Posts Tagged ‘sugar’
SUNNY CANE SUGAR – 1937
Die-Cut Recipe Pamphlet
In a previous posting I mentioned how the value of a recipe pamphlet is determined in part, to its uniqueness. Die-cut pamphlets are just one type of unique design that has allowed many recipe pamphlets to grow in value for collectors.
This particular pamphlet – “Sunny Cane Sugar” is not only a unique, collectible pamphlet, it’s also a really good vintage cookbook containing approximately 125 recipes, an interesting history of sugar and the manufacturing of sugar, and a ton of hints for using the product. Graphics are somewhat limited but the 88 page die-cut recipe recipe pamphlet is a real keeper. I purchased it off of eBay in 2003 for $8.75 (with shipping) and value it today at $18-$20. The pamphlet measures 6” x 4”.
Sunny Cane Sugar(1) – 1937
Sunny Cane Sugar
The History of Sugar
Sugar today plays such an important part in our daily lives and is such a necessity that few have ever considered how changed our modes of living would be without it.
Modern menus which have contributed so much to the health and happiness of humanity would never have been possible without sugar. Imagine, if you can, a day without this essential. Bread, rolls and muffins, as we know them, would be missing as would also cookies, pies, cakes, jellies, ready-to-eat cereals, sauces, flavorings, dressings, syrups, many beverages and most desserts.
There are references to sugar cane in the Old Testament as “honey bearing reeds,” but knowledge regarding it was most limited. Honey was the most generally used sweetening agent of ancient races, but even this was so scarce that they dreamed of “The Promised Land” as “a land flowing with milk and honey.”
The art of making sugar from sugar cane is accredited to the Bengalese about 400 A.D. and information regarding “Indian Salt,” as it was called, was brought back to Europe by those few adventurous travelers who had journeyed that far successfully.
Knowledge of sugar-making spread westward into Arabia, Persia and Egypt. The Crusaders encountered it here during the Middle Ages and small quantities were brought back to European countries as a curiosity for Royalty.
Cultivation of sugar cane spread rapidly throughout the world following the explorations and discoveries of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. The Spanish, the French and the Portuguese all introduced this highly desirable commodity into tropical countries under their control, where humidity and fertility permitted its cultivation. It was introduced into Cuba as early as the sixteenth century, but was not introduced into Louisiana until 1751 by Jesuit priests who carried it from San Domingo.
Sugar, a curiosity of the fourteenth century, had become the luxury of kings and queens in the eighteenth century. Indeed as late as 1842 sugar was far too expensive to be considered in any other class than a luxury. An old hand-bill printed at that time, listing the prices of food commodities in London, gives the market price of sugar at $2.75 per pound!
If sugar refining processes had not been vastly improved and made a thousand-fold more efficient, sugar might still be selling at this price. But, thanks to modern science and increased efficiency, the price has been steadily lowered and consumption increased until today sugar is a necessity of life and one of the largest single items of food to pass through the hands of wholesale and retail grocers.
The W.J. McCahan Sugar Refining & Molasses Co. – 1937
Sunny Cane Sugar(2) – 1937
Roast Cured Ham
Wash and dry a 12 lb. Cured Ham. Place in roaster, fat side up, cover bottom of pan with hot water, about 1 quart. Cover roaster and bake in a slow oven, allowing not less than 21 minutes to the pound. When more than half done remove the the rind. Sprinkle the fat surface with 1 teaspoonful mustard and 1/2 teaspoonful paprika, add 1/2 cup vinegar to liquid in the pan and continue cooking, basting frequently. About 3/4 hour before serving sprinkle fat surface with 1/2 cup Sunny Cane “Old Time Brown” sugar, dot with whole cloves. Place about six washed and cored red apples around and continue baking uncovered without basting.
Well folks, once again I thank you for stopping by. If you’re new here, please leave your name and email so I can keep you informed of new postings. New subscribers will also receive a free download of my popular vintage cookbook – “100 Unique Recipes from the Past”
Tim Mack
MOLASSES
GRANDMA’S MOLASSES
GRANDMA’S OLD FASHIONED MOLASSES RECIPES
– 1922
While not as popular of food today as it was in the early 1900’s, molasses is still a staple found in most pantries today. Unfortunately it’s a healthy, high-energy food that is often often overlooked by today’s cooks. I don’t think to use molasses unless I’m recreating an “old-fashioned” cookie recipes from one of my vintage cookbooks. I can’t tell you how long the dusty old bottle has remained untouched in my pantry. Thankfully the food cops aren’t out checking my cupboard shelves for expiration dates. In fact, I just checked and found that my old bottle didn’t even have an expiration date…it just seems to last forever!
Grandma’s Molasses -1922
This 1922 recipe pamphlet measures 5.5” wide and 7.25” high. It contains 28 pages. Depending, of course, on its condition, the value of this pamphlet is $15-$20. I don’t remember where I picked it up, but the price inside the cover shows that I paid $2.00 for it. Not a bad deal. I don’t want you thinking that all of the pamphlets were great deals and that the values increased astronomically. They didn’t. The pamphlets that I’ve been sharing with you are ones that especially like – for one reason or another. It might be sentimental; it might be the colored graphics; or it might even be for the recipes. Other than the cover of this item, there are no other graphics…but there are some neat recipes (see way below).
Just how healthy is molasses? Here’s the introduction from the 1922 Grandma’s Molasses recipe pamphlet:
Grandma’s Molasses – 1922
Original Molasses Doughnuts
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 egg
1 1/2 cups corn meal
1/4 cup Grandma’s Molasses
2 cups milk
1 level tablespoon salt
4 level teaspoons baking powder
2 tablespoons melted lard
Beat egg, add molasses and milk and melted
lard. Add dry ingredients, using pastry flour to
make stiff enough to roll, and fry in deep fat.
“Use only Grandma’s Molasses for Best Results”
Smoked Shoulder
Put a 5-pound shoulder in a pan of cold water.
Let it soak an hour. Remove to a kettle, cover
with cold water, and add 1/2 cup of Grandma’s
Molasses. Boil until tender. Remove from the
kettle, remove the outer skin, and score the fat.
Mix 1 tablespoon brown sugar, 1 teaspoon dry
mustard, 1/4 teaspoon black pepper, 1/4 teaspoon
salt, and 1/2 teaspoon flour. Wet with vinegar to make
a paste. Spread over the top of the shoulder, put in
oven to brown. Serve with slices of pineapple.
+++++++++++++
Well folks, that’s about it for today. Hope you enjoyed. Don’t forget to subscribe to this blog so you don’t miss out on the free thank you cookbook – “100 Unique Recipes from the Past”.
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JACK FROST SUGARS – 1932
(Jack Frost Sugars – 1932)
This Jack Frost Sugars brochure from The National Sugar Refining Company of New Jersey, is unique in that it is die-cut (see 3rd picture below). The uniqueness comes from the die-cut occurring only on the inside pages. The little girl was printed on the inside covers and showed through each page. The brochure measures 5” x 7” and contains 9 pages. Estimated value is $18-$20.
(Jack Frost Sugars – 1932)
According to this brochure, Jack Frost Sugars produced seven types of sugar. They included granulated, dark brown, powdered, fruit powdered sugar, light brown, confectioners and individually wrapped sugar cubes.
(Jack Frost Sugars – 1932)
Company Statement: “There is no more perfect sugar than Jack Frost. It is 100% pure cane sugar. It is clean, sparkling, nutritious and a superb energy builder, as well as being a toothsome delicacy. The manufacturers of Jack Frost Sugars years ago looked far ahead, and as all scientists and merchants are doing today put their imaginations into their business and today offer to you sugars, in variety such as your mother never dreamed of – each scientifically made.”
That’s all for today folks. Keep signing up with your name and email so I can keep you informed of all future postings.
Tim
