Royal Baking Powder Co.

It’s kind of silly to review this book, found and rescued in a library sale. It’s from 1893, and contains recipes sent by housewives in to the Royal Baking Powder Co. of New York.

First off, it’s interesting to me that these were called “receipts”, vs. “recipes”, and I had to do a double-take when I first saw that. The recipes reflect a different time – they are more basic, and oftentimes just a list of ingredients with little instructions as to the cooking process, so that 10-20 of them fit on a single page, all variations on a theme, e.g. “lemon pies”. There are eyebrow-raising categories, such as “pork cakes”, nestled in between “orange cakes” and “sponge cakes”. I smile at some of them, like the “lemon drink” recipe from a Sadie N. Lehman of Columbia, Pa. that calls for 7 lbs of white sugar. I’m tempted to try this(?!), but for the interested reader, the rest of the recipe: 2 qts of boiling water; boil for 10 minutes; take off and stand till cool; add 2 oz tartaric acid; ½ oz gum Arabic; 54 drops essence lemon. Voila!

The book is, of course, just a vehicle for the Royal Baking Powder Co. to get its baking powder listed in the ingredients for the recipes where that makes sense (there are a lot of cakes, bread, etc), and to devote a few pages at the end warning the public against unsafe, less pure bulk baking powders, that may contain “poisonous alum”. However, it’s an interesting little window into cooking and advertising, 120 years ago in America.… (más)

This contains a broad range of basic recipes and their many variations, such as a master biscuit recipe and different flavored biscuits that can be made from it. It also contains many cooking tips for general baking and making cakes, and what their judges were looking for when scoring a perfect master finished recipe. This copy also has some great information on the history of, and evolution of, cream of tartar and its use in baking powder, as well as the chemical composition of baking powder and a brief history and map of the wine growing region of the South-East of France.… (más)

This recipe compilation is from the Royal Baking Powder Company, and as such, has liberally spread throughout the book the benefits of using 'pure' baking powder (made from Royal Grape Cream of Tartar) and the warnings against using other forms of baking powder - such as mineral acid or bone-acid, probably from their competitors. In my copy, there is a flyer that comes with it called 'Facts Worth Knowing' that explains the difference between the three different kinds. This booklet contains recipes for everything from baked goods to pickled items. It also divides the different cake recipes into categories, such as 'Cakes Requiring More Than Four Eggs' and 'Cookies and Small Cakes Requiring Four Eggs or Less.' Overall a fun and informative read.… (más)