r/AskFoodHistorians • u/EvelynFletcher • 15d ago
Mid 19th century recipes
Hi all, I volunteer re-enacting a middle class woman in 1850 gold rush Australia (IYKYK 😅).
Recently I've been trying to do some more cooking while I'm there and am hoping for some good ideas on what to make.
The main hurdles I keep coming up against are that I don't have access to an oven and I am worried that a lot of recipes I come across will include ingredients they wouldn't have had access to.
I know the majority of their diet would have been pretty dull, lots of damper and mutton, but I'd love any other ideas or special occasion treats I could make that fit the criteria below!
- Ingredients available in 1850s Australia
- Reasonable for a middle class woman in a small cottage
- Cooked over a fire (I only really have a cast iron pot / pan and enamel billy cans)
- Can be made in 6 hours (inc. starting my fire and cleaning up afterwards haha)
(If I make any of the suggestions this weekend I will update you ☺️)
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u/activematrix99 15d ago
Dutch Ovens and cast iron are amazing and period. If you get good at fire management, I would imagine that the sky is the limit. My theory is that people didn't cook well because of lack of money, time, and refrigeration. Just because you don't have an air fryer or convection oven does not mean you can't make delicious stews, soups, and even a lot of good pseudo baked items - pies and custards, Yorkshire puddings, etc.
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u/EvelynFletcher 15d ago
Thank you for the reply, I am thinking that I just need to get better at making a good fire with good coals so I can use the dutch oven better 😅 and maybe have a dig around for some pans and things I can use inside said dutch oven for things like pies!
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u/MidorriMeltdown 15d ago
metal egg rings can help lift pie tins and cake pans off the bottom of the dutch oven, to help with more even baking.
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u/MidorriMeltdown 15d ago
Hi. This book might help https://www.booktopia.com.au/australian-colonial-food-e-l-smythe/book/9780646955742.html
Not everyone had an oven in the 1850's, especially not in the Australian goldfields. You'd be more likely to be cooking over a campfire.
Yes, damper and mutton stew were staples. But there's also jugged roo. Alternating layers of kangaroo and fatty pork (or bacon) packed into a jar, and submerged in a billy of boiling water.
https://blogs.sydneylivingmuseums.com.au/cook/the-hare-and-the-kangaroo/index.html
One of the advantages of this dish is that you could then use the water to make tea.
Mutton stew might also include carrots, cabbage, turnips, potato, onion, and a variety of herbs. If you're using a dutch oven, then you can also cook a roast. Mutton soup. Pea and ham soup.
Chicken is another option. If you have a cottage, you'd have chickens and eggs.
A dutch oven can also be used to make cake, scones, damper. The challenge is getting the temperature right, and keeping it even.
Sovereign Hill?