A Little Background about the book
A few years ago my mother gave me an old cedar chest that had belonged to my grandmother. In the bottom of the chest was an old book of recipes. Some of the pages were missing and the rest were yellow and brittle with age. It reminded me of my grandmothers stories of the old days, of hog killings and cane grindings, of canning vegetables and digging potatoes and onions to put under the porch to keep for the winter. They made their own sausage and hung their hams and bacon in the smokehouses to cure. Bread was baked in the fireplace in an iron pot. The dough was put into the pot and covered with a heavy iron lid. Then it was set into the fire and covered with hot coals to bake. This was called "Bankin it".
On large farms, the kitchens were built away from the main houses. This was to keep the smells out of the main house and also to keep the main houses from burning when the kitchens caught on fire, which they frequently did.
I have included my notes to help you understand some of the old terms.
Have a great time reading these pages of history.
