Memory Monday: More Household Hints from the Past

My Great-Grandmother

MORE HOUSEHOLD HINTS FROM THE PAST

I love looking at household hints from years ago. Here are some from a book, A Practical Cook Book, from 1899. My great-grandmother might have used some of these since she married my great-grandfather in 1895.
A little vinegar, boiled in a dish when cabbage and onions are cooking, will prevent the odor going through the house.
Wash the outside of poultry in warm water and soap, rinse it thoroughly, and wash the inside in clear water. Try it once.
To singe fowls, put 1 tablespoon of alcohol into a saucer, light it; this will singe 1 or 2 chickens without any smoke.
For a cough cure, take 1 red pepper, put water over it and let it stand on back of stove until the strength comes out, strain, and add 1 1-2 cups sugar, and 1-2 cup vinegar; let it simmer until thickened.
Wash gilding with water in which an onion has been boiled, and dry with a soft cloth.

Remove ink from white goods with ripe tomato.

I think I have the most trouble with the last one, since I always have problems getting spots containing tomato (sauce, paste, juice, enchilada sauce, well anything with tomato in it) out of my white shirts. Who knows maybe tomatoes were different back then, but I don’t think so.