This summer, at the Market on the Proctorsville Green-takes places on Fridays from 4-7-the Cavendish Historical Society has been offering a "taste" of history by making foods that would have been common during the Revolutionary War period. We've been asked for the recipes.
Switchel: Great for hot days, particularly when doing things like haying. Some people thought it tasted a lot like ginger beer.
• In a large jug, add 1 cup maple syrup to 10 cups of cold water. Stir well
• Add ½ cup apple cider vinegar and 1 tablespoon powdered ginger and whisk until well mixed, chill thoroughly.
Serve cold.
Blueberry Jam
• 4 cups of blueberries (you can use frozen but we’re at the height of blueberry picking)
• 1/3 cup of maple syrup
Bring to a medium boil over medium heat. Use a potato masher or spatula to mash the blueberries and break them open. Once the mixture starts to boil, reduce the heat so you have a gentle boil. Cook for approximately 30 minutes or until the mixture has reduced and thickened (210F). Run a rubber spatula across the bottom of the pot until it leaves a "path" for a moment before the jam fills it in. Transfer the jam to a jar and let cool completely before putting on the lid. Keep in the freezer or refrigerator.
Modern recipes would add the juice of a lemon to this recipe but 18th century Vermonters wouldn’t have had access to lemons and might have added vinegar instead. It’s fine either way, just a bit looser without the pectin from the lemon.
No Knead Bread: This type of bread has been around for centuries. Yeast for these breads would have come from using "a starter" that would have naturally been left from previous bread making in the wooden bread bowl, plus yeast is in the air.
Mix together in a large bowl
• 3 cups of flour
• 1 1/4 t salt
• 1/4 t instant yeast
• 1 5/8 cup water
The dough will be shaggy. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside for at least 18 hours (the loaf made for market had risen for 24 hours).
Place a Dutch Oven (heavy pot with lid) in an oven. Set temp to 450 degrees. When the oven has reached 450, the Dutch Oven should be sufficiently hot. Remove the lid. Sprinkle corn meal in the bottom of the pot, and put the risen dough into the pot. Cover and bake for 45 minutes. Remove the lid and let bake for 15 minutes longer.
Once baked, cool on a baking rack.
