Have you ever looked through a cookbook from another era and been surprised at the modern dishes you find? Have you ever been surprised at just how much they differ from their modern counterparts? Recreate a dish which is still around today, even if it may look a little - or a lot - different!
"The gallant Welsh, of all degrees,
Have one delightful habit;
They smother toast in melted cheese,
And call the thing a Rabbit."
Anonymous
What an odd (and therefore appealing to us!) little recipe! I'm from Wisconsin and absolutely love anything cheese. As a teenager Patrick worked for the Biltmore Dairy and came to love all things dairy as well, although the free and never-ending ice cream bar was his favorite. I remember seeing the Welsh Rarebit recipe many times in many cookbooks but although I'm a child of the 1950s I had never tried one. Now is the time!
Internet research tells us that Welsh Rarebit is in fact a famous Welsh dish. No surprise there! It originated in the 18th century and was originally called Welsh Rabbit. There are suggestions that it was a dish prepared by households who ate cheese for protein rather than meat either by choice or because meat was too expensive or not available. It is also suggested that the poorer households who might have eaten rabbit would prepare this dish when even the lowly rabbit was not at hand. Whatever the reason, Welsh Rabbit was called Welsh Rarebit by Francis Grose in his slang dictionary in 1785. And there you have it! No one knows what a rarebit is! What we do know is that the preparation of this continued so someone liked the taste no matter the name.
Other research calls this dish "a kind of posh cheese on toast". I like that. The ingredients vary but mostly include a Welsh cheese, ale, and mustard, mixed and served on toast. Cheese and beer. Yum! Remember, I'm from Wisconsin.
Quite some time ago I found an interesting book in an antique shop. Twenty Lessons in Domestic Science by Marian Cole Fisher. The book was compiled and printed by the Calumet Baking Powder Company and provided as a home study course.
Copyright 1916
$2.00 which in 2014 dollars would be $45.25.
One of my favorite parts of the book is this summary of "composition of food materials". Protein, fat, carbohydrates, ash (meaning minerals), water, and calories per pound. I admit I had no idea that this much information was available almost 100 years ago.
In this 1916 domestic science and recipe book are two Welsh Rarebit recipes. One recipe made with ale and wine, the second made with beer. Look closely. It is in the protein section of this book.
I have to share this with you. This postcard was in the book when I bought it. Maybe someone will read this and smile because they know Mrs. E. Roitman from Chicago who received this postcard around October 11, 1942. Maybe they will also smile at the well worded "request" from the Choir Director to be at rehearsal Friday evening with willing friend in tow. I smiled.
If Mrs. Roitman was using her 1916 cookbook in 1942, what older cookbooks do I have that I still use? One of my favorites is my Pillsbury Cookbook from 1989.
A recipe that has survived from 1785 through 1916 through 1989 must certainly have been made in the mid century and, sure enough, there it is in our CBS Homemakers Exchange Recipes April, May, June 1950.
Hmmmm, no beer. Well, it was a family show and aired when children were home from school. But it was a popular cocktail food in the 1950s and everyone probably had an ale, beer, or wine in hand anyway.
So we made our recipe.
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| Ingredients. |
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| Sharp cheddar cheese melted. |
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| Remaining ingredients added.. |
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| Stirred until thickened. |
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| Toast toasted. |
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| Spooned over toast. |
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| Paprika for pretty color. |
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| Dennis Vineyards, North Carolina, 2007 Noble wine to complete. |
And there you have it!
Historical Food Fortnightly
The Challenge: #12 If They'd Had It...
The Recipe: Welsh Rarebit
The Date/Year/Region: April/May/June 1940 United States
How Did You Make It: We had to interpret a bit as to the kind of cheese, but our research led us to Ree Drummond in a 2009 blog and she used sharp cheddar. That's good for us!
Time to Complete: 10 minutes
Total Cost: $1.50
How successful was it? We can see why these recipes have been around so long. It's delicious!
How accurate is it? Still not sure about the cheese. We would like to find a "Welsh farmhouse cheese" and taste the difference.
Friends tell us that Welsh Rarebit is served in Colonial Williamsburg even today. Erin is a young friend and she had a recipe and makes it for her family. She shared her recipe with me and I'm going to try her recipe next. It's made with beer.
Ree Drummond's version: http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2009/09/welsh-rarebit/
Enjoy!
Patrick and Jeanette
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