According to the OAC catalog, this class was “a course designed to give advanced students of Home Economics training in application of principles of cookery to conditions found in the camp.” P047:0013, 1918.

This first week has been very fascinating and eye opening! I didn’t realize just how many different facets of food topics and sources we have here at Oregon State. From personal notes detailing camp cooking to very old books telling you how to make your own vinegar and how to make long lasting butter, this week has been very informative!

Side note: Did you know that according to a scientist roughly 100 years ago, you can determine the sex of an egg by if the ends are wrinkly or smooth? If wrinkly, it’s a male egg, if smooth all over it’s a female egg. Don’t just take my word for it though, take Dr. Chase’s http://digital.lib.msu.edu/projects/cookbooks/books/drchase/chas.pdf!

There were also some challenges that I didn’t expect (i.e. some of the collections didn’t have easily navigable collection lists, or some didn’t have all that much information about what was in the box.) Also, there are a TON of different avenues to find information, so learning to methodically check through various search engines and sites was quite the task. Spiraling down a rabbit hole is easy to do when you find a fascinating topic!

Now that I’ve figured out a good system (or at least a method to my madness), I think the rest of the term will go smoothly. I’m looking forward to finding much more information, and most of all, history!