Lesson 17
Saleratus, Lamp Black, and Sugar of Lead: Recipes and Home
Remedies in Mid-nineteenth Century Cleveland
OBJECTIVES:
To familiarize students with examples of recipes and home remedies
used in Cleveland during the mid-nineteenth century. To allow
students to make comparisons between recipes and home remedies
used in mid-nineteenth century Cleveland, with those of today.
INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS:
TERMS:
| blister | indian meal |
saleratus
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| borax | logwood | soft water
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| bullock's gall | lamp black
| sugar of lead
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| drachm | laudanum | suet
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| gill | pearlash | unbolted wheat flour
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| green copperas | poultice
| whey
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| hartshorn | sal ammonica |
white lead
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LESSON FOCUS:
- What were some examples of recipes and home remedies used
mid-nineteenth century Cleveland?
- How do these recipes and remedies differ from those of today?
TEACHING PROCEDURE:
General Instructions: Review the vocabulary terms with which students
might not be familiar. Either the teacher or students in the class
could find a modern recipe for gingerbread, baked pudding, or
any of the other recipes for the students to make comparisons.
Have students read through the recipes and complete the following
activities:
- Compare and contrast the recipes from 1846 with ones from
today. Students should particularly note the different types of
measurement used as well as the difference in the quantity of
the finished dish. Students should decide whether any of the home
remedies or helpful hints might be useful today.
- Have students research additional home remedies from the time
period. Ask the students if they know of any home remedies that
their parents or grandparents might still use today.
- Have the students convert the recipe measurements to their
modern equivalents.
- Have students compare the ingredients in recipes used by today's
health conscious Americans vs. those of the mid-nineteenth century.
How do the recipes differ? Students might want to compare the
ingredients in a package of prepared gingerbread vs. a from-scratch
recipe.
- Have the students convert the recipe for "Buckeye"
pudding to modern equivalents and then bake a pudding.
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