Apples and the Huntingtons

by Nancy Armitage

September is the season of apples & kids going back to school. In the 1920’s, Mr. Henry E. Huntington’s Head Librarian closed the Huntington Library Building for the whole month of August – every year. So September was the time period for the reader-scholars to be welcomed back into the Huntington Library Reading Room, San Marino, California. To enjoy all the wonderful books & manuscripts that Mr. Henry E. Huntington collected in his lifetime.

During the Gilded Age, there were so many delicious recipes with apples. They say that the very best cooking apples are Granny Smith (lime green in color), Braeburn, Gala, & Jonagold. In researching the Huntington’s menus, invoices & such, I saw Apple recipes like Apple Charlotte (which is like a bread pudding with apples), American Apple Crumble ( with cinnamon, nutmeg, lemon juice & the topping made of flour, oats, brown sugar & butter) Apple Pie, & Apple Tart, & French Apple & Nut Galette (Rustic apple pie with the crust folded in at the edges) . Also, French apple gateau is a apple cake with layers & layers of very thinly sliced apple; made in a rectangle form with a custardy batter. Then dusted with powdered sugar.

The Huntingtons, Mr. & Mrs. H. E. Huntington (“Edwards & Belle”) had many apple deliveries to San Marino Ranch (1913-1927) from the east coast . Boxes that were labeled “Bell” apples to be use in their apple recipes. Im not sure the meaning of “Bell” apples, a possibility was they came from Bell’s apple orchard on the Throgg’s Neck “Huntington Homestead estate. One of Mr. Huntington’s favorite pies was Apple Pie. At the Huntington’s ranch, the cook could have made their own Apple cider & Apple sauce. The best Apple Cider is a combination of many kinds of apples, a apple farmer once told me. Mr. H.E. Huntington love Apple Pie.

I found a lovely poem called “The West Wind” by John Masefield. Its lovely & poetic & very visual. I know that Mr. Huntington loved Masefield because he collected his books (1920’s) & he had one of his poems in his personal papers when he died.

“It’s a warm wind, the west wind, full of bird’s cries; I never hear the west wind but tears are in my eyes. For it comes from the west lands, the old brown hills, And April’s in the west wind, and daffodils.

It’s a fine land, the west land, for hearts as tired as mine, Apple orchards blossom there, & the air’s like wine. There is cool green grass there, where men may lie at rest, And the thrushes are in song there, fluting from the nest…..”

Mr. Henry “Edwards” Huntington was born in Oneonta, New York state. New York state is America’s 2nd greatest apple grower after state of Washington. The Huntington’s ate a lot of food with apples in it. Maybe, it was because the Huntingtons lived in New York City (the Big Apple) & had 2 other mansions & properties in New York State, also.

A interesting apple recipe I found was Elegant Waldorf Pudding (a custard with apples) contained with apples, raisins, lemon juice, ginger, nutmeg, vanilla extract, eggs, milk, & butter, & toasted walnuts. We know that Mr. & Mrs. Henry Huntington (Arabella) frequented the Waldorf Hotel (NYC) for balls, luncheons, & charity events & dinners.

I found a recipe for Apple Manhattan Cocktail which consisted of 1/3 bourbon whiskey, 1/3 Apple Schnapps or Liqueur, & less then 1/3 of Vermouth.

I found a dessert recipe called “Apples a la Manhattan” on a November menu in the cookbook; called Franco-American Cookery book (1907) . Mr. H. E. Huntington had this cookbook in his rare book collection at the Huntington Library; a book of menus & recipes for the whole year.

The menu is as followed: No. 316 Wed. November 14 Bill of fare for 8 persons: Soup: Flemish, Stewed eels English style; Stewed potatoes Navarraise, Beef Braised with Polonaise Sauce, French Peas, Salmi of quail a l’ essence, Endive Salad [with a Champagne Vinaigrette] & Apples a la Manhattan. Apples a la Manhattan could be a apple cake or apple pie or baked apples.

These are many other Huntington foods with apples, I saw on Huntington Menus & Invoices as followed: Waldorf Salad, Royal Pudding, Charlotte Russe or Apple Charlotte Russe, Apple Pie (HEH’s favorite) Apple Sauce, Steamed Apple Pudding (1914), Apple Chutney, Summer Ranch Ambrosia, Apple Chutney, Frozen Apple Toddy (served at the Hotel Maryland in Pasadena CA 1906), Apple Cider (the best apple cider is a mixture of several different kinds of apples), Apple Cinnamon Scones (Claridge Hotel – London- when H. E. Huntington stayed before his marriage to Arabella Huntington in Paris), & Huntington Christmas Mincemeat Pie (No 2).

I’ll start with the “Frozen Apple Toddy”, a beverage, but I think a sorbet of sorts. We would now – call it a “slushie”; in 1920, they called them a “Frappe”. This Frozen Apple Toddy was served in the middle of a fancy multi-course dinner; it was in honor of Mr. H. E. Huntington by his friends. The menu is below. The dinner was at Hotel Maryland, Pasadena, CA on Wednesday Evening, October 3, 1906. The elaborate menu was in celebration of Mr. H. E. Huntington’s great Pacific Electric Railway Co, in Los Angeles, CA. These railway lines were stretching across the whole county of Los Angeles to Orange Co. to Newport Beach, CA.

The elaborate 10-course French dinner banquet at Hotel Maryland reads as follows: MENU : 1. Toke Points [Oysters on the half shell with mignonette sauce], 2. Clear Green Turtle aux Quenelles [Soup course] with [Relish of ] Celery, Pimolas-green olive stuffed with pimiento, & Almonds], 3. Grenadine of Striped Bass, Béarnaise with Cucumbers & Grilled Potatoes [Fish Course] 4. Stewed Terrapin [Turtle] – Poulette in cases [puffed pastry] with cheese wafers [Appetizer or Amuse bouche] 5. Supreme of Chicken, Maryland [Poultry Course]with French peas [Petit pois garden peas] 6. Frozen Apple Toddy [Ice or Frappe or Sorbet] 7. Roast Homer Squab [Game Course] 8. Jumbo Asparagus, Vinaigrette [Salad Course served in the French style after the entrée] 9. Traction Ice Cream [Glace course, ice cream in shapes of railroad cars] with [French] macaroons 10. Cheese with toasted crackers [Cheese course]. 11. Coffee – Meal served with Amontillado with oysters Mumm’s Champagne, Chartreuse Liqueur, & Cigars.

Frozen Apple Toddy Recipe

So I’ll start with the Frozen Apple Toddy , this was served in honor of Mr. Henry E. Huntington at this fancy banquet dinner (1906) at the Hotel Maryland on Colorado Blvd. in Pasadena, CA. I found a article on oldlineplate.com telling the history of this drink. It was about the “Apple Toddy”, stating it was a famous drink in the Chesapeake Region of Maryland state from 1700 to early 1900’s. Interesting that this was served at the Hotel Maryland in Pasadena, CA.

The article had a sweet poem, “Fill your heart with song & shine, never mind the beer & wine; some day everybody will own a jug of apple toddy: (1918)

They shared a recipe called “Apple Toddy” – bake 4 apples with 4-6 cloves until soft. In a large mason jar, they added 1/2 pt. brandy, 1/2 pt. peach brandy, & 1/2 pt. Jamaican rum with 1/4 lb. sugar & 1 qt. whiskey (Maryland Rye preferred). Let sit for 12 months & then add 3 pts. of water & ice. Adapted from Maryland’s Way -The Hammond Harwood House Cookbook. If you have ever made a slushie cocktail, alcohol will not freeze completely into ice. So I think this recipe is adding too much water at the end to make it a slushie. I think to make a Frozen Apple Toddy, you want a slushie consistency & spooned into a champagne or parfait glasses & serve with a mint leaf.

Huntington Royal Pudding

We know that the Huntingtons ate Royal Pudding; at the San Marino Ranch. The Huntingtons Ranch Kitchen even had the “Roy pan” (Royal pudding pan) to make it in. There seems to be a lot of variations to Royal Pudding. Most likely, Royal pudding was made with a custard (English Birds vanilla custard) poured over the top. I can’t be certain which recipe the Huntington Kitchen used.

I found Mrs. Beeton’s Windsor Royal Pudding (Windsor Castle, London England) which is a rice pudding with apples. It contains apples, sugar, Carolina rice or pudding rice, lemon-juice, lemon rind or zest, brown bread crumbs, egg whites, & milk. It is steamed in a water bath in a special domed pudding mold. Served hot & topped with vanilla custard & sprinkle lemon zest on a English mason ware plate. Remember Americans emulated many of the English tradition in the Gilded Age.

The original 1822 Windsor Pudding recipe by Mary Eaton (Cook & Housekeeper’s Dictionary) called for suet (Crisco but you buy it from the butcher), nutmeg, 1/2 lb. French roll, rind of lemon, 1/2 lb. apples & currants, glass of sweet wine (Riesling), eggs, & salt. Boiled in a water bath for 3 hours. This recipe for Windsor Pudding sounds more interesting & more like a Spiked Bread Pudding with Apples.

Summer Ambrosia Fruit Salad (San Marino Ranch)

Summer “Ambrosia” Ranch Fruit Salad can be called a “cloud of divine fruit”. Ambrosia means “Food of the Gods” in the dictionary. It is a very southern dish, that probably graced Mrs. Arabella Huntington’s Dining-Room Table. The Huntingtons probably served this refreshing salad for “Sundays at the Ranch”. These beautiful fresh ranch fruits (below) could be cut up & added to the Ambrosia.

A typical Southern Ambrosia Salad sometimes includes Cool Whip or Whipped Cream or Marshmallows or Sour Cream. The fruit added is cut up: Pineapples, grapes, mandarin oranges, maraschino cherries & sweetened coconut flakes. Some recipes call for toasted & chopped pecans. It would be lovely & impressive to serve in a old fashioned champagne glass “coupe” or footed small compote. Remember Mr. & Mrs. H.E. Huntington had amazing exotic fruit in the Huntington’s Lath House at the San Marino Ranch like kiwi fruit, mango, & papayas.

Traditional Christmas Mincemeat Pie (with apples)

At the Huntington’s New York City Mansion, I found a cookbook that had a hand-written recipe for mincemeat. I also found on the Park & Tilford gourmet store invoices (H. E. Huntington) all the ingredients to make Mincemeat Pie. Traditional Christmas Mincemeat Pie has beef, green tart apples, & suet; dried fruit like raisins & currants, lemon peel & citron, brown sugar & molasses, sweet apple cider ; spices: like nutmeg, mace, allspice, cinnamon, cloves & moisten with brandy or rum. Christmas mincemeat pie is very rich. My mother made a smaller version placed in Christmas candy wrappers. Instead of the regular size pie or tarts (4″ wide) or tartettes (2″ wide), more bite size & could be eaten with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.

Lady Haverton’s Tea Blend (with apples) Huntington Library & Botanical Gardens Tearoom

In the 1980 & 1990’s’s, at the Huntington Library Tea Room, they served a wonderful tea called “Lady Haverton’s Tea”. I really enjoyed this tea, it had dried apples, orange peel, dried blueberries & raspberries, dried cranberries or cherries & pink/red hibiscus blossoms for a lovely lemon flavor & stunning pink-red color. It was such a delicious tea served with tea scones, tea sandwiches, & assorted cheeses & crackers, dainty teacakes, & such.

Steamed Apple Pudding Recipe (1914 – Pasadena, CA)

I found this recipe in one of Mr. H. E. Huntington’s Rare books Collection. The cookbook was called Tried Receipts of Pasadena, by Maud Mitchell (1914) Call number#427952 ; recipe from Mrs. George Mills. To benefit 4 charities: Wm A. Scripps Home for aged people, Pasadena Children’s Training Society, The Pasadena Charitable League, & the Pasadena Day Nursery.

Fill pudding dish 1/2 full with sliced tart apples. [Then in a bowl] Add 2 t. water, 1 T. sugar, a little grated nutmeg, 2 teacups flour, 2 level t. baking powder, & 1 t. butter. Rub together – add enough water to make a soft dough; roll out the dough. Have the fruit boiling hot & cover with dough. Steam for 1/2 hour, tightly covered. To be eaten with hard sauce. Recipe by Mrs. George Mills. [Confusing recipe, do you boil some of the apples in water?]

Huntington Gardens – Blackberry Summer Fruit Shake

In 2004, a delicious smoothie was served at the Huntington Gardens was called “Blackberry Summer Fruit Shake”. It had apple juice, orange juice, banana, strawberries, Blackberries, & raspberries. It was quite refreshing. In the 1920’s health drinks actually were in vogue. Sometimes, they called them “Frappe” (Cold) like a milk shake sometimes made with ice cream or coffee. They could have made it in a blender & then strain the seeds out in a cup strainer.