A big culinary Archive

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Forme of Cury

Forme of Cury

A Medicinal Recipe

When I was volunteering at the Oberlin Heritage Center checking inventory, one of my favorite items was a leather doctor's case of vials from the 1800's with medicinal recipes. The recipes usually included cocaine and either gin or whiskey.

A trend

Yes, at the end of this gastrovist I would like to write a book or two. I have always wanted to write books- for the past few years it's been non-fiction, but I did take a writing workshop in 10th grade. My story was more of a soap opera than a novel- which should give you a sense of why I haven't written anything. I don't like having to fill in all the details,  edit, proofread, make sure it makes sense.  It's the reluctance of sticking with the long-term goal.
I think I touch on ADD in a post. And most stories.

Skip here: I've been noticing many trends in turn-of-the-cenutry cookbooks, one of which is the inclusion of recipes for the sick. I have not taken any folklore classes, but I have taken anthropology ones and anyway friend who did told me what it was. Thus, a folkloric part of my brain wonders what happened.  Am I missing current versions of this or, as I suspect,  are we just too used to popping pills we don't notice or care?

There has been a backlash though,  you can get a fair amount of literature on our dependency on pills. Some of my friends have tried to decrease their drug intake. Then there's Eastern/ Alternative medicine.

On Saturday, Matt made a home remedy for headaches. I was shocked and awed, I thought it was really cool. I can't remember the last time I used a home remedy.  I have, however,  been using a lot of alternative techniques. But, we're talking about American folk home remedies through, and the only one I can think of is honey and lemon for a sore throat..

My mom has several home remedy books that I keep meaning to read. The problem is that pills can be much quicker and, lets face it, never rely on a disgusting concoction. 

Actually,  using chemicals might be more effective,  but at what cost? Yes, I do hear my environmentalist voice talking, but it applies to drugs in our bodies too. It takes time to mix up remedies of your house or your body,  but its always time vs money..or health. Some home remedies cost more, some cost less.  I also think that it says something about our society,like so many other things pushing us to go more and more a long the path of a individualistic society. 

I'm a gastrovist

I recently got a job building digital anthologies for BiblioBoard. We're working on an Archives of the World project and I decided to create a culinary collection. It is still a work-in-progress of course, but I''m excited.

You really should've seen me nerd out the other night when I found cookbooks from the late 1800's and early 1900's. I was giddy about archaic spellings, hand painted covers and wondering how and when the format of cookbooks went from recipes in paragraphs to a scientific procedure. It seems the writers of turn of the century cookbooks expected you to know something, and figure it out if you didn't. Cookbooks today have lists of ingredients and step-by-step instructions hmmmmm.....

There were also archaic measurements. About 10 minutes ago, my mom went silly about a archaic measurement in a New England cookbook: A Suggestion of white sugar.

So...I need to explore this further for I cannot believe the sheer amazingness of what is on my computer screen right now. If I believe what my eyes are perceiving, I am looking at a digitization project of mass extent. It is a digital archives of cookbooks- handwritten cookbooks- from 1760, the 1900, prob earlier. And this project-tagline"have you ever tried to read your great-grandmother's hand-written recipes'- is a project brought to you by the library of- no, not New York or Boston or Berkley- IOWA. IOWA. Well, there are geniuses all over! Hallelujah! Someone has their head on straight.

http://diyhistory.lib.uiowa.edu/transcribe/collections/show/7

Here are some old cocktail books:

http://goldenagebartending.com/library/

It is imperative to document how different cultures have interacted with food over the years. We must preserve, and we must teach our children to preserve, for there is no way to have a historical party without preparing the food they ate. Right? Right.

The best way to learn some of these traditions is through primary sources. For example, The New York Public Library has a digital database of its city's menus throughout the centuries. This effort parallels other efforts I have recently seen of community involvement in archives. These types of projects rely on volunteers to transcribe text from hand-written or typed recipes or menus into a more legible format.

A Rant About Archives

This is the problem of digital archives. No file format lasts very long, there is a new version about every six months. So, you really have to be on your toes.

At the same time, people aren't just reminiscent about books, but things such as love letters. It is hard to stare at a computer screen for hours on end, and the fact that digital record formats are the cons of digital archives. Widened access is a big pro, but one has to balance this. Again, there is something to be said about holding a handwritten love letter in your hand.

My parents are moving so we've been cleaning out the downstairs. Since some members of our family have achieved pack-rat status, everything has been kept, such as all my homework from third grade and about 1,200 pictures, since said person was a professional photographer. However, one of the treasures found is this endless mess was a few love-letters from my dad to my mom.


What are we going to look back on when we clean out the house, most people don't print out love e-mails or love-chats? I suppose cards, although the sentiments in cards are usually short completions or expansions of want is already printed on the card. I imagine the feeling of looking back on past love without a material letter might be slightly akin to how I feel about not keeping a journal. I feel a bit sad when I realize I haven't taken a written account of my life, sorrowful that when I'm cleaning out the basement with my daughter, we won't laugh over events that happened or how I felt at a certain time. Sure, there would be many entities to be ashamed of, but in sure many more would be just happy memories. Like my first love. I did keep the texts for a while, but deleted them to not be staring at them every time I went to text someone. Thus, these reminders can be damaging to look at first, but years from now, it would put a smile on my face to see the text 'Love you too,' and remember what that meant to me, even if it was just my first lovescapde.

I'm sure many people feel this way. There's also the nature of writing as compared to a short e-mail or chat, which can't be matched. Every so often, I like writing as if I were one of Jane Austin's characters, in the eloquent and flowery language that we  so sparingly these days. Therefore, I am not suggesting that letters from our generation would be liberal with the English language and varied in their vocabulary as letters of old, but at least we tend not to use 'your' when hand writing something. Wouldn't it be sad if internet abbreviations were the contractions of the future?

I read an article about the disappearance of books and bookstores. Most people tend to be content with kindles, except when it comes to their kids. Some kindle fanatics agree that kids should learn to read from good old hard or soft cover books instead of staring at a computer screen. So, children’s books should survive, at least for a while.

Many people also simply love the feel of a book in their hand. A book still does what electronic readers can’t do. It’s portable and will never run out of power, doesn’t hurt your eyes, and keeps you warm if you have to burn it. Well, there’s something to be said about feeling the pages of a book as you turn them and, if you’re like me, the grace they’re made with.

However, grace really applies to old books. I love old books because they usually have hard covers, have that antiquated from the text that is used and depending on how old they are, are works of art. That is why a few companies have started making books the way of days gone by, perhaps even to the point of copying them by hand or painting some of the pages.

I think this is an awesome plan. Being trained as an archaeologists, I love old things. Matter of fact, growing up partially in Europe, I have always loved old ruins and medieval castles. So, I love the intricate detail of the works of art that are medieval books. In addition since I am in the midst of my archival training, I love old books because they are made to endure, unlike modern flimsy soft-backs, which can easily fall apart.

So, books are influential, archives are important, archeology is awesome, and we are still struggling with what the rapid advances in technology mean for us and the future.
It's really unfortunate that books are going by the wayside. While they are not disappearing as rapidly as other media, many bookstores are closing or carrying many products other than books. While Borders has had to close its doors, Barnes and Noble is still alive, adding to its inventory an electronic reader, more nostalgic memorabilia and an increasing number of games.