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Vintage cookbook from 1901 (Picayune's Creole)

Lars
3 years ago

I already had several cookbooks on Creole and Cajun cooking from Louisiana, but somehow I found this reprint of a 1901 book called The Picayune's Creole Cook Book, The New Orleans Times-Picayune. Anyway, I ordered it and have been reading it with great interest. The recipes remind me of dishes I had in east Texas and Louisiana, prepared by friends, most of whom were Cajun, but they still made Creole dishes. My paternal grandmother also made some of these dishes.

A lot of the recipes are very similar to modern recipes but have interesting twists and quirks to them, some of which may make them better and even easier to make. A lot of them are very simple or basic but have unique combinations of flavors. I think I will enjoy experimenting with a lot of these recipes. One thing I like is that there are a lot of crab recipes, but there are also a lot of recipes for things like pigeon, which I will not be shooting and cooking. I also will not be cooking turtle. It does have recipes for frogs but not alligator, but I do not have access to either😥

The desserts have some interesting variations, especially with pie crust, and I will definitely give that a try. The original recipes do not have oven temperatures, but those have been added in the margins.

Do you have a favorite antique cookbook or recipe? I have The Frugal Gourmet Cooks Three Ancient Cuisines, but I don't remember making any recipes from it, although it was interesting to read.

What antique recipes or cooking methods do you think are better than modern ones?

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