Welcome to Eating Maine History, a cooking show where we dive into the Maine State Museum’s collections to bring you the old, weird, and maybe even tasty foods of Maine’s past.

Episode 1: Sunset Salad

This episode’s recipe is Sunset Salad, a recipe from the 1956 Village Cookbook out of Yarmouth, Maine. The recipe was contributed by Ann M. Bartlett.

The sunset salad recipe is not unique to Yarmouth Maine, though different cooks put their own twist on it over the years.

This salad features orange jello, oranges, lemon juice, carrots, and salt. It is served on a bed of lettuce with…guess what? Mayonnaise.

Today’s chef, Kate Webber, is a Lead Educator at the museum. This is her first time cooking a historic recipe, so let’s visit her in the kitchen and wish her luck!

Episode 2: Brown Sugar Pumpkin Bread

This episode’s recipe is Brown Sugar Pumpkin Bread, a recipe found in the Cooking Favorites of Pleasant Valley Grange out of West Bethel, Maine. Marie Witter contributed the recipe.

Pumpkin is the star of this recipe. Pumpkins are very versatile in cooking, and can be boiled, steamed, or roasted. 

This episode’s chef is Joanna Torow. Joanna loves cooking but isn’t much of a baker. Let’s see how she does with a recipe that “never fails,” at least according to the recipe!