Thread: Interesting Old Recipe Box

In article <[email protected]>,
"jmcquown" <[email protected]> wrote:

> There is a recipe for some sort of laundry detergent that includes "blueing"
> (which I gather is bleach),

Blueing is blueing. It's not bleach.
It used to be (and still is) used for enhancing whites.
--
Peace! Om

I find hope in the darkest of days, and focus in the brightest. I do not judge the universe. -- Dalai Lama

On Feb 22, 12:18*pm, "jmcquown" <j_mcqu...@comcast.net> wrote:
> I've been finding some interesting things in this house. *I found an old
> metal recipe box and it contains recipes that were surely hand-written bymy
> German grandmother and my Scottish grandmother. *It also contains a lotof
> old newspaper clippings; things dating from the 1930's through the 1950's..
> And some "recipes" for household cleaners I wouldn't dare to make in this
> day and age. *How about combining white vinegar, turpentine and boiled
> linseed oil as furniture polish? *The instructions say shake it together in
> a glass jar and store the polishing cloth in the jar. *Um, no, I don't think
> so.
>
> There is a recipe for some sort of laundry detergent that includes "blueing"
> (which I gather is bleach), ammonia and some other ingredients I can't
> identify; menthioloate? *Sorry, I think I'll stick with store bought laundry
> detergent.
>
> It's fun looking through this stuff. *There's chess pie and rhubarb pie..
> (Since the family was from OH and PA that makes sense; my dad's great aunt
> grew rhubarb.) *Picallilli.
>
> I'll post some of these heritage recipes after I have a chance to go through
> them. *I'll also scan and save them for posterity.
>
> Jill

Please do post some of the old recipes! I love to see them - they're
history that can be forgotten otherwise.

Kris

jmcquown wrote:
> I've been finding some interesting things in this house. I found an
> old metal recipe box and it contains recipes that were surely
> hand-written by my German grandmother and my Scottish grandmother. It also
> contains a lot of old newspaper clippings; things dating from
> the 1930's through the 1950's. And some "recipes" for household
> cleaners I wouldn't dare to make in this day and age. How about
> combining white vinegar, turpentine and boiled linseed oil as
> furniture polish? The instructions say shake it together in a glass
> jar and store the polishing cloth in the jar. Um, no, I don't think
> so.

Give me a good reason why not?


> There is a recipe for some sort of laundry detergent that includes
> "blueing" (which I gather is bleach),

Blueing is NOT bleach!

ammonia and some other
> ingredients I can't identify; menthioloate? Sorry, I think I'll
> stick with store bought laundry detergent.
>
> It's fun looking through this stuff. There's chess pie and rhubarb
> pie. (Since the family was from OH and PA that makes sense; my dad's
> great aunt grew rhubarb.) Picallilli.
>
> I'll post some of these heritage recipes after I have a chance to go
> through them. I'll also scan and save them for posterity.

Don't bother! You wouldn't understand the way your grandmothers lived if it
hit you in the nose!

You don't deserve those precious notes! Give them to the Social History
dept of your local museum rather than slagging them off here!!!!!!!!!!!

On Feb 22, 11:24*am, Omelet <ompome...@gmail.com> wrote:
> In article <70dftaFqjq...@mid.individual.net>,
>
> *"jmcquown" <j_mcqu...@comcast.net> wrote:
> > There is a recipe for some sort of laundry detergent that includes "blueing"
> > (which I gather is bleach),
>
> Blueing is blueing. It's not bleach.
> It used to be (and still is) used for enhancing whites.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bluing_(fabric)

Though these days, laundry detergents typically contain optical
brighteners, making bluing pretty much obsolete.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Optical_brightener

> --
> Peace! Om
>
--Bryan

jmcquown wrote:
> I've been finding some interesting things in this house. I found an
> old metal recipe box and it contains recipes that were surely
> hand-written by my German grandmother and my Scottish grandmother. It also
> contains a lot of old newspaper clippings; things dating from
> the 1930's through the 1950's. And some "recipes" for household
> cleaners I wouldn't dare to make in this day and age. How about
> combining white vinegar, turpentine and boiled linseed oil as
> furniture polish? The instructions say shake it together in a glass
> jar and store the polishing cloth in the jar. Um, no, I don't think
> so.

Give me a good reason why not?


> There is a recipe for some sort of laundry detergent that includes
> "blueing" (which I gather is bleach),

Blueing is NOT bleach!

ammonia and some other
> ingredients I can't identify; menthioloate? Sorry, I think I'll
> stick with store bought laundry detergent.
>
> It's fun looking through this stuff. There's chess pie and rhubarb
> pie. (Since the family was from OH and PA that makes sense; my dad's
> great aunt grew rhubarb.) Picallilli.

Do you even know what *piccalilli* is?


> I'll post some of these heritage recipes after I have a chance to go
> through them. I'll also scan and save them for posterity.

Don't bother! You wouldn't understand the way your grandmothers lived if it
hit you in the nose!

You don't deserve those precious notes! Give them to the Social History
dept of your local museum rather than boasting and then deriding them here!

O, whose career was in Social History

jmcquown wrote:
> I've been finding some interesting things in this house. I found an
> old metal recipe box and it contains recipes that were surely
> hand-written by my German grandmother and my Scottish grandmother. It also
> contains a lot of old newspaper clippings; things dating from
> the 1930's through the 1950's. And some "recipes" for household
> cleaners I wouldn't dare to make in this day and age. How about
> combining white vinegar, turpentine and boiled linseed oil as
> furniture polish? The instructions say shake it together in a glass
> jar and store the polishing cloth in the jar. Um, no, I don't think
> so.

Give me a good reason why not?


> There is a recipe for some sort of laundry detergent that includes
> "blueing" (which I gather is bleach),

Blueing is NOT bleach!

ammonia and some other
> ingredients I can't identify; menthioloate? Sorry, I think I'll
> stick with store bought laundry detergent.
>
> It's fun looking through this stuff. There's chess pie and rhubarb
> pie. (Since the family was from OH and PA that makes sense; my dad's
> great aunt grew rhubarb.) Picallilli.

Do you even know what *piccalilli* is?


> I'll post some of these heritage recipes after I have a chance to go
> through them. I'll also scan and save them for posterity.

Don't bother! You wouldn't understand the way your grandmothers lived if it
hit you in the nose!

You don't deserve those precious notes! Give them to the Social History
dept of your local museum rather than boasting and then deriding them here!

O, whose career was in Social History

jmcquown wrote:
> I've been finding some interesting things in this house. I found an old
> metal recipe box and it contains recipes that were surely hand-written
> by my German grandmother and my Scottish grandmother. It also contains
> a lot of old newspaper clippings; things dating from the 1930's through
> the 1950's. And some "recipes" for household cleaners I wouldn't dare to
> make in this day and age. How about combining white vinegar, turpentine
> and boiled linseed oil as furniture polish? The instructions say shake
> it together in a glass jar and store the polishing cloth in the jar.
> Um, no, I don't think so.
>
> There is a recipe for some sort of laundry detergent that includes
> "blueing" (which I gather is bleach), ammonia and some other ingredients
> I can't identify; menthioloate? Sorry, I think I'll stick with store
> bought laundry detergent.
>
> It's fun looking through this stuff. There's chess pie and rhubarb pie.
> (Since the family was from OH and PA that makes sense; my dad's great
> aunt grew rhubarb.) Picallilli.
>
> I'll post some of these heritage recipes after I have a chance to go
> through them. I'll also scan and save them for posterity.
>
> Jill

Oh! Lucky you! That is a real treasure, Jill. I cherish the
recipes I have in my maternal grandmother's hand, and my paternal
grandmother's recipe notebook.

--
Jean B.

Ophelia wrote:
> jmcquown wrote:
>> I've been finding some interesting things in this house. I found an
>> old metal recipe box and it contains recipes that were surely
>> hand-written by my German grandmother and my Scottish grandmother.
>> It also contains a lot of old newspaper clippings; things dating from
>> the 1930's through the 1950's. And some "recipes" for household
>> cleaners I wouldn't dare to make in this day and age. How about
>> combining white vinegar, turpentine and boiled linseed oil as
>> furniture polish? The instructions say shake it together in a glass
>> jar and store the polishing cloth in the jar. Um, no, I don't think
>> so.
>
> Give me a good reason why not?
>
>
>> There is a recipe for some sort of laundry detergent that includes
>> "blueing" (which I gather is bleach),
>
> Blueing is NOT bleach!
>
> ammonia and some other
>> ingredients I can't identify; menthioloate? Sorry, I think I'll
>> stick with store bought laundry detergent.
>>
>> It's fun looking through this stuff. There's chess pie and rhubarb
>> pie. (Since the family was from OH and PA that makes sense; my dad's
>> great aunt grew rhubarb.) Picallilli.
>
> Do you even know what *piccalilli* is?
>
>
>> I'll post some of these heritage recipes after I have a chance to go
>> through them. I'll also scan and save them for posterity.
>
> Don't bother! You wouldn't understand the way your grandmothers
> lived if it hit you in the nose!
>
> You don't deserve those precious notes! Give them to the Social
> History dept of your local museum rather than boasting and then
> deriding them here!
> O, whose career was in Social History

LOL, it looks like I feel strongly about this eh?

jmcquown wrote:
> I've been finding some interesting things in this house. I found an old
> metal recipe box and it contains recipes that were surely hand-written
> by my German grandmother and my Scottish grandmother. It also contains
> a lot of old newspaper clippings; things dating from the 1930's through
> the 1950's. And some "recipes" for household cleaners I wouldn't dare to
> make in this day and age. How about combining white vinegar, turpentine
> and boiled linseed oil as furniture polish? The instructions say shake
> it together in a glass jar and store the polishing cloth in the jar.
> Um, no, I don't think so.
>
> There is a recipe for some sort of laundry detergent that includes
> "blueing" (which I gather is bleach),

Nope, bluing is a type of blue dye, used to enhance the color of white
fabrics. It can still be bought. The most famous brand is Mrs. Stewart's.

ammonia and some other ingredients
> I can't identify; menthioloate? Sorry, I think I'll stick with store
> bought laundry detergent.
>
> It's fun looking through this stuff. There's chess pie and rhubarb pie.
> (Since the family was from OH and PA that makes sense; my dad's great
> aunt grew rhubarb.) Picallilli.
>
> I'll post some of these heritage recipes after I have a chance to go
> through them. I'll also scan and save them for posterity.
>
> Jill

You have found a veritable treasure Jill. Protect it well.

On Sun, 22 Feb 2009 12:18:42 -0500, "jmcquown" <[email protected]>
wrote:

>Sorry, I think I'll stick with store bought laundry
>detergent.

Jill...you might want to hang on to those priceless recipes and
formulas...there could come a day when they are not available.
....you know, government regulations and all....

On Sun, 22 Feb 2009 09:32:09 -0800 (PST), [email protected]
wrote:

>Though these days, laundry detergents typically contain optical
>brighteners, making bluing pretty much obsolete.

I have a bottle of Mrs. Stewart's Liquid Blueing in the cabinet right
now! Use it for the "good" white napkins.

[email protected] wrote:
>>
> Though these days, laundry detergents typically contain optical
> brighteners, making bluing pretty much obsolete.

Which is why it comes from an OLD recipe!

On Sun 22 Feb 2009 10:18:42a, jmcquown told us...

> I've been finding some interesting things in this house. I found an old
> metal recipe box and it contains recipes that were surely hand-written
> by my German grandmother and my Scottish grandmother. It also contains
> a lot of old newspaper clippings; things dating from the 1930's through
> the 1950's. And some "recipes" for household cleaners I wouldn't dare to
> make in this day and age. How about combining white vinegar, turpentine
> and boiled linseed oil as furniture polish? The instructions say shake
> it together in a glass jar and store the polishing cloth in the jar.
> Um, no, I don't think so.

Remember, Jill, that most of the commercial products we take for granted
today didn't exist in those days. Many old published cookbooks had a
section of "recipes" for cleaning and related products, as well as health
remedies. My dad's mother used to make her own lye soap using wood ash to
produce the lye. She made it in a big black cast iron pot set over a fire
in the back yard. That's also where she boiled her clothes.

That furniture polish recipe would actually work quite well, but its use
would be laborious. The vinegar and turpentine would help to cleans the
surface of the wood and the linseed oil would lubricate and polish the
finish. It was probably applied liberally, allow to sit for a while, then
intense hand rubbing would bring a rich luster to the wood because of the
linseed oil. This is not a dangerous concoction, but it is messy, although
it really did the job.

> There is a recipe for some sort of laundry detergent that includes
> "blueing" (which I gather is bleach), ammonia and some other ingredients
> I can't identify; menthioloate? Sorry, I think I'll stick with store
> bought laundry detergent.

Laundry "bluing" still exists today. It is *not* a bleach. Those who still
use it probably dilute it in some volume of hot or warm water and add it to
the final rinse. It's object was to brighten colors and counteract the
yellowness that often developed in white fabrics. BTW, if "blueing" were
bleach, adding it to a mixture of ammonia could be deadly, as the
combination of bleach and ammonia produces a toxic gas. Ammonia was
obviously included for it's cleaning ability. It was probably "sudsy
ammonia" which is still available and often added to laundry today as an
adjunct to laundry detergent. Both sudsy ammonia and regular amoonia are
in regular use today. Parson's is a common brand. I couldn't find
"menthioloate" either, but the writer may have meant "mentholate", which
might have been added for a clean smell, since mentolate has a strong
menthol smell. Here's but one example of bluing:

http://www.lehmans.com/jump.jsp?item...UCT&itemID=933

Laundry bluing was also used by ladies with white or gray hair to remove
the yellow tinge that often developed. Too much of a good thing produced
the "ladies with blue hair" syndrome, which actually became popular in some
circles, particularly in the south. Beauty salons of the day also used
laundry bluing before specific beauty products were developed for the
purpose.

> It's fun looking through this stuff. There's chess pie and rhubarb pie.
> (Since the family was from OH and PA that makes sense; my dad's great
> aunt grew rhubarb.) Picallilli.
>
> I'll post some of these heritage recipes after I have a chance to go
> through them. I'll also scan and save them for posterity.
>
> Jill
>
>



--
Wayne Boatwright

"One man's meat is another man's poison"
- Oswald Dykes, English writer, 1709.

On Sun, 22 Feb 2009 12:18:42 -0500, "jmcquown" <[email protected]>
wrote:

> How about combining white vinegar, turpentine and boiled
>linseed oil as furniture polish? The instructions say shake it together in
>a glass jar and store the polishing cloth in the jar. Um, no, I don't think
>so.

Equal parts turpentine and boiled linseed oil is an old fashioned
furniture finish. I have no idea why the white vinegar is there.


--
I never worry about diets. The only carrots that
interest me are the number of carats in a diamond.

Mae West

"Mr. Bill" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]..
> On Sun, 22 Feb 2009 09:32:09 -0800 (PST), [email protected]
> wrote:
>
>>Though these days, laundry detergents typically contain optical
>>brighteners, making bluing pretty much obsolete.
>
> I have a bottle of Mrs. Stewart's Liquid Blueing in the cabinet right
> now! Use it for the "good" white napkins.
>
>
Professional house painters still add a dab of prussion blue to white paint,
since white is not a color blue tint fools the eye into not seeing yellowing
from oxidation

On Feb 22, 12:18*pm, "jmcquown" <j_mcqu...@comcast.net> wrote:
> I've been finding some interesting things in this house. *I found an old
> metal recipe box and it contains recipes that were surely hand-written bymy
> German grandmother and my Scottish grandmother. *It also contains a lotof
> old newspaper clippings; things dating from the 1930's through the 1950's..
> And some "recipes" for household cleaners I wouldn't dare to make in this
> day and age. *How about combining white vinegar, turpentine and boiled
> linseed oil as furniture polish? *The instructions say shake it together in
> a glass jar and store the polishing cloth in the jar. *Um, no, I don't think
> so.
>
> There is a recipe for some sort of laundry detergent that includes "blueing"
> (which I gather is bleach), ammonia and some other ingredients I can't
> identify; menthioloate? *Sorry, I think I'll stick with store bought laundry
> detergent.
>
> It's fun looking through this stuff. *There's chess pie and rhubarb pie..
> (Since the family was from OH and PA that makes sense; my dad's great aunt
> grew rhubarb.) *Picallilli.
>
> I'll post some of these heritage recipes after I have a chance to go through
> them. *I'll also scan and save them for posterity.
>
> Jill
Please do! I have a stack of things my Mom collected, Sis has her
recipe box. I'm hoping next year when the DD is off to college that
I'll have the time and energy to go through this collection.
best,
maxine in ri

In article <[email protected]>,
sf <[email protected]> wrote:

> On Sun, 22 Feb 2009 12:18:42 -0500, "jmcquown" <[email protected]>
> wrote:
>
> > How about combining white vinegar, turpentine and boiled
> >linseed oil as furniture polish? The instructions say shake it together in
> >a glass jar and store the polishing cloth in the jar. Um, no, I don't think
> >so.
>
> Equal parts turpentine and boiled linseed oil is an old fashioned
> furniture finish. I have no idea why the white vinegar is there.

Probably the recipe was courtesy of the Little Ace White Vinegar
Company or something like that.

Mike Beede

Wayne Boatwright wrote:
>
> That furniture polish recipe would actually work quite well, but its use
> would be laborious. The vinegar and turpentine would help to cleans the
> surface of the wood and the linseed oil would lubricate and polish the
> finish. It was probably applied liberally, allow to sit for a while, then
> intense hand rubbing would bring a rich luster to the wood because of the
> linseed oil. This is not a dangerous concoction, but it is messy, although
> it really did the job.

Linseed oil is "drying oil" which will oxidize and form
a coating similar to plastic or lacquer. In small amounts
it can be useful to refresh a surface. In large amounts,
it can ruin the finish on antique furniture by forming
a thick coating that is difficult or impossible to remove
without wrecking the original finish.

Wax is the best furniture polish, though time-consuming.
It regularly turns dull, though it can be easily refreshed
by polishing. And polishing. And polishing. And doing
it again next week.

"Omelet" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news[email protected]..
> In article <[email protected]>,
> "jmcquown" <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>> There is a recipe for some sort of laundry detergent that includes
>> "blueing"
>> (which I gather is bleach),
>
> Blueing is blueing. It's not bleach.
> It used to be (and still is) used for enhancing whites.
> --
> Peace! Om


I used to add it to the rinse water when bathing my white pony before a
horse show. White horses sometimes get a little yellow, especially the mane
and tail.