Food History

It’s far too long since I’ve added to the scone and biscuit tally. For new readers, I started collecting scone and biscuit recipes and references in a rather desultory fashion late last year. All contributions gratefully received, as long as they include a country (and even a region, if you can) and a rough date.

These recipes are from Jewish Melbourne in the 1950s. Yep, you guessed it, it’s more of my grandmother’s recipes. I should have looked for biscuit recipes in her cookbook ages ago, but tonight I remedy the deficit. Note the use of lard - this is definitely part of Jewish Melbourne past, not present.

This is the lot of them (as they were written down - I haven’t modernised at all) from this one book, which is the handwritten one we found hidden in the back room of my father’s dental surgery after he died. Also hidden there was a 1903 disarticulated skull which sits comfortably on a shelf in my lounge room and I call Perceval. You probably really didn’t want to know about the skull.

Tea Biscuits

1 cup SR flour, rub in 1 large tablespoon Butter, mix into stiff dough with lemon water, leave 10 mts. Roll out as thin as possible cut and bake in moderate oven until golden brown.

Ginger Biscuits

1 ½ cups flour, 1 cup sugar, ½ cup butter, 1 egg, 2 tablespoons golden syrup, 1 tablesp milk, ½ teasp cream of tartar, 1 teasp soda, 3 heaped teaspns ginger, 1 teaspn essence of lemon.
Method: - Mix butter, & sugar, egg golden syrup milk flour, ect, and lastly lemon essence. Put in ½ teaspoon on greased slide and cook in slow oven.

Gem Scones

Firstly heat gem irons and grease them well so as when the mixture will sizzle with a spoonful is put in. Beat 1 tablespoon sugar and 1 tablespoon butter, then 1 egg a pinch of salt. Then add 1 cup of milk and 2 cups S.R. flour. Drop in a spoonful in the iron and bake in oven 4 minutes. If oven and irons are right temperature scones will not take longer.

Drop Scones

Beat 1 egg and 2 oz until creamy add ½ cup milk and mix in 1 cup S.R. flour. Heat a frying pan and grease well. Drop mixture by teaspoons into hot pan and cook quickly. When little bubbles begin to rise turn scones with a knife and brown other side. Serve hot with sugar.

Fruit Scones

Sift 2 cups flour 4 teaspoon baking powder, pinch salt, and rub in 4 tablespoon butter. Add ¼ cup sultanas, chopped figs and chopped dates. Mix with milk into a soft dough. Cut into shapes and bake in a hot oven for 12 minutes.

Wholemeal Date Scones
Sift 2 cups fine wholemeal; 2 tablespoons cream tartar, 1 teaspoon cinnamon. Rub in 2 tablespoons butter. Add 2 tablespoon brown sugar and ½ cup chopped dates and mix into soft dough with ½ cup milk. Cut into shapes and bake in hot oven for 15 minutes.

Oatmeal Nut Scones

9 oz plain flour, 4 oz fine oatmeal, 2 teaspoon baking powder, 1 oz lard, 1 ½ oz butter, 1 ½ oz chopped walnuts, 1 ½ oz castor, sugar, milk.
Sift dry ingredients and rub in lard and butter. Add walnuts and sugar and mix to a soft dough with milk. Cut into shape and brush tops with milk and bake in hot oven for 15 minutes.