Digestive Disorder Diet Courtesy of Madame Sylvia

Madame Sylvia's Digestive Disorder Diet

(from Hollywood Undressed circa 1930s)

A Mid-day Dinner

Vegetable Broth

Cold Boiled Ham

Noodles boiled 10 to 20 minutes (follow instructions on packet) and serve with a pat of butter

Stewed fruit

Supper

Clabber and hot or cold boiled potatoes (lots of clabber and little potato)

Stewed fruit

Clabber is a curdled milk food, kind of like yogurt, brought to the American south from Scottish immigrants. It is eaten at breakfast with maple syrup, nutmeg, brown sugar, cinnamon, fruit, black pepper, or cream. It can be used in recipes to replace yogurt or buttermilk.

Unpasteurized Clabber Recipe (from The Nourishing Cook)

"Start with farm fresh raw milk (unpasteurized), a week or two old. Leave your milk on the counter in a jar (sealed) for 2-3 days in a warm spot until solids appear. Shake it to see if it’s turned thick. It should not yet be separated. If the milk is still mostly white when shaken, and has turned thick, it is done clabbering. Store your clabbered milk in the refrigerator. If you leave the milk on the counter longer, it will separate turn into curds and whey. If this happens, drain off they whey and cream cheese and use in your favorite recipes."

Pasteurized Clabber Recipe (from Wegottaeat)

INGREDIENTS

1 part active, cultured buttermilk

7 part warmed whole milk

SPECIAL EQUIPMENT

non-reactive container (ceramic, glass or stainless steel)

DIRECTIONS

1. combine buttermilk and milk in a container and allow the mixture to ferment at room temperature until it thickens and sours, at least overnight and possibly up to 36 hours. refrigerate to stop fermentation once it has reached desired texture and piquancy,

NOTES:

note that this is not the same as just adding an acid to pasteurized milk, which will also curdle milk proteins but will not be as smooth or as thick. using buttermilk re-introduces the culture back into the pasteurized milk which allows it to curdle to a thicker consistency.

sourness comes from the lactid acid produced by the bacteria which also causes the milk-solid proteins, caseins, to curdle. the acids kill harmful bacteria and also break down the proteins making it easier for the body to digest. beneficial for those who are lactose-intolerant.

supermarket milk has been heated and held briefly at the elevated temperature (pasteurized) to destroy the bacterias as well as the enzymes which help the digestion of the milk proteins. without the bacteria, the fermentation process necessary to make clabbered milk cannot occur, therefore the need to introduce a live culture.