Cooking in the 50s
Below you'll find an excerpt from a Finnish cookbook from the 1950s. Being a sort of picture of the times, it provides us with an interesting glimpse into domesticity during a transformative period in Finnish history — when a paradigm shift of values, attitudes and gender roles coincided with a mass exodus from the countryside to the cities, a rising standard of living and a burgeoning middle class.
Who knew that potato was such a wonder remedy?
What to do if...?
if a soup has too much salt in it, slice a raw potato and cook it in the soup for a while. Remove the slices before serving. The excess saltiness will have disappeared.
if a dessert is too sweet, add a bit of lemon juice.
if you want to ensure that milk won't get burnt [while heated], place a saucer on the bottom of the saucepan upside down. It might still boil over.
if milk has boiled over onto the stove, quickly sprinkle salt on it, so that other people in the household won't smell "something burning".
if a pot is burnt, you need only place a couple of chopped potatoes on the bottom, pour water on it and leave it to soak for a couple of hours. The result will be excellent.
if dark, burnt stains can't be removed from a fireproof casserole, scrub them with cork dipped in a mixture of water and vinegar and then in salt. The stains will remove easily.
if your lemons are beginning to spoil in your pantry, try putting them in cold water overnight. In the morning they'll be juicy again.
Source credit: u/Fancytuba316 Translation provided by me.