"A Cup of Tay at Five O'clock"

The Iowa Homemaker, Dec 1928

"There's nothing like a good cup of steaming tay to warm the heart and body in the late afternoon," my grandmother was wont to say, and mother and I both appreciate the Scotch ancestors who first introduced into our household the cherished custom of serving tea between the hours of four and five in the afternoon.

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"A Cup of Tay at Five O'clock"

e Iowa Homemaker "A Cup of Tay at Five O'clock" Margaret L. Marnette 0 Iowa State College 0 0 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Student Publications at Iowa State University Digital Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in The Iowa Homemaker by an authorized editor of Iowa State University Digital Repository. For more information , please contact , USA Follow this and additional works at: http://lib.dr.iastate.edu/homemaker Part of the Home Economics Commons Recommended Citation Marnette, Margaret L. (1928) ""A Cup of Tay at Five O'clock"," Th e Iowa Homemaker: Vol. 8 : No. 4 , Article 4. Available at: http://lib.dr.iastate.edu/homemaker/vol8/iss4/4 - Article 4 uA Cup o f Tay at Five O'clock" By Margaret L. Marnette ttTHERE'S nothing like a good cup of steaming tay to warm the heart and body in the late afternoon," my grandmother was wont to say, and mother and I both appre­ ciate the Scotch ancestors who first introduced into our household the cherished custom of serving tea be­ tween the hours of four and five in the afternoon. There is something intimate in after­ noon tea. Apart from the chance it affords for one to relax a bit, and the opportunity to sit and eat a sweet cake or a small sandwich with a friend, it gives one a "dressed-up" feeling that irons out all the wrinkles of the day. You may serve either aromatic cof­ fee and any of the delicious coffee cakes which German and Swedish housewives make: a part of their after­ noon "coffee's," or you may prefer to brew some fragrant tea and serve it with any of the many tea cakes. What­ ever you do, make an "affair" of the occasion. Let young daughter serve you the refreshments. Teach her how to make the tea, using freshly boiling water. Have her be sure the: water is boiling merrily, and when it is, pour it over the tea leaves in a pot. With the many lovely shapes and sizes of teapots now found in stores, afternoon tea can become a festive affair with an individuality all its own. After the tea has steeped for five minutes, it may be poured into another pot and sufficient boiling water added to dilute the strength: Caution young daughter never to use steeped leaves a second time, for bitter is the tea twice brewed. It is neither necessary nor does it impart any flavor to the tea if it is boiled or placed over the fire. To serve with the tea, there are many novel and delicious dainties. Lemon, cream and sugar are, of course, old standbys, and some people always prefer them to any new fla­ vor. Perhaps the sweet orange would be a welcome change from the tart lemon flavor. Daughter will enjoy cutting the orange in small portions, placing a clove in one end of each slice and putting a sprig of mint in the other end. Canned or fresh grapefruit, if conA single rose adds charm to your tea table. venient, may be . used instead of oranges or lemons. Aj candied cherry, colored either red or green, and placed in the bottom of the cup before it is filled with tea, will give a delightful appearance to the cup. If you care for the elusive fragrance of rose or geranium flowers, then pack a few leaves with a cup or so of sugar for several days before you have your festive tea party_ The sugar will be delicately flavored with the petals and leaves of the flowers. And what about the cakes to ac­ company the tea? Young daughter may not yet have mastered the cake­ making intricacies, but one recipe which is so certain to produce good results is that f·or cup cakes: % cup butter 2 cups sugar 4 eggs 1 cup milk 31,4 cups flour 4 teaspoons baking powder 1,4 teaspoon mace Cream butter and sugar, add eggs well-beaten and then milk. Add flour sifted with baking powder and mace. Bake in individual tins. Any kind of frosting may be used with this recipe. Chocolate frosting is a favored one at our tea table: 1%, cups sugar %, cup hot water 4 squares melted chocolate 1h teaspoon vanilla Cook together sugar and water with­ out stirring until a thread forms when dropped from tip of spoon. Pour syrup on melted chocolate and beat until of the right consistency to spread, then add vanilla. Sometimes halved or quartered al­ monds, walnut halves or preserved cherries are placed on top of the cakes for exceptional occasions. If you like a "different" cake, per­ haps you'll like Royal Fans: Mix and sift two cups of flour and 1h cup brown sugar. Wash % cup butter and work into first mixture,, us­ ing tips of fingers. Roll to one-third inch in thickness, shape with fluted round cutter five inches in diameter. Cut each ring into quarters and crease with dull edge knife to represent folds of fan. Brush over with yolk of egg diluted slightly with water and bake in a slow oven. And now, if you prefer coffee, you may like to teach young daughter to make it like this: Boil sufficient water for guests, and pour i~ while still boil­ ing over the coffee, allowing one heap­ ing tablespoon for the first cup and one additional spoonful for each (...truncated)


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Margaret L Marnette. "A Cup of Tay at Five O'clock", The Iowa Homemaker, 1928, pp. 4, Volume 8, Issue 4,