If there’s one thing all humans seem to enjoy throughout history, it’s a good dessert. Desserts look different throughout the years, depending on the time period and the location. Recently, while looking through the Toronto Library Archives, I found a digital version of a cookbook entitled The Home Cook Book: compiled by ladies of Toronto and chief cities and towns in Canada (1889). I have been fascinated by the recipes, particularly the desserts, and have decided to try my hand at a few that would have been made over 100 years ago in the city of Toronto. For this dessert, I’ll be making Jellied Grapes, a simple yet tasty dish and a perfect heritage dessert to impress your friends and family!
The Home Cook Book
Before getting into the recipe, I wanted to talk a bit about The Home Cook Book and the interesting story behind this piece of Toronto history. Originally created to raise money for Toronto’s Hospital for Sick Children (founded in 1875), the Home Cook Book was one of the most popular recipe books in the city the later 19th century. A number of volumes were published year after year and they contain not only recipes but also directions on proper housekeeping, serving etiquette and recommendations on cookery ware. The elite ladies of Toronto are believed to have contributed to the book and many of their names are listed under the original recipes submitted. It gives the book a wonderful personal touch, as I can imagine these women cooking in their kitchens all those years ago.
Jellied Grapes
For my first recipe I wanted to try something simple and was drawn to the recipe for “Jellied Grapes” submitted by a Mrs. A. M. Lewis. With only three ingredients (4 if you include water), jellied grapes is a simple dessert with a surprisingly delicious flavour. In a time when families might not have had an abundance of ingredients, I can definitely see how this would have been a favourite sweet treat. The original recipe from Mrs. Lewis reads:
A very delicate dish is made from 1/3 of a cup of rice, two cups of grapes, half a cup of water, and two spoons of sugar. Sprinkle the rice and sugar, while placing them among a deep dish; pour on the water, cover close and simmer two hours slowly in the oven. Serve cream as sauce, or cold as pudding, if served warm as pudding increase slightly the proportion of rice and sugar.
Mrs. A.M. Lewis – The Home Cook Book (1889; 7th Edition)
Read on below to see my interpretation of the dish!
Like I said, you’ll only need four simple ingredients for this recipe: 1/3 cup of white rice, 2 cups of red grapes, 2 tablespoons of sugar and 1/2 cup of water. You’ll also need a deep dish for baking as well as access to an oven.
To begin, preheat the oven to 375° Celsius. The original recipe does not state an exact temperature so I tried to do some research and took an estimated guess of the temperature an oven would have been for baking in 1889. I cooked mine at 400° Celsius but you’ll notice it turned out a little brown on the edges of the dish. I think cooking at 375° Celsius would be perfect.
Next, rinse 1/3 cup of white rice and add to the cooking dish. Then mix in 2 cups of red grapes and 2 tablespoons of sugar. The original recipe does not state the type of grapes to use, but I chose red as I find they add a delicious flavour without being too sour (especially when cooked down).
Cover the dish and place in the oven. In total, I recommend cooking the dish for 90 minutes. The original recipe says to cook for 2 hours, but at 400° Celsius, I found 90 minutes was perfect.
I would first set your time for 60 minutes, after which I would quickly take the dish out and give the ingredients a stir. This will help to prevent the rice from sticking to the bottom. After stirring, pop it back in the oven and cook for another 30 minutes.
Once ready, take out of the oven and let cool for 5-10 minutes before serving. Mrs. Lewis suggested a few different ways to serve, but I have decided to serve warm in a bowl. It should serve about 2-3 people (depending on how hungry your guests are!). Next time, I think I would try doubling up on ingredients to make more.
I was pleasantly surprised with how flavourful the dish was for only consisting of a few simple ingredients. It tastes very similar to rice pudding and the cooked red grapes give the dish a lovely sweet and juicy flavour,
And that’s it! I hope you’ve enjoyed Mrs. A. M. Lewis’ Jellied Grapes recipe, from all those years ago. I’d love to hear if you decided to try it out for yourself!
Jellied Grapes (1889)
2-3
servings10
minutes90
minutesIngredients
1/3 cup of white rice
2 cups of red grapes
2 tablespoons of sugar
1/2 cup of water
Directions
Preheat oven to 400° Celsius.
Add 1/3 cup of white rice (rinsed), 2 cups of red grapes and 2 tablespoons of sugar to a deep cooking dish. Mix the ingredients together in the dish.
Cover the dish with a lid and place in the oven. Set oven timer to 60 minutes.
After 60 minutes, briefly remove the dish to stir the ingredients (so that the rice doesn't stick to the bottom). Then, return to oven and set timer for another 30 minutes.
After 30 minutes, remove the dish from oven. Let it cool for about 5 minutes, then serve and enjoy!