Civil War Recipe Tutorial:

Hot Slaw

Original Recipe:

Hot Slaw: Cut cabbage in fine shreds, boil in clear water until perfectly tender, allowing so little [water] that when it is cooked sufficiently, there will be scarcely none left in the spider; just before dishing, add to a common sized spiderful, a teacup of sharp vinegar, a piece of butter half the size of a common hen's egg, a little salt, and a dust of pepper; the latter can be added at the table if desired. Many persons dislike pepper, therefore as little as will answer had better generally be used in all cookery. Dish in extra plates at the table.

Source:

The Housekeeper's Encyclopedia by Mrs. E. F. Haskell, 1861.

Modern Day Adaptations:

None. We interpreted "teacup" as half a modern measuring cup, or 4 oz. Not having a common, or even an uncommon, hen handy to lay us an egg to measure, we used about 2 and 1/2 tbs. butter. And while a "spider" is a specific sort of pan with short legs on the bottom, Mrs. Haskell seems to have used the word somewhat more generically for any sort of saucepan or cooking pot.

Results:

Tasted like very fresh, albeit mild, sauerkraut, which is great if you like sauerkraut as an unadorned table vegetable. We had it as a side dish to "Ham Toast" which might have resulted in more enthusiasm for the slaw than would otherwise have occurred, since the toasts were not overly filling. Judgment of the three diners rated it as edible but not thrilling, perhaps a 5 on a 10-point scale. The vinegar taste was most noticeable, although this would likely have been even stronger in Mrs. Haskell's day. The standard of vinegar then was 10 percent acidity as opposed to 5 percent today.