Food trends are nothing new, as these snippets from old books will demonstrate. All of these are from books on Project Gutenberg. Weight-loss diets are a relatively recent phenomenon, so there weren’t many to be found. There were some surprisingly sensible suggestions, while others were odd, but I suppose the authors were making use of the best knowledge they had at the time. Check these out… would you try them?
Talking = weight loss?: “Don’t talk so much [if you want to gain weight]. See if you can’t leave out two-thirds of the totally unimportant, uninteresting details. A tremendous amount of energy is used in talking. This habit I would not say was confined to you, by any means; it is another one of those pretty nearly universal errors.” – Diet and Health; With Key to the Calories by Lulu Hunt Peters (1918) (image above taken from this book)
Packing for a picnic: “Things not to be forgotten at a Picnic. A stick of horseradish, a bottle of mint-sauce well corked, a bottle of salad dressing, a bottle of vinegar, made mustard, pepper, salt, good oil, and pounded sugar. If it can be managed, take a little ice.” – Mrs Beeton’s Book of Household Management (1861)
Bake, not boil: “Never eat boiled vegetables. No one ever hears of a flesh-eater boiling his staple article of diet and throwing away the liquor.” – The Healthy Life Cook Book by Florence Daniel (1915)
An apple tart a day: “Tak gode Applys and gode Spycis and Figys and reysons and Perys and wan they are wel ybrayed colourd wyth Safroun wel and do yt in a cofyn and do yt forth to bake wel.” – The Forme of Cury: A Roll of Ancient English Cookery compiled by Samuel Pegge (1390)
Time for a cuppa?: “In general, however, none but persons possessing great mobility of the nervous system, or enfeebled or effeminate constitutions, are injuriously affected by the moderate use of tea and coffee in connection with food.” – The White House Cook Book by F L Gillette and Hugo Ziemann (1887)
A back-friendly breakfast: “An excellent Restorative for a weak back. Take clary, dates, the pith of an oxe, and chop them together, put some cream to them, eggs, grated bread, and a little white saunders, temper them all well together fry them, and eat it in the morning fasting.” – The Accomplisht Cook by Robert May (1685)
Mmm, toast water: “Put the bread into a mug, and just cover it with boiling water; let it stand till cold, then fill it up with cold spring-water, and pour it through a fine sieve. The above is a pleasant and excellent beverage, grateful to the stomach, and deserves a constant place by the bed-side.” – The Cook’s Oracle; and Housekeeper’s Manual by William Kitchiner (1830)