Delving into Tooele's food history is like popping a batch of popcorn. Those little hard kernels don't look like much at first, but they yield a satisfying treat when a little heat is applied. And, more and more interesting kernels of information just keep popping up.
In this case, the "heat" that was applied was the Tooele County Daughters of the Utah Pioneers' need for funds. The group wanted to reprint copies of its history book of Tooele County. "It was written way back when, and we're just about out of them, and when they're gone, we won't have any for future generations," said Marilyn Shields, president of the Tooele Valley DUP camp. (The Tooele County DUP recently split, and a second group, The Tooele Valley Company, was formed. Both contributed to the book.) "So I suggested we compile a cookbook and sell it, with the profits going toward the history book Volume 1."
The call went out for favorite recipes. The result is "Recipes Thru Time," which has around 160 recipes reflecting the various Tooele County communities including Grantsville, Tooele, Vernon, Stockton, Erda, Lakepoint, Stansbury Park, Rush Valley and Pine Canyon.
A lot of interesting kernels of food lore kept popping up — the Goshute tribe, which used the land for hunting; the Benson Grist Mill, where early settlers ground wheat into flour; the salt plants near the Great Salt Lake, the Hawaiian settlement of Iosepa, the Greek, Italian and Mexican immigrants who put down roots, and even an underground store that supplied the mining towns of Ophir and Mercur. The book is sprinkled throughout with historical tidbits and photos.
"This is not only a recipe book, but it contains little teaspoons of history to educate not just the people who grew up here, but the people who are coming in new to our area, about Tooele County, the Daughters of the Utah Pioneers and the pioneer heritage," said Shields, who chaired the project with Deborah Condie. "We also have a section with a map of historic landmarks, so that people can find them and learn more about them."
It even explains the county's curious name — originally spelled "Tuilla," but changed to "Tooele" by 1852. (For people who are still struggling to pronouce it, it's "Too-WIL-ah.") Several fascinating theories have been purported, but the most accepted is that it was named for an American Indian chief who lived in the area long before the Mormon pioneers came. (The Goshutes pronounced the chief's name "Chooele.") Eliza Rowberry Nelson signed an affidavit stating that she had heard her father, John Rowberry (one of Tooele's founders), tell this version to a group of Californians in 1867.
The book runs the gamut from old pioneer recipes, to contemporary classics like "Heritage Potatoes" (what most Utahns will recognize as "Funeral Potatoes") and "Million-Dollar Fudge," to trendy favorites. So the modern-day Mexican Pasta Salad shares a page with Quilter's Potato Salad, which was frequently served back in the days when women got together to quilt or sew.
"We've got some of the old and some of the new in there," said Margene Sagers, who helped chair the recipe committee. "One that means a lot to me is the Orr's Ranch Brown Bread, because I was an Orr. Mollie Gowans got that from her grandma, who was raised on Orr's Ranch."
Another interesting recipe is Red Mush. "That came from one of the grandmothers who used to make that all the time from leftover jam," said Sagers.
The Dunn family shared a recipe for "Tooele Main Street Ice Cream." According to the book, Ada Dunn Orme made ice cream while she worked at the F.A. Bonelli home. This gave Bonelli the idea to open the first ice cream parlor in Tooele. Orme would mix the necessary ingredients, and then Bonelli would turn the freezer handle until the ice cream was frozen.
Another "timeless tidbit" explains the old ditty sung in the county: "Grantsville for money, Tooele for blood, Pine Canyon for babies, and E.T. for mud." The Grantsville sheepmen generally were prosperous, while Tooele was proud of its pioneer heritage. The Shields families that settled Pine Canyon had an abundance of children. Lakepoint was once called E.T. City after apostle Ezra T. Benson, who operated the Benson Grist Mill. The area was once known for its clay and alkaline soil. (Ezra T. Benson was the great-grandfather of Ezra Taft Benson, who became president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.)
Unfortunately, most of the recipes don't identify their sources. Sagers explained that the group got quite a few duplicates and similar recipes, "and we didn't want to hurt someone's feelings by just putting one name on it."
A full list of contributors is on the back page.
Also, a few of the recipe titles were embellished with the names of landmarks, such as "Clover Creek Cinnamon Rolls" and "Iosepa Pineapple Pie."
"Some of the recipes came in as just plain 'Rolls.' Then one came in as 'Settlement Canyon Stew,' and it sparked an idea. We decided to call some of the plain ones something like 'Clover Creek Rolls' to make them a little more in tune with our community," Shields said.
But others go by their original name, such as "Wash Day Stew," and "Porter Rockwell Chicken." She said the "Erda Ball Park Brownies" came from Diane Judd, who makes the brownies that are sold during baseball games at Warr Memorial Field.
"So many of the recipes that came in had a little history with them, but we just didn't have room to put them all in. I've kept them all — and it's enough to fill another cookbook."
The cookbooks are $12 and sold at Tooele's Pioneer Museum, the DUP Museum in Salt Lake City, or at the historic Benson Grist Mill (435-882-7137, bensonmill@trilobyte.net). You can send checks for $14.50 (to include shipping costs) to Benson Grist Mill, 325 Highway 138, Stansbury Park, 84074.
OLD-FASHIONED ROOT BEER
The pioneers made root beer by soaking dandelion roots, yarrow and hops, and letting the liquid ferment for three to four days, according to "Recipes Thru Time." This modern-day method is a lot easier. The dry ice provides carbonation.
1 bottle root beer extract (or concentrate)
3 to 5 pounds sugar
5 gallons water
6 to 8 pounds dry ice
Dissolve sugar and root beer extract in half of the water. Warm water works best for dissolving the sugar. A long wooden dowel makes a good stick for stirring. When the sugar is dissolved, add the remaining water, stirring well. Slowly add dry ice, broken up into small chunks. Stir while adding the dry ice so it doesn't freeze at the bottom of the container. Start mixing root beer about one hour before serving time. Serves 40.
TOOELE MAIN STREET ICE CREAM
A recipe from the first ice cream shop on Main Street in Tooele in the early 1900s.
1 pint milk
1 pint cream
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
2 tablespoons flour
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons flavoring (vanilla or lemon)
Place milk and cream in top of double boiler. Heat until hot. Mix together sugar, eggs, flour and salt. Stir slowly into hot milk and cream. Cook, stirring occasionally, until it becomes thickened. Cool. Add flavoring and freeze in ice cream freezer, according to freezer directions. Makes 1 quart.
Note: Since the Deseret Morning News' test kitchen doesn't have a double boiler or an ice cream freezer, we heated the milk and cream over very low heat in a heavy saucepan. We added the sugar-egg mixture slowly, and cooked over low heat until the mixture had a custard-like consistency. We froze it in a shallow pan in the freezer. When the mixture was slightly frozen (about 3 hours) we beat it with an electric mixer, then re-froze it for several hours before serving. This method works well, if you don't have an ice cream freezer.
PINE CANYON ROLLS
2 tablespoons yeast
1 1/2 cups lukewarm water
1 cup milk
1/4 cup sugar
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1/3 cup butter
1 cup sweet potatoes (cooked or canned, mashed)
1 cup flour
1 1/2 cups oats, uncooked
Additional flour as needed
Soften yeast in water. In a large bowl, pour scalded milk over sugar, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and butter. Add mashed sweet potatoes, beat until well-blended. Stir in flour and softened yeast. Add oats and enough flour to make soft dough. Place on a floured board and knead until smooth and elastic (8-10 minutes). Place in a greased bowl and turn over to grease the top. Cover and let rise in a warm spot until double in size. Punch dough down. Shape into smooth balls and place into greased pans. Brush with melted butter. Cover and let rise until double in size. Bake in 350-degree oven for 20 minutes, or until golden brown. Makes 32 rolls.
ERDA BALL PARK BROWNIES
1 cup margarine
1/3 cup baking cocoa
2 cups sugar
1 1/2 cups flour
2 teaspoons vanilla
3 eggs
1 teaspoon salt
Melt margarine and add cocoa to it. In a separate bowl, mix together sugar, flour, vanilla, eggs and salt and add to melted ingredients. Pour into a 9-by-13-inch pan, and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.
Note: Served at every Erda baseball game at Warr Memorial Park, these moist brownies don't need frosting. If you like a deeper chocolate flavor, double the amount of cocoa.
ORR'S RANCH BROWN BREAD
1/3 cup lukewarm water
1 teaspoon brown sugar
2 yeast cakes
5 tablespoons brown sugar
3 tablespoons shortening
1 tablespoon salt
1 cup hot water
1 cup milk
3 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1 egg, beaten
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
Mix water, 1 teaspoon brown sugar and yeast cakes in a small bowl. In large bowl, mix remaining brown sugar, shortening, salt, water and milk. Add 3 1/2 cups whole wheat flour. Stir well. Mix in the yeast mixture and egg. Add an additional 1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour. Knead 5 minutes. Cover and let rise 30-40 minutes. Punch down. Divide into 2 loaves. Let rise. Bake at 350 degrees 50-60 minutes.
Note: One .6-ounce cake of compressed fresh yeast is equivalent to about 2 teaspoons (or one .25-ounce package) dry yeast.
ANNIE MAY'S MARMALADE
4 1/2 cups peaches or pears
2 cups crushed pineapple
1 package pectin
1/3 cup lemon juice
1 bottle maraschino cherries, chopped
6 cups sugar
Combine peaches or pears, pineapple, lemon juice and pectin in a large pan on the stove; heat and stir until mixture comes to a boil. Add sugar and boil 4-5 minutes, stirring until sugar dissolves. Add cherries and put into clean pint jars with lids. Process in boiling water bath 10 minutes.
E-mail: vphillips@desnews.com