Sallie Hobson's Recipes

Sallie Hobson's Recipes is a cookbook--but not in the usual sense. Sallie was the lady of the house at Magnolia Grove from 1879 until her death in 1904. Magnolia Grove is a classic Greek Revival house, built in the 1840's by Sallie's uncle, Isaac Croom. Today, it's a house museum full of family treasures. One of those treasures is a small, handwritten ledger full of recipes, with some household and medicinal hints, advice for living a good life, and household accounts. A grant from the...
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Sallie Hobson's Recipes is a cookbook--but not in the usual sense. Sallie was the lady of the house at Magnolia Grove from 1879 until her death in 1904. Magnolia Grove is a classic Greek Revival house, built in the 1840's by Sallie's uncle, Isaac Croom. Today, it's a house museum full of family treasures. One of those treasures is a small, handwritten ledger full of recipes, with some household and medicinal hints, advice for living a good life, and household accounts. A grant from the Alabama Historical Commission now allows us to share that small treasure. Sallie collected recipes from friends and family members as well as from newspapers and magazines, kept accounts of the domestic servants working at Magnolia Grove, and tracked her grocery purchases over a period of a few weeks. Recipes for desserts dominate her collection--49 recipes for various cakes, pies, custards, puddings, and cookies. Compare this with five meat and two vegetable recipes! The emphasis on desserts was a sign of the times. In the late 19th century, the falling price of sugar encouraged an increase in the consumption of sweets. The precision needed for baking, especially for sweets, meant that those recipes needed to be written down and followed carefully. Cooking meats and vegetables was most often learned by watching others. One of the most pleasurable ways to study the history and culture of a place is through its food. Sallie Hobson's Recipes invites you to learn more about Magnolia Grove and those who called it home. And perhaps you'll find a recipe that will become a part of your family's culinary history.