Friday, July 22, 2016

FAMILY RECIPE FRIDAY ~ Massaging Cream ~ From my grandmother’s journal


FAMILY RECIPE FRIDAY

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My grandmother, Florence BOWDEN  MILNE left us a spiral bound notebook,  which I refer to has her journal.  The entire notebook is written in her hand and was begun about the time of her marriage to my grandfather, Joseph, in 1906.  In it she left a treasure trove of family information and wonderful clues to life back in the early 1900's.
Not only did she leave names & birth dates for many of our ancestors, but she left various types of recipes.  Some for cooking, some for making items that we can now purchase at a store.  This is one of those items.

MASSAGING CREAM
Massaging cream

Transcription - Rub yolks of two eggs with 1/4 lb. of strained honey & 2 oz. of ground bitter almonds.  Then add slowly an oz. of almond oil & 1/2 dram each of attar of cloves and attar of bergramot, this is for use in massaging lower arms

What are attar of cloves and attar of bergamot?

I conducted a search on the internet and learned that “attar” is a noun that means perfume or essential oil obtained from flowers or petals.
 
Ok, we know what the attar of cloves are then.  But, how about bergamot?
 
From dictionary.com I found the following word origin for bergamot:

Noun
1. a small citrus tree, Citrus aurantium bergamia, having fruit with a rind that yields a fragrant essential oil.
2. Also called essence of bergamot. the oil or essence itself.
3. any of various plants of the mint family, as Monarda fistulosa, yielding an oil resembling essence of bergamot.
4. a variety of pear.
 
I’ve learned something new today.  Have you?  I had never before heard of bergamot.

Do you have “recipes” such as this, shared by an ancestor?  I’d love to hear about them.


OTHER POSTS THAT MAY BE OF INTEREST

FAMILY RECIPE FRIDAY - How to Make Shampoo
FAMILY RECIPE FRIDAY - How to Keep Hair Curled Back in 1906

Happy hunting,
Michigan Girl

Copyright ©  2010-2016   Diane Gould Hall
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  NO USE WITHOUT PERMISSION

12 comments:

  1. I had heard of bergamot, but I can't remember in what context. I was very lucky to find some of my paternal grandmother's recipes in Dad's basement last year but I'd love to find some older ones. I was also given a blank book that said it was a great-grandmother's recipe book - but it was empty!

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    1. This spiral bound notebook, that I call a journal, is truly a treasure Anna. I digitized every page and have the original, which is falling apart, safely tucked away.
      Thanks for stopping by.

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  2. I enjoy your blog. I have my great-great-grandfather's recipe for cough syrup here:
    http://road13.com/familyhistory/a-recipe-for-cough-syrup/

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    1. That's great Karen. Not unlike the honey and whiskey I got from my grandmother as a child.
      Thanks for stopping by.

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  3. Bergamot is the one of the flavors in Earl Grey tea

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    1. Really Michael? I'm not much of a tea drinker, but I'll look at the box on my next visit to the store. Thanks for sharing that tidbit.

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  4. Yes, what Michael Giallela said. It is one of the essential elements in a good brand of Earl Grey tea.

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    1. Makes me want to taste some Earl Grey Miriam. I know it's a very common tea among tea drinkers, but I've never tasted it.

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  5. It's interesting that she clarified it by crossing out "lower," and just leaving arms. Should you not use it on your lower arms? I shared some recipes some years back on my blog and some of them are pretty crazy by today's standards. I always wonder how someone stumbled onto the different concoctions and some I just don't dare try.

    Your grandmother was very beautiful!

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    1. Thanks Michelle. I think she was beautiful too, as was her daughter, my mother. Those recipes in her journal, and other things she wrote in there, are absolutely wonderful windows to the past. Oh my what I would give, knowing what I now know, to talk to her again.

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  6. I have bergamot growing in my garden! Surprised you have not heard of it! Google bergamot flower. They are very pretty and bees and butterflies love them!

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    1. Thanks for your comment.
      Well, I live in CA. if that has anything to do with it. Not everything grows here. Too hot and dry. LOL!

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I look forward to reading your comments. If you have any connection to the people mentioned in this blog, please let me know. I write about mine and my husband's ancestors and would welcome new information or meeting a new cousin or two. Thanks for visiting and come back soon.