A 1924 cookbook from Farmington, North Carolina has been digitized and added to DigitalNC, courtesy of our partner, the Davie County Public Library.

Sample recipes inside the cookbook for chicken and potato salad

Compiled and published in 1924 by the Ladies Aid Society of Farmington, this cookbook includes recipes and “tested receipts” for a wide variety of dishes, including soups, seafood, meats and appropriate sauces, breads, salads, sandwiches, desserts, drinks, cakes, and more. Some of the recipes included in the photo on the right are for chicken salad and potato salad, as well as their appropriate seasonings. It also includes “miscellaneous” advice on how to prepare and preserve eggs and how to cure meat, as well as unusual home remedies for coughs (sulfur), burns (turpentine), and chapped hands (melted soap and bran). We can’t attest to whether these home remedies work or not!

This cookbook represents a valuable new addition to our knowledge about Davie County in the early 20th century, as well as the knowledge women were passing around during the 1920s. To see more materials from Davie County Public Library, visit their contributor page or visit their website.