Cooking Up History: Rhubarb Jelly (1907)
After cooking up history in our modern kitchens for a while, we had the opportunity to visit Old World Wisconsin and explore a few historic kitchens.
Our first recipe, 1907 rhubarb jelly from the Wauwatosa News, took us to the 1910s Finnish immigrant farmhouse, which is not only home to an adorable calf coincidentally named Rhubarb, but also to a beautiful wood-burning cast iron cook stove. It may be the most modern stove on the premises, but it is definitely nothing like any of the stoves we had ever cooked on. The heat source is the burning wood inside, which brings both the oven and stovetop to temperature. Temperature regulation depends on the fire or embers, as well as the exposure of the pot to
the heats source. For example, to increase the heat, part of the stovetop can be removed and the pot can be placed right on top of the hole to expose it more directly to the fire.
In addition to learning the ropes of kitchen appliances at Old World Wisconsin, we were able to experience cooking in appropriate attire. Spending the day in a kitchen was often messy work, and washing your clothes was much more of a chore, usually involving a washboard than we have to deal with today. To help prolong the wear of clothing, women used an assortment of protective garments in the kitchen. The most popular of these, and recognizable to modern eyes, were aprons. Women might have worn a full apron that covered both the upper torso and skirt or a half apron. We also noticed that aprons with pockets were a great bonus and extremely useful in a kitchen setting.
Dressed appropriately, we were ready to get to work. The rhubarb jelly is a fairly simple recipe. The rhubarb is chopped and cooked in a pot until it halves in volume. In a second pot, in our case, a large copper pot perfect for jams, jellies and preserves, sugar is moistened with water and boiled to a ball (roughly 12 minutes). Finally, the cooked rhubarb is added and the mixture is cooked for five additional minutes before it can be filled into jars.
With its bright color, the finished jelly is beautiful to look at. It is also rather delicious either on bread with a little bit of butter or on a piece of 1871 almond casserole (coming soon).
The Recipe in 2021:
Rhubarb Jelly (1907)
- 1 lbs. Rhubarb
- ¾ lbs. Sugar
Chop the fresh rhubarb into small pieces and cook in a pot until it reduces to half its original volume.
In a second pot, place the sugar and add enough water to moisten it. Boil the sugar to a ball without stirring (approximately 12 minutes).
Add the cooked rhubarb to the sugar. Stir and cook for another 5 minutes and fill in jars.
Are you looking for more ways to preserve fruits? Check out our 1918 Apple Butter recipe.
Want to take a closer look at this historic kitchen in person? Come visit Old World Wisconsin!