I spent the afternoon visiting with old friends, the kind of friends I don’t see often but with whom it is easy to pick up where we left off. I often wonder if the women who contributed recipes to The New Galt Cook Book (1898) had those sorts of friends or if social conventions kept them from speaking freely. Tonight I picked a recipe that doesn’t have a contributor and I’m breakig my self imposed rule — this recipe is not in season. I wasn’t very hungry after a delicious lunch and lots of nibbles so I’m going to make Egg Plant.
Illustration of egg plant from the 1891 Peter Henderson catalogue.
I sliced the eggplant and put the inch thick slices in salty water. I left the slices to sit under water for an hour. I separated an egg, put the yolk in a dish and beat it. I already had a bag of rolled cracker crumbs so I put some on a plate and added some salt and pepper. When the hour was up I dried the egg plant slices and dipped them in the egg yolk and then in the seasoned cracker crumbs. I had some lard heating up in a frying pan and once it was hot I dropped the coated egg plant slices into it. When one side was browned I turned it over to the other. It took quite a while to brown both sides and to get the egg plant cooked. Once they were all done it was time to sample.
Description from 1891 Peter Henderson seed catalogue.
The egg plant wasn’t mushy but I didn’t feel they were cooked enough. I think thinner slices would work better than such thick slices. It’s true that they weren’t bitter but the skin was still quite tough. I was a bit surprised to see an eggplant recipe in this cook book. For some reason, I’d assumed it would be unfamiliar in this area. Instead there were several varieties available.
EGG PLANT
Slice it crosswise, and about a inch thick; lay in strong salt water for one hour with a plate on the top slice to keep it under the brine. This will draw out the bitter taste. Put a cupful of pounded crackers into a flat dish and season with salt and pepper. Beat the yelks of two eggs into shallow bowl. Wipe each slice of the egg plant dry, dip it in the egg, and roll it over and over in the crumbs. Have ready heated in a frying pan some sweet lard,and fry the vegetables in it to a fine brown. As each slice is done, lay it in a hot colander set in the oven oven, that every drop of grease may be dried off. Serve on a hot platter.
Cooking with the Galt Cook Book 