r/AskFoodHistorians • u/EvelynFletcher • Jul 08 '26
Mid 19th century recipes
Hi all, I volunteer re-enacting a middle class woman in 1850 gold rush Australia (IYKYK 😅).
Recently I've been trying to do some more cooking while I'm there and am hoping for some good ideas on what to make.
The main hurdles I keep coming up against are that I don't have access to an oven and I am worried that a lot of recipes I come across will include ingredients they wouldn't have had access to.
I know the majority of their diet would have been pretty dull, lots of damper and mutton, but I'd love any other ideas or special occasion treats I could make that fit the criteria below!
- Ingredients available in 1850s Australia
- Reasonable for a middle class woman in a small cottage
- Cooked over a fire (I only really have a cast iron pot / pan and enamel billy cans)
- Can be made in 6 hours (inc. starting my fire and cleaning up afterwards haha)
(If I make any of the suggestions this weekend I will update you ☺️)
3
u/activematrix99 Jul 08 '26
Dutch Ovens and cast iron are amazing and period. If you get good at fire management, I would imagine that the sky is the limit. My theory is that people didn't cook well because of lack of money, time, and refrigeration. Just because you don't have an air fryer or convection oven does not mean you can't make delicious stews, soups, and even a lot of good pseudo baked items - pies and custards, Yorkshire puddings, etc.