Subiaco Original Recipes (1910 -1920).
This blog post is a continuation of previous posts about recipes supplied to the Sunday Times newspaper recipe contest in the early years of the Western Australian colony.
During the early years of the colony The Sunday Times newspaper ran a recipe contest. The letters competed for prizes and the winning entries and honourable mentions were published in the newspaper.
The rules of the contest state the recipe could be taken from any cookery book or newspaper or better still be the invention of the sender. Many women sent in original recipes. Any woman could enter as many recipes as they please. Both single and married women and even children competed for a variety of prizes over the years.
Like many women from around the State, the women of Subiaco shared their favourite recipes. These recipes provide a wonderful insight into the variety of food available and consumed by individuals and families from a variety of sources, their resourcefulness when food like meat was not at its best, some advice on how to provide nourishment to an invalid, make home made remedies for the sick and make a good old fashion English Christmas pudding that could last over a year.
The recipes provide an interesting insight into cooking, the methods used and some of the equipment available for example like stewing-jars and sausage mincers. Some homes had a wood fires and others were equipped with an oven. Measurements were not exact and women were required to make judgements based on their previous cooking experience.
The recipes below are some of the original recipes published from the women of Subiaco. The articles are from Trove, the database of the National Library of Australia. No copyright intended.
Sunday Times, 13 August 1911.
The Prizes Recipes.
HONORABLE MENTION.
Lemon and Melon Jam (original). - Procure a nice green citron melon, cut it into slices, remove the rind and seeds, then cut up into dice and place in an enamelled pan. Then take some oranges and lemons and pare very finely so as not to get any of the white, as this makes it bitter. Cut up the rind finely, and put with the melon, sprinkle sugar over, and let stand all night. In the morning place on the fire, add the juice of the lemons and the oranges cat up after the pith has been re-moved. Boil two hours. Then add the remaining sugar, and boil quickly from three to four hours, removing the scam as it rises. Bottle while hot, and when cold cork and seal. A good proportion is 12 lb. melon, 9 lb. sugar, 1/2 doz. each of oranges and lemons. Mrs. R. Byrn., 188 Perth-street, Subiaco.
Sunday Times, 23 June 1912.
The Prize Recipes.
FIRST.
First prize is awarded to Mrs. H. Smith, Hensman-road, Subiaco for recipe for
NAPOLEON CAKE (Original).
Make a sponge with one cup of self-raising flour, 1/2 cup of sugar, 2 eggs, 2 tablespoonfuls of cold water; beat eggs with sugar well: add water, and lastly the flour. Bake in a long tin for 10 minutes. When cold spread both sides with jam and mock cream, cover with layer of puff pastry, sprinkle with icing sugar and cut into squares. The below recipe is for mock cream:- 1 tablespoonful of butter beaten to a cream, flavored with essence of vanilla, and enough icing sugar to make it the consistency of cream.
Sunday Times, 21 September 1913.
The Prize Recipes.
Fourth Prize.
Fourth prize is awarded to G. M. Hadlow, Jolimont-terrace, Subiaco for recipe for
THICK GINGERBREAD (Original).
Mix 3/4 lb. flour, 3/4 oz. ground ginger, 1/2 oz. carbonate of soda, 2 oz. of shreeded candied peel together; put 2 oz. of butter and 2 oz. of dripping into a saucepan to melt; add 4 oz. of brown sugar and 1/2 lb. of golden syrup, and allow sugar to dissolve over heat. Make a hole in the middle of the flour, and pour in sugar, butter and syrup. When it is partly mixed and slightly cooled add two eggs and a little milk. The mixture should be just moist enough to run off the spoon. Bake in a deep tin for two hours. Cut into squares. This gingerbread will keep for weeks in a covered tin.
Sunday Times, 4 January 1914.
The Prize Recipes.
A Subiaco Summer Dish (original).
Ingredients: One pint milk, 4 eggs, 2 oz. passion fruit, 1 oz. gelatine, sugar to taste. Mode: Soak the gelatine in a little water. Make a custard of the milk and yolks of eggs. Be careful it does not boil after the eggs are stirred into it or it will curdle, then add gelatine, and when cool mix in passion fruit pulp. Well sweeten the whites of the eggs, and beat to a stiff froth. Put in a mould. Serve cold. Mrs. E. A. Clarke, 63 Rupert-Street, Subiaco. 
Sunday Times, 9 August 1914.
The Prize Recipes.
HONORABLE MENTION.
Jugged Rabbit (Original). - Ingredients: One rabbit, 1 1/2 pints stock, two onions, little bacon, clovers, peppercorns, port wine, one lemon, 2 oz. butter, 2 oz. flour, salt and pepper, black currant jelly. Mode: Wipe the rabbit well, cut into pieces, flour them, melt the butter, and fry the rabbit in the for about ten minutes, pour in the stock, add onions whole, add the mace, peppercorns and cloves tied up in a piece of muslin: add the bacon cut small, put in the rind of the lemon, and half a cup of port wine, salt, and pepper: cover lightly, and simmer for three hours: add a little thickening if necessary. Serve with fried snippets of bread, placing a small piece of jelly on each. This dish is greatly improved if served with forcemeat balls. Miss F. Starks, 242 York-street, Subiaco.
The Sunday Times, 15 July 1917.
Recipes.
Honorable Mention.
Melon Chutney (original). - Ingredients: 6 lb of piemelon, 3 or 4 lb. of apples, 3 lb. onions, 2 lb. of sugar, l oz. garlic, 1/2 oz. chillies, 2 tablespoons salt, 1 lb. stoned raisins, 1 tablespoon ground ginger or small spoon of cayenne. Slice everything fine; cover with vinegar, cover and stand all night. Boll quickly for about three hours.- Mrs. A. E. Crisp. 34 Nicholson-road. Subiaco.
Sunday Times, 11 February 1917.
The Prize Recipes.
Fourth Prize.
Fourth prize is awarded to Miss Alma Winning, 414 Hay-street, Subiaco, for recipe for
SELF-RAISING FLOUR (Original).
Take 25 lb. flour and add 10 oz. cream of- tartar, 4 oz. carbonate of soda, 4 oz. salt, and 4 oz. icing sugar. Mix the above thoroughly together.
The Sunday Times, 18 March 1917.
The Prize Recipes.
First Prize.
First prize is awarded to Mrs. Gordon, 12 Rankin-road, West Subiaco, for
SALMON MOULD (Original).
One pound of tin salmon, 1/2. oz. gelatine soaked in half a breakfastcup of warm water; when dissolved add half a breakfastcup of vinegar, pepper and salt to taste. Mix all well together, turn into a mould, put in a cool place to set. Serve with lettuce and tomato salad: Delicious also used as a tilling for picnic sandwiches.
Sunday Times, 22 April 1917.
The Prize Recipes.
Third Prize.
Third prize is awarded to Alma Winning, 414 Hay-street, Subiaco, for
GREEN TOMATO JAM (Original).
Fifteen pounds of tomatoes, one 1 oz. sugar, five or six lemons (according to size), 1/4 lb. of ginger or one tablespoonful of ground ginger, one dessertspoonful of vanilla essence. Cut the tomatoes in halves and quarters, and put half the sugar out and then let stand for 24 hours. Slice the peel of tomatoes very finely, cover with water, and also let stand for 24 hours. Boil until very soft, keeping partly covered while boiling, then add the pulp of lemon, and boil for a few minutes longer. Boil tomatoes until they begin to thicken and set, and do not stir more than necessary. Then add the other half of sugar, ginger, and lemon , pulp, and boil 25 or 30 minutes more from time sugar and pulp is added. It should then be cooked enough. After taking jam from the fire add vanilla. When it forms skin in saucer it is cooked. Allow about two and a half hours for this quantity.
Sunday Times, 21 March 1920.
The Prize Recipes.
First Prize.
First prize is awarded to Miss Earle, 265 Hamersley-road, Subiaco, for recipe for
FRUIT SAUCE (original).
Take 6 lb. figs, 6 lb. tomatoes, 1 lb. each apples, plums, grapes, pears, peaches, 2 lemons, 2 lb. brown sugar, 1/2 Ib. salt, 2 oz. stick cinnamon, 2 all-spice, 2 oz. cloves, and a few blades of mace, 1 tablespoonful cayenne pepper and ground ginger, and 2 large bottles of vinegar. Cut up all the fruit and boil two hours; put in skins and cores; strain through fine sieve and press well through with a knife, so as to leave toothing but seeds and skins; add vinegar to pulp and spices tied in muslin. Stir in sugar, salt pepper and ginger. Boil gently two or three hours, stirring constantly until nice and thick. Bottle and cut off corks level, and then dip the neck of bottle in hot sealing wax.
