Quince Do you have any of these in your neighbourhood? At first glance you might think apple? Or pear? Both answers would put you in the right direction because they belong to the same family, Rosaceae Maloideae. But these are quince. The difference lies in Genus: apple trees are Malus and pear trees are Pyrus, […]
Archive | Cooking and Food Preparation
Cooking and Food Preparation
War and Postwar Food
War and Post War Food The previous blog looked at Depression recipes, and recipes of the 1930s have similarities to recipes of the war years. Inexpensive cuts of meat and other ingredients, limited amounts of sugar, eggs and cream are some of the commonalities of both wartime and depression recipes. We have included several blogs […]
Depression Recipes
Depression Recipes A recent request on the Culinary Historians of Canada facebook page for Depression-era recipes inspired me to write this post about thrifty foods of Western Canada (and possibly other parts of Canada as well), during the Great Depression of the “Dirty Thirties” (as my mother called the years between 1929 and 1939). Some […]
Past Posts about Preserving Fruits and Vegetables
Past Posts about Preserving Fruits and Vegetables BC Food History Network has many posts about preserving fruits and vegetables. Here are links to a few. Search the BC Food History Network site for more posts. Chokecherries Preserving and Canning in Food History Buffaloberry – A Super Fruit Elder Flowers Candied and Glacé Fruits
The Nanaimo Bar
The Nanaimo Bar Who would have thought that Nanaimo Bars could be so controversial? We have always claimed Nanaimo Bars as a quintessential BC food mainly because of the name and the outstanding branding done by the city of Nanaimo on Vancouver Island. This famous recipe has been shrouded in mystery as no one has […]
Heat retention cooking
Heat Retention Cooking What would you do if the utility grid went down? How would you cook the food that might be spoiling in your freezer? What if you’re out camping and the propane bottle is almost empty? Cooking food by regular means, whether on an open fire or any other heat source – is […]
BestOVall Canning Company – Beans and All
BestOVall Canning Company – Beans and All The idea for this blog began with an intriguing label for BestOVall Canning Company, a BC canning company, and ends with a delicious homemade version of Pork and Beans. Food packages and container labels are highly perishable and many don’t survive. Yet each one has a story and […]
Newspaper Recipes 1878
Newspaper Recipes 1878 In an earlier post I shared a recipe for butter making and how to re-store aged butter. https://bcfoodhistory.ca/butter-first-bc-newspaper-recipe/ Butter making was a challenge in early settler days of British Columbia and the inclusion of this recipe in 1860 marked the beginning of newspaper recipes in the Victoria Daily Colonist and in British […]
UBC Food Group: Cinnamon Buns, Ponderosa Cake and more
UBC Food Group: Cinnamon Buns, Ponderosa Cake and more. There is something about the short cool days of December that turns our thoughts to comfort foods – chili, soups, stews and calorie-laden cookies, squares and breads. This year it has made me think of cinnamon buns and delight in discovering the best in my neighbourhood. […]
Ethel Mulvany Changi Prisoner of War Cookbook
Ethel Mulvany: Changi Prisoner of War Cookbook The taste of longing: Ethel Mulvany and her starving prisoners of war cookbook (2020) was written by Suzanne Evans, who holds a PhD in Religious Studies and is a former Research Fellow at the Canadian War Museum in Ottawa. The Taste of Longing demonstrates how living in our imaginations […]