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Old Time Christmas Drink & Sweets Recipes

Photo: a Christmas pudding being flamed after brandy has been poured over it. Credit: Matt Riggott; Wikimedia Commons.

Introduction: In this article, Mary Harrell-Sesniak searches old newspapers to find our ancestors’ Christmas recipes. Mary is a genealogist, author and editor with a strong technology background.

Of Christmas past, it’s fun to imagine what the ideal or perfect recipes tasted like. Luckily, we can still find our ancestors’ holiday recipes in old newspapers – and in many cases, they are easy to follow and convert well to modern kitchens.

Make this Christmas special by including some of these drinks and sweets along with your own traditional dishes. And if they work for you, please share your comments with our readers.

The Wassail Bowl (1829)

A mainstay of the past was the wassail bowl, but have you ever heard how to prepare it?

Photo: a pot of wassail. Credit: Jeremy Tarling; Wikimedia Commons.

In 1829, the New Monthly Magazine provided a popular recipe which serves 12-16 persons. It seems simple to follow, so why don’t you try it?

Atlas; or Literary, Historical and Commercial Reporter (New York, New York), 14 March 1829, page 3

Snow Pudding (1885)

Ann Arbor Democrat (Ann Arbor, Michigan), 25 December 1885, page 5

Eggnog (1905)

This is always a holiday favorite!

Photo: a glass of eggnog. Credit: Dinner Series; Wikimedia Commons.
Evening Star (Washington, D.C.), 31 December 1905, page 54

Fruit Cake (1920)

This recipe intrigued me because it includes a clever secret ingredient to a traditional fruitcake recipe: coffee!

Photo: fruitcake. Credit: Don Ramey Logan; Wikimedia Commons.
Kansas City Star (Kansas City, Missouri), 16 November 1920, page 20

Plum Pudding (1920)

I’d like to leave you with an adaptation of a widely published plum pudding recipe courtesy of Good Housekeeping.

Photo: Christmas Plum Pudding, decorated with skimmia rather than holly. Credit: Musical Linguist; Wikimedia Commons.
Duluth News-Tribune (Duluth, Minnesota), 28 November 1920, page 14

Note: An online collection of newspapers, such as GenealogyBank’s Historical Newspaper Archives, is not only a great way to learn about the lives of your ancestors – the old newspaper articles also help you understand what food people at that time ate, how they celebrated their holidays, what clothes were fashionable, etc.

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