Colonial Williamsburg Historic Foodways Presents
History is Served
18th-century recipes for the 21st-century kitchen
Buttered Onions Another Way
Posted:
December 1st, 2011 in
Side dish, Vegetables
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15 comments
Eighteenth-century cookbooks sometimes listed a mother recipe followed by several variations. Here, the original recipe was simply called “Buttered Onions.” This one combines onions and apples which sweeten while they cook. Serve it as a side dish with roasted chicken or over pork chops as a chutney.
18th Century
Slice some Apples, and mince your Onions, but more Apples than Onions. Bake them with Bread, tying a Paper over the Pan: When baked butter them, adding Sugar and boiled Currants. Serve them on Sippets, and strew over them fine Sugar and Powdered Cinnamon.
21st Century
- 3 medium Granny Smith or other baking apples, peeled, cored, and sliced
- 1/3 cup fresh currants or dried currants plumped with boiling water
- 2 medium onions, minced
- 2 Tbsp. butter
- ¼ cup sugar
- 1-2 tsp. cinnamon
- toast points, for serving
- Combine the minced onions, apples, currants, sugar and cinnamon in a buttered ovenproof pan with lid. Dot the top with butter. Bake covered in a 375-400°F oven for 15–20 minutes or until tender.
- Serve hot with toast points.
December 3rd, 2011
Simple and tasty, might be good to take the cover off for a few minutes towards the end. I’ve got some leftovers – might be good with sausage or with bread for stuffing too. I can see making this again and again. Thanks Frank.
December 5th, 2011
Some might object that the 18th century recipe would result in a variety of flavors while the ‘modern’ recipe might promote uniformity, me thinks that the spice truly would be in the varity
December 5th, 2011
Thank you for what looks to be a likely easy and tasty side dish. I’ll try this on the weekend. Always looking for gluten free period dishes. It’s been very difficult to cook some of the dishes as they seem to need flour as a staple. I’m wondering, could a rice flour work as a substitute?
December 5th, 2011
Diana,
You should be able to substitute rice flour. They had rice flour in the period and there are a number of rice fritters and other recipes that call for it. The other option might be almond flour. I think that is gluten free, but you may want to double check that.
Let us know how it comes out.
Frank Clark
December 19th, 2011
Well, the Buttered onions another way were a hit! Our re enactment group (400AD-1600AD) had our Yule Celebrations this Saturday last with a groaning board overfull of dishes period and non period.
This dish was very easy, I even got it all together the night before and put it in the fridge, took it out in the morning and in the early afternoon baked the dish. VERY well received by those who were interested in the “apple/onion” mix! The main meats for the evening were turkey and tri tip, this dish went very well with both.
This is going to be a staple in our home.
Many Thanks!
December 20th, 2011
My familial roots are Swedish and German. Both sides have always had fried apples n’ onions, especially when we had roast loin of pork.
I still make stewed apples with fried onions to this day. Sometimes I’ll add a pear or two, if I have them. LOTS of real butter (mine is homemade) and slightly browned. Dash of cinnamon, a little more than a dash of nutmeg. YUM!
December 27th, 2011
My family (which includes 3 grown children) loves fried apples and onions. We serve it with ham or pork chops. I found your page in a google search. Enjoying it very much! thank you.
January 29th, 2012
Great recipe, I was one of 3 cooks that cooked for our 1752 Winter Garrison at Post des Miamis (Fort Wayne, IN)we cooked 2 full meals in one day for 50, all period correct. the buttered Onions, Another Waywas loved by all, everyone really liked the name and wanted to know its origin. Thanks all.
January 29th, 2012
A closer look
September 11th, 2012
In the video you bake the dish covered with a layer of parchment paper. Do you use what’s commercially marketed as such in the grocery store – ie the stuff coated with silicone? Or do you get it else where? I have also been looking for an acceptable, as close to period as possible, paper to use for cake hoops.
September 12th, 2012
We use a commercial type of baking paper because it is cheaper. It is the kind that is very thin and it is used to line the bottom of cookie sheets, etc. For this recipe you probably shouldn’t use any silicone-coated product. If you can find that sort of plain baking paper, that is fine. As a last resort you can use aluminum, foil shiny side up. All this will do is keep the top from scorching when in the oven. If you just want it to line cake hoops, use something like a thick newsprint and take soft butter and thinly spread it on both sides before lining the hoop. Set the hoop on a sheet pan before going into the oven. Hope this helps. Thanks for your questions.
September 12th, 2012
@ Lacey: Most health food stores (and some grocery stores) carry Natural Parchment Paper, which is brown and usually isn’t waxed or treated with anything. You can also order it online.
The product name for mine Unbleached Natural Parchment Paper and the brand name is Natural Value. If you can’t find it online or locally, ask your grocer or your health food store to order it for you. On the box it says it’s good for steaming foods, you can use it in the oven up to 400 degrees, etc.
September 16th, 2012
Thanks to both of you for the recommendations on paper both for the buttered onions and for the cake hoops. Very helpful!
January 13th, 2013
With Buttered Onions as a “mother” recipe with different variations could mushrooms be an ingredient instead of the apples? Were mushrooms very practical and often used in colonial times? My thinking is that they would’ve been but yet can’t seem to find very many recipes using them as an ingredient during this time period. Would love to see a variety of recipes using mushrooms on this wonderful site. Thanks for your help.
January 14th, 2013
The reason that this combines the onions and the apples is for balance of
flavors, one sweet the other savoury. This type of recipe works well with
cooked pork as a side dish. Although you could replace mushrooms with the
apples it would not give the flavor balance. I’ve not seen anything from the
18th century that matches that. Thanks for the query.
Dennis Cotner