Let's Go Picnicking - A Look at Picnics in Victorian America by Jo-Ann Roberts

"I don't know why, but the meals we have on picnics taste so much 

better than the ones we have indoors."  -- Enid Blyton

The season of picnics is upon us in full force! From spring to late autumn, Americans take to the outdoors, enjoying a variety of foods, fruits, and vegetables while flocking to the shore, a mountain lake, or a neighbor's pool. We celebrate the unofficial start of summer by picnicking on Memorial Day, Father's Day, graduations, Fourth of July, vacations, and Labor Day. Autumn finds us tailgating at football games, soccer matches, harvest festivals, and impromptu evening gatherings around a firepit. 

There's something about eating outdoors that brings out the child in all of us!

In the 19th-- and early 20th century the word picnic was define as "an assembly of young people of both genders, at a tavern where everyone pays his club."

In Victorian America, and especially on the prairie and Western territories, these community picnics were major social events, involving informal sport, games, and people dressed in their Sunday finery. Schools, churches societies temperance groups, and businesses all held annual picnics. The food for the picnic was usually prepared at home and taken to the community grove down by the river, to a neighbor's farm, or a town park.  

There were many families, in both city and country, who could not leave their homes, farms, or ranches for an extended period of time, but could afford to lose a day's work now and then for an excursion.

Picnic Proprieties

As you might expect, picnic etiquette was expected at these gatherings. The following came from the San Francisco Chronicle of San Francisco, California in 1869...

"...We do not allow children just learning to walk to wander unguarded at the edge of precipices, and we ought not to allow young people just acquiring a knowledge of the world to be exposed to perils of the nature which they are ignorant.

...Picnics where the party is largely made up of young girls, should be properly "matronized" and governed by a code of proprieties calculated to prevent even the appearance of evil. There should be no straying in couples from the main body of the party especially when champagne or other vinous beverages have been consumed.

...There is a certain class of fast, young men who make a practice of attending all picnics that are not of a strictly private character for sinister purposes."

The Picnic Basket

The success or failure of a picnic depended mainly upon an ample supply of the right kinds of food and drink. When several families participated in picnic, each family offered to bring a dish, practicing the old adage "many hands make light work".

A sturdy square or rectangular basket, or a wood crate was preferable. A length of toweling or a fancy napkin was nestled on the bottom and up the sides of the basket or crate. Food was then wrapped in paraffin paper and placed inside.

In addition to good manners, each family brought their own plates (paper plates were not invented until 1903!), and flatware along with a sharp knife and a 

drinking cup for each person. A colorful tablecloth often brought a bit of elegance to the meal and showcased the family's wealth. 

Picnic Foods

Cold fried or roasted chicken, ham biscuits, boiled eggs, and pickled vegetables were all welcomed foods at a prairie picnic. Some picnics had "made dishes" which were as good when cold as when warm. Croquettes, fish balls, Saratoga Potatoes (potato chips!), baked beans, and meat pies were favorites. Seasonal vegetables like cucumbers, tomatoes, and fruits like strawberries, blueberries, huckleberries (a Montana favorite) containing a large proportion of water were very much appreciated on a hot, dry afternoon.

Homemade desserts were the highlight of every picnic. Doughnuts dusted with cinnamon and sugar, hand pies, turnovers, cookies and cakes were all well-adapted

to outdoor eating.

As important as food was for a successful picnic, the availability and preparation of something to drink in the hot weather months on the dry prairie was paramount. Where water was abundant, folks brought lemons and sugar to make lemonade. No matter the temperature, coffee was a necessity.  Someone always thought to bring a pot and coffee and built a campfire to serve the brew.

Today, picnics in America are a celebration of human spirit, culinary diversity, and adventures. They are personal. We choose the foods we serve, the guests we invite, and the venue. Planned or impromptu, they are not so very different from picnics of picnics on the prairie. We still enjoy eating outside on a summer's night or sampling regional foods at a community feast (New England clambakes, Texas barbecues, or New Orleans shrimp boils), or at trendy al-fresco bistros, central city cafes, and food fairs.

Let's Go on a Picnic!

Last September, author Pam Crooks extended sent me an invitation to be part of a MAPs project. Enthusiastically, I said "YES!" On July 15th, "Ainsley" Book 8 in the Love Train series released. Thanks to all who read and reviewed Ainsley and Lucas's romance.

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Victorian-America's Crabapple Jelly and Preserves by Kristin Holt

 

by Kristin Holt, USA Today Bestselling Author of
Sweet Romance set in the American Old West

 

September is Jelly and Preserves Season!

 

Crabapples

Gorgeous, flowering crabapple trees can be found in temperate climates. Blossom-laden boughs herald the warming days of late spring. The sour fruit is enjoyed in jellies and preserves.

Victorian housekeepers (wives) bottled preserves (whole fruit in syrup) and jellies. Their recipes illustrate 19th century cooking methods differing from the modern.

Flowering crabapple tree, courtesy of Pinterest.

Crabapples are smaller and much more sour than typical apples.

Crabapples, courtesy of Pinterest.

Vintage Crabapple Recipes, 1898

"Making Crabapple Jelly," original to New York Tribune, was reprinted in The Washington Standard of Olympia, Washington on November 11, 1898. This newspaper column provides much more information than appeared in recipe books of the era, thus an ideal example of Victorian-era preserving. I've taken great care to transcribe the article's text precisely, including vintage spelling, odd plurals, and punctuation.

Crabapple Wisdom, 1898

The crabapple is one of the most important fruits that are put up by the house-keeper in the Fall. It makes delicious preserves, and is a most valuable jelly. The tartness and fine, rich flavor of crabapple jelly render it second only to currant. For preserving the fruit the large, red-checked Siberian crabapple should be used, and may be obtained in market at about 40 cents a peck. For jelly, a cheap variety, the little wild crabapple, may be used with the best results and may often be purchased at 20 cents a peck, thus making it one of the cheapest of jellies.

~ The Washington Standard of Olympia, Washington, November 11, 1898

Crabapple Jelly Instructions, 1898

To make crabapple jelly look the fruit over carefully, cut out the stems and the blossom ends, and cut every apples [sic] in halves. Put the fruit in a large double boiler or in a stone jar sit [sic] in a large pot of water, and let the water come gradually to the boiling point around the jar. Be sure that the water reaches up to the fruit. The water must boil around the jar for eight or nine hours, and must be replenished as it boils away. At the end of this time the juice will be drawn out of the fruit and the jar may be removed from the water and left to cool over night. (emphasis added)

~ The Washington Standard of Olympia, Washington, November 11, 1898

Compared to modern crabapple jelly recipes, this Victorian method takes forever.

Read on!

Then strain them through a strong muslin cloth, squeezing out all the juice possible. Measure the juice and allow a pound of sugar to every pint. Boil the juice for 20 minutes before adding the sugar. Then put in the sugar and let it come to a boil for a few minutes longer, until it is firm jelly. Then strain it into jelly-bowls, and when cold cover it with papers and seal it up. Many delicious desserts are made with crabapple jelly, and it is excellent to use for cake.

~ The Washington Standard of Olympia, Washington, November 11, 1898

 Note the reference to papers, which were brandy-soaked (or not), cut to the proper size to fully cover the jelly surface, and set directly upon the contents. "Seal it up," in reference to jelly, meant either papers pasted over the top of open jars, glass caps (screw on or clamp), or tin lids which had no threads. Note that none of these methods hamper spoilage (by sterilization and vacuum) the way today's jelly- and jam-bottling methods do.

Crabapple Preserves Instructions, 1898

To make a crabapple preserve, use the whole fruit: after carefully looking it over, put into a preserving kettle with enough water to prevent burning. Let the water come gradually to the boiling point, and simmer until the skins crack. Remove the apples, skin them, and with a thin-bladed French knife take out the cores from the blossom ends, leaving the stems on. Weigh the fruit and allow a pound and a quarter of sugar and a scant cup of water to every pound. Let the water and sugar first boil together until clear, then add the fruit and let it simmer until the crabapples are transparent and tender. Remove the apples with a skimmer and spread them out on platters in the sun to cool and harden. Add a syrup of lemon juice in the proportion of the juice of one lemon to three pounds of the fruit, and let it boil until it is clear. When the fruit is cold and hardened, fill quart jars about three-quarters full and strain the syrup over them, filling the jars on the top. Screw on the covers and when cold tighten down.

~ The Washington Standard of Olympia, Washington, November 11, 1898

Did you notice this vintage crabapple preserve is not processed in a water bath? Even after the fruit sat out in the sun?

How did these preserves keep? Our Victorian ancestors understood that adequate sugar in jams, jellies, and preserves acted as a preservative by inhibiting microbial activity.

Crabapple bough, laden with fruit. Image: Pinterest.

Invitation

Do you make jam and jellies or bottle preserves? What insights can you share about the differences between Victorian jellies (or preserves) and today's?

Have you other thoughts to share? Please scroll down and comment.

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Copyright Ⓒ 2021 Kristin Holt LC

Using Food to Enrich Your Story

Most historical readers know that the America of the 1800s was a true melting pot of cultures. Before restrictions were placed on the number of immigrants from any particular country, people from many European countries headed to America because of the new opportunities and open land. I like to use that fact to depict characters who would still be holding onto the traditions from their native country.

Food is a great way to show details about another culture and give depth to a character. Contemporary readers are aware of all types of different cuisines available in their hometown, some having a wider variety than others. Even the most traditional mid-western town probably has at least one Chinese takeout and a pizza place. I like to include in my stories a possible way in which those restaurants might have been developed.

In Dulcina, book 5 in The Widows of Wildcat Ridge series, I focused on the Hispanic heritages of my hero and heroine. Growing up as neighbors on adjacent ranches in New Mexico Territory, Dulcina and Gabriel shared a common background and a love for the same food. Big family meals are important part of their culture. When Dulcina comes up with a plan to offer food as a way to keep her saloon open, she falls back on what she knows--the tamales she helped make while a child.

In Dance Toward the Light, book 3 of Entertainers of the West series, the hero, Valerik, is of Russian descent who stays in his brother’s house while Nicolai’s on his honeymoon. With this story, I introduced the reader to solyanka (a soup with vegetables, tinned beef, and pickled cucumbers) and rye peasant bread.

With each story, I research recipes, and when a food scene is included, then I make sure to use a dish typical of that ethnic group. Or I use a dish that could have been made with the ingredients available in that geographic location. A widow living in an apartment over her seamstress shop in the Colorado mountains is more likely to make gingerbread or molasses cake as a holiday treat than any recipe requiring chocolate or other expensive or hard-to-obtain ingredients. (The Ring That Binds)

What foods served by your family while you were growing up or served by you to your own family can be attributed to your heritage? One person who leaves a comment will be given the choice of an ecopy of one of my backlist titles.

And You Thought This Was A Modern Food

By Sophie Dawson

Food. We eat it and love it and are sure the products we know today are products of the modern world. Modern being defined here as post World War I. Well, you’ll be surprised with the foods we know today have there origins in earlier times.

I’ve been researching foods to be sure when I mention them in my books that they are accurate to the time. I’m continually surprised at the products that were invented or common in the 19th century.

Most of us know that Coca Cola was created in 1886. It wasn’t the first soft drink, however. Dr. Pepper beat it by a year. Earlier than that, in 1862, James Vernon invented Ginger Ale. The Civil War delayed it’s release but it soon became very popular in soda fountains around Detroit, Vernon’s hometown.

Soda water. It’s the carbonated water that makes soda pop pop. It’s found naturally but creating it is what made all the future soft drinks possible. That happened in 1767. I never realized manmade carbonated water was 250 years old. Lemon was the first flavored soda water.

Marshmallows came into being in 1850. I doubt they were jet puffed back then. Toffee or taffy as well as butterscotch became popular with lower cost sugar around 1800. What would Valentine’s day be without Conversation Hearts (1866)?

If you’ve read my book Pearl’s Will you’ll know that by 1910 Cracker Jack (1893) and Tootsie Rolls (1896) were favorites for Americans all over the country. Jello was first available in 1897.

I sure didn’t know that Saccharin was invented in 1879. Seems people wanted low calorie sweets back then too.

So what about non-candy foods?

As in much of Western culture, the Christian influence on society dealt with food also. One of these is Welch’s Grape Juice invented in 1869 by Dr. Thomas B Welch, a dentist. (Hence the brand name.) Being a devout Methodist, Dr. Welch didn’t approve of wine being served in Communion. He began bottling unfermented grape juice and soon the company was producing and selling quantities of the beverage.

One canned food was credited in reducing infant mortality in North America: Borden’s Sweetened Condensed Milk. Invented in 1856 to fight food poisoning and other illnesses related to lack of refrigeration, the Civil War helped make the product a household name. The military needed milk that wouldn’t spoil.

Can you imaging not having potato chips, that staple of the snack industry? They were the invention of George Crum, a chef at Moon Lake Lodge resort in Sarasota Springs, NY. When a customer sent back an order of French Fries (18th Century) which were sliced potatoes rather than the rectangles  we know today, saying they were too thick, he sliced them very thin, fried them brown and served them. They were a hit and the potato chip was born.

Angels and Singing Raisins

Television advertising wasn’t even dreamed of when Philadelphia Cream Cheese was invented in 1872. I doubt the creator was thinking of angels since the legend is that William A Lawrence eavesdropped a conversation about the recipe and ‘promptly went home and made cream cheese.’ This wasn’t the Brand name known today. It was named that because Mr. Lawrence sent the cheese to be packaged and shipped out in Philadelphia, PA.

The Dancing California Raisin came about 100 years after the product. Legend has it that in 1873 there was a severe drought in California and the grapes dried on the vine before they could be picked.

These products have seen a lot of change over the years, yet their popularity has lasted upwards of two centuries. Other products have gone by the wayside. I must say, I'm glad Celery Jello isn't one of the flavors that lasted into the 21st. century.

Sophie Dawson writes sweet romance, both historical and contemporary.

Of Jell-O, Straws, and Cracker Jack

By Sophie Dawson

I’ve been researching the early 1900’s for a book I’m writing. It is set in 1910, an era I’ve never written about before and not done much reading or study of. It’s been fun. Stuck between the Victorian era and, basically, World War I, the Edwardian era, also called the Belle Epoch it was a time of changing from the Industrial Revolution into the modern times that spanned the 20th Century.

Technological development research is always needed for historical writing. You can’t include barbed wire in the 1850’s or removable rifle magazines in the 1880’s. Neither were invented until a later time. Thus my research into what was available and in use by the general public in 1910. Here are some of the fun things I have found out that you’ll find in the book I’m working on. Sorry. I can’t tell the title because it’s part of a Multi-author series I’m involved in, and it’s still secret. BEG (Big Evil Grin)

I have to say, I had no clue Jell-O was invented in 1897. The flavors were strawberry, raspberry, orange and lemon. It wasn’t the first gelatin. The French used gelatin as a source of protein for their troops in the Napoleonic wars in the early 1800’s. In 1902, a major advertising campaign was undertaken and soon Jell-O was a household word.

We know that carbonated soft drinks were invented in the 1880’s. At least I knew that. Ice cream was a sweet treat enjoyed often. BUT, did you know that paper plates were invented in 1904 with cups coming shortly after? I didn’t. Dixie cups were the first in 1906.

Paper straws came about when Marvin C. Stone was drinking a mint julep through a rye grass straw. He didn’t like the grassy taste it gave his bourbon. Taking a pencil, he wound a thin paper strip around it and glued it together. That was in 1888. It wasn’t long before the resourceful man invented a machine to coat the straw in wax so the bourbon wouldn’t dissolve the glue. The bendy straw was invented in 1937 by a devoted father so his young daughter could sip her milkshake from a tall glass. He stuck a screw in the straw, wound dental floss around the grooves, removed both, and the bendy straw was born.

Baseball wouldn’t be the same without the seventh inning stretch singing of Take Me Out To The Ballgame with the iconic line 'Buy me some peanuts and Cracker Jack,' at least in Wriggly Field in Chicago. The sweetened popcorn has been around since 1896. It must have become very popular very fast because the song came out in 1908. The “toy surprise” in every box wasn’t added until 1912. They went through various adaptations until they were replaced by codes to be used to play games on Android devices in 2013.

I’ve included each of these within my book. I think it’s fun to include today’s common items that date back over one hundred years. My favorite was finding out that the first individually wrapped candy was created in 1907 and marketed in 1908. They took the country by storm. My characters find it at the amusement park they went to on the Fourth of July. Tootsie Roll.

A newspaper advertisement from 1918 during World War I