Are you stumped for something to take to that next potluck event or picnic? Let Martha Washington help you out with some of her recipes from the 1700s.

You can be pretty sure you may be the only one bringing Stewed Calves Feet. The recipe notes that you should whip the calves’ feet before putting them in boiling salted water. After boiling for one-half hour, be sure to skin them before adding the other ingredients of vinegar, sugar, currants, cinnamon, mace and butter.

Martha also made Olio Pie, which isn’t what you think. In fact, it contains none of what we now refer to as oleo or margarine. It was in her time, “a pie of severall things” (her spelling). These included a pastry for a deep dish, which was filled with a small chicken, one pair of sweetbreads, veal kidneys, lamb kidneys, one veal tongue, one onion, bay leaf, parsley, artichoke bottoms, two potatoes, mace, one-half nutmeg (grated), salt and pepper, broth and white wine. The herbs were grown in her garden. Trust me, you don’t want to know the particulars of preparing the meat parts! It’s enough to make you lose your appetite.

Fast-forward to 1927, and the “Electric Refrigerator Recipes and Menus” book, “Specially Prepared for the General Electric Refrigerator.” It can tell you for the first time, how to make ice cubes with your new appliance. It suggests garnishes if you like your ice cubes fancy, like: 1 maraschino cherry, 1 candied cherry, 1 or 2 mint leaves, 1 violet without the stem, 1 pansy, 1 tiny rosebud, 1 flower of hyacinth or ¼ slice of lemon. Or you can color your ice cubes with food color. They suggested red and green as “especially attractive.”

Of course, this cookbook focused on food and drinks that were chilled or frozen. It even had a section called, “Frozen Delicacies to Tempt the Invalid,” stating, “In cases of sickness, cold things are often more welcome than other kinds of food.” A number of nutritious recipes followed, like Flapped Bouillon, Chicken Broth, Egg Nog, fruit juices, Sherry Milk and Mousses of various flavors.

World War II brought changes in diet with rationing. In May of 1942, a small booklet entitled, “Recipes to Match Your Sugar Ration” was “Prepared jointly by the Bureau of Home Economics, United States Department of Agriculture, and the Consumer Division, Office of Price Administration.” It advised people to “use fresh fruits liberally in place of desserts that call for sugar.” Other sugar-saving rules were: “serve cooked fruits hot to enjoy their fullest flavor and sweetness, save sirup (sic) from canned fruit to sweeten other fruit, pudding sauces, or beverages, a pinch of salt increases the sweetening power of sugar in cooked food, and be sure all sugar is completely dissolved to get its full sweetness.”

Recipe examples then followed with substitutions of honey, corn, cane, maple or sorghum syrips (sic), and their equivalent to sugar. It noted that you should use less of other liquids in the recipes to make up for the liquid in the sweeteners.

Occasionally cookbooks offered advice beyond cooking. This unusual recipe comes from the 1930s-era book, “Favorite Recipes” from the Ladies Aid Society of the First M.E. Church in Hokah. This one was for How to Preserve a Husband: “Be careful in your selection, do not choose too young. When once selected, give your entire thought to preparations for domestic use. Some insist upon keeping them in a pickle, others are constantly getting them into hot water. This may make them sour, hard and sometimes bitter; even poor varieties may be made sweet, tender and good, by garnishing them with patience, well sweetened with love and seasoned with kisses. Wrap them in a mantle of charity, keep warm with a steady fire of domestic devotion and serve with peaches and cream. Thus prepared they will keep for years.” n L.C.H. Caledonia, Minn.

Although modern gatherings may include more store-bought dishes than any time in the past, even this reflects what is going on in our time. Women don’t have time or don’t care to cook and bake like in the past. Many modern recipes also are made or partially made from pre-packaged prepared foods. This is new to cooking in terms of the history of mankind. Recipes from various eras can tell us something about the time and culture of our ancestors—what they ate, how they made do with what was available, and how recipes changed with technology.

If you are looking for interesting, old recipes, try looking in the archives of La Crescent Area Historical Society’s museum at Heritage House on S. 3rd St. You might have the most unusual dish (and most agreeable husband) at your next potluck!