Cakes of the 1880’s<<<
Interesting, I like it when they tell us both the how and why something is done.
Mary, taught her family to be frugal.
She would gather the egg shells from the girls cooking, scrape the whites into a dish and when she had enough, bake a real Angel food cake from scratch, using only the saved whites.
>>>I like it when they tell us both the how and why something is done.<<<
More helpful info from same book...
WEIGHTS AND MEASURES.
As many families have no scales for weighing, a table of measures is given which can be used instead. Weighing is always best, but not always convenient. The cup used is the ordinary coffee or kitchen cup, holding half a pint. A set of tin measures, from a gill up to a quart, is very useful in all cooking operations.
One quart of sifted flour is one pound.
One pint of granulated sugar is one pound.
Two cups of butter packed are one pound.
Ten eggs are one pound.
Five cupfuls of sifted flour are one pound.
A wine-glassful is half a gill.
Eight even tablespoonfuls are a gill.
Four even saltspoonfuls make a teaspoonful.
A saltspoonful is a good measure of salt for all custards, puddings, blancmanges, &c.
One teaspoonful of soda to a quart of flour.
Two teaspoonfuls of soda to one of cream of tartar.
The teaspoonful given in all these receipts is just rounded full, not heaped.
Two heaping teaspoonfuls of baking powder to one quart of flour.
One cup of sweet or sour milk as wetting for one quart of flour.
http://www.gutenberg.org/files/15360/15360-h/15360-h.htm#CHAPTER_VI
Cooking time guide from same 1880 cookbook:
TIME TABLE FOR ROASTED MEATS.
Beef, from six to eight pounds, one hour and a half, or twelve minutes to the pound.
Mutton, ten minutes to the pound for rare; fifteen for well-done.
Lamb, a very little less according to age and size of roast.
Veal, twenty minutes to a pound.
Pork, half an hour to a pound.
Turkey of eight or ten pounds weight, not less than three hours.
Goose of seven or eight pounds, two hours.
Chickens, from an hour to an hour and a half.
Tame ducks, one hour.
Game duck, from thirty to forty minutes.
Partridges, grouse, &c., half an hour.
Pigeons, half an hour.
Small birds, twenty minutes.
TIME TABLE FOR BOILED MEATS.
Beef à la mode, eight pounds, four hours.
Corned beef, eight pounds, four hours.
Corned or smoked tongue, eight pounds, four hours.
Ham, eight or ten pounds, five hours.
Mutton, twenty minutes to a pound.
Veal, half an hour to a pound.
Turkey, ten pounds, three hours.
Chickens, one hour and a half.
Old fowls, two or three hours.
TIME TABLE FOR FISH.
Halibut and salmon, fifteen minutes to a pound.
Blue-fish, bass, &c., ten minutes to a pound.
Fresh cod, six minutes to a pound.
Baked halibut, twelve minutes to a pound.
Baked blue-fish, &c., ten minutes to a pound.
Trout, pickerel, &c., eight minutes to a pound.
TIME TABLE FOR VEGETABLES.
Half an hour,—Pease, potatoes, asparagus, rice, corn, summer squash, canned tomatoes, macaroni.
Three-quarters of an hour,—Young beets, young turnips, young carrots and parsnips, baked potatoes (sweet and Irish), boiled sweet potatoes, onions, canned corn, tomatoes.
One hour,—New cabbage, shelled and string beans, spinach and greens, cauliflower, oyster-plant, and winter squash.
Two hours,—Winter carrots, parsnips, turnips, cabbage, and onions.
Three to eight hours,—Old beets.
TIME TABLE FOR BREAD, CAKES, ETC.
Bread,—large loaves, an hour; small loaves, from half to three-quarters of an hour.
Biscuits and rolls, in from fifteen to twenty minutes.
Brown bread, steamed, three hours.
Loaves of sponge cake, forty-five minutes; if thin, about thirty.
Loaves of richer cake, from forty-five minutes to an hour.
Fruit cake, about two hours, if in two or three pound loaves.
Small thin cakes and cookies, from ten to fifteen minutes. Watch carefully.
Baked puddings, rice, &c., one hour.
Boiled puddings, three hours.
Custards to be watched and tested after the first fifteen minutes.
Batter puddings baked, forty-five minutes.
Pie-crust, about half an hour.
http://www.gutenberg.org/files/15360/15360-h/15360-h.htm#CHAPTER_VI