believes,
'It was during the post-WWII years, that St. Louisans were looking nostalgically at the 'good old days' and began lionizing some
of the stories told about the Fair.' This same time period came upon the heels of a popular 1944 movie, Meet me in St.
Louis, which so prominently featured the 1904 World's Fair."
---Beyond the Ice Cream Cone: The Whole Scoop on Food at the 1904 World's Fair, Pamela J., Vaccaro [Enid Press:St. Louis MO] 2004 (p. 109)
---Craig Claiborne's The New York Times Food Encyclopedia, compiled by Joan Whitman
[Times Books:New York] 1985 (p. 223)
---Oxford Encyclopedia of Food and Drink in America, Andrew F. Smith editor [Oxford
University Press:New York] 2004, Volume 2 (p. 530)
[1861]
"Balm and Burrage Tea
These, as well as all other medicinal herbs, may easily be cultivated in a corner of your
garden...Take a balm and burrage a small handful each, put this into a jug, pour in upon the herbs
a quart of boiling water, allow the tea to stand for ten minutes, and then strain it off into another
jug, and let it become cold. This cooling drink is recommended as a beverage for persons whose
system has become heated for any cause."
---A Plain Cookery Book for the Working Classes, Charles Elme Francatelli, London
[1861] (p. 92)
[Note: Mr. Francatelli was the head chef for Queen Victoria. He is often credited for introducing
many popular Victorian food dishes and trends.]
"Iced tea is becoming very popular. It is a beverage easily prepared, costs little, does not intoxicate and can be taken any hour.
Sweeten your hot tea to suit your taste; then pour it, spoon full by spoon full, into a tumbler filled with ice."
---Janesville Gazzette [WI], August 5, 1868 (p. 1)
"Tea, Cold.--The value of cold tea as a beverage is not sufficently known. Litereaary men and others accustomed to a sedentary occupation would find one or two
cups of cold tea taken without milk or sugar to be as stimulating as the same quantity of sherry, whilst there would be no fear of the drowsiness or dimininution of the
working power which might arise from imbibing either wine or spirit. The taste for cold tea is an easily-acquired one, and worth cultivating by those who require an
occasional and harmless stimulant."
---Cassell's Dictionary of Cookery with Numerous Illustrations [Cassell, Petter, Galpin & Co.:London] 1875 (p. 962)
[NOTE: Without mention of ice or other cooling agent, we cannot determine how "cold" this cold tea was.]
Iced tea and Lemon iced
tea
Iced Tea, or Russian Tea
"Iced tea...Is now served to a considerable extent during the summer months. It is of course
used without milk, and the addition of sugar serves only to destroy the finer tea flavor. It may be
prepared some hours in advance, and should be made stronger than when served hot. It is bottled
and placed in the ice-chest till required. Use the black or green teas, or both, mixed, as
fancied."
---White House Cook Book, Mrs. F. L. Gillette, [L.P. Miller:Chicago] 1887 (p. 410)
"Iced Tea, French Style
Place in a teapot three tablespoonfuls of tea, pour over two and one-half quarts of boiling water, and turn it into a freezer.
Sweeten with three tablespoonfuls of sugar, tightly cover the freezer, place it in a tub containing broken ice and salt a
little higher than the height of the tea, turn it sharply by the handle, all round in different directions for five or six minutes, while
the cover of the freezer well, to prevent any ice falling in, and with the aid of a ladle pour it into a cold pitcher or jar. Send to
the table in glasses with slices of lemon, and sugar separately."
---The Cook Book By "Oscar" of the Waldorf, Oscar Tschirky [Saafield Publishing Co.:Chicago] 1896, 1908 (p. 807-808)
"Iced tea. The tea that is to be used for the day's consumption should be made in the early
morning and in just the same way that it is made to be served hot. The quantity depends upon the
number of persons to be served, and in hot weather this might well be multiplied by three. The
best blend of tea for serving cold is equal parts orange Pekoe and English breakfast. This blend
does not lose strength in standing but ripens and softens in flavor. Tea must never be boiled. To
make it as it should be, take fresh cold water, bring quickly to the "bubbling" boil, and let it
continue several minutes. Scald out the teapot, which should be clean and dry, and measure into it
as many level teaspoonfuls tea as cups will be required. Pour the furiously boiling water over the
tea leaves and let steep on the back of the range four or five minutes, then strain off into a pitcher
to cool. When quite cold set in the ice box. By drawing the tea off the leaves when just the proper
strength it will be fresh and sweet, without the bitter taste of tannin it gets if allowed to stand too
long on the leaves. Keep the pitcher set close to the ice or pour the tea in bottles and lay directly
on the ice, thus offering more surface for cooling. When ready to serve, if the ice is above
suspicion, break into pieces about the size of horse chestnuts, put in the glasses and pour the tea
over them. If dependent upon the ordinary unsanitary ice, rinse the glasses out in cold water to
make them cold, then fill with the culled tea but no ice. Slices of lemon, a whole clove dripped in
each cup of tea as poured, a bit of pineapple, a sprig of mint or a peppermint cream are among the
popular additions to iced tea."
---The Evening Telegram Cook Book, Emma Paddock Telford [Cupples & Leon:New
York] 1908 (p. 188)
"Mint-Iced Tea
Pour fairly strong hot tea over a handful of bruised mint leaves, add for each glass the juice of half a lemon, and one tablespoonful of sugar.
Let stand till cold. Serve with crusted ice, in tall glasses, with a fresh sprig of mint and a thin slice of lemon. It is apt to awaken memories of
others days and affords a topic for conversation."
---Old Southern Receipts, Mary D. Pretlow [Robert M. McBride & Company:New York] 1930 (p. 93)
"Ease rather than fine flavor sometimes seems to be the criterion of good cookery nowadays. 'How does it taste?' becomes secondary to 'Is it hard to prepare?' This interest
in simplification results in all manner of manuaftured short cuts--some delicious as well as quick,; some just quick. Now comes a tea that dissolves in water, hot or
cold, leaving no grounds. Speedier than ordinary tea or tea balls? Of course. And we can report that after tasting in The New York Times' test kitchen yesterday, that the
flavor has not been sacrificed for an ease of use. Standard Brands, Inc., is introducing Instant Tender Leaf tea, as this perparation is called, in upstate New York. Then it
will take it to the south, then gradually work north...it is novel and interesting enough to be mentioned before it becomes available. That it apparently is considered to have
possibilities is shown by the fact that Nestle Company, Inc., maker of Nescafe, also has perfected an instant tea, called Nestea...Because powdered, soluble tea dissolves in
water of any temperature, its convenience becomes most apparent in making iced tea. Here this is no need to boil the water first. Simply put a half-teaspoon of the
product in a tall glass, half fill with cool water, stir, add ice to taste and serve."
---"News of Food: Tea That Dissolves in Hot or Cold Water Can Aid Those Seeking Ease in Cookery," Jane Nickerson, New York Times, July 27, 1948 (p. 28)
"Only Americans prefer tea iced for a torrid-weather drink. People everywhere else generally prefer tea hot. That doesn't stop the Yanks--more than 100,000,000 of us
consume about 2,500,000,000 glasses of it each season. The story goes that Richard Blechynden's tea room concession at the St. Louis Exposition in 1904 wasn't bringing
many customers--until he initiated pouring tea over ice in a glass. The concoction was a smash hit and iced tea's poularity here has been on the upgrade ever since. ...
Forty-five year's championship is warranted by the fact that iced tea is cool and easy to prepare, that it can be drunk in large quantities, that it is inexpensive and that it is a
wonderful mixer. Candied mint is a delightful garnish for iced tea and tea punches. Made now while mint is large of leaf and aromatic, it can be stored successfully for a
surprise appearance at the holiday season, too."
---"Typically American: Iced Tea Traditional Hot-Weather Drink," Marian Manners, Los Angeles Times, July 12, 1949 (p. B3)
Sun Tea; iced tea alternative
"A way to make tea owther than by steeping in boiling water is to cover the tea leaves with cold water and let them stand eight or
ten hours. The infusion will possess a different flavor. Though tea made in this way is often preferred, it is not economical, as
double the amount of tea is required to make the drink. Russian tea is made by placing a slice of lemon in each cup before pouring the
boiling hot tea. In serving use tiny tumblers instead of teacups. This is quite as palatable when cold."
---"Tea Made with Cold Water," Los Angeles Times, November 8, 1894 (p. 5)
Who brewed the idea for "Iced Tea Week?" It seems everybody did! Tea manufacturers, tea industry leaders and tea
retailers
all back this summer celebration. Promotions hail iced tea as refreshing, healthy and economical. Presumably, this
specially designated week was created boost tea sales, traditionally sagging during the hot summer months. Like most "national" food
celebrations, the actual weeks vary.
"This is 'Salada Iced Tea Week' in Sioux City. It is needless to mention that iced tea is one of the most popular American beverages. It is
purely seasonable, thriving in the hot summer weather and during that brief season it is safe to say that millions of glasses of iced tea
are consumed. Good iced tea depends entirely upon the kind of tea used in preparation, for its claim to popularity, and that is way
Salada tea is in sucd demand, especially so during the summer months. There are some folks, perhaps, who have not hear of all the merits of
'Salada Iced Tea.' or some, who maybe need to be more fully informed of same, and for these reasons the Journal merchandising departnemnt
is staging this special 'Salada Iced Tea Week; in Sioux City all this week. All grocers are co-operating with the big publicity program and will be
glad to take care of their customers who wish to order Salada tea. There is a very beautiful display of this particular brand of tea in one of the
Journal's windows at Fifth and Douglas streets, which everyone should make it a point to see. Unusual effects are employed in making this one of
the most original and unique displays ever put in The Journal window."
---"Plans are completed for 'Salada Week in Sioux City'," Sioux City Sunday Journal, August 16, 1925 (p. 11)
[1929]
"Iced Tea Week. Ice Tea is fast becoming recognizes as summertime's most popular drink. It is cool, refreshing, invigorating and healthful--
nothing is more refreshing on a hot day than a tinkling, cold glass of delicious Iced Tea, and to remind you that it is iced tea time, we are
offering the finest of well known brands at very low prices. Replenish your Tea supply now...Tetley's 1/2 lb pkg 45 cents,
Liptons, 1/2 lb pkg 49 cents, Salada, 1/4 lb pkg 25 cents, Gunpowder bulk lb 59 cents, Ceylon bulk lb 59 cents."
---display ad, The Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Co. (A&P), Kittanning Simpson Leader [PA], June 28, 1929 (p. 11)
---Portsmouth Herald [NH], August 9, 1929 (p. 3)
"Iced Tea Week! A&P's nation-wide organizaiton of over 15,000 food stores is celebrating Iced Tea Week with remarkably low prices on
its famous quality Nectar and Mayfair Teas. Whether you prefer iced tea or hot tea...you can't afford to miss these savings!
Nectar Tea, 1/4 lb. pkg. 13 Cents, 1/2 pb pkg. 25 cents, Nectar Tea Balls pkg of 15, 13 cents, Pkg. of 30, 25 cents: Choice of Orange-pekoe,
India-Ceylon-Java, Mixed and Formosa."
---display ad, New YOrk Times, June 2, 1932 (p. 15)
"The Iced Tea Week is backed by the Tea Bureau, which has been running copy consistently in newspapers and magazines. In addition,
individual packers and bag houses are promoting the day. Albert Ehlers, Inc., tea packer is enclosing a bulletin in each package
emphasizing the cooling qualities of tea, and Oneida Paper Products, Inc. and Continentaly Bag Specialties Corporation are brining
out special packages promoting iced tea."
---"Advertising News and Notes," New York Times, June 18, 1938 (p. 25)
"...National Hot Tea Week (Feb. 11-18) and a National Iced Tea Week (July 1-8)."
---"Topics of the Times," New York Times, January 10, 1949 (p. 24)
"National Iced Tea Time will be held from July 13 to 20, 1951, the Tea Bureau, Inc. announced. Tea Time will take the place of National
Iced Tea Week."
---"Advertising News and Notes," Nwe York Times, November 20, 1951 (p. 33)
Milk
low-fat milk.....
Plasmon.....
powdered milk.....
skim milk.....
sour milk.....
yogurt
---Nature's Perfect Food: How Milk Became America's Drink, E. Melanie DuPuis [New York University Press:New York] 2002 (p. 46)
---An A-Z of Food & Drink, John Ayto [Oxford University Press:Oxford] 2002 (p. 212)
---Oxford Companion to Food, Alan Davidson [Oxford University Press:Oxford] 1999 (p.
503)
---Oxford Companion to Food (p. 145)
---Cambridge World History of Food, Kenneth F. Kiple & Kriemhild Conee Ornelas
[Cambridge
University Press:Cambridge], Volume One, 2000 (p. 490-2)
---Food in History, Reay Tannahill [Three Rivers Press:New York] 1988 (p. 27-8)
---History of Food, Maguelonne Toussaint-Samat, translated by Anthea Bell [Barnes &
Noble
Books:New York] 1992 (p. 113-4)
---Food in the Ancient World from A to Z, Andrew Dalby [Routledge:London] 2003 (p.
217-8)
---Siren Feasts: A History of Food and Gastronomy in Greece, Andrew Dalby
[Routledge:London] 1996 (p. 65-6)
---Food and Drink in Britain: From the Stone Age to the 19th Century, C. Anne Wilson
[Academy
Chicago: Chicago] 1991 (p. 62-3)
---Food and Drink in Britain (p. 149)
---Food and Drink in Britain (p. 78)
---Food and Drink in Britain (p. 156-7)
Biesting (beesting, French: amouille) is an old term that means the first milk given by a cow after calving. This milk would be thicker, yellowish and especially rich in nutrients. A beesting
cake presumably would have used this type of milk. We also find mentions of beesting custard. According to the
Oxford English Dictionary the origin of this word is unclear, but can be traced back ot Old English. Alternate spellings include biestings. According to
the OED the oldest known use of this word in print dates to 1000AD.
---Oxford Companion to Food, Alan Davidson, 2nd edition edited by Tom Jaine [Oxford University Press:Oxford] 2006 (p. 72)
"Buttermilk is the liquid left after cream has been turned into butter by churning...in Scandinavia it is popular as a
drink. In the days when the peasantry of Ireland subsisted on potatoes, buttermilk was what they washed them down with."
---An A to Z of Food and Drink, John Ayto [Oxford University Press:Oxford] 2002 (p. 48-9)
---Oxford Companion to Food, Alan Davidson [Oxford University Press:Oxford] 1999 (p. 118)
---Oxford Companion to Food, Alan Davidson [Oxford University Press:Oxford] 1999 (p. 119)
---"Dried Buttermilk Next," New York Times, September 8, 1905 (p. 9)
---ad published in the Chicago Daily Tribune, February 29, 1920 (p. E16)
---"Dedydrated Buttermilk: Dairy By-Product Has varied Uses in the family Kitchen," Los Angeles Times, December 9, 1922 (p. 118)
---"Dried Buttermilk: It's new, used for baking, works well," Joanne Will, Chicago Tribune, June 7, 1979 (p. N-A 9)
Milk and chocolate combinations were promoted in the late 19th/early 20th century as healthy food for infants and invalids.
Chocolate flavored puddings/custards, malteds (malt being rich in vitamin B complex), sodas, and commercial beverages were embraced by restaurants, soda
fountains, and food manufacturers.
Yoo Hoo chocolate drink is introduced to the American public:
"Word Mark YOO-HOO Goods and Services IC 032. US 045. G & S: NONALCOHOLIC MALTLESS BEVERAGE SOLD AS A SOFT DRINK. FIRST
USE: 19220703. FIRST USE IN COMMERCE: 19220703 Mark Drawing Code (5) WORDS, LETTERS, AND/OR NUMBERS IN STYLIZED FORM
Design Search Code Serial Number 71539343 Filing Date October 28, 1947 Current Filing Basis 1A Original Filing Basis 1A
Registration Number 0507891 Registration Date March 22, 1949 Owner (REGISTRANT) OLIVIERI, NATOLE DBA YOO-HOO CHOCOLATE
BEVERAGE CO. INDIVIDUAL UNITED STATES NO. 113 FARNHAM AVENUE GARFIELD NEW JERSEY. (LAST LISTED OWNER) YOO-HOO CHOCOLATE
BEVERAGE CORP. CORPORATION BY MERGER WITH NEW JERSEY 600 COMMERCIAL AVENUE CARLSTADT NEW JERSEY 07072"
Inspectors have reported on samples of chocolate milk sold in bottles. Examination showed that skim milk had been used in
the manufacture of some of the samples. The law requires that if skim milk is used the bottles must be labeled accordingly.
---Synthetic Soft Drinks Must be Labeled and Contents Told or Suffer State Ban, New York Times, June 8, 1925 (p. 3)
Mavis Chocolate Drink. Listen Dealers! Mavis has more real value than any other 5 cent drink sold in bottles. One bottle of
Mavis costs as much to make as two bottles of many other 5 cent bottled drink. Mavis is superior to all other 5 cent bottled
drinks from the standpoint of (1) Deliciousness (2) Refereshment (3) Nutriment (4) Food Value (5) Ingredients (6) Purity.
Now--a Word to the Public! Mavis is made of pure chocolate...honey...sugar and other wholesome ingredients. Mavis is as
delicious as any 10cent or 15cent chocoalte milk drink sold at soda fountains. Mavis is sold in bottles only...Mavis is
different from other 5 cent bottled drinks. Mavis contains NO acids. NO coloring matter. NO drugs. NO preservatives. Mavis
doesnt imitate anything. Mavis is Real! Mavis is so pure, delicious, wholesome and digestible that the smallest tots
thrive on it. Mavis builds their little bodies into strong, sturdy youngsters and brings bloom to their cheeks. As a
refreshing bracer...Mavis is the idea drink for man, woman or child...Mavis quenches thirst and satisfies hunger between
meals, because a 5cent bottle of Mavis contains as much food value in calories as a glass of Grade A Milk...Mavis is
sterilized and pasteurized in the bottle...Sold Direct to the Trade Only by Mavis Bottling Co. Of New York.
---Mavis company adverstisement, New York Times, June 2, 1928 (p. 7)
Choco Milk brand powdered product is introduced:
Word Mark CHOCO MILK Goods and Services (CANCELLED) IC 030. US 046. G & S: PREPARATION IN POWDERED FORM CONTAINING MILK,
COCOA, AND MALT FOR USE IN MAKING A NUTRITIOUS BEVERAGE. FIRST USE: 19300102. FIRST USE IN COMMERCE: 19300102
Kelco brand chocolate milk:
Word Mark KELCO Goods and Services IC 030. US 046. G & S: ALGIN PRODUCT SOLD DIRECT IN BULK TO MANUFACTURERS AND TO
JOBBERS FOR RESALE TO MANUFACTURERS FOR USE AS A HYDROPHILIC COLLOID POSSESSING STABILIZING, THICKENING, SUSPENDING,
EMULSIFYING, GEL-FORMING AND WATER HOLDING PROPERTIES IN ICE CREAM, ICED MILK, SHERBETS, WATER ICES, CHOCOLATE MILK,
CONFECTIONERIES SUCH AS CANDY JELLIES, FRUIT JELLIES, CHEESE, SALAD DRESSING, PUDDINGS, DEHYDRATED FOODS, MEAT PRODUCTS,
BAKERY PRODUCTS SUCH AS BREAD, MERINGUE, ICINGS, AND OTHER FOOD PRODUCTS. FIRST USE: 19300201. FIRST USE IN COMMERCE:
19300201 Mark Drawing Code (1) TYPED DRAWING Design Search Code Serial Number 71462315 Filing Date July 26, 1943 Current
Filing Basis 1A Original Filing Basis 1A Registration Number 0416387 Registration Date September 11, 1945 Owner
(REGISTRANT) KELCO COMPANY CORPORATION DELAWARE SAN DIEGO CALIFORNIA (LAST LISTED OWNER) CP KELCO U.S., INC. CORPORATION
DELAWARE 1000 PARKWAY CIRCLE, SUITE 1000 ATLANTA NEW JERSEY 30339
Bowman brand chocolate milk
Word Mark BOWMAN Goods and Services IC 029 030. US 046. G & S: FRESH MILK, BUTTERMILK, CHOCOLATE MILK DRINK, CREAM [
BUTTER, EGGS, ICE CREAM, SHERBETS, ICES, POWDERED MILK, POWDERED BUTTERMILK, AND A BAKING COMPOUND CONSISTING OF MILK INGREDIENTS, CEREALS, AND SPICES ]. FIRST USE: 19390101. FIRST USE IN COMMERCE: 19390101 Mark Drawing Code (3) DESIGN PLUS WORDS, LETTERS, AND/OR NUMBERS... Registration Number 0511736 Registration Date July 5, 1949 Owner (REGISTRANT) BOWMAN DAIRY COMPANY CORPORATION ILLINOIS 140 WEST ONTARIO STREET CHICAGO 10 ILLINOIS (LAST LISTED OWNER) DEAN FOODS COMPANY CORPORATION ASSIGNEE OF DELAWARE 3600 NORTH RIVER ROAD FRANKLIN PARK ILLINOIS 60131
Southern Dairies brand chocolate milk
Word Mark SOUTHERN DAIRIES Goods and Services IC 030. US 046. G & S: ICE CREAM, ICES, SHERBETS, [ FLUID MILK, CREAM, BUTTERMILK, ] BUTTER [ , EGGS, COTTAGE CHEESE, SKIM MILK, ICE MILK, AND CHOCOLATE MILK DRINK, THE LATTER BEING SOLD AS A FOOD BEVERAGE ]. FIRST USE: 19350000. FIRST USE IN COMMERCE: 19350000 Mark Drawing Code (5) WORDS, LETTERS, AND/OR NUMBERS IN STYLIZED FORM Design Search Code Serial Number 71479999 Filing Date February 19, 1945 Current Filing Basis 1A Original Filing Basis 1A Published for Opposition May 6, 1947 Change In Registration CHANGE IN REGISTRATION HAS OCCURRED Registration Number 0431562 Registration Date July 29, 1947 Owner (REGISTRANT) SOUTHERN DAIRIES, INC. CORPORATION DELAWARE 60 M ST., N.E. WASHINGTON D.C. (LAST LISTED OWNER) UNILEVER SUPPLY CHAIN, INC. DELAWARE 1 JOHN STREET CLINTON CONNECTICUT 06413
Nestles Quik is introduced:
Word Mark NESTLE QUIK Goods and Services IC 030. US 046. G & S: POWDERED, SWEETENED COCOA INTENDED TO BE USED TO MAKE CHOCOLATE MILK, CHOCOLATE SAUCE, CHOCOLATE FROSTING, AND THE LIKE. FIRST USE: 19490531. FIRST USE IN COMMERCE: 19490531 Mark Drawing Code (5) WORDS, LETTERS, AND/OR NUMBERS IN STYLIZED FORM Design Search Code Serial Number 71642363 Filing Date February 17, 1953 Current Filing Basis 1A Original Filing Basis 1A Registration Number 0629231 Registration Date June 19, 1956 Owner (REGISTRANT) NESTLE COMPANY, INC., THE CORPORATION NEW YORK 2 WILLIAM ST. WHITE PLAINS NEW YORK (LAST LISTED OWNER) SOCIETE DES PRODUITS NESTLE S.A. CORPORATION ASSIGNEE OF SWITZERLAND CASE POSTALE 353 1800 VEVEY SWITZERLAND
Some of those who ordinarily find their milk waiting for them on the doorstep in the morning will receive deliveries
today. Normal service is expected tomorrow. Few processord bothered yesterday with such items as cream or chocolate milk,
so intent were they on meeting the demand for milk.
---Milk Flowing Gere With Strikes End, Stanley Levey, New York Times, November 1, 1953 (p. 1)
PDQ, chocolate-flavored granules, introduced as an alternative to syrup and cocoa mix for mixing with milk.
The list of items dispensed by the machines is lengthy: ice cream bars, ice cream drumsticks, ice cream sandwiches, ice
cream cups, malts, meat and cheese sandwiches, candy, soda pop in bottles and cans, pastry, pints of regular and chocolate
milk, cartons of orange drink, hot cocoa, hot coffee.
---Fill er up! Now Means Car and Customers, Susan Marsh, New York Times, January 4, 1970 (p. B12)
The brown carton looks like a giant Hershey bar stood on its and and exploded full three dimensions. Sitting on the
cooler shelf among the unassuming quarts of milk, it assaults the eye like an Andy Warhol painting. It is this forceful
image, so well known that for years the Hershey Chocolate Company did not even advertise, that the company is counting on
to sell its first entry into the packaged beverage market: premixed chocolate milk. But Hershey is not alone. The Nestle
Company, also banking on the familiarity of its Nestle Quik brand name, distinctive logotype and yellow and brown
container, has also joined the race to dominate what is now a $363 million-a-year market for premixed chocolate milk.
---Hershey and Nestle Enter Milk Market, Paul Hemp, New York Times, August 23, 1983 (p. A1)
Todays children are unlikely to experience the simple joy of dribbling dark chocolate syrup on the pristine surface of a
glass of milk and watching it sink and later using a spoon to recapture the syrup at the bottom of the glass. Instead they
shake a container and pour some chocolate flavored drink or milk into a glass or, increasingly, poke a straw into a box.
If plain chocolate is not to their taste, they can choose chocolate-cherry, chocolate-caramel, or chocolate-marshmallow,
as well as strawberry, banana, banans split or root beer. If digesting milk gives them trouble, there is even a
lactose-reduced chocolate milk...We see a lot of potential in the drink boxes, so were adding flavors, said Bonnie
Hinkson of Hershey Foods in Hershey Pa., which introduced the shelf-stable milk boxes in 1990 and now makes them in six
flavors.
---How Do Those Cows Do That? Times Change and Chocolate Milk Flows, Florence Fabricant, New York Times, September
8, 1993
Milk containing various levels of fat has been sold from ancient times forward. Traditional grades carried descriptive
names: heavy cream, new milk, skimmed milk. Regulated milk fat grading expressed in percents, as we
Americans know it today, was promulgated by the US Dept. of Agriculture in 1977. These regulations can be found in the
Title 21, Code of Federal Regulations, part 131: Milk and Cream. Original notice can be found in the
Federal Register, March 15, 1977 (42 FR 14360).
---Milk: The Surprising Story of Milk Through the Ages, Anne Mendelson [Alfred A. Knopf:New York] 2008 (p. 45-47)
---"Skimming the Milk Label," FDA Consumer, January-February
1998.
Modern powdered milk (aka dried milk, dessicated milk, milk powder) was developed as a lighter alternative to canned milk products. The
product goals were the same: inexpensive, shelf-stable, & portable. Powdered milk is a more complicated product to meet consumer demands. Think: flavor
& reconsitution. Some food historians trace the genesis of dried milk products to Medieval times. Powdered milk, as we know it today, descends from
mid-19th century commercial health food experiments.
"Powdered Milk in the 13th-Century Asia. [The Tartar armies] make provisions also of milk, thickened or dried to the state of a hard
paste, which they prepare in the following manner. They boiled the milk, and skimming off the rich or creamy part as it rises to the
top, put it into a separate vessel as butter for so long as that remains milk, it will not become hard. The mild is then exposed to the sun as
it dries. [When it is to be used] some is put into a bottle with as much water as is thought necessary. By their motion in riding,
the contents are violently shaken, and a thin porridge is produced, upon which they make their dinner."
---On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of The Kitchen, Harold McGee, completely revised and updated edition [Scribner:New York] 2004
(p. 23)
[NOTE: This history tidbit is also recounted in Pickled, Potted and Canned: How the Art and Science of Food Preserving
Changed the World/Sue Shepard (p. 146)]
"Milk may be dessicated by evaporating to the consistence of dough and then thoroughly drying, after which it is crushed and
bottled."
---The Grocers' Hand-Book [Philadelphia Grocer Publishing Co.:Philadelphia] 1886 (p. 132)
"Chemically considered, the constituents of milk are nitrogenous matter (consisting of casein and a small proportion of
albumin), fat, sugar of milk, mineral matter, and water, the last constituting from sixty-five to ninety per cent of the whole.
The proportion of these elements varies greatly in the milk of different animals."
---Science in the Kitchen, Ella Eaton Kellogg [Modern Medicine Publishing Co.:Battle Creek MI] 1892 (p. 364)
---Boston Cooking-School Cook Book, Fannie Merritt Farmer, facsimile 1896 edition [Weathervane Books:New York] 1974
"Plasmon is the albumen of pure fresh milk in the form of a dry, soluble, granulated cream white powder."
---The Plasmon Cookery Book [International Plasmon Ltd.:London] 1904 (p. 9)
---Grocer's Encyclopedia, Artemas Ward [National Grocer:New York] 1911 (p. 386)
"From the late nineteenth century on, manufacturers were looking into the possibility of converting unsoured milk into a form still more
durable than canned milk, and cheaper to handle and package in large volumes. Early versions had a sweetish, cooked flavor, slightly
mitigated as the technology improved. The Great Depression and World War II brought about large-scale diversion of milk
surpluses, in dried form, to domestic food-assistance programs and international relief agencies. These are still the mainstays of the
industry. Huge amounts also find their way into commercial confectionery, baked goods, canned soups, frozen foods, and many more uses...
nowadays dried milk solids are often used to 'enrich' commercial skim milk...for decades, a stubborn drawback discouraged retail sales of
dried milk: the difficulty of dissolving the powder quickly and smoothly in cold water. The problem was solved in the mid-1950s
by a new technique of getting the powdered grains to aggregate in minute crystals. Millions of consumers took to instant dried
milk as a thrifty alternative to fresh milk. For a while it was the darling of the nutrition-minded recipe developers, who encouraged home
cooks to put supposedly vitalizing doses of dried milk into sauces, puddings, and breads. Another technical problem was more intractable:
the tendency of milkfat to develop spoiled or harsh flavors in the drying process. Dairy processors did find solutions, but they
were expensive enough to make mass-produced whole dried milk economically infeasible. This is why virtually all commercial
brands are non-fat, though there is some distribution of whole dried milk in health-food stores."
---Milk: The Surprising Story of Milk Through the Ages, Anne Mendelson [Alfred A. Knopf:New York] 2008 (p. 81-82)
Pream was a nonfat powdered dairy creamer popular in the 1950s and 1960s. According to the records of the
US Patent and Trademark Office
Pream beverage additive was introduced to the American public January 1, 1952 by Abbott Laboratories. The brand expired in the 1980s.
Coffee Mate was introduced February 2, 1961.
Our research indicates people have been skimming fat off milk from the beginning of time forwards. The skimmed rich fatty substance was traditionally churned into
butter or transformed into creamy cheeses. The leftover [skimmed] milk was traditionally regarded as inferior and discarded or consumed by the desperate poor.
Into the late 19th century, skim milk continued to be regarded as questionable dairy by-product: devoid of nutritional content, desirable taste, and economic
promise. Laws were passed to protect unsuspecting consumers against this chalky travesty being sold as "whole milk." Honest dairymen battled popular perception
for economic survival. Health officials successfully lobbied Congress to enact the first Food and Drug laws [1906] to ensure proper labeling and public health.
Impure milk was indeed a documented public health problem. The problem was not, however, connected with fat content.
The Oxford English Dictionary (OED) traces the first print evidence connecting the verb skim with the noun milk to the 15th century:
I. 1. a. trans. To clear (a liquid or a liquid mass) from matter floating upon the surface, usually by means of a special utensil; to deprive (milk) of cream by this method; to deal with (a pot, etc.) in this way. Also absol. (Cf. SCUM v. 1.) c1420 Liber Cocorum (1862) 50 ou shalt hit frye, In buttur wele skymmet wyturly. c1430 Two Cookery-bks. 22 Caste alle on a potte, & skym yt. c1450 M.E. Med. Bk. (Heinrich) 71 e ridde part of hony, boiled and skemed. 1548 ELYOT, Despumo, to skimme or clarifie any licour. 1570 LEVINS Manip. 131 To Skimme, despumare. 1590 SHAKES. Mids. N. II. i. 36 Are you not hee That..Skim milke, and sometimes labour in the querne? 1611 COTGR., Escumer,..to skimme, or clarifie, liquor. 1744 BERKELEY Siris 1 The clear water, having been first carefully skimmed. 1771 E. HAYWOOD New Present for Maid 32 When it boils, skim it clean. 1826 Art Brewing (ed. 2) 114 Boil the first mash one hour... Then skim and cleanse. c1850 Arab. Nts. (Rtldg.) 643 Morgiana..put the pot on the fire to make the broth, but while she was skimming it the lamp went out. 1879 Cassell's Techn. Educ. IV. 49/1 When the lead is all melted it is skimmed, and then drawn off into the mould.
"[f. SKIM v. + MILK n.] 1. Milk with the cream skimmed off or otherwise removed. Also in fig. context. 1596 SHAKES. 1 Hen. IV, II. iii. 36 (Qq.), I could
deuide my selfe, and go to buffets, for mouing such a dish of skim milke [1623 folio skim'd Milk] with so honorable an action. a1712 W. KING Misc. Poems,
The Old Cheese, This is Skim-milk, and therefore it shall go. 1799 A. YOUNG Agric. Linc. 297 He..gives first new, then skim milk. 1808 CURWEN Econ.
Feeding Stock 63 The skim-milk was included in the butter account. 1851 MAYHEW Lond. Lab. I. 382/1 He lived principally upon parritch and skim milk.
1897 Allbutt's Syst. Med. III. 132 If fat be removed from the milk as in skim milk, rickets follows. fig. 1778 The Love Feast 11 Craft's blue skim-Milk is best
for Tools to lap. 1872 Punch 4 May 180/2 The genuine outpouring of the milk and cream, and none of the skim-milk of human kindness. 1898 Westm. Gaz. 14
Nov. 7/1 The idea prevailed that the cream had been extracted from the..revelations, leaving little but skim milk behind."
---"Skim-Milk in Illinois," New York Times, July 11, 1875 (p. 7)
---"Wonders of Skim-Milk," New York Times, September 14, 1881 (p. 8)
---"Dried Skim MIlk Seen As A Big War Asset," New York Times, March 10, 1942 (p. 14)
---"News of Food: Dry Skim Milk Recipes Prove So Popular Many Appearing in 1948 are Repeated," New York Times, December 31, 1948 (p. 18)
---"Powdered Milk Magic," Jane Nickerson, New York Times, October 17, 1954 (p. SM50)
---"Skim-Milk Sales Increases," New York Times, September 22, 1964 (p. 33)
---"Can Skim Milk Taste Like Whole Milk," New York Times, August 14, 1991 (p. D5)
Today's American consumers equate "sour milk" with "spoiled milk. This is perfectly understandable to anyone who has sniffed "past due" milk products. When in
doubt, throw it out.
Our survey of historic newspaper articles confirm sour milk was a staple in homes before Pasteurization.
The flavor was tangier and product was creamier than fresh (sweet) milk. Recipes
incorporating this ingredient offered tangier flavor and smoother texture. Similar results were accomplished with
buttermilk, sour cream,
yogurt & mayonnaise.
"This is whole or skim milk that is allowed to sour naturally."
---Joy of Cooking, Irma S. Rombauer and Marion Rombauer Becker [Bobbs-Merrill Company:Indianapolis IN] 1975 (p. 533)
"...[sour milk] results from unpasteurized or unscalded
milk, because pasteurized or scalded milk will not sour, but simply spoil. Therefore, recipes which formerly call for sour milk now
call for buttermilk."
---Joy of Cooking (p. 533)
Invalid nourishment and baked good recipes.
Most supermarkets sell Pasteurized product, not fresh milk. Pasteurized product does not sour. It spoils.
In the early 20th century Nobel Prize
winner Dr. Metchnikoff connected extraodinary lifespans in Bulgaria with the consumption of sour milk. Today we think he
meant yogurt, a related product. Sour milk was actively promoted in the USA and sold in drug stores.
"There exists to-day a strong trend of opinion in favor of sour milk. In the last few years it has been the subject of numerous investigations by
chemists and bacteriologists in the laboratory, as well as by doctors in the clinics. Considering the favorable results of these various
studies, the use of sour milk as a wholesome food has rapidly increased these last few years, especially in Europe, where in almost all the
largest cities the sale of sour milk, not only for hospitals, but as an article of daily diet, is very common. The question seems new
in America, where the manufacturers still in small number, are taking advantage of the lack of competition and thus making of a wholesome
food a fancy product. A pint of sour milk is sold for 25 cents, although made with skimmed milk. Nothing can justify this high price, and it is
desirable to see this wholesome product put within the reach of every purse. Sour milk, as it is recommended to-day, possessing salutary
properties, is made with milk which has been previously boiled, in order to destroy all harmful bacteria, and started with a pure culture of
specific lactic acid ferment. When fermentation is complete--the time required is different with the kind of culture used, and according with the
specific lactic ferment used--a curd more or less consistent is formed, sweetened, when it is fresh, about usually slightly sour, with an agreeable
taste and aroma. The term bacteria has, in the popular mind, the meaning of evil. It has been conclusively demonstrated to-day
that human beings and animals cannot live without intestinal bacteria. There exist harmful and useful bacteria, and it is necessary,
in order to combat the chances of evil, to fight the former and multiply the latter...Nothing is older than the use of sour milk, and
nothing seems newer than the applications which have been recently made of it. Mention of sour milk is made in the Bible...Inquiry on the
subject seems to show that civilized people are the only ones to use raw or boiled milk, while sour milk is almost the only kind used outside the pale of our
civilization."
---"The Sour Milk Fad: Scientific Basis on Which Popularity of the Beverage Rests," Washington Post, November 27, 1907
(p. 9)
"The fashionable craze of the moment is neither drinking or aviation, but the drinking of sour milk or the munching of specially prepared tabloids,
charged with sour milk bacteria. The craze began a little while ago with the publication of Dr. Reinhardt's book, 'One Hundred and Twenty
Years of Life,' in which he detailed Prof. Metchinikoff's theory that sour milk prepared according to the Bulgarian plan is the real
elixir of life. Dr. Metchnikoff, the famous pathologist of the Pasteur Institute of Paris, was much struck when visiting Bulgaria
to find that in many of the country parts the proportion of centenarians was greater than anywhere else. He started to investigate the
cause and came to the conclusion that the long life of the people was due ot the fact that they used sour milk in their daily dietary.
This milk, prepared by means of a living culture of lactic acid form of bacilli, destroys putrefactive organisms in the human
stomach, so at least D. Metchnikoff maintained...Every chemist shop is full of sour milk lozenges and chocolates. Every careful wife is
urging her husband to drink specially prepared Metchnikoff milk that is sold by the leading dairy companies at
fabulous prices. Cooks have a fresh burden added to their lives by being asked to prepare sour milk at home, a process taking
many hours and much careful regulation of temperature. Meanwhile the folk to whom an expenditure of from $2 to $5 a head for specially
prepared sour milk is impossible can obtain much the same result by drinking buttermilk."
---"Sour Milk Drink Craze," Washington Post, February 20, 1910 (p. M3)
[NOTE: Nobel Prize winning yogurt.]
"I have had a number of letters recently asking why we specify the use of sour milk in some of our recipes when it is impossible to make
milk sour in the ordinary city household. I acknowledge that the term 'sour' milk is not as definite as it should be...
In trying to sour milk the housewife follows the old farm method--sets the milk in a warm place and lets it stand for a day or so. But
she cannot obtain a milk of the good old fashioned sour milk flavor with the pasteurized milk. The reason is that a number of the lactic
acid bacteria (the beneficial bacteria in milk) are killed along with the harmful ones in pasteurization. And not enough of them are
left to produce a pronounced lactic acid flavor when the milk is given an opportunity to sour. When I develop or test a recipe
that demands the use of a sour milk I use buttermilk."
---"Three Meals a Day," Meta Given, Chicago Daily Tribune, April 20, 1931 (p. 22)
"Did a thunderstorm really sour the milk? Or did we forget to take it in off the porch till eleven yesterday morning? We'd like to
blame the thunderstorm--but we suspect that the fault lies in too much sun before our bottles found their way to the refrigerator. But no matter--
in fact, sour milk and cream to the creative cook should be a signal for cheers, for they both have enthralling possibilities for dishes and
baked stuffs just a bit different and to many tastes, a bit better than other foods. Sour milk breads and cakes seem to offer a tender
texture and an indescribable flavor almost impossible to equal...For use in cooking, it is important that sour milk or cream be really sour--not
just off flavor. On the other hand, throw out all that grows bitter...It has been found better to force the souring a little, for it if occurs
slowly less variable types of bacteria also will have a chance to grow and the flavor will be changed. Therefore, keep the milk to
be soured at room temperature until it thickens. Another point. In measuring out sour milk, make sure that you are getting equal parts of curds and whey. To do this, simply
whip them together quickly with an egg beater until all parts are mixed, and measure out immediately. It is pleasantly simple to
substitute sour milk for sweet in many bread and cake recipes if we remember to make a few other changes. For instance, for good our
milk, allow one-half teaspoon soda for a cup of milk. More, of course, will be needed if the recipe also calls for molasses, which in itself
is somewhat acid...Also, if we are substituting sour cream for milk, we are adding excess fat and therefore must reduce the fat
considerably in our recipe."
---"Sour Milk and Cream Inspire Creative Cook," Mary Meade, Chicago Tribune, June 7, 1932 (p. 18)
"When you begin tightening the family purse strings you will find there are many short cuts to good cooking that help save pennies here and
there. Take the sour milk you prefer to certain breads, cakes and biscuits, because of the other tender texture, the delicate, moist
quality sour milk gives the home-baked product. Sour milk savings are a part of our American tradition. In recent years, though,
sour milk has become less commonplace, for with our fine refrigeration milk seldom turns sour as nature intended it should...Now when we want to
do some good old-fashioned baking we must buy sour milk or buttermilk. Since we seldom see the whole bottle some of it is sure to be
wasted. To eliminate these leftovers, and at the same time assure successful baking, you can make your own
sour milk as you need it by adding vinegar to the sweet milk you have on hand. Here is a general rule to follow: Add two tablespoons pure
cider vinegar gradually to one cup of sweet milk stirring constantly. If possible let it stand an hour before using, so that it will
thicken up slightly."
---"Sour Milk Substitute Big Saving," Marian Manners, Los Angeles Times, September 14, 1942 (p. A7)
[NOTE: This book also offers instructions for Pasteurizing milk at home (p. 32).]
"Our traditional respect for sour milk in baking has real foundation in cookery science. Like many another accepted household practice
that grandmother learned in the school of experience, the use of sour milk now is explained to granddaughter in her chemistry classes. The mild acid, called lactic
acid, in sour milk and sour cream does a number of things in batters and doughs--all of them on the right side of the cookery accounts."
---"Science Tells 'Why' of Sour Milk, Cream," Marian Manners, Los Angeles Times, April 16, 1947 (p. A5)
"Under pressure of consumer complaints about sour milk, Chicago dairies have promised the board of health and Mayor Daley they
will remove milk from dealers' shelves if it is not sold within 96 hours after pasteurization...Chicago is only one of a handful of cities with
populations of more than 100,000 that still had dating ordinances, before the legislature several weeks ago granted the dairies' request
to eliminate the dating requirement. The diaries and dairy farmers maintained that the practice of stamping the name of a day on the
container to indicate when the milk was pasteurized curtailed consumption and added to distribution costs. They pointed out that modern
sanitation requirements, refrigeration, and distribution facilities have outmoded dating as a measure to protect public health."
---"Sour Milk," Chicago Daily Tribune, October 3, 1961 (p. 10)
[NOTE: In this article the term "sour milk" refers to "spoiled milk."]
[1930]
"Sour Milk Cookies. Use recipe for Old-Fashioned Sugar Cookies, substituting thick sour milk for sweet milk. Reduce four to
2 1/2 cups, omit 2 teaspoons baking powder, and add 1/2 teaspoon soda.
1/2 cup shortening
1 cup sugar
1 egg
3 cups flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Cream shortening and sugar thoroly; add egg and beat well. Sift flour, salt, and baking pwoder and add alternately with milk and
vanilla. Mix thoroly. Roll on lighthly floured surface to 1/8-inch thickness. Cut with floured cooky cutter and place on greased baking
sheet. Sprinkle with sugar if desired. Bake in moderate oven (350 degrees) about 15 minutes. (Makes 3 dozen cookies)"
---My New Better Homes and Gardens Cook Book, revised 5th edition, [Meredith Publishing:Des Moines IA] 1930 (chapter V, p. 16)
"Sour Milk Chocolate Cake
"1 cup fat.
2 cups brown sugar.
1/2 teaspoon salt.
3 eggs, separated.
4 ounces (4 squares) chocolate, melted.
3 cups flour.
1 cup sour milk.
1/2 teaspoon soda.
2 teaspoons baking powder.
1/2 cup chopped nuts.
Cream the sugar and fat till smooth and fluffy. Beat in the egg yolks and salt and stir two minutes. Add the sifted flour and baking powder
alternatively with the sour milk into which the soda has beeen stirred. Stir in the melted chocolate and the nuts, then fold in the stiffly beaten
egg whites. Turn into a large greased pan and bake in a moderate oven [350 degrees F.] about forty minutes."
---"Sour Milk and Cream Inspire Creative Cook," Mary Meade, Chicago Tribune, June 7, 1932 (p. 18)
[NOTE: Compare with Chocolate Mayonnaise Cake.]
"Sour Milk Doughnuts
1 cup sugar
2 tablesoons sour cream or shortening
3 eggs
1/2 teaspoon lemon extract
1 cup sour milk
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
4 1/2 cups sifted flour (more or less)
Mix sugar with cream and add beaten egs, lemon extract and sour milk. Sift remaining dry ingredients with 1 cup of the flour and add
to first mixture. Add additional flour to make a dough just stiff enough to handle. Toss on floured board, roll out and cut.
Fry in hot deep fat (365 degrees F.). Makes 2 dozen."
---American Woman's Cook Book, edited and revised by Ruth Berolzheimer, Director, Culinary Arts Institute [Garden City Publishing Co.:
New York] 1942, Wartime edition (p. 128)
1 quart sour milk
3 eggs
2 tablespoons powdered sugar
1 tablespoon lemon-juice
4 tablespoons granulated sugar
Heat the milk slowly until it separates, and drain the whey from the curd. Add the eggs, powdered sugar, and lemon-juice to the
curd, and beat thorougly. Caramelize the granulated sugar and pour it into a mold. Add the curd mixture and bake the pudding for
twenty minutes."
---ibid (p. 633)
Historic newspapers and industry publications return references to milk sold in "gallon jugs" from 1939 forwards. Earliest print
references suggest this larger container was developed and promoted to save the consumer money (buy in bulk). Industry articles examine the requirements for launching the new
larger size. Dairies, traditionally fitted for pint, quart and half gallons would have to be retooled to accommodate the larger volume unit. The U.S. Department of
Agriculture studied the economic and health aspects of this industry development. There was much controversy on a
state-by-state basis about selling milk in gallon jugs. Pro: consumer savings Con: costly retrofit & less profit for dairies. By the late 1940s, gallon jugs were available
in some, but not all places. Gallon milk jugs were debated by legislators and settled in courts. Some period newspapers imply gallon jugs were sold to consumers before they
became "legal." General industry acceptance appears to occur in the late 1950s. By the early 1960s the gallon jug is ubiquitous.
"The California Supreme Court yesterday after lengthy arguments by Asst. Atty. Gen. Walter L. Bowers, took under submission, with indications of an early decision, the co-called
'gallon jug' case concerning milk prices in Los Angeles County and elsewhere in the state. Early last year Superior Judge Charles D. Ballard permanently enjoined the then Director
of Agriculture, A.A. Brock, from enforcing any of the provisions of the Milk Stabilzation Act, providing for minimum prices to producers and minimum wholesale and
retail prices for fluid milk. The original action was brought by G.S. Ray and numerous other plaintiffs, selling milk from dairy stores, mostly in gallon containers. They claimed they shoudl be
permitted a lesser price than regular retail stores thus becoming known as the 'gallon jug' group. Judge Ballard held the statute unconstituional, and ruled that the director had failed to
comply with the same from its inception and operation of the law in Los Angeles County in 1939. Since Judge Ballard's ruling the Supreme Court, in the so called
Jersey Milk Products case versus Brock, held that the act is constitutional. The director then appealed the Ray case."
---"Milk Fight Nears Finale: Early Decision Seen in Controversy ofer Gallon-Jut Price," Los Angeles Times, December 8, 1939 (p. A12)
[NOTE: Jersey Maid Milk Products v Brock.]
"Milwaukee, the only big city in Wisconsin, the self-labeled 'America's dairyland,' is the scene of a milk price war. Price cutting on gallon mik sales has
spread to most major dairies here, enabling their retailers to sell for 47 cents a gallon, down 4 cents. Retailers of one out-of-the-city dairy were selling at 45 cents."
---"Buy by the Gallon: Milk Price War Hits Milwaukee, Wis.," Wall Street Journal, April 8, 1950 (p. 3)
"A bill providing for the sale of mlk in New York state in one gallon containers was introduced tonight by Assemblyman Stanley Steingut of Brooklyn. The measure, which would be
subject to approval of the New York City Board of Health if enacted by the Legislature, was proposed as a way to provide consumers a more economical method of
buying milk. Mr. Steingut submitted figures showing that in other communities, including Chicago and Milwaukee, gallon containers had been substituted for those of
lesser quantity and proved popular. Thirty-seven per cent of milk sold in Chicago is sold in the gallon containers, he said. Moreover, the prices at which it was sold in Chicago
averaged 1 3/4 cents to 3 cents a quart less than milk sold in quart containers, he added."
---"Milk by Gallon Urged in Albany," New York Times, January 11, 1955 (p. 28)
"A differnece of opinion has arisen in the Legislature over the desirability and necessity of enacting the 'gallon jug' bill. The measure would make clear that milk could be sold in
gallon container. The bill went through the Assembly three weeks ago without any difficulty. Since then it has been with the Senate Agriculture Committee. On of the objections being
raised to the bill is that it is uncessary because of the Court of Appeals decision a hear about in the Defiance Milk case. The suit involved a successful challenge of a state law
prohibiting the sale of condesnsed skimmed milk in containers holding less than ten pounds...Senator Henry Wise, Republican of Watertown, sponsored the 'gallon jug'
bill in the upper house. 'What we are trying to do is to increase the availabiltiy and consumption of milk and this might hel.' he said."
---"State Debates Need of Gallon MIlk Bill," New York Times, March 5, 1957 (p. 22)
---"Gallon Jug Bill Voted," New York Times, March 19, 1957 (p. 27)
"Virginia's three-man Milk Commission will open a public hearing in Richmond today on the question of setting a price for the sale of milk
throughout the state in gallon containers. The last General Assembly authorized the sale of milk in the jumbo containers, but left the
price to the commission. By law the commission must agree on the per-gallon price before the new containers become legal this summer. The
hearing promises to engender as much controversy as has the price governing Virgina milk sales in half-gallon containers.
A spokesman for the Milk Distributors Association of Virginia said he failed to see how the per gallon price could be set lower than the
94 cents retailers receive for the same quantity of milk now sold either by the quart or in two half-gallon containers. On the other hand,
C.Y. Stephens, owner of High's Dairy Products Corp., which operates 17 retail outlets in the area, said he will continue to press for a
78 cents gallon. Stephens said he will appear before the commission today with cost figures 'I don't see how they can laugh off.'..
Since the sale of milk in the half-gallon containers became legal in Virginia last fall...the High Co. has donated the extra 8 cents
per half-gallon it receives on its Virginia sales to charity. It has contributed thus far more than $12,500 to the
Community Chest and the Salvation Army, he said."
---"Battle Looms on Gallon Milk Prices," Washington Post and Times Herald, March 29, 1956 (p. 6)
Mint julep
Mint Julep is heralded by some as the quintessential American cocktail. Built on bourbon, it is traditionally connected with
the American South and Appalachian regions. It is no accident Mint Juleps are the official drink of the
Kentucky Derby.
Like many alcoholic beverages, Mint Juleps were sometimes recommended for medicinal purposes.
"To twentieth-century drinkers a julep is a product of the Deep South of the USA...a strong but refreshing mixture of Kentucky
bourbon or rye whiskey and sugar, poured over ice, and flavoured typically with sprigs of fresh mint. It was not always so,
however. Originally, a julep was any sweet syrupy drink, often one used as a vehicle for medicine (William Buchan's Domestic
Medicine (1789) mentions 'cordial julep, expectorating julep and misk julep'). In that sense, the term has long since passed
into limbo, but it may survive dialectally in the slightly altered from jollop, 'medicine'. The word julep comes via
Arabic julab from Persian gulab, which meat literally 'rose-water.'"
---An A-Z of Food & Drink, John Ayto [Oxford University Press:Oxford] 2002 (p. 173)
[NOTE: Sample 19th century medicinal recipe.]
---Encyclopedia of American Food & Drink, John F. Mariani [Lebhar-Friedman:New York] 1999 (p. 206)
---Oxford Encyclopedia of Food and Drink in America, Andrew F. Smith editor [Oxford University Press:New York] 2004, Volume 2(p. 117-118)
"In a footnote [John] Davis defines 'julep'...'A dram of spiritous liquor that has mint in it, taken by Virginians in the
morning.'"
---The Mint Julep, Richard Barksdale Harwell [University of Virginia Press:Charlottesville VA] 1975, 2005 (p. 7)
[NOTE: footnote provides original reference: Travels of Four Years and a Half in the United States of America in 1798, 1799,
1800, 1801 and 1802, A.J. Morrison.]
"Mint Julep, An American Receipt.
Strip the tender leaves of mint into a tumbler, and add to them as much wine brandy, or any other spirit, as you wish to take. Put
some pounded ice into a second tumbler; pour this on the mint and brandy, and continue to pour the mixture from one tumbler to the other until the
whole is sufficently impregnated with the flavour of the mint, which is extracted by the particles of the ice coming into brisk
contact when changed from one vessel to the other. Now place the glass in a larger one, containing pounded ice: on taking it out of which it will be
covered with frost-work.' Obs.--We apprehend that this preparation is, like most other iced American beverages, to be imbibed through
a reed: the receipt, which was contributed by an American gentleman, is somewhat vague."
---Modern Cookery for Private Families, Eliza Acton, 1845 facsimile reprint with an introduction by Elizabeth Ray [Southover
Press:East Sussex] 1993 (p. 481)
[NOTE: From this description, we presumably a "reed" was a straw.]
"Juleps. The julep is peculiary an American beverage, and in the Southern states is more popular than any other. It was
introduced into England by Captain Marryatt, where it is now quite a favorite. The gallant captain seems to have had a penchant for
the nectareous drink, and published the recipe in his work on America. We got it in his own words: "I must decant a little upon the mint
julep, as it is, with the thermometer at 100 degrees, one of the most delightful and insinuating potations that ever was invented, and
may be drunk with equal satisfaction when the thermometer is as low as 70 degrees. There are many varieties, such as those composed of
claret, Madeira, &c.; but the ingredients of the real mint julep are as follows. I learned how to make them, and succeeded pretty well.
Put into a tumbler about a dozen sprigs of the tender shoots of mint, upon them put a spoonful of white sugar, and equal proportions of
peach and common brandy, so as to fill it up one-third, or perhaps a little less. Then take rasped or pounded ice, and fill up the
tumbler. Epicures rub the lips of the tumber with a piece of fresh pineapple, and the tumbler itself is very often incrusted outside
with stalactites of ice. As the ice melts, you drink. I once overheard two ladies taliking in the next room to me, and one of them
said, 'Well, if I have a weakness for any one thing, it is for a mint julep!'--a very amiable weakness, in fact, like the
American ladies, irresistable.'
(Use large bar glass)
1 table-spoonful of white pulverized sugar.
2 1/2 do ["do" means ditto, same measure as above]water, mix wll with a spoon.
Take three or four sprigs of fresh mint, and prress them well in the sugar and water, until the flavor of the mint is
extracted; add one and a half wine-glass of Cognac brandy, and fill the glass with fine shaved ice, then draw out the sprigs
of mint and insert them in the ice with the stems downward, so that the leaves will be above, in the shape of a bouquet; arrange
berries, and small pieces of sliced orange on top in a tasty manner, days with Jamaica rum, and sprinkle white sugar on top. Place
a straw as represented in the cut, and you have a julep that is fit for an emperor."
---How to Mix Drinks or The Bon-Vivant's Companion, Jerry Thomas, facsimile 1862 edition [Dick & Fitzgerald:New York] reprinted by VintageCocktailBooks.com 2008 (p. 43-44)
[NOTE: This book also offers recipes for Brandy Julep, Gin Julep, Whiskey Julep & Pineapple Julep.]
"Mint Julep
Some sprigs of green mint, slightly bruised in a tumbler with a teaspoon. Put in a generous teaspoonful of white sugar; add
gradually, stirring and rubbing lightly, enough water to fill the glass three-quarters of the way to the top. Fill up with pounded
ice; stir hard; pour into a larger glass that you may shake up well, and put in two tablespoonfuls fine brandy. This is called a
'hail-storm julep.'"
---Common Sense in the Household, Marion Harland [Charles Scribner's Sons:New York] 1882 (p. 511)
[NOTE: This recipe is included in the chapter titled: "The Sick-Room." It does not tell us which sickness this is prescribed
for. Other alcoholic beverages are Apple Toddy ("take hot at bed-time for influenza") and Sangaree or Porteree ("Taken hotk, it is good for a sudden cold.")
"Pendennis Club Mint Julep
By a well-known member of the club, Louisville, Ky.
There are some essentials:
1st. Fine, straight, old Kentucky Bourbon whisky--blended whiskies do not give good results.
2d. An Abundant supply of freshly cut sprigs of mint--prefereably young shoots--no portion of which has been bruised.
3d. Dry, cracked flint ice. A glass will answer the purpose, but a silver mug is preferable. At this club, silver cups are kept on
ice. A syrup of sugar and water is also kept on hand.
The silver cup is first filled with the ice, and then the desired quantity of fine whisky poured in and thooughly shaken with a spoon or shaker
until a heavy frost forms on the mug. The desired amount of syrup is then poured in and stirred enough to be mixed. The mint is then carefully
placed in the mugs and the stems barely sticking in the ice and the tops projecting 2 inches above the top of the cup. Straws are then placed in the
cup, reaching from the bottom to about 1 inch above the top, and the sooner one sticks one's nose in the mint and begins drinking though
the straws the better. There is no flavor of mint, merely the odor. Any stinting in quality or quantity materilally affects the result."
---The Blue Grass Cook Book, compiled by Minnie C. Fox, new introduction by Toni Tipton-Martin [University of Kentucky
Press:Lexington KY] 1904, 2005 (p. 288-289)
"Now, gentlemen, at long last are eight or so Mint Julep ceremonies--Being various adaptations of this peerless American conception from all
parts of the world where it is properly revered. Right from the meaning of the word Juleps have been a spill-and-pelt of
contradition and disagreement...The very name itself never was midwifed on any honeysuckle-bowered southern balcony, but comes from
the Persian gulab, or Arab julab, meaning rose water....No sane Kentucky planter, in full posession of his faculties will yield an inch
to any Marylander when it comes to admitting rye is superiour to bourbon in a Julep, when actually, a Julep is international and has
been international for years--just as the matters of radio and flying are international. It is a drink composed of whiskey or
brandy--and, of late--rum; sweetened, iced, and flavoured with aromatic leaves of the mentha family. So before the shooting starts let's
explain right here and now that there's no more chance of getting the various Julep schools to agree on fabrication of the most
delectiable of drinks, than we have of getting a proud Atlanta great-grandmother to concede General Sherman a nice, gentlye, well-meaining,
big boy. First of all there is the silver cup versus the glass school; the chilled glass versus room-temperature school; the slightly bruised mint
versus the all-bruised school; the rye versus the bourbon school; the fruit garnish versus the plain school. Feuds have begin because someone
breathed the possibility that city water would make a Julep as well as water dipped from a fern-draped Blue Grass spring.
Men have been shot att for heaping fruit juices, slices of citrus, and maraschino cherries on a Julep completed. Families have faced
divorcement about the slight-appearing concern of red-stemmed mint. A gentleman who discards the slightly bruised mint from
his drink views another who permits the bruised leaves to remain in the glass as one who did not have quite the proper forbearanced on
the distaff side...And so they tell the tale--Getting right down to cases, there is no more need for argument of violent nature along
such lines...On this matter of Juleps we can boast to a thorough Julep research, without pride or prejudice, for we have put in some years
of mightly clinical home-work on the matter!...But the best Julep of all, up to date---was mixed by Monk Antrim's...Manila Hotels, Luzon, P.I., and A.D.
1926."
---The Gentleman's Companion, Being an Exotic Drinking Book, Charles H. Baker, Jr. [Crown Publishers:New York] 1939, 1946 (p. 61-62)
---ibid (p. 67-6)
[NOTE: This book offers "a few common sense rules" for making perfect Juleps (9 rules in all), and Mint Julep recipes from Monk
Antrim's Manila Hotel (bourbon or rye), Santiago Cuba (Bacardi), Lamarr Peach Brandy Mint Julep, Peach Thunderbold (Georgia),
& Manila Polo Club (rum)]
"Mint Julep
2 oz. bourbon
1 tsps. sugar
4 sprigs mint
Mash with muddler. Fill the silver mug with shaved ice, Stir until the outside of the mug is frosted. Decorate with sprigs of mint and serve
with straws. Add green cherry."
---The Stork Club Bar Book, Lucius Beebe [Rinehart & Commpany:New York] 1946 (p. 106)
Mobby & mauby
The ingredients of this New World beverage depend upon time and place.
"Q. When I visited the British Virgin Islands a few years ago I was served a root-beer-like home-brewed beverage that I found quite delicious. It was called
mauby and was said to have derived from the bark of a mauby tree Do you know anything about this? A. I had never heard of mauby, but I found a recipe in The
Complete Book of Caribbean Cooking, by Elisabeth Lambert Ortiz...The recipe consists of cooking mauby bark with water, cinnamon stick, cloves, dried orange
peel and brown sugar."
---New York Times, November 3, 1982 (p. C10)
"Mauby. So far as I have been able to find out maube bark, sometimes mawby, in Spanish maubi, is the bark of the algarroba (carob) tree. It can be found in
Puerto Rican or tropical markets. The drink made with the bark is popular as a refreshing soft drink in most of the islands.
LOCAL COMMERCIALIZATION
"Mabi (fermented Caribbean beverage made from tree bark):
This beverage is loved by people who are from Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic and Haiti. It has been made for generations, normally made at home and sold on local street corners. The bark from the mabi tree is boiled then sugar and other ingredients are added. Once the drink begins to ferment they drink it. It's supposed to lower blood pressure, reduce cholesterol and even make men more virile! The mabi drink has never been commercially available until now. Global Beverage realized that tens of millions of these ethnic customers could not get mabi here in the U.S., so after two years of research and development, they've reformulated the beverage, removing the alcohol and the fermentation odor, thus making it more enjoyable. Now even kids can have an ice cold mabi drink. Four-pack is $ 2.99. Single 12 fl oz bottles are .99 cents." Global Beverage Enterprises
SOURCE: drinkmabi.com
3 ounces mauby bark
12 cups water
4-inch piece stick cinnamon
6 cloves
1-inch piece dried orange peel
4 cups brown sugar
Put the mauby bark into a saucepan with 2 cups of the water, the cinnamon, cloves, and orange peel and boil for about 20 minutes, or until the liquid is strongly
flavored and biter. Strain. Add the rest of the water and the sugar and stir to dissolve the sugar. Bottle, leaving the neck of the bottle empty so there will be space
for fermentation. Seal the bottles and leave for 3 or 4 days. Strain and chill thoroughly before serving in tumblers. Makes about 4 quarts."
---The Complete Book of Caribbean Cooking, Elisabeth Lambert Ortiz [M. Evans:New York] 1973 (p. 405)
"Mabi or Mavi (Colubrina Reclinata)
Mabi bark
1 orange peel
Anise seeds
Ginger root
3/4 pound sugar
The palo mabi is a shrub or low tree found in the mountains in all the Antilles. The wood is strong and used for building. The bark is used to make a drink called 'mabi' which is cooling, appetizing and its bitter qualities make it a remedy for indigestion. The bark can be bought in market or in the 'apothecary hall' as drug stores are called in some of the islands. Take a small handfull of mabi bark, the peel or one sweet orange, a pinch of anise seeds and a small 'hand' of ginger root, 3/4 pound of sugar and put on to boil with enough water to cover. Cook about twenty minutes and then add three quarts of water, set aside until the next day, when it will begin to 'work.' If you have a little left from a previous making, put it in and it will hasten the leaven. Do not cork the bottles but let the foam form on top. Put in the ice-box; an unequalled drink for warm weather and a fine stomach tonic."
---Puerto Rican Cook Book, Eliza B.K. Dooley [Dietz Press:Richmond VA] 1948 (p. 18-19)
Mulled drinks
According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the word mulled, as it applies to the culinary world, was first printed in 1607.
The word first applied to mulled wine, defined: "Of ale, wine, cider, etc.: Made into a sweetened and spiced hot drink and
sometimes thickened with beaten yolk of egg."
---Oxford Encyclopedia of Food and Drink in America, Andrew F. Smith editor [Oxford University Press:New York] 2004, Volume 2 (p. 641-2)
Punch
Early American cookbooks typically offer one or two recipes combining citrus fruit (typically lemons or limes) with rum and sugar. They are generally called punch. Some of these can be quite
complicated. Ingredients vary according to availability; proportions vary according to taste. Primary documents (journals, letters, inventories, account books) may
help you determine the full locus of ingredients and description of final product served in a given place by a specific
person.
"Punch in Hindi means five, and the first paunch, and then punch, was the name that eventually settled on the five-component
drink made up at first of arrack, spices, sugar, lime juice and water. It was first noted by Mendelslo in AD 1638 as palepunzen in
Dutch, and became punch about fourty years later. In course of time, numerous recipes for the drink developed, including one with milk in
it, described in AD 1823 in Madras. Punch houses were set up on Goa by the Portuguese, and later in Calcutta and Madras."
---A Historical Dictionary of Indian Food, K.T. Achaya [Oxford University Press:Delhi] 1998 (p. 201)
[NOTE: Arrack was a distilled spirit made with fermented rice and molasses. It was made in the Far East and Middle East.]
---An A to Z of Food and Drink, John Ayto [Oxford University Press:Oxford] 2002 (p. 272-3)
---Early American Taverns: For the Entertainment of Friends and Strangers, Kym S. Rice [Regnery Gateway:Chicago] 1983 (p. 94-95)
---The Williamsburg Cookbook, commentary by Joan Parry Dutton [Colonial Williamsburg Foundation:Williamsburg VA], revised and enlarged, 1975 (p. 160-1)
[1770]
Recommended reading: Punch: The Delights (and Dangers) of the Flowing Bowl/David Wondrich
"[A rum punch]
The peel of 8 Oranges and 8 Lemons in 1 quart of rum. 3 Gallons of Water boild with 3 lb. of loaf Sugar and the Whites of 8 Eggs. 2 and 3/4 pints of orange juice
and 1 and 3/4 Pints of Lemon juice. strain the quart of rum from the Peel and add one Gallon more of rum to rest of the
ingredients."
---A Colonial Plantation Cookbook: The Receipt Book of Harriott Pinckney Horry, 1770, [South Carolina] edited with an
Introduction by Richard J. Hooker
[University of South Carolina Press:Columbia SC] 1984 (p. 139)
"Orange Punch
Weigh two and a half pounds of loaf sugar, put it in a a bowl, and poru on it two and a half table-spoonfuls of rose water. Grate the yellow peel from one dozen fine
oranges, and two lemons, and squeeze the juice into the bowl, add the grated peel, cover the bowl, and set it by till next day; then mix in a bottle of claret, or
champaign, pass it through a fine sieve, and stir well into it the whites of eight eggs, which have been beaten to a stiff froth. Serve it up in glasses, putting a lump of ice in each,
and grate nutmeg thickly over them; or you may freeze it, and serve it in glasses, providing each with a tea-spoon."
---Kentucky Housewife, Lettice Bryan, facsimile 1839 edition [Image Graphics:Paducah KY] (p. 406)
Take rum, or any nice kind of brandy, and dilute it to the strength you like it, with entire sweet milk, stirring it in gradually. Sweeten it to your taste with loaf sugar, flavor
it with a little capillary, and serve it up in glasses; drop a small lump of ice in each, and grate nutmeg thickly over
them."
---ibid (p. 405)
Pare very thin the yellow rinds from six oranges and six lemons, put them into three pints of water, and boil them till the water is reduced to one quart, and strain it into
a large bowl. Mix in two and a half pounds of loaf sugar, three pints of boiling sweet milk, and set it by to cool; then stir in gradually one quart of rum, or the best brandy, and the
juice from the decorticated lemons and oranges. It will keep well for several months, put up in bottles, and when you wish to make use of it, serve it up in glasses, mixing in a
few beaten whites of eggs, and grating nutmeg on the top."
---ibid (p. 406-7)
Make a pint and a half of very strong tea in the usual manner; strain it, and pour it boiling on one pound and a half of loaf sugar. Add half a pint of very rich cream, and
then stir in gradually a bottle of claret or of champagne. You may heat it to the boiling point, and serve it so, or you
may send it round entirely cold, in glass cups."
---ibid (p. 407)
Root beer
The history of root beer begins with small beer (low alcohol content). These products, often
brewed with roots of medicinal plants, contained small amounts of alcohol. They were considered
health beverages in centuries past. In the 18th and early 19th century, home-made beer composed
of roots (spruce, most notably) commonly appeared in American cook books. Ginger beer was
also popular. By the second half of the 19th century, soft drinks (seltzer, flavored seltzer, soda)
were introduced and marketed as health food products. Root beer was a perfect fit. Food
historians tell us root beer was produced in quantity for public sale in 1876.
---Oxford Encyclopedia of Food and Drink in America, Andrew F. Smith editor [Oxford
University Press:New York] 2004, Volume 2 (p. 372-3)
---The Encyclopedia of American Food and Drink, John F. Mariani
[Lebhar-Friedman:New York] 1999 (p. 300)
[1798]
, The Grocer's Encyclopedia
"For Brewing Spruce Beer," American Cookery, Amelia Simmons
"Beer," American Frugal Housewife, Lydia Maria Child [NOTE: Mrs. Child offers
considers
beer a healthy family drink.]
"Spruce Beer," The Virginia House-wife, Mary Randolph [also includes ginger beer and
molasses
beer]
"Root Beer: For each gallon of water to be used, take hops, burdock, yellow dock,
sarsaparilla, dandelion, and spikenard roots, bruised, of each 1/2 oz.; boil about 20 minutes, and
strain while hot, add 8 or 10 drops of oils of spruce and sassafras mixed in equal proportions,
when cool enough not to scald your hand, put in 2 or 3 table-spoons of yeast; molasses two-thirds
of a pint, or white sugar 1/2 lb. Gives it about the right sweetness. Keep these proportions for as
many gallons as yo wish to make. You can use more or less of the roots to suit our taste after
trying it; it is best to get the dry roots, or dig them and let them get dry, and of course you can
add any other root known to possess medicinal properties desired in the beer. After all is mixed,
let it stand in a jar with a cloth thrown over it, to work about two hours, then bottle and set in a
cool place. This is a nice way to take alteratives, without taking medicine. And families ought to
make it every Spring, and drink freely of it for several weeks, and thereby save, perhaps, several
dollars in doctors' bills."--Dr. Chase's Recipes, 1869"
---Early American Beverages, John Hull Brown [Bonanza Books:New York]1966 (p.
101)
"Root Beer.--A non-alcoholic drink made from extracts of various roots and prepared for the
fountain by the addition of syrup and carbonated water. This class includes Ottawa beer,
sarsaprilla, and similar beverages which do not require the addition of cream and are mixed from
syrup and carbonated water. It is the common practice to carbonate such beverages in tanks and
draw them from the draught arm of the fountain, or from a special dispenser."
---The Dispenser's Formualry, compiled by The Soda Fountain Trade Magazine, [Soda
Fountain Publications:New York] 1925, 4th edition (p. 29)
Sangria
Sangria (aka Sangaree) is a punch-type fruit-infused sweet wine beverage with Spanish roots. The name descends from
the Spanish word for blood, describing the deep red color of the finished product. Sangaree was introduced to North America via
the Caribbean islands in the 18th century. Americans "rediscovered" sangaree in the 1970s. Renamed sangria, this popular fruit-infused
party beverage was served in trendy restaurants catering to young crowds.
"Sangria is a sort of Spanish cold punch made from red wine, typically with the addition of fruit juice
and soda water, and often also brandy and sliced fruit. The Spanish word sangria means literally
'bleeding' (it is a derivative of sangre, 'blood'). It was originally borrowed into English in the early
eighteenth century in the modified form sangaree, a term which has subsequently come to be applied in
American English to an iced sweetened drink based on wine, sherry, beer, etc. and flavoured with
nutmeg."
---An A to Z of Food and Drink, John Ayto [Oxford University Press:Oxford] 2003 (p. 300)
---The Foods and Wines of Spain, Penelope Casas [Alfred A. Knopf:New York] 1982 (p. 391-392)
[NOTE: Sangria formula here.]
"In Spanish, sangre means blood and sangria means bleeding. The relation to red wine is obvious, but
just when the connection first was made appears lost to history. The flavoring and diluting of wine with
water or fruit juices is almost as old as wine itself. Indeed, before vinification became the science it is
today, many wines had to be cut just to make them palatable."
---"To Love Sangria, You Don't Have to be Spanish-Or Even a Drinker," Frank J. Prail, New York
Times, May 19, 1973 (p. 42)
---"Make your own Sangria," Bill Collins, Chicago Tribune, July 31, 1975 (p. S-A8)
[NOTE: Recipe from this article here.]
---"Slim Gourmet: White Sangria Trims off Calories," Barbara Gibbons, Los Angeles Times, February 24, 1977 (p. I34F)
[NOTE: This article offers recipes for Sangria Fruit Cups, Chicken Sangria Blanco and Spanish Sangria Steak with Fruit.]
[1847]
"Wine Sangaree.--Put a gill of wine (port or Madeira,) into a tumbler, add to it water, hot or cold, nearly to fill it, sweeten with loaf
sugar to taste, grate nutmeg over, and serve with sponge cake, lady cake, or Savoy biscuit, cut small."
---The American System of Cookery, Mrs. T. J. Crowen [T.J. Crowen:New York] 1847 (p. 337)
"125. Port Wine Sangaree. (Use small bar glass). 1 1/2 wine-glass of port wine, 1 teaspoonful of sugar. Fill tumbler two-thirds with ice.
Shake well and grate nutmeg on top.
"126. Sherry Sangsaree. (Use small bar glass). 1 wine-glass of sherry. 1 teaspoon of fine sugar. Fill tumbler one-third with ice, and
grate nutmeg on top.
"127. Brandy Sangaree. (Use small bar glass). The brandy sangaree is made with the same ingredients as the brandy toddy (see No.
133), omitting the numeg. Fill two-thirds full of ice, and dash aobut a teaspoonful of port wine, so that it will float on top."
"128. Gin Sangaree. (Use small bar glass). The gin sangaree is made with the same ingerdients as the gin toddy (see NO. 134), omitting
the nutmeg. Fill two-thirds full of ice, and dash about a teaspoonful of port win, so that it will float to the top.
"129. Ale Sangaree. (Use large bar glass). 1 teaspoonful of sugar, dissolved in a tablespoonful of water. Fill the tumbler with
ale, and grate nutmeg on top.<
"130. Porter Sangaree. (Use large bar glass). This beverage is made the same as an ale sangaree, and is sometiems called porteree."
---How to Mix Drinks or The Bon-Vivant's Companion, Jerry Thomas [Dick & Fitzgerald:New York] 1862 (p. 56-57)
"Sangaree.--This is a sort of punch frequently drunk in the West INdies. It is composed of half madiera and half water, aciduated
with lime-juice and sweetened with sugar.
"Sangaree (American).--Put a quarter of a pint of madeira or port into a large tumbler. Add two or three lumps of sugar and as
much hot or cold water as will fill the glass. Grate nutmeg over the preparation, and serve.
"Sangaree, Danish.--The following is the Danish method of making sangaree. Take three bottles of red wine, and mix with them a
pint and a half of water; add a whole nutmeg grated, and cinnamon and sugar to taste. Set the preparation on the fire, and let it boil up; then
take it off, and let it stand with the cover on till cold. Strain and bottle.
Sangaree, Strong.--The folowing recipe for 'The Admiral's Strong Sangaree' is given by Mr. James Robinson. Put into a stone jar a pint and a
half of cherry brandy, a quarter of a pint of lime-juice, three pints of madeira wine, three parts of French brandy, three-quarters of
a pound of preserved guavas sliced, two ounces each of candied citron and lemon sliced, tow ounces of preserved ginger sliced, half an
ounce each of cinnamon and cloves beaten fine, one ounce each of nutmeg and Jamaica pepper, two ounces of pistachio nuts blanched and beaten,
half an ounce of bitter almonds blanched and beaten, three-quarters of an ounce each of gum arabic and gum dragon dissolved. Beat the almonds and nuts to a paste with
a spoonful of orange-flower water. Make a pleasant mixture of the madeira, lime-juice, and loaf sugar; pour it to the rest, cork and seal the
jar, and set it in hot water to infuse the gerater part of a day. In twelve hours shake it well, and keep it in a warm temperature six
weeks, after which it may be stored. In twelve or fifteen months strain it off, filter it several times until it is beautifully
bright, then put it in small bottles, which cork well and seal, and in wsix months more it will be excellent.
"Sangaree (West Indian).--Crush four ounces of loaf sugar to powder, and pour upon it a large wine-galssful of lime-juice,.
Stir untl the sugar is dissolved, then add a bottle of madeira, half a pint of pure French brandy, and two pints of coldstpring water. Grate the
fourth part of a small numeg over the sangaree, put a large lump of ice into it, and serve. Sponge cake or savoy biscuit is
generally served with sangaree."
---Cassell's Dictionary of Cookery with Numerous Illustrations [Cassell, Petter, Galpin & Co.:London] 1875 (p. 825)
"Sangarees and Slings. Sangarees are tall drinks, made like Old-Fashioneds but without bitters, and are usually topped with a dash of
nutmeg. Slings, on the other hand, in their simpler versions, are pointed up with bitters or a similar type of flavoring and resembe enlongated
Old-Fashioned with the addition of a little lemon juice. With the exception of the Singapore Slings, this entire group of drinks has little
merit...
"Brandy Sagaree. 3 oz. brandy, 1/2 tsp. sugar syrup, 1/2 tsp. lemon juice. Stir well with ice; strain into highball glass and add one
large lump of ice; fill with ice water or chilled seltzer. Dust with nutmeg. Note: Rum, gin, or whisky may be used in place of
brandy."
---Bartender's Guide, Trader Vic (Victor Bergeron) [Garden City Books:Garden City NY] 1947 (p. 395-396)
[NOTES: (1) Formulae for Ale, Claret, Port, & Sauterne Sangaree are also included. (2) Compare with Brandy Sling: Juice 1/2 lemon, 1 tsp.
sugar, 2 oz. brandy, 1 dash Angostura bitters.]
"Sangaree. The name given to long, mixed, iced drinks in some parts of the tropics: whether wine or spirits be used as a basis, and
if so which sorts and in what proportion, is left to the ingenuity or imagination of the barman or whoever offers to mix the Sangaree.
Port Wine Sangagree: One and a half jiggers of port wine, 1/2 ounce of simple syrup. Stir well with cracked ice and strain into highball
glass with two cubes of ice. Grate nutmeg on top."
---A Concise Encyclopedia of Gastronomy, Andre L. Simon [Harcourt, Brace and Company:New York] 1952 (p. 764)
"Sangria I i quart of dry red wine, 3/4 quart of lemon soda, 1/4 cup of brandy, 1 orange sliced with the rind left on the peel of one
lemon, 1 peach peeled and sliced, 1/2 cup of sugar (or to taste). Mix fruit, wine, brandy and sugar in a bowl or pitcher, stir until
sugar is dissolved. Leave stand a half hour for the furit to marinate. When ready to serve add the soda and twelve ice cubes.
Serve in tall glasses with liquid and fruit."
---Spanish-American Cook Book, The American Women's Club of Madrid, Ellie Barrett, editor [American Women's Club of
Madrid:Madrid] 1967 (p. 9)
"Sangria. (For four). 3 ounces lemon juice, 2 ounces orange juice, 2 ounces rock candy syrup, 16 ounces dry red table wine, 1 small bottle
(split) club soda. Pour over 2 scoops ice cubes in a wine carafe. Stir lightly. Serve in a large goblet."
---Trader Vic's Bartender's Guide, Trader Vic (Victor Bergeron), revised edition [Doubleday & Company:Garden City NY] 1972 (p. 415)
[NOTE: This book also offers a formula for "San Gris," composed of lemon/lime juice, sugar, madeira, cognac & club soda.]
"Simple Sangria. 1 bottle dry red wine, 3 oranges, 2 lemons, 1 lime [optional], 1 to 3 tablespoons sugar, 1 bottle club soda.
Put the wine in a tall pitcher or a punch bowl, along with a tray or two of ice cubes. Add the juice of oneoerange, then the other two
oranges, sliced thin. Cut the lemon and, if used, the lime in half. Add the juice of one half and the other half sliced thin. Mix in
sugar to taste and blend in soda water. Can be decorated with mint. Makes slightly more than two quarts. It should be served
immediately, while the soda is still sparkling. Now, for some variations. You might want to try making a batch and spiking it with
a cup of brandy. Or, subtly changing the flavor by using a half-cup of pineapple juice in addition to or in place of one of the lemons."
---"Make your own Sangria," Bill Collins, Chicago Tribune, July 31, 1975 (p. S-A8)
[NOTE: Formula for Champagne Sangria, from a Spanish restaurant in Darmstadt Germany, is also included in this article.]
"Sangria. There are several different verson of this, all of them well recommended. Try the basic recipe, then the variaions,
and see which one your prefer. It's an excellent drink for a buffet p[arty, as it can be made in s large pitcher or punch bowl,
doubling the quantities if necessary. 1 bottle dry red wine (Spanish, Chilean, or Californian. 1 large, thin-skinned orange,
2 jiggers Cointreau or brandy, 3/4 c. club soda, Sugar if desired. Put about a dozen ice cubes into a large pitcher or bowl. Add the
red wine nad Cointreau or brandy. Wash but do not peel the orange, slice thinly, and add. If desired, sweeten with sugar, or
preferably with simple syrup. (Mix 1 c. sugar with 1 c. water, heat until dissolved, boil 5 minutes, and cool. Keep in a jar in the
refrigerator, and use as needed for sweetening drinks), and add about 3/4 c. club soda. Peaches, strawberries, slices of raw
apple, or lime may be used instead of, or as well as, the orange slices. You can also add 1 c. orange juice to the wine, plus 1.2
c. lemon juice, and omit the soda. Some recipes do not call for Cointreau or brandy: the sangria can perfectly well be made without them.
Serve in good-sized wineglasses."
---Cosmo Cookery: Gourmet Meals form the First Drink to the Last Kiss, [Cosmopolitan Books:New York] 1977 (p. 217)
shrub
Shrub was a popular colonial-era cordial
made from the juice of a citrus fruit (often raspberries, cherries, lemons or oranges),
rum, and sugar. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, archaic spelling
variations sometimes began with "sch." Fruit-based vinegars were similarly
composed. Shrub is related to sherbet.
---An A-Z of Food & Drink, John Ayto [Oxford University Press:Oxford] 2002
(p. 312)
---Food and Drink in Britain From the Stone Age to the 19th Century, C. Anne Wilson [Academy Broadway:Chicago IL] 1991 (p. 401)
---
---Oxford Encyclopedia of Food and Drink in America, Andrew F. Smith editor [Oxford University Press:New York] 2004, volume 1 (p. 534)
To each quart of ripe red raspberries, put one quart of best French brandy, let it
remain about a week, then strain it through a sieve or bag, presssin out all the liquid;
when you have got as much as you want, reduce the strength to your taste with water,
and put a pound of powdered loaf sugar to each gallon; let it stand till refined.
Strawberry cordial is made the same way. It destroys the flavour of these fruits to put
them on the fire."
Put a quart of ripe red raspberries in a bowl; our on them a quart of strong well-flavoured vinegar, let them stand 24 hours, strain them through a bad, put this liquid
on another quart of fresh raspberries, which strain in the same manner, and then on a
third quart; when this last is prepared, make it very sweet with pounded sugar; refine
and bottle it. It is a delicious beverage mixed with ice water."
---The Virginia House-wife, Mary Randolph, with historical notes and commentaries
by Karen Hess [University of South Carolina Press:Columbia] 1984 (p. 215)
smoothies
Although fruit and ice/ice cream/milk/sorbet/yogurt blended combinations have been consumed for
hundreds of years, culinary historians generally place smoothies in the 20th
century, though they can't quite agree which decade. There is no single person or
company credited for inventing the smoothie. In fact? There is no single recipe. In
many places smoothies are promoted as health foods. Are they really? They can be. It all depends
upon the ingredients.
---Oxford Encyclopedia of Food and Drink in America, Andrew F. Smith [Oxford
University Press:New York] 2004 (p. 534)
---Oxford Encyclopedia of Food and Drink in America, Andrew F. Smith [Oxford
University Press:New York] 2004 (p. 750-1)
---"Health-Conscious Consumers Propel Local Sales of Smoothies," Stephanie Riegel, New
Orleans City Business, March 25, 1991, Vol 11; No 19; Sec 1; pg 17
---"Smart Smoothies!" Deanna Efird, Better Nutrition, April 2000 (p. 34)
---"Smooth shakes," Alan J. Wax, Newsday (New York, NY), July 29, 1998
(p.B14)
Switchel
Switchel is a energy-boosting beverage originating in colonial North America, most notably New England.
The primary ingredients were molasses, vinegar, ginger and water, though other ingredients were sometimes added. Alternative
appelations included "Haymakers Punch," "Harvest Drink," "Harvest Beer," and "Swanky."
---A Dictionary of Americanisms on Historical Principles, Mitford M. Mathews editor [University of
Chicago Press:Chicago] 1951 (p. 1695)
---Encyclopedia of American Food and Drink, John F. Mariani [Lebhar-Friedman:New York]
1999 (p. 320)
---"Harvesting in Old New England Made Gay by Serving Switchel," New York Times, June 16,
1929 (p. XX2)
---"A Forgotten Drink," New York Times, May 24, 1931 (p. SM9)
"'Harvest Drink. Mix with five gallons of good water, half a gallon of molasses, one quart of vinegar, and two ounces of
powdered ginger. This will make not only a very pleasant beverage, but one highly invigorating and healthful.'---From
Practical American Cookery and Domestic Economy, by Miss Hall, 1855, page 117....Swanky was a seagoing switchel...Similar in purpose to modern sports drinks, it slakes thirst and provdes a bit of
sugary energy. Molasses is high in minerals as well. This recipe yields close to six gallons, which would be about right for a
crew of people haying in summer months or a schooner full of handliners. The proportions for roughly a quart and a half are as follows:
five cups water, half a cup of molasses, a quarter cup of vinegar, and three teaspoons of ginger. One of our testers remarked
that the swanky 'tastes like something that's good for you.' You may want to sample it after mixing and add additional water
to taste. We liked it best when the water had been doubled."
---Saltwater Foodways: New Englanders and their food, at sea and ashore, in the nineteeth century, Sandra L. Oliver
[Mystic Seaport Museum:Mystic CT] 1995(p. 146-147)
"Harvest Drink. Mix with five gallons of good water, half a gallon of molasses, one quart of vinegar, and two ounces of powdered ginger.
This will make not only a very pleasant beverage, but one highly invigorating and healthful."
---Practical American Cookery and Domestic Economy, Elizabeth M. Hall [Miller, ORton & Co:New York] 1857 (p. 342)
Harvest Beer,
Domestic Cookery/Lea
Grandmother's Harvest Drink
, Buckeye Cookery/Wilcox
Tang
Tang was trademarked in 1957 (U.S. Patent & Trademark Office registration #1974439)
and introduced to the American public in 1959. It was invented as a modern breakfast
beverage in a corporate kitchen, not commissioned by the U.S. space program. Gemini astronauts brought Tang
to outer space in 1965. In 1969, Tang went to the moon. Product popularity rocketed beyond expectations and savvy marketers
capitalized on the connection. If you remember other flavors besides classic orange, you are correct! In 1969 Tang came in
grapefruit, pineapple-grapefruit & grape.
"A new instant, orange-flavored breakfast beverage, Tang, will be introduced next month in selected test markets by the Post division of the General Foods Corporation."
---"Advertising: 'Meeting-in-Round'," New York Times, August 7, 1957 (p. 55)
---"General Goods Offers New Drink," Wall Street Journal, August 7, 1957 (p. 24)
"A brand new product in the morning beverage field made its Washington debut at a brunch Tuesday at the Mayflower Hotel. The new instant breakfast drink, called 'Tang,' is a product of General Foods Corporation. "It contains more vitamins A and C than fresh or frozen orange juice, thereby setting off the first spark toward a brand new feeling each morning.," Fay Burnett, nutritionist for General Foods Kitchens, told newspaper, radio, TV and other guests at the Brunch. Vitamin-enriched Tang has a sunny fresh flavor and an appetizing orange color...Miss Wooden showed how Tang is made in seconds by merely mixing two rounded teaspoons of the powdered breakfast drink in a glass of cold water. It can be make as needed--by the glass, quart or more...When it is made up ahead of time, it should be stored in the refrigerator, the colder, the better flavor...And there's not separation. After Tang is mixed with water, ti stays in solution...'Tang' will be available in local markets by the first week in September."
---"New Breakfast Drink: In Vitamins A & C It Packs a Punch," Washington Post and Times Herald, August 28, 1958 (p. C14)
"Tang, the orange flavored vitamin enriched breakfast drink which has been on the market for some time, has been joined by a new companion on the grocery shelves. It is Instant Tang Grapefruit Flavored Breakfast Drink, a start-sweet concoction with a true fruit taste. Like its predecessor, the new Tang comes in 7 ounce jars in powder form, to be mixed with water [be sure the water is ice cold for the best flavor] either a glass at a time or in a decanter."
---"'Round the Food Stores: For a Look at the Latest Ideas," Lois Baker, Chicago Daily Tribune, December 29, 1961 (p. B2)
"Amazing but true: The richest orange flavor is not in the juice, not in the pulp, but locked in the rind of tree-ripened oranges. And that's where TANG gets is new natural flavor. It's the best tasting TANG that ever happened...So, for breakfast tomorrow, mix a decanterful of New natural Orange Flavor TANG tonight...By the way, better try New natural Grapefurit Flavor TANG too."
---display ad, Chicago Daily Tribune, September 23, 1962 (p. C 32)
"'Because of the limitations of space, only the most vital earth elements can be taken aboard.' That's not the national Aeronautics and Space Administration talking.
It's General Foods Corp. It claims Tang is one of the those 'vital earth elements.'...Just how 'vital' such items are to the moon effort might be open to discussion.
But they're suddenly vital to the men of Madison Avenue. A lot of companies hope to make a lot of mileage out of the fact that some everyday products will be
going along on the trip [Apollo 11]...There's hardly a company not trying to make some hay out of its connection with the Apollo program. And some of the
advertising tie-ins are not being received enthusiastically by NASA..."We don't encourage it. But we don't discourage it as long as the ads are factual."...According
to Sandra Meyer, senior product manager for Tang, a musical advertisement extolling the drink's virtues has been prepared for quick substitution for the
Apollo-related TV spots if anything goes wrong on Apollo 11. And grocery stores selling Tang have been cautioned not to use store promotions until it's clear the
mission is successful. General Foods' newspaper ad show a moon superimposed on an all-black background. In the lower right hand corner a coupon reads: 'For
earth people only: 12 cents off Tang." (Tang is also one-quarter sponsor of the American Broadcasting Co.'s space coverage this week at a cost of $500,000.)...
And while General Foods is saying a lot about its orange flavored Tang, it's saying a lot less about the fact the astronauts will also have the choice of grapefruit,
pineapple-grapefruit and grape flavored versions of the drink. The company test-marketed some of these flavors with ordinary customers and decided they wouldn't sell."
---"NASA Uneasy: Madison Avenue Capitalizing on Apollo Products," Robert E. Dallos, Los Angeles Times, July 17, 1969 (p. A1)
---"Advertising: Madison Ave. Takes a Trip to the Moon," Philip H. Dougherty, New York Times, June 29, 1969 (p. F16)
"For the record, the drink's origin had nothing to do with the space program. It was
developed by General Foods in 1957, 12 years before man would set foot on the lunar
surface. But the Vitamin C-filled drink is indelibly tied with outer space, largely because
it has been used by astronauts since the Gemini flights of 1965 - and because of
advertising. "Tang Takes Off" bleats a 1965 General Foods newsletter that describes
the elaborate efforts to craft commercials tied to the Gemini flights. Later commercials
and ad promotions - from moon maps sent to thousands of schools to lunar module
replicas on 18-ounce Tang jars - would reinforce the Tang-Space connection for years.
Once widely popular, Tang is no longer the major player it once was. "Its sales are not
now what they were then," said Nancy Redmond, a spokeswoman for Kraft General
Foods. She attributed that mainly to changes in consumer tastes and the availability of
other drinks. Still, Redmond said, "Tang has its dedicated users." It's also now
available in mango flavor and sugar-free orange. Plastic containers have replaced the
old glass jars. And Tang is still used regularly in space. "
---"Space-Tang Continuum; One Giant Leap," News & Record (Greensboro, NC), July 20, 1994 (p. D1)
Tequila
"Tequila...its origins date to pre-Columbian times. Before the Spanish conquered Mexico, the indigenous people made a naturally
fermented beverage called pulque from maguey plants. The Spanish transformed the fermented drink into a distilled one and created
mescal (also spelled 'mezcal'), the general category that includes tequila. For years tequila was not widely known outside Miexico
and adjacent areas of the United States. That situation changed after the Mexican government established the Norma Oficial
Mexicana (called the Normas)...in 1978 to regulate tequila quality and consistency. According to the Normas, tequila
must be made from the blue agave plant, a variety of the maguey plant called Agave tequilana Weber)...The plants must be grown
on the volcanic soil of Jalisco province, which includes the town of Tequila, and designated nearby areas. Tequila must contain at
least 51 percent blue agave juice. The other 40 percent can be cane or corn syrup or juices from other varieties of agave.
Tequila made from 100 percent blue agave is so labled."
---Oxford Encyclopedia of Food and Drink in America, Andrew F. Smith editor [Oxford University Press:New York] 2004, Volume 2 (p. 536-537)
"The agave plant contains a sweet sap at its heart called aquamiel ('honey water') that is made into a brandy called vino mezcal, which is tequila...Tax records of the town of
Tequila show that Don Cenobio Sauzia shipped barrels of 'mezcal wine' to the U.S. in 1873, and American troops brought it back from their campaign against Pancho Villa in
1916. During a gin shortage in 1944 in this country tequila enjoyed a brief popularity, but it was not until the 1960s, when it became a faddish drink among California university
students, that the sales of the spirit really grew, especially as the basis for the Margarita cocktail...The 'classic' way...to drink straight tequila, which required dried crushed
worms from the agave plant in a shake of salt, was described by Green Peyton in his book San Antonio: City in the Sun (1946)."
---Encyclopedia of American Food and Drink, John F. Mariani [Lebhar-Friedman:New York]
1999 (p. 325)
"All distilled maguey juices are mescals, a word derived from mexcalmetl, a Nauhuatl word for the agave plant...Much mescal is
produced locally in the old-fashioned way. Mague pinas are placed in pits, covered with heated rocks and layers of fiber matting,
and then allowed to cook for several days. The process gives mescal its distinctive smoky, earthy flavor. Once cooked, the mague is
placed in wooden barrels and allowed to ferment for up to a month. The resultant mixture of fiber and liquid is distilled
twice...Like tequila, mescal is classified as aged or not...Probably the best known outside Mexico is mescal con gusano, sold with a
'worm' in the bottle. The 'worm' is really a larva of a moth that lives in the base of the maguey plant."
---Oxford Encyclopedia of Food and Drink in America, Andrew F. Smith editor [Oxford University Press:New York] 2004, Volume 2 (p. 537)
---America's First Cuisines, Sophie D. Coe [University of Texas Pres:Austin] 1994 (p. 84-85)
While no one questions the fact that taquila is a Mexican product, there are conflicting stories
regarding the origin of the drink called Margarita:
---Oxford Encyclopedia of Food and Drink in America, Andrew F. Smith editor [Oxford
University Press:New York] 2004, Volume 2 (p. 46-7)
---Encyclopedia of American Food and Drink, John F. Mariani [Lebhar-Friedman:New York]
1999 (p. 199)
[1968]
"Margarita Cocktail
Juice of 1/2 lime
1/2 ounce Triple Sec
1 ounce Tequila
Shake and strain into a chilled champagne glass which has been edged with salt. To do this, rub the rim of the glass with a piece
of lime, then dip the rim into a saucer of salt. The Mexicans call their champagne glasses champaneros. We bought some amber-colored
ones in Mexico-Mexican bubble glass. It was fun for a while serving cocktails in these glasses, which came in all sizes and
heights and sometimes a little lopsided--no two are ever alike--but it was so much trouble to import them and they broke at such
a fantastic rate that we finally had to have them made for us in this country. I still think the Mexican glass has more charm\
but they just aren't practical for restaurant use."
---Trader Vic's Pacific Isand Cookbook, Victor Bergeron [Doubleday & Company:Garden City NY] 1968 (p. 185)
Tomato juice
Andrew F. Smith, one of America's most respected and prolific food historians, launched his career studying/reporting on
tomatoes. His first book: The Tomato in America [1994] is the cornerstone for all things tomato. Mr. Smith carefully/academically
chronicles the introduction, recipe embracements, medicinal applications, social challenges and commercial successes of tomatoes
in our country. Presumably, tomato juice descended from 19th century tomato pills & tomato syrup. These "modern" health preparations were prescribed for everyone from infants to
infirmed requiring a serious infusion of vitamins. Decades before lycopine was discovered, medical professionals and housewives
acknowledged the power of the tomato.
---Souper Tomatoes: The Story of America's Favorite Food, Andrew F. Smith [Rutgers University Press:New Brunswick NJ] 2000 (p. 92-93)
"Tomato Juice Valuable. Tomato juice will remove ink stains from linen."
---Chicago Defender, October 25, 1913 (p. 3)
"The first thing you should know about tomatoes is that when oranges are very expensive and the baby must have orange juice, that
very often the physician will let you use tomato juice instead."
---"Tomatoes Rich in Vitamines," Los Angeles Times, September
30, 1922 (p. I16).
"Twenty-five years ago this month, canned tomato juice was introduced to consumers. It appeared after four years of proccessing
research by the kemp Brothers Packing Comapny of Frankfort, Ind., which had in mind the development of a new baby food. But the
infants turned out to be a minor market as compared with the appeal 'liquid tomato' had on the general trade in groceries and on
restaurants. From the pack of about 1,5000,000 cases in 1930, tomato juice has swelled to an output that this year is expected to toatl 28,500,000
cases. The United States Department of Agriculture found a few years ago that this juice was purchased more often than any other
canned single-strength juice. About 44 per cent of the famlies in the United States bought it. The success story of this product
stems not only form its attractive tang and tint, but also from the fact that canned tomato juice is both cheap and high in
nutrients. At a current cost of 29 cnets for a forty-six ounce can, the juice costs about 2 1/2 cents for a half-cup serving. This
quantity supplies aobut a fourth of the Vitamin A and C needs of the physically active amn....Largely consumed exclusively
in this country (a little is exported to Cuba and Canada), tomat juice is primarily a berverage. But, on occasion, it supplies the
liquid for an aspic, is heated to provide a bracing hot soup...and takes the place of other liquids in cheese soufles, main dish
dumplings and meat stews."
---"News of Food: Canned Tomato Juice on Market 25 Years," Jane Nickerson, New York Times, October 13, 1953 (p. 32)
Ice
Food historians tell us hunter-gatherers inhabiting northern regions used ice for storage and food
preservation. This was a matter of practicality, not choice. Cooled drinks and frozen desserts,
such as lemonade, iced tea, and flavored ices, were enjoyed by upper-class ancient civilizations.
Both lemons and tea are "Old World" foods. Early records of consumption place the origins of
these drinks in the Mediterranean regions and Asia, respectively. These beverages were
introduced to America by European settlers. Economics of the Ice trade expanded the markets for
cold drinks in the mid-nineteenth century. Lemonade and iced tea (along with several other
popular food innovations) are sometimes touted as having been "invented" at the St. Louis
Exposition in 1904. This is not true. Culinary evidence confirms both were known long before
that year. Their rise to popularity in our country is sometimes attributed to the Temperance
(anti-alcohol) Movement of the late 19th/early 20th centuries.
---Pickled, Potted and Canned: How the Art and Science of Food Preserving Changed the
World, Sue Shepard [Simon & Schuster:New York] 2000 (p. 280-5)
---Oxford Encyclopedia of Food and Drink in America, Andrew F. Smith editor [Oxford
University Press:New York] 2004, Volume 1 (p. 700-1)
American Ice Harvests: A Historical Study in Techology, 1800-1918/Richard O. Cummings
...includes industry statistics, illustrations, citations to primary sources
The Frozen-Water Trade/Gavin Weightman
...details about Frederic Tudor's ice business, early 19th century
Harvest of the Cold Months/Elizabeth David
...a social history of ice and ices
Wine bottles: a short course in evolution, size & pricing
Have you ever wondered why wine bottles are shaped the way they are? Why are some different sizes & colors?
The history of wine containers is a study in human techonology, economics, and politics. Salud!
---Oxford Companion to Wine, Jancis Robinson editor [Oxford University Press:New York] 2nd edition, 1999 (p. 96-97)
English language history source generally agree on the the 19th century. Entries in the Oxford English Dictionary
suggest these names were not codified by one person at a specific time. They evolved. The earliest print reference cited by
The Oxford English Dictionary for Rehoboam
dates to 1841. Note: this OED definition does not specify bottle dimension or volume. Later definitions sometimes reference bottle size.
Our survey of late 19th/early 20th century USA wine ads and menus offers regular references to bottled wine being sold in quarts and pints. Menus include both domestic and
imports but don't dwell on bottle sizes. In fact? The difference between domestic and European wine bottle sizes quietly ferments until the early 1970s.
"New-York has a fair prospect to pay $4 for every quart and $2 for every pint of champagne that it drinks in any of the fashionable
hotels and restaurants after the 1st of next month."
---"A Champagne Combine, Fashionable hotels intend to put up prices," New York Times, October 19, 1889 (p. 1)
Wine list Pabst Restaurant/Pan-American Exposition/Buffalo...wine by the pint, quart or glass.
Outsize bottles, for show purposes more than for practical use.
Jeroboam or Double-Magnum (4 bottles or 3.20 litres or 0.70 gallons),
Rehoboam (6 bottles or 4.80 liters or 1.05 gallons), Methuselah (8 bottles or 6.40 litres or 1.40 gallons), Salmanazar (12 bottles or 9.70 litres or 2.10 gallons),
Balthazar (16 bottles or 12.80 litres or 2.80 gallons), Nebuchadnezzar (20 bottles or 16.00 litres or 3.50 gallons).
In France, the fluid contents of various bottles are fixed by law as follows:
Litre (100 centilitres or .220 gallon),
Champagne (80 centilitres or 0.176 gallon), Burgundy (80 centilitres or 0.176 gallon), Bordeaux (75 centilitres or 0.165 gallon), Anjou (75 centilitres or
0.165 gallon), Alsace (72 centilitres or 0.158 gallon), St. Galmier (90 centilitres or 0.193 gallon), Vichy (80 centilitres or 0.176 gallon), Vittel (75 centilitres or
0.165 gallon)."
---A Concise Encyclopedia of Gastronomy, Andre L. Simon [Harcourt, Brace and Company:New York] 1952 (p. 685)
"Wine bottle sizes.
Fifth (4/5-qt., the most common size), 25.6 fluid ounces, approximate measurement for recipe use 3 1/8 cups
Tenth (4/5-pt., a half bottle), 12.8 fluid ounces, 1 1/2 cups
Quart, 32 fluid ounces, 4 cups
Half-gallon jug or bottle, 64 fluid ounces, 8 cups
Gallon jug, 128 fluid ounces, 16 cups
Wine 'bottle' when mentioned in this book means 25.6 fluid ounces. This size is also referred to as a 'fifth,' meaning 1/5 gallon, or 4/5 quart, or
simply 'large bottle'."
---Adventures in Wine Cookery, by California Winemakers, edited by Bernice T. Glenn, a new collection of recipes published by Wine Advisory Board, San Francisco [CA] 1965 (p. 12)
"The size of wine bottles could become the next addition to the growing list of trade disputes between the European Common Market and the United States. France has asked the
commission of the six-nation unit to protest the the United States about a proposal put forward by the California Wine Institute that would forbid the import of wine into
America in bottles not of standard Americans sizes. The French and their Common Market partners say that the move is an attempt by the California wine industry to
hamper their European competitors, who in 1969 sold $64.5-million of wine to the United States, almost all of it in the standard 70-centiliter
European bottle."
---"Wine-Bottle Sizes Uncork a Dispute," New York Times, August 12, 1971 (p. 45)
"You wander into your favorite wine shop to pick up a bottle for dinner. On one shelf rests a nice Cabernet Sauvignon from California for $3.50. Nearby, however, is
a bottle of French wine at the same price. You cogitate for awhile and finally opt for the import. But which bottle really gives you your money's worth? Quality
aside, the answer is the California wine, simply because the bottle undoubtedly is bigger. At first glance, you might think the California winemakers would be proud
to give the consumer more for his money. You're wrong. The difference in sizes has raised the hackles of many vintners hereabouts who are crying unfair competition for
themselves and misleading packaging for the consumer...At issue are U.S. regulations which tightly control the bottle sizes for wine produced in this country but not for
imports...As such, the standard bottle size for U.S. wine is a fifth of a gallon, or 25.6 ounces. But in Europe, which is on the metric system, the standard size is only about
23.66 ounces, often cited on labels as 1 pint, 8 ounces. This means that a 12-bottle cause of domestic wine would equal about 13 bottles of imported. Moreover...
wines from around the world flow into the U.S. is 'a bewildering number of sizes.'...As the Wine Institute sees it the problems is two-fold. First, wine is taxed on a gallon basis. So, a
bottle of imported wine is taxed a smaller dollar amount right here in the U.S. than its domestic counterpart...Obviously, vintners might feel they're being placed at a
disadvantage in their own market. Also, some contend, consumer assume they're getting a full fifth of wine when buying an import rather than a smaller bottle even
though the quantity is listed on the label. Fueling this notion...is the fact many imports have push-up bottoms which take up space and make the bottle seem bigger...For...the
Wine Institute, the solution is simple: Make all wine sold in the U.S. conform to the same regulations, in this case the standards now applied to
U.S. wine...But assuming the problem does exist, is this the correct answer? Some voices within the California wine industry say 'No...there is a good case for the adoption of
the metric system by the United States."
---"A Tempest in a Wine Bottle," James E. Bylin, Wall Street Journal, August 23, 1972 (p. 8)
"For years, American winemakers have battled--unsuccessfully--to force European vintners to bottle their wine according the
United States standards of fill: pints, quarts and gallons. Recently, in a dramatic turnaround, the powerful California
Wine Institute proposed that Americans switch to the metric system. At their winter meeting in Palm Springs last month, the
institute's directors voted unanimously to create a special board to study adoption of the metric system. As reported in Wines
& Vines, a trade publication, the directors even came up with a list of possible bottle sizes: quart-liter, half-liter,
three-quarter-liter, liter, two-, three and four-liter. Traditionally, the California Wine Institute has opposed the increasing number of
imports being sold in this country in bottles resembling the standard fifth of a gallon. Several years ago, a representative
of the institute charged that many foreign wines arrived in bottles closely resembling American ones but containing 5 to 10 per cent
less. A 'fifth' of wine or Scotch or anything else is supposed to contain 25.6 ounces of liquid...Frank Schoonmaker, one of the most
famous Americans in the wine world, defended the Europeans...[he] voiced particular concern for older wines, many of which
had been aging for years. To transfer them to new bottles, 'in nine cases out of ten, would destroy their value and render them
unsalable.' He pointed out too, that the typical European bottles 'have been used abroad since long before the first
vineyard was planted in California.' What's more, Mr. Schoonmaker continued, 'The idea that American drinkers of imported wine--
a reasonably literate segment of our population, one might suppose--are confused and cheated by 'nonstandard' bottles...
is laughable.' That may be true. At the same time, the profusion of bottle sizes now coming into this country is almost
bound to be confusing to anyone concerned with just how much wine he is getting for his money. The traditional French wine bottles
contain 75 centiliters. That is true both of the slab-sided round-shouldered bordeaux bottle and the gently-sloped burgundy
bottle, both of which are widely imitated in this country and around the world. The 75-centiliter bottle holds 25.36 ounces, a
mere fraction less than the American 'fifth.' But there has been a trend, particularly in France, to switch to a slightly smaller
bottle, holding 72 centiliters. Only the most practiced eye can spot these smaller bottles on a wine shop shelf and in many cases,
the labels on the 75-centiliter bottles and the labels on the 72-centiliter bottles are identical; they both say either 1 pint, 8
ounces or 3/4 ths of a quart. To complicate things, the Alsatians prefer a bottle that holds 24.5 ounces; there are German
wines that hold 23.5 ounces, and other European wines ranging anywhere form 22 ounces up. There is also a 'pot' bottle that is
actually about 50 centiliters--less than a 'fifth' but slightly more than a pint. One importer here predicted that the
75-centiliter bottle would eventually become a collector's item."
---"Wine Talk: Quiet Controversy Rages Over a Proposal to Change Bottle Sizes," Frank J. Prial, New York Times, January 27, 1973
(p. 18)
"The wine industry will lead the United States into the metric system. And while it's about it, bury an old bone of contention between U.S. and foreign producers. The
Treasury announced Tuesday in Washington that domestic and imported wines must be bottled in seven standard metric sizes beginning in 1979. This will be the
earliest conversion date for any U.S. industry. The changeover will reduce the number of domestic wine bottle sizes to seven from 16 and the number of imported sizes to
seven from 27...Robert M. Ivie, chairman of the board of the Wine Institute in San Francisco and a member of the metric conversion committee, said, 'California
and imported wine will be sold in the same sized bottles, making price comparisons simpler.'...Ivie said the Treasury ruling is the result of five years of planning and
negotiation between the European Economic Community member nations and the U.S. wine industry. Part of the problem was getting a standard size measure within
Europe itself...Roy Camozzi, an attorney for the Wine Institute, pointed out that it will be many years before the last of the 'old' size bottles is seen in the market place because many
wines are aged in the bottle for long periods before sale. The changes from the present sizes used by U.S. wine producers are actually slight. The U.S. fifth contains
25.6 ounces, which will become 3/4 liter, or 25.4 ounces, in the metric size. The changes for foreign producers will be somewhat greater since thy previously have been
exporting bottles of 21, 22 or 24 ounces. The U.S. gallon and half-gallon sizes will be eliminated. California vintners Tuesday were generally pleased by the ruling, seeing
little extra cost except that for the original new glass moulds. And they expect this to be made up by the slight reduction in taxes even though few believe the lower taxes will
last. The changes from the present sizes used by U.S. producers:
Present sizes, Ounces & Metric sizes, Ounces
jeroboam 102.4 3 litres 101.4
magnum 51.2 1 1/2 litres 50.7
quart 32 1 litre 33.6
fifth 25.6 3/4 litre 25.4
tenth 12.8 3/8 litre 12.7
split 4.6 3.16 litre 6.3"
---"New Bottle Sizes: U.S. to Get Taste of Metric System from a Wine Jug," Carl Cannon, Los Angeles Times, December 11, 1974 (p. F13)
"Bringing the United States into conformity with the rest of the world, most of which operates on the metric system rather than the Imperial (British) or U.S. Customary
systems, has been an uphill fight...Consumers are understandably reluctant to switch from a system of weights and measures they understand to one that reads like a
foreign language to them...John Bing of San Diego...writes 'While shopping the other day, I came across something that illustrates why many consumers have
misgivings about the coming age of the metric system in the United States. The California wine industry is converting to metric measures and the 'new size' bottles are
beginning to appear on some dealers's shelves...half-gallon bottles of popular jug wines that sold statewide for $2.29 are being replaced by 1.5-liter bottles--
containing roughly 13 ounces less-that also sell for $2.29. Or, to put it another way, this is a markup of about 20% over the fair-graded half-gallon
price."
---"Consumer Advocate: Old Wine Prices on New Bottles," Ellen Stern Harris, Los Angeles Times, April 10, 1977 (p. E4)
[NOTE: The relationship between shrinking product sizes and rising consumer prices is a recurring theme in many edible industries from ancient times forward.]
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