I have been busy in the kitchen the past week or two. With the study of 1917, I am comparing old recipes with modern recipes. So I took on trying different bread grains, making clotted cream, homemade mayonnaise, spelt bread, pumpernickel bread and I forget what else for the moment.
The photo above is our homemade mayonnaise keeper. Just a simple pretty container I found at the thrift store.
I know that the study is 1917 and this recipe above for mayonnaise is 1919 but from 1912 to 1919 the recipes for mayonnaise are similar and different. The ones that I did not want to try is where they added whipped cream. I did not want to do those.
1913 information
This was 1912 and it is one yolk, two tablespoons of lemon or vinegar, 1/3 teaspoon of salt, and several dashes of paprika.
So the study began with squeezing a lemon and straining the seeds from the juice. I turned the power off and used candlelight and oil lamps.
I measured all the ingredients together. In the recipe it called for a dover beater and my hand beater was what they considered a dover beater best I could tell.
I realized that I needed help taking pictures so I asked Charles to be creative and help out with the picture taking.
So I put in the ingredients...
I started beating the mixture as soon as Charles could figure out how to slowly pour the oil and snap the camera at the same time. I really wish I had a picture of what we looked like.
I mixed really fast for a good while...
We found we needed more oil and the more oil drizzled, the thicker it got.
It was a slightly thinner version of mayonnaise. So I went back to researching...
It was not bad mayonnaise just not what we made with the stick blender. Then I found out with more research that during the past, 1920s, 1930s and longer they had mayonnaise makers. They are still around on ebay but I did not want to pay to buy one in case it did not make really good mayonnaise. They are called mayonnaise makers and I saw about four different types. All of them had a jar, mostly tall slim jars and short plump jars.
So I turned on the power for this one and it is with the modern stick blender and it makes wonderful mayonnaise. We like making our own homemade mayonnaise but we do not want to waste oil or settle for a mayonnaise we are not happy with so for now we will keep using the stick blender.
Recipe using an electric stick blender
One whole egg, 1 teaspoon plus 1/2 teaspoon lemon juice, 1 teaspoon white wine vinegar, 1/4 teaspoon dijon mustard, 1/4 teaspoon sea salt, 1 cup light olive oil.
Add the whole egg, lemon juice, vinegar, mustard, and salt. This is an easy recipe and very quick to make.
Pour the oil and let it settle .
put your stick blender straight in the bottom of the jar and do not move it around..
turn it on but do not lift it until it is thickened up above the blender part. See next photo.
Keep it still, it is not time to lift it.
Now you can lift it. This only takes seconds to make.
This is a delicious mayonnaise. We only make this amount because fresh mayonnaise will not keep for very long. I cannot find a consistent number of days to keep it in the refrigerator. Some say two weeks and some say only four days. My friend Catherine says to use it up in a pasta salad if needed.
My mayonnaise making study is not over, I have one more way to try but I have to wait until I am ready to make mayonnaise again because oil is so expensive.
If we can stay well and healthy and our history studies go back as far as I am wanting, we may want to go very basic so we purchased two 1820's style whisks. These are called Birch twig whisks.
The bottom whisk I purchased on etsy and the top whisk from Townsends. I really want to live like the old ways with the most basic items that do not plug in and run up an electric bill. We might as well have fun as we let go of modern.
I will be posting my spelt bread recipe soon and the clotted cream, also I have moved things around in my kitchen and dining area and made a baking area by re-arranging the counter. It feels so much better.
See you soon, I hope. Grandma Donna
