Fannie Farmer- the Mother of Level Measurements

 

 

Fannie Farmer

Did you know cookbooks weren't always as precise as they are today? For centuries, women learned to cook by trial and error, watching their mothers and learning to sense the right amounts and correct temperatures. And as in anything, some people aren't intuitive when it comes to cooking. In that case, your family ate your overcooked fare, because throwing it out wasn't an option.

Enter Fannie Merrit Farmer, and the world of cooking changed. Fannie was born on March 23,1857 in Boston. She came from the middle-class, was well-educated, and very bright. An illness that left her unable to walk for a few years stole her dreams of attending college. While she recovered her health, she learned to cook and so managed the household tasks for her family. Once she was well enough, she worked as a cook and domestic in several households. Her exceptional organizational skills in the kitchen made her a desirable employee.

In 1889, she entered the Boston Cooking School. In her early thirties, she was their oldest student. She chose this school for its scientific approach to cooking and nutrition, which was becoming a popular approach to cooking in the late nineteenth century. Rather than intuitive cooking, it strove to experiment with various dishes. They used measuring cups and spoons to ensure consistency. Their experiments were systematic, for example increase the salt, or add one new ingredient, then record the result and repeat with different measurements. Seeking to find the perfect combination. Using the scientific method provided more nutritional meals. The school focused on household management, especially in middle-class homes.

It wasn't long before Fannie was teaching there and then became its principal. Fannie had a heart to create a cookbook that would teach proper cooking techniques to anyone. The ones available had instructions such as "a large handful of flour, a glob of lard, butter the size of an egg, a pinch of a spice. The problem with them is hands and eggs came in various sizes. Teacups also came in a variety of sizes, and the recipes rarely specified the size. Fannie observed the wealthy had four ounce teacups. For other classes, their cups might be as large as twelve ounces. Therefore, one cook's bread failed while another's was light and fluffy. Not everyone used measuring cups or spoons, even though they were available. Even with proper equipment, recipes weren't specific enough.

She used the scientific method to create wholesome recipes and set about writing a cookbook with exact instructions. She explained each step in food preparation and how to do it. She is the one who insisted you use a knife to level a cup of dry ingredients evenly in a measuring cup.  

 

         When she approached a publisher with her cookbook, they were skeptical. So much so that they would only print 3,000 copies if she paid for it. She raised the money. The Boston Cooking School Cookbook sold out in a few weeks. The publisher had to hurry to print more copies for a second and third printing. It became the gift for new brides and a standard for every household. It changed American cooking forever. Her recipes used exact measurements, specified level cups and measuring spoons, precise cooking times, and explained techniques clearly, even including scientific information about food preparation. Fannie Farmer's desire was to see inexperienced cooks succeed consistently.

Fannie believed cooking was not only a practical household skill but a science that could improve health. She emphasized: cleanliness, nutrition, accuracy and efficiency. She also believed women deserved proper education in domestic management rather than being expected to learn everything informally.

In 1902 Fannie left the Boston Cooking School and opened Miss Farmer's School of Cookery. Not only did she offer housewife courses, but added nursing and dietitian training.

Perhaps her own poor health caused her to expand her interests to cooking for invalids and hospital patients. She added books on convalescent cooking to her publishing credits.

Fannie Farmer never married nor had a family of her own, yet she cared about families being healthy. Her life centered around teaching, writing and lecturing, sharing her passion not only for proper cooking techniques but also healthy living.

She died in Boston in 1915 at the age of 58 leaving a legacy as the mother of level measurements. Her cookbook continued to be sold for generations. The next time you use a recipe that insists you use a level measurement, you can thank Fannie Farmer.

What is your favorite go-to recipe book, and does it give specific instructions like Fannie?

I love Better Homes and Garden Cookbooks, I have two from different years.

 

Cindy Ervin Huff is a multi-published, award-winning author in Historical and Contemporary Romance. She’s a 2018 Selah Finalist. Cindy has a passion to encourage other writers on their journey. When she isn’t writing, she feeds her addiction to reading and enjoys her retirement with her husband of 50 plus years, Charles. Visit her at www.cindyervinhuff.com.

 My book Rescuing Her Heart is available in e-book for $1.99. Today is the last day for the sale. Delilah's mother was a cook in a grand house. Her mother taught her well, and those skills came in handy as she rebuilds her life after the trauma of an abusive husband. Click here to purchase.

 

YOUNG ELEANOR

 

By Catherine Ulrich Brakefield

As a young bride, Eleanor Roosevelt never dreamt that she would someday play such a vital role in her husband’s success, her children’s lives, or her country’s growth.

The saying, “Behind a great man is a great woman,” highlights the admirable characteristics of the woman spoken of in Proverbs 31:10-31. “Virtuous, strong, and wise” are just a few attributes we could use to describe Eleanor. But this analogy would not be what Eleanor’s mother would use to describe Eleanor.

Her mother’s ideas for her eldest daughter were hardly those of a highly capable woman, as described in Proverbs 31. Her daughter preferred shadows over limelight. Staying home with a good book over partying. As a young girl, Eleanor was often withdrawn. So, what caused this change in Eleanor’s character?

Born on October 11,1884, in bustling New York City, Eleanor’s father was Elliott Roosevelt, the youngest brother of President Theodore Roosevelt. Her mother, Anna Hall Roosevelt, came from a wealthy New York family of the upper class. They had high ideals and even higher standards for their aristocratic children.

Though the oldest of her two siblings, Eleanor was timid and awkward in her demeanor. She was told that, unlike her mother, she was not a natural beauty. She would have to work hard. Her mother constantly criticized her because of her shyness. Anna desired for her daughter to follow in her footsteps, be more outgoing, like herself. Drawing attention to what her mother thought were Eleanor’s faults only caused Eleanor to become shyer and shrink further into herself.

Then tragedy barged into the regimented Roosevelt household. The year was now 1892, when Eleanor was the young age of eight years old, Anna, her mother, died of diphtheria. Then her youngest brother, Ellie, also died of diphtheria in 1894. Her father passed away a year later because of his drugs and alcohol addiction. At ten years old, Eleanor had lost both her parents and a younger sibling.

The one thing she recalls her mother spoke to her about is what happened in 1886. She was two, and her future husband, Franklin, was four. Her parents decided to visit Sara Delano and James Roosevelt in Hyde Park, New York. She and Franklin were fifth cousins once removed.

After the death of Eleanor’s parents, she and her brother moved in with her maternal grandmother, Mary Livingston Ludlow Hall.

Grandmother Hall had a trunkful of her own problems. Nine years younger than her husband, he ran a stern household and had strict rules that had to be followed relentlessly.

         Unexpectedly, her husband died. Grandmother Hall felt she was ill-equipped to face life without her domineering husband.

Eleanor soon learned she was more like her grandmother than her mother. Her grandmother had a quiet nature. She was a mild and submissive woman. Her husband, the direct opposite, had ruled her and his household with an iron hand.

Valentine, Grandmother Hall’s husband, lived off the family fortune and treated his wife like he treated his children. He devoted his energy to studying the Puritanical age. Valentine demanded complete control. He ran the family, which consisted of four daughters and two sons, with an iron hand and practiced self-denial.  Mary Hall was deeply religious; however, her faith was rooted in the God of love and joy. She had a deep appreciation of life and nature.

Her husband consistently overruled her. He told her what and when to buy food and household items. He even picked out her dresses! And when he suddenly died, fifty-year-old Mary Hall could not even manage the household budget. Anna, her daughter and Eleanor’s mother, became her anchor. She gave her mother a household budget and disciplined her rowdy siblings, who became even more rowdy after their father’s death.

After Anna’s death, Mary Hall struggled to cope with her sons, Valentine, and Edward, who had serious problems with alcohol. Now Eleanor and her brother, Hall, enter the already distressed household. Grandmother Hall had only her deep-rooted faith in God to rely upon.

Grandmother Hall’s homes were in secluded areas, often semi-barricaded. The shades were pulled tight against the sunlight, and the doors between the rooms were tightly shut. All visitors were carefully screened.

Eleanor grew to love her grandmother dearly, for she understood. She could recognize a hurting soul. The night of her grandmother’s death, Eleanor wrote in her diary, “a gentle, good woman with a great and simple faith.”

Yes, she understood her grandmother and purposed in her heart not to make the same mistakes as Grandmother Hall had. “Her willingness to be subservient to her children isolated her, and it might have been far better, for her boys at least, had she insisted on bringing more discipline into their lives simply by having a life of her own.”

Eleanor used her grandmother’s mistakes as a catalyst to ensure her own happiness. “My grandmother’s life had a considerable effect on me, for even when I was young, I determined that I would never be dependent upon my children by allowing all my interests to center on them.”

Look for part 2 of Eleanor’s story in June.

Wilted Dandelions: Rachael is ready to leave her luxurious life in Buffalo, New York, to share the gospel with the Native Americans in the Oregon Territory. But the Missionary Alliance requires its missionaries to be married. Rachael agrees to a marriage of convenience with a man she hardly knows and learns God doesn’t create coincidences—He designs possibilities. “I loved this quote… ‘I’m still such a babe in Christ. Will I ever stop seeking my desires and reasoning it is God’s will that I satisfy my own whims?’ Can you relate?” Grandaddy A.

Catherine is the award-winning author of Wilted Dandelions, Swept into Destiny, Destiny’s Whirlwind, Destiny of Heart, Waltz with Destiny and Love's Final Sunrise. She has written two pictorial history books, The Lapeer Area and Eastern Lapeer, and short stories for Guideposts Books, CrossRiver Media Group, Revell Books, Bethany House Publishers. Catherine and her husband of fifty-three years live on a ranch in Michigan and have two adult children, five grandchildren, four Arabian horses, two dogs, one cat, six chickens, and a bunny who thinks it’s a dog! See CatherineUlrichBrakefield.com for more information.

https://wams.nyhistory.org/life-story/eleanor-roosevelt/ 

 

Mid-Month Madness!

 

We really appreciate you coming by!

We will be giving away books so be sure to pay attention about how to enter. To enter for a chance to win, you MUST leave a comment WITH your EMAIL and you MUST ask one or more of the authors a question you’d like to know about them, their writing, or their books.

We are looking forward to getting to know you better and hope you’ll get to know us better, too!

Be sure to drop by the Facebook Party for a chance to mingle with the authors and nab even more great giveaways!

The party is today from 5:00 to 6:30 PM Eastern Time.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/1770933813056488

Two-time winner of the Christian Indie Award, Amber Lemus inspires hearts through enthralling tales She has a passion for family, faith, facts and fiction. This combination results in what her readers call "historical fiction at its finest." She lives at the foot of the Rocky Mountains with her prince charming and two boys. Between enjoying life as a boy mom, and spinning stories out of soap bubbles, Amber loves to connect with readers. Amber is a proud member of the American Christian Fiction Writers Association.

Linda Shenton Matchett writes happily-ever-after historical Christian fiction about second chances and women who overcome life’s challenges to be better versions of themselves. A native of Baltimore, Maryland, she was born a stone’s throw from Fort McHenry (of Star-Spangled Banner fame) and has lived in historical places all her life. She now lives in central New Hampshire where she is a volunteer docent and archivist at the Wright Museum of WWII.

Denise M. Colby writes historical romance sweetened with faith, hope, and love. She loves history and finds herself contemplating how it was to live in the 1800’s. Only sitting still when reading a book, watching movies with her family, or taking in the latest musical theater show, Denise resides in Southern California where she enjoys date nights with her husband at their happy place. Every year Denise chooses a word to focus on. She loves to share her learnings about that word throughout the year on her blog and social media.

Camy Tang writes Christian Regency romantic suspense as USA Today bestselling author Camille Elliot and Christian contemporary romantic suspense as USA Today bestselling author Camy Tang. She grew up in Hawaii, where she started reading Regency romances when she was thirteen years old. Now she lives in northern California with her engineer husband. She was a staff worker for her church youth group for over 20 years and used to lead one of the Sunday worship teams. She loves to knit antique knitting patterns and is learning Japanese.

The Healer’s Touch

Aaliyah's last chance at winning her husband's love is destroyed when she is banished from her home as an 'unclean' sinner. Her husband has branded her as an adulteress and threatens to kill her if she comes near the town. Struggling to survive in a leper colony, she would give anything just to see her son again. When rumors of a Healer from Nazareth reach the colony, Aaliyah wonders if this man could really heal her. It is now that Aaliyah must make the most difficult decision of her life: risk her life to appear in public, or die a leper. 

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Shetland Sunset

Bonded by a cause but an ocean apart, will their love survive a world war?

After months in Norway helping his cousins with their fishing business, American Askel Westgard seems trapped when the Germans invade until he has a chance to get back at the Occupiers as part of the Shetlandsgjengen, or Shetland gang, a group of fishermen who transport weapons and equipment from Shetland to Norway under cover of darkness. Unfortunately, the beautiful Norwegian woman he’s just met refuses to join him in safety. Will he ever see her again?

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When Plans Go Awry:

She planned on independence. He vowed never to love. God had other ideas.

Olivia Carmichael flees her past to become the schoolmarm in the small ranching town of Washton, determined to live quietly and never depend on anyone again. Luke Taylor chose a mail-order bride to help care for his sisters. He didn’t plan to have to guard his heart—or the beautiful new teacher who unsettles his carefully laid plans. As Olivia’s resolve is tested and Luke’s expectations unravel, the meddling town—and its infamous rooster—may help them discover that God’s plans are far better than their own.

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Lady Wynwood's Spies, Volume 1: Archer

A year ago, Michael Coulton-Jones retired as a spy for the Foreign Office in order to track down his brother’s killer. But when spinster Phoebe Sauber, distraught over her selfish father’s plans to throw her out of her home, nearly shoots Michael with her arrow in an accident, it sets in motion a chain of events—the murderer Michael is tracking down has secret ties to Phoebe’s family. To protect their loved ones, they must race to find the madman, who has a dark secret of his own that could turn the tides in the war against Napoleon.

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Cincinatti, Ohio in 1870 - Part 1 by Denise M. Colby

 

Since my next book release has part of the story in Cincinnati during 1870, I found myself doing a lot of research of this city and wanted to share some of the amazing little tidbits I found:

 

map of Cincinnati, 1870

Public Transportation:

 

In 1870, Cincinnati had a horse-bus, otherwise called a horse-drawn omnibus for public transportation. One would pay a fee and be carried from one stop to another. When the first horse-bus started (before 1850), they were not too reliable and it was still faster to walk, but by the late 1850s, steel rails were installed throughout the city, so if a carriage had steel wheels it could be pulled by a team of horses or mules easier.

 

In one article I found there were six different companies managing separate lines all around Cincinnati in 1870.

 

Sometimes the buses were built as double deckers (I can only imagine!)

 

This picture I found looks similar to an early design of a cable car (the very first successful cable car was invented and operated in San Francisco in 1873, but Cincinnati had some shortly after that too).

 

What a small omnibus looked like in Cincinnati, 1870

I have my characters using this omnibus transportation in my most recent release.

 

 

The Cincinnati Conservatory:

 

The Cincinnati Observatory was built in a neighborhood high on a hill called Mount Ida. The location was renamed to Mount Adams when President John Quincy Adams presided over the dedication.

 

This observatory was unique for many reasons. The original 1845 telescope was the largest refractor in the western hemisphere, and the third largest in the world (the lens was found in Germany and shipped to Ohio). It also was called the people’s telescope because it was the first one open to the public (see photo below).

 

Known as ‘The Birthplace of American Astronomy’, the Cincinnati Observatory and first director MacKnight Mitchel published the first astronomical publication, The Sidereal Messenger. Cleveland Abbe, the second director, published the nations’s first weather forecasts and assisted in the creation of the National Weather Service.

 

 

But wait, there’s more.

 

Most people relied on church bells, jeweler clocks, and pocket watches to keep time. And most communities in different cities had their own time zone. But the invention of the railroads called for some sort of standard time (which they had their own system to build a consistent time). Imagine if the time your city kept was different than the train? I’m sure many people missed their train due to no standard time.

 

At the time most observatories used a sundial or a shadow clock, including the observatory in Cincinnati. But the city was so large that the these means meant time could be off if you were situated on the west side versus the east side. So the observatory received a transit telescope from the United States Coast Survey which allowed them to observe the crossing of the sun at its highest point in the day more precisely (called solar time). Professor Abbe coordinated with local jewelry shops to help regulate time around the city, thus keeping everyone on the same time. Thus making the Cincinnati Observatory the official time keeper in all of Cincinnati (I estimated the population to be about 215,000 people in 1870 - ranked the 9^th largest in the US).

 

Later (1873) when the observatory was moved five miles east of the city to a place called Mt. Lookout, and they needed a new way to communicate the time around the city (not everyone could see it now), so with the help of the Army Signal Service, it built a time ball (think New York’s New Year’s Eve ball). At noon, every day, a five-foot canvas ball was hoisted up a 60-foot pole in three stages - halfway (11:45am), top (11:55am), dropping at exactly noon, signaling the correct time. The Time Ball was used through the mid-1880s.

 

 All of this is to say that the Cincinnati atronomical observatory was the only source for exact time in Cincinnati. If you check out the website to the observatory, it states that it has been recently restored and is still fully functioning. To learn even more about time balls, you can check out this website document which is full of details.

 

One of my characters uses the time-ball in my story (not exactly the right year - but since it’s fiction, I wanted to incorporate this fascinating historical tidbit).

 

 

Women’s College:

 

The Western Female Institute (1832-1837) operated in the neighborhood of Walnut Hills. It was founded by Catharine Beecher (yes, older sister to Harriot Beecher Stowe). The school was intended to train teachers for the western frontier. Due to several reasons, it closed after five years. But it was the early foundation for future schools including the American Woman’s Educational Association.

 

Catharine Beecher (1800-1878) advocated for women’s roles as teachers and mothers. She believed providing professional training to women would allow them to become independent professionals. Schools before this mostly focused on fine arts and languages, but Catherine’s schools offered a full range of subjects. She also introduced calisthenics to her students to improve women’s health (and to negate the idea of women fragility).

 

She established the American Woman’s Educational Association in 1852 and although it did not have a location in Cincinnati, from what I understand, she ran it from the area. As an association it provided funding to help establish other women’s colleges in Iowa, Illinois, and Wisconsin that taught with this focus. Its sole purpose was to recruit and train teachers for frontier schools (sending women West to civilize the young - a direct quote).

 

In my fictional story world, I established a school in Cincinnati supported by this association that sent my teachers west to California. I had Catherine Beecher teaching these teachers directly.

There's more - but I save the rest to share in next month’s post. In the meantime here is more about my next release (that I gathered all this research for).

 

 

 Book 4 in the Best-laid Plans Series releases May 26, 2026

 

 California, 1870. Pastor William Baker built his life on steady faith and safe choices, but the arrival of Lydia Spencer upends everything. Independent and outspoken Lydia is unlike any woman he’s ever known. Lydia is a Pinkerton detective, undercover as a schoolteacher while tracking a dangerous crime boss. She’s determined to protect her friends in Washton even if it means keeping her distance from the kind, steadfast pastor who sees too much. But when Will and Lydia are thrown together in a search for truth they find themselves fighting not only for justice, but for a future neither had planned.

 

 

Denise M. Colby writes historical romance sweetened with faith, hope, and love. She finds history fascinating and contemplates often how it was to live in the 1800's. Her debut novel, When Plans Go Awry, is a 2025 Carol Award finalist. Sign up for her newsletter at www.denisemcolby.com or follow Denise on Facebook, Instagram, Bookbub, Pinterest, or GoodReads.