I’ve recently begun a massive spreadsheet of all official luncheons and dinners served at the White House during the Eisenhower administration, 1953-1961. I’d like to delve into specific dishes found on these mid-century menus. One of the things that stood out is the number foods that seem to be molded including aspics, mousses, ice creams, and sherbets.
As a child I never had a mousse of any sort, but they always sounded very elegant and exotic. As an adult, when I learned how simple they could actually be, I was surprised. In doing research for this post, I was also surprised to learn how long the history of the mousse actually is. The Oxford Companion to Sugar and Sweets states that the first published mousse recipes in 1750. In the cookbooks in my collection, these did not appear in most cookbooks aimed at the home cook until the mid-19th century. This makes sense as these desserts need to be chilled or frozen prior to serving.
Various methods for harvesting and storing ice have been used for centuries, including the invention of the Ice box for in the mid-19th century which increased the ability of households to store and chill foods. These ice-cooled appliances were sometimes called refrigerators. Having an ice box in the kitchen enabled home cooks to easily chill these desserts. This 1899 ad for an icebox is from the public domain images at the University of Washington.
Electricity for home use began in the late 19th century and in the early years of the 20th manufacturers were eagerly developing products that could be used by the housewife. By the early 1920s domestic refrigerators were becoming widely available. This 1922 advertisement for Frigidaire proudly proclaims. "No more Ice!'
Next time I'll explore several vintage recipes for mousse.
As a child I never had a mousse of any sort, but they always sounded very elegant and exotic. As an adult, when I learned how simple they could actually be, I was surprised. In doing research for this post, I was also surprised to learn how long the history of the mousse actually is. The Oxford Companion to Sugar and Sweets states that the first published mousse recipes in 1750. In the cookbooks in my collection, these did not appear in most cookbooks aimed at the home cook until the mid-19th century. This makes sense as these desserts need to be chilled or frozen prior to serving.
Various methods for harvesting and storing ice have been used for centuries, including the invention of the Ice box for in the mid-19th century which increased the ability of households to store and chill foods. These ice-cooled appliances were sometimes called refrigerators. Having an ice box in the kitchen enabled home cooks to easily chill these desserts. This 1899 ad for an icebox is from the public domain images at the University of Washington.
Electricity for home use began in the late 19th century and in the early years of the 20th manufacturers were eagerly developing products that could be used by the housewife. By the early 1920s domestic refrigerators were becoming widely available. This 1922 advertisement for Frigidaire proudly proclaims. "No more Ice!'
Next time I'll explore several vintage recipes for mousse.
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