Old Stoves, Big, Pots, and Hot Dish

Women, who were members of groups called circles, which were named after women in the Bible, served mass amouts of hot dishes and coffee to people after a funeral in the church. One could smell the aroma of the coffee boiling coming up to the sanctuary from the basement. Huge roasters of hot dish, covered to keep it from getting dry, waited in the ovens.

Here are a couple of recipes:

HAMBURGER HOT DISH

Source: Zion Ladies Guild Cook Book, First Edition 1951

Temperature 350--2 hours

Quantity Serves 100

8 pounds of spaghetti

7 pounds of hamburger

3 cans of tomato soup

6 cans of vegetable soup

3 large onions

2 cans whole kernel corn

1 bunch of celery

5 quarts of tomatoes

Brown celery, onions, and hamburger. Add other ingredients and mix well. Salt and pepper to taste.

COFFEE FOR SIXTY

1 pound of coffee

2 eggs

12 quarts of water

Mix coffee with eggs and a little cold water. Add coffee mixture to half of the water and add the other half ofter the coffee has boiled. When the water boils add coffee and egg mixture and boil for 5 to 8 minutes. Let stand a while for the coffee and egg to settle before serving. One quart of cream will serve 60 people.

From 1918 SMALLER UNITS FOR LESS FINISHED PRODUCT

One cup coffee

1 cup cold water

1 egg

6 cups boiling water

Scald granite-ware coffee-pot. Wash egg, break, and beat slightly. Dilute with one-half the cold water, add crushed shell, and mix with coffee.

Turn into coffee-pot, pour on boiling water, and stir thoroughly. Place on front of range, and boil three minutes.

If not boiled, coffee is cloudy; if boiled too long, too much tannic acid is developed.

The spout of pot should be covered or stuffed with soft paper to prevent escape of fragrant aroma. THEY DIDN'T DO THIS DURING FUNERALS AT ZION

Stir and pour some in a cup to be sure that spout is free from grounds. Return to coffee-pot and repeat. Add remaining cold water, which perfects clearing. Cold water being heavier than hot water sinks to the bottom, carrying grounds with it. Place on back of range for ten minutes, where coffee will not boil. Serve at once. If any is left over, drain from grounds, and reserve for making of jelly or other dessert.

Egg-shells may be saved and used for clearing coffee. Three egg-shells are sufficient to effect clearing where one cup of ground coffee is used. The shell performs no office in clearing except for the albumen which clings to it. One-fourth cup cold water, salt fish-skin, washed, dried, and cut in inch pieces, is used for same purpose.

IS THIS FISH COFFEE?

Coffee made with an egg has a rich flavor which egg alone can give. Where strict economy is necessary, if great care is taken, egg may be omitted. Coffee so made should be served from range, as much motion causes it to become roiled, or muddy from sediment being stirred up.

Tin is an undesirable material for a coffee-pot, as tannic acid acts on such metal and is apt to form a poisonous compound.

When coffee and scalded milk are served in equal proportions, it is called Café au lait.

The Johnson-Zimmermann, so named because it was owned by Tom's parents, pot we have is a one gallon. I have only made coffee in it once, and that was a activity project at the nursing home. The people there remembered egg coffee. They kept saying, PUT THE SHELLS IN! PUT THE SHELLS IN! And the pot did run over and it did make a mess on the stove. But they thought it was wonderful and that is all it was about anyway.

Did you ever have boiled coffee? Did your parents make it on the stove? Was the pot a cowboy pot, (no insides to percolate it) or did it cook and someone knew it was done because of the color coming up in the glass ball on top? Can you remember just where the stove was and which burner the coffee pot was on?

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