A Taste of History: 100+ Years of Recipes from our Community

The Boynton Beach City Library Local History Archives has in our collections hundreds of recipes from our community spanning hundreds of years! 

Try out some of the historic recipes that Boyntonians have enjoyed for over one hundred years! If you make it, love it (or hate it!) and want to take a picture & leave a review about your historic food experience, we would love to share your picture and/or thoughts with our community! Take a photo of your creation and email it to the archivist (rabinowitzJ AT bbfl DOT us), or come by the Library and drop off a physical photo!

Below are the transcripts of some of our recipes, but we also have free printouts available in the Library on the display case of this same name!

NOTE: These recipes have been transcribed as faithfully as possible from their sources, however, some terms that may not be familiar to us today have been [elaborated upon further in brackets to provide modern context and instructions]

Plum Pudding – Lake Worth herald – 1914:

• One half pound raisins
• One half pound currants
• One half pound sultanas [dried golden grapes/golden raisins]
• 6 oz. candied peel [candied citrus rinds (e.g. orange, lemon, lime, etc.)]
• 1 lb. peeled apples
• 6 oz. flour
• 6 oz. breadcrumbs
• ¼ lb. sugar
• ½ lb. beef suet [can be subbed with beef tallow, butter, pork fat, shortening]
• 2 eggs
• 1 ½ oz. sweet almonds
• 1 oz. bitter almonds [Archivist’s note: bitter almonds are now known today to be poisonous in larger quantities, sub with regular/sweet almonds]
• Mixed spice to taste
• Sufficient milk to taste

Mix the ingredients dry, then add the eggs (well beaten), and the milk. Put into greased earthenware basins, cover with greased paper (butter wrappers are very suitable), then tie down with a cloth. Boil from eight to 10 hours continuously. When cooked the pudding should be put in a warm place and turned on the side to thoroughly drain.

Rice Bread – Lake Worth Herald – 1917:

• 2 C. boiled rice
• 6 C. flour or more if necessary
• 1 cake yeast, dry or compressed, or ½ C. liquid yeast [for modern recipes, “1 cake yeast” is about 2 ¼ tsp. active dry yeast OR 1 ¾ tsp. instant yeast]
• ½ C. lukewarm water (omit this if liquid yeast if used.)
• 2 tbsp. sugar
• 1 tbsp. salt
• 2 tbsp. shortening if desired

Cook ½ C. rice with as much water as it will absorb until it is soft enough to be put through colander. Cool until lukewarm. Add salt, sugar, and about 4 oz. of flour (1 scant half-pint of sifted flour), and mix thoroughly. Add yeast, rubbed smooth in 4 tbsp. of lukewarm water. Rinse yeast cup with remainder of half C. of water and add this to rice. Cover and keep out of draft 2 hours or until very light. To this sponge add the melted shortening and the remainder of flour, kneading until smooth and elastic. Dough must be very stiff. Do not add water unless absolutely necessary to incorporate all the flour. Let rise 1 hour or until light. Mold, let rise, bake as other breads. [Archivist’s note: 350-375F and 35-45 min.]

Corn-meal Bread – Lake Worth Herald – 1917:

               (enough for two loaves)

• 1c cornmeal
• 6c what flour (more if necessary.)
• 1 cake yeast, dry or compressed, or ½ C. liquid yeast [for modern recipes, “1 cake yeast” is about 2 ¼ tsp. active dry yeast OR 1 ¾ tsp. instant yeast]
• 2 tbsp. sugar
• 1 tbsp. salt
• 2 tbsp. shortening, if desired
• ½c water (omit if liquid yeast used).

If desired, the sponge for this bread may be set in the evening, using only one-fourth as much yeast as needed for the quicker method. In warm weather keep this sponge cool.

Put the corn meal in a sauce pan with (two and a half cups cold water, mix thoroughly, and bring to the boiling point, stirring frequently. It is better to use a double boiler for this mush or to put it in a bigger pan boiling water. Allow the mush to steam at least ten minutes (1/2 to 1 hour is better.) Then cool it until lukewarm. Add salt, sugar, and a scant half pint of the sifted flour and mix thoroughly. Add yeast rubbed smooth with 4 tbsp. of lukewarm water, Cover and allow to rise two hours or until very light. Add the melted shortening and the rest of the flour. Knead until smooth, elastic dough is formed. Set to rise, bake [Archivist’s note: ~350-375F and ~35-45 min.]. While we do not claim there is much economy if any in using cornmeal, it saves that much wheat for the Government’s use (to be sent to our soldiers).

Sweet Potato Pie and Pudding (no baking instructions included; you’re on your own!)

• ½ C. shortening
• ½ C. sugar
• 1 C. cooked & mashed sweet potatoes
• 1 egg
• 2 C. flour
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1 C. “liquid” [Archivist’s note: use whatever to taste! Water, sweetened condensed milk, ½, milk, cream, etc. Have fun with it!]
• Cinnamon, nuts, and raisins to taste if desired

Peanut Soup – 1918

• 1 qt. milk
• 4 tbsp. flour
• 3 tbsp. butterine [Archivist’s note: butterine was a margarine-like product, feel free to substitute!]
• 1 tbsp. salt
• 6 tbsp. peanut butter
• Pepper to taste
• A little hot water

Heat the milk and thicken it with flour and butterine. Season with salt and pepper. Thin the peanut butter with hot water, stirring until like thick cream. Add this to the milk. Cook a moment, then serve.

“This recipe is given as sent me from the State Department. If one uses evaporated cream one may heat the water (2 C.), add the creamed flour and butterine, still [sic] till thick and add the cream (2 c.) and then the peanut butter. A little onion juice improves the flavor.”

Bean Loaf – Lake Worth Herald – 1918

• 2 C. lima or navy beans
• 1 C. bread crumbs
• 2 C. rice stock [Archivist’s note: the starched/glutinous water leftover from cooking rice]
• 2 Tbsp. grated onion
• 4 tsp. peanut butter
• 2 tsp. salt & pepper (or to taste)
• 2 Tbsp. bacon drippings or other fat
• 1 Tbsp. poultry flavoring or dried celery leaves [Archivist’s note: “poultry flavoring” around this time typically meant what we call “poultry seasoning” today; sage, thyme, marjoram, black pepper, and other spices such as rosemary, nutmeg, celery seed, etc.]

Soak beans over night; cook till tender; drain thru sieve; add bread crumbs soaked in rice stock, onion, peanut butter thinned and beaten with a little hot water, salt, bacon fat, flavoring. Mix and mold into a loaf and bake in a moderate oven [Archivist’s note: “moderate” typically meant ~350F +/- 25 degrees] in a greased pan about twenty minutes. Serve with tomato sauce.

Tomato Sauce -1918

• 1 C. tomato juice and pulp
• 2 tbsp. butter or substitute
• 1 tbsp. corn starch
• - ¼ tsp. salt, cayenne pepper

Cook the tomato until tender and press through sieve. Melt butter, add flour and rub smooth. Add tomato and seasoning. Stir till it thickens.

Oatmeal Crackers - 1918

• 4 C. oatmeal
• 1 C. flour
• ½ C. shortening
• 1 tbsp. soda
• 1 tsp. salt
• 2-3 C. sugar

Cold water, mix as pie crust, roll thin, bake slowly. Recipe made by Mrs. W. H. Sampson, Lake Worth.

Baked Eggplant - 1918

• 1 eggplant
• 1 egg
• ½ C. milk (evaporated cream will do)
• Salt and pepper to taste
• A little butter or substitute

Cut up eggplant that has been peeled, cook till clear in boiling salted water, mash, put in greased baking dish, add egg and beat up; add milk, salt, pepper. Bread or cracker crumbs may be added to top. Add butter in bits on this. Bake 25 minutes in moderate oven [Archivist’s note: “moderate” typically meant ~350F +/- 25 degrees]. Recipe made by Mrs. W. H. Sampson, Lake Worth.

East Coast Fruit Salad – 1918

• 1 C. grapefruit pulp
• 1 C. underdone prunes cut in small pieces
• ¼ C. English walnuts (may be omitted)
• Mayonnaise dressing
• Lettuce leaves if desired

Mix, pile on lettuce leaves and serve cold.

American Cheese Salad - 1918

• 1 C. cooked rice
• 2-3 C. cheese grated or cut in small pieces
• 3 small tomatoes skinned and cut in quarters
• Mayonnaise dressing
• Lettuce

Mix some of the dressing with the cheese and rice. Pile on the lettuce leaves. Arrange the tomato quarters around this mound and pile the rest of the dressing on top of the cheese and rice.

Cabbage Salad – 1918

• 1 C. finely chopped cabbage (raw)
• 1 green pepper (six strips, rest chopped)
• ½ minced onion
• 1 raw carrot
• French dressing
• Mayonnaise dressing
• Lettuce if desired

Marinate or mix with French dressing first three ingredients 1 hour before serving and leave on the ice if possible. If you do not have ice leave this process out and prepare salad just before serving. Run lettuce leaves around plate, tucking in the stem ends and seeing that none of the leaves hang over the plate. Three leaves if medium size will look well for an individual serving. Mix the salad with mayonnaise dressing. Pile on lettuce leaves, place strips of peppers down sides. Peel or scrape tender carrot cut in slices, cut these in quarters and garnish with them, taking care not to use too many.

Indian Pudding – 1918

• 4 C. milk (evaporated cream will do nicely)
• ¼ C. corn meal
• ½ C. chopped suet
• ¾ tbsp. salt
• 1 tbsp ginger
• 1-3 C. molasses
• 1 or ½ C. raisings

Cook milk and cornmeal in double boiler 20 minutes. Add molasses, salt and ginger, raisins dusted with flour, suet. Pour into buttered baking dish and bake two hours in a slow oven or use the fireless cooker. Serve with milk if desired. Serves six. (This recipe without the raisins and suet can be found in U.S. Food Leaflet No. 2, U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, U.S. Food Ad, Washington, D.C.)

Egg Preserving – 1918

Dilute one quart of water glass (commercial silicate soda) with 9 quarts of pure, boiled and cooled water. Place fifteen dozen fresh eggs (infertile are much the best for keeping) in a clean stone jar, being sure that none are dirty or cracked. Do not wash eggs before preserving either as you seem to take a sort of film off and render them less likely to keep. Pour the diluted water glass over the eggs till it stands two inches above the highest egg. Cover the receptacle to stop evaporation. Keep in a cool, dry, place. Do not use preserving solution more than once. Never sell these eggs for fresh ones. Use them for cooking when prices rise and sell the fresh ones. Before cooking, wash these eggs and stick a pin in one end that there may be no danger of their bursting. – Circular Letter No. 35, Tallahassee, Florida. Minnie Floyd, State Poultry Club Agent

Carrot Pudding – 1918

• 1 C. grated carrots
• 1 C. grated potatoes (Irish)
• 1 C. chopped suet (beef)
• 1 C. chopped peel [Archivist’s note: this refers to candied citrus (orange/lemon/citron) peels]
• 1 C. raisins
• 1 C. currants
• 1 C. sugar
• juice & grated rind of a lemon
• pinch of salt
• pinch of nutmeg

Mix all together and let stand over night and in the morning mix into the ingredients about two cups of flour. Before adding the flour put into the mixture a liberal half teaspoonful of baking soda. Steam from 5-8 hours. This can be done in installments leaving the last 2 hours the day it is to be eaten. Serve with melted butter sauce, and flavor. An extra cup of raisins may be used instead of the currants, but the latter are preferable.

POST-WW1:

“Things to do or avoid in frying good doughnuts”

Results of a Series of Fat Absorption Experiments Made by the U. S. Department of Agriculture Experimental Kitchen – Recipe for Delicious Doughnuts Not Excessively Rich

If you are fond of doughnuts, but find that those you make at home become soaked with fat while frying, the following suggestions may be of help. They are the result of a long series of experiments in the absorption of fat by fried batters and doughs carried on in the Experimental Kitchen of the United States Department of Agriculture.

A rich dough always absorbs more fat in frying than a plainer mixture. Unless you wish your doughnuts to be excessively rich, do not be too lavish with butter, sugar and eggs. The following recipe makes doughnuts which, if properly fried, are not so excessively rich as to be a menace to digestion.

Plain Doughnuts – 1920 

• 1 C. sugar
• 1 tbsp. butter
• 2 eggs
• 1 C. milk
• 5 ¼ C. flour
• 4 tbsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• ½ tsp. nutmeg

Potato Doughnuts – 1920

• 1 ½ C. of sugar
• 2 tbsp. butter
• 2 eggs
• 1/3 C. hot riced potatoes [mashed potatoes]
• 2/3 C. milk
• 5 ¼ C. flour
• 4 tbsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• ½ tsp. nutmeg

Fry your doughnuts no longer than necessary. Frying doughnuts in fat that is not hot enough or rolling and cutting them so that they are too thick to cook through in a short time, or failure on the part of the cook to judge when they are done, or any other cause that keeps them in the fat too long, tends to make them greasy.

Testing the temperature of the fat with a thermometer is the best method in frying doughnuts. Other methods, though sometimes successful, are uncertain. A temperature of 185 deg C., or 365 deg. F., has been found satisfactory. Doughnuts rolled about one-quarter inch thick can usually be fried in three minutes at this temperature if they are turned to make them brown evenly; or they may be fried in one and one-half minutes if forced under the surface of the fat during frying.

Frying with a basket – it was found that the use of some device to force the doughnuts under the surface of the fat was the most satisfactory method of frying. An ordinary wire frying basket, with a ball and slightly smaller in diameter than the frying kettle, can be used. When the doughnuts first rise to the surface of the fat, lower the empty basket over them and force them under the surface of the fat. Doughnuts fried by this method absorb less fat, brown evenly, and are much less apt to crack than when turned in frying. The basket can be used from draining the doughnuts after they are removed from the fat.

Apricot Sponge – 1921

Soften one tablespoonful of gelatin in one-quarter of a cupful of cold water, then add to a cupful of apricot pulp and juice, heated hot; add one-quarter of a cupful of sugar; stir until the mixture begins to thicken. Then fold in the stiffly beaten whites of two eggs. Serve with whipped cream. Prunes may be used in place of apricots if preferred.

Zesty Mushrooms and Meaty Miniatures – 1963

• ½ lb. ground beef
• 1 can (4 oz.) “American” mushrooms [AKA white button mushrooms]
• 1 medium onion, finely chopped
• ¼ C. fine dry bread crumbs
• ½ tsp. salt
• 8 oz. (two 4-oz. cans) “American Button Mushrooms, drained
• ½ C. Italian salad dressing

Mix together first 7 ingredients. To make about three dozen Meaty Miniatures, shape meat mixture into small “footballs.” Place these Meaty Miniatures and Button Mushrooms in shallow 2-quart baking dish or in 16 x 10-inch broil-bake tray. Pour salad dressing over all. Bake in hot oven (400 degrees F.) for 30 minutes (turn after 15 minutes). Serve hot in a chafing dish or broil bake tray on a warmer base.