I think you should go through the depression and into WWII. My parents to a lesser extent and my grandparents, especially were not city people and lived very like in the late 1800's especially as far as food went. The grew most of their own veggies, raised their own meat and traded for or bought only what they couldn't make.
Even as a kid in W. So. Dak. in the early 50's we hunted and fished for a large portion of our food. We also had a HUGE vegetable garden. Mom and Grandma canned almost everything we ate during the winter. I remember picking berries and crab apples in the Summer and Fall. They canned those, too. There are few things as good as Crab Apple pickles, Currant and Choke Cherry jam.
When we moved to Seattle in the mid 50's, Mom thought we'd landed in Heaven. There was a vacant lot with a burned out house on it next door, and the entire property was overgrown with blackberries, rhubarb, apple and pear trees, and a dozen other volunteer garden veggies. Us kids were tasked with clearing paths, hoeing and straightening up the mess next door. Dad turned over a garden in our yard too. It had to have been about 30 x 40 feet. All done the old fashioned way, by hand.
The property next door was owned by the folks we rented from and all that work was deducted from our rent. Harvesting the fruits and veggies was pure gravy. That and the tangled mess next door drove mom nuts. You all know the old saying: "If momma ain't happy, nobody ain't happy."
Topic: Recpies And Cooking Pre 1900 (Read 1827 times)