After reading that it’s so easy to make apple cider vinegar at home, I had to try it. 😀 And homemade vinegar made with apple peels and cores is perfect for the Historical Food Fortnightly challenge 14 – Waste not, want not. Continue reading Homemade Edwardian Apple Vinegar Recipe – Historical Food Fortnightly
Today I made delicious homemade summer lemonade with sweet clover flowers. Yellow sweet clover (Melilotus officinalis) – which is also called yellow melilot, king’s clover, common melilot, honey clover and ribbed melilot – is a tall herb which grows on wastelands, blooms in June and July and has a sweet coumarin flavor. Continue reading Yellow Sweet Clover Lemonade (Melilotus officinalis)
This is method 3 of my short series about how to make rosewater at home: This time I made ‘real’ rosewater – rosewater hydrosol (here you’ll find method 1 – heat infusion and method 2 – cold infusion). Rosewater is a by-product of the distillation of rose petals to make rose oil. My tutorial is for distilling rosewater without a still at home. Continue reading Homemade Rose Water Hydrosol
Inspired by the Victorian Essence of Violets, which is made by steeping orris root powder in alcohol, I tried to make Essence of Roses or Rose Extract with fresh rose petals. Continue reading Rose Extract Recipe
Elderflower cordial is perfect for hot summer days because it’s refreshing and cooling. Elderflower cordial was made since the Roman times, and it’s easy and cheap to make at home. My recipe is for elderflower syrup which will be diluted with water later. Continue reading Homemade Elderflower Cordial Recipe
‘Forethought must be exercised by the hostess in regard to the countless small details which go to make up the comfort of her guests. […] It is hardly too much to say that at least half the success of a picnic depends upon the providing of daintily packed and appetising looking fare, be it as elaborate or as simple as you please; and the invention of cardboard plates and dishes has greatly simplified picnicking’. (Every Woman’s Encyclopaedia, 1910-2)
For the Historical Food Fortnightly challenge 11 ‘picnic foods’, I made delicious Edwardian lemonade and Victorian and Edwardian sweet and savory sandwiches. Continue reading Edwardian Picnic Recipes – Historical Food Fortnightly
For challenge 9 of the Historical Food Fortnightly ‘Mock Foods’ I tried out some Victorian tea and coffee substitute recipes. I found so many recipes, especially for homemade coffee substitutes. Continue reading Victorian Tea And Coffee Substitute Recipes – Historical Food Fortnightly
Willow bark is a natural pain reliever, therefore it’s sometimes called ‘herbal aspirin’. Willow bark can ease acute and chronic pain, such as headaches, reduce inflammation and fever. White willow (salix alba) and other salix species contain salicin which the body converts into salicylic acid (the active ingredient of aspirin). Dried willow bark can be bought, but you can also gather your own willow bark in the nature. In an emergency in the wilderness, just chewing some fresh willow bark can relief the pain. Continue reading Natural Painkiller – Harvesting Willow Bark
I made delicious homemade orangeade for the Historical Food Fortnightly challenge 6: Juicy Fruits. It’s a recipe from 1922. It’s one of the best soft drinks I’ve ever made! 😀 Continue reading 1920s Orangeade Recipe – Historical Food Fortnightly
Meadowsweet, the natural ‘aspirin’, is supposed to cure headaches, migraine, fever, arthritis, rheumatism, and other pains. Continue reading Meadowsweet Tea Recipe (Filipendula Ulmaria)