“When the children are gleefully thinking of presents and grown-ups planning all kinds of festivities there is usually one person who murmurs (inaudibly, let us hope): ‘Thank goodness Christmas does come only once a year.’ That is the housewife who does her own cooking.”
Thus the Woman’s World section of The Irish Times on December 7th, 1934 greeted its harried readers, happily going on to reassure them that there was no need to feel “unequal” to their fate, thanks to the luxury of shop-bought baking.
“These ready-made puddings and cakes are first-class in quality. They save the housewife much trouble, and I question if they are any dearer than those made at home.”
There are surely lessons to be taken for today from this wise column, but for those who remain determined to prepare everything from scratch this Christmas, the distant recesses of the Irish Times archive are rich with recipes and suggestions on how “the hostess” can make everything perfect. First, the temperature in the home.
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On Christmas Eve 1938, when central heating was still a dream for most, it was acknowledged that “the problem of correct heating confronts every winter hostess, and demands very special consideration”.
There followed guidance for homes with coal fires, which involved a complicated sequence of opening windows, closing windows, lighting fires, dampening down fires, opening windows again and, perhaps most wisely, placing “cold” people nearest the fire, with cushion-backed chairs “for protection”.
With the temperature thus regulated, the hostess would have been free to turn to cooking, perhaps turning back to a fine recipe for Pigeon Pie from December 1934, for which she would have required two pigeons and one pound of lean beef steak and, for some added glamour, some sliced boiled eggs to decorate the pastry. Yum.
Going a little further back, she would have found a handy recipe from December 1910 for “pressed beef”, which readers were told was “a useful dish at this time of year”. Key to the flavour were “two blades of mace”, while the final step was pressing the beef “under heavy weights” before chilling and glazing. Double yum.
[ Clementine and stout Christmas puddingOpens in new window ]
Christmas puddings have always been big in this title, but influences have changed a little along the years. In 1912, readers were treated to a recipe “which has been in use in the royal household since the days of George 1″. It asked for beef suet, French plums and a wineglassful of brandy among other ingredients, which may or may not have included a keen appreciation of the union.
A few years before that, in December 1909, we kept things very real with a guide to making Mock Turtle Soup, which may have been quite hard to read after the phrase “parboil in separate saucepans half a calf’s head, with the skin on, and half a pig’s head”. Readers who did manage keep going would also have found intriguing instructions relating to “slicing the tongue” and straining “the liquor from the bones”. Perhaps unsurprisingly, this challenging concoction needed to be seasoned “rather highly”.
[ Now’s the time to cook our failsafe Christmas cake and Christmas puddingOpens in new window ]
A more accessible recipe from the same month was Oyster and Celery Stew, which saw a thickened cup of rich milk being poured over a stew of celery and oysters simmered “in their own juice until the edges curl” and the lot being served over rounds of buttered toast.
Or the 1909 readers may have been drawn instead to a Game Shape, where they would have removed “all the meat from a cooked hare” and pounded it with beef to place in a mould lined with bacon. Naturally, a jelly would also have been needed, for which half a “scrag of veal” would have provided the base.
Moving back up to 1922, early December readers were treated to an appetising recipe for Toad in a Hole, for which they needed “some slices of cold roast mutton, three or four sheep’s kidneys” alongside milk and basic seasoning. Again, a pie was envisioned, with this spending an hour and a half in the oven.
Back with our 1934 writer who controversially advised on the merits of shop-bought goods, there was an acknowledgment that readers might still like to bake for themselves “for reasons of sentiment, savour or economy”. With this in mind, we present to you now a genuinely delightful-sounding recipe for Snowballs from late December 1937. Just remember to adjust timings to the modern oven (and that shop-bought alternatives exist).
Ingredients
- 2oz cake-crumbs or crumbled sponge cakes
- 4oz ground almonds
- Egg to mix
- 4oz caster sugar
- Royal icing
- Desiccated coconut
Method
Mix together the almonds, cake-crumbs and sugar, and add sufficient beaten egg to form a stiff paste. Roll into balls. Secure each ball on a fork and pour over it quickly sufficient Royal icing to form a thin coat. Toss in desiccated coconut. Place on rice paper in flat baking tins, and leave overnight. Bake in a slow oven until set (about 15 minutes). Decorate each with a small sprig of holly.
For the Royal icing: Add sufficient sieved icing sugar to an egg white to make it the consistency of a batter. Beat well.
