What our Great Grandmothers Knew

My mother in law is 83 and a bit of a horder. Well she came up with this little gem that she had from Reader's Digest in 1979. What our Grandmothers Knew so I thought I would pass on a few of those things.


Cheese that has gone hard as wood can be freshened as follows. Steep a rag in white wine and ring it out well. Wrap it around the cheese and leave it for several ours until the cheese has softened.
Dried out sliced ham will regain its suppleness and flavour if you leave it to soak in a little milk for 10 minutes.

The booklet points out that while doing no harm many of grandmother's hints did no good either. However, people believed that these quaint dodges worked......Who knows?

To Make your hair grow faster

For thicker hair, have it cut only when the moon is waxing and D-shamped. To make your hair grow longer choose the time when the moon is waning and C-shaped.

Keeping White hair at bay

Mix 1/6oz of iron sulphate with 9oz of red wine. Every morning dip your comb into the mixture several times while you are combing your hair for 5 or ten minutes.

Window Cleaning

Wipe windows regularly twice a week with a rough clean cloth. When possible also wipe them after rain while they are still wet and the raindrips evenly scattered.
To prevent windows from frosting, dissolve 5 dessertspoons of salt in 2pints of hotwater and then add 1 dessertspoon of alum. Wash the windows with the warm solution and allow them to dry.

Separating Glasses

Glasses which are stacked on on top of another often stick together. Run some hot water into the innermost glass and they will separate.

Leather-Covered Furniture

Central heating or too much sun rapidly dries out leather so that it cracks. Mix 2 parts of raw linseed oil with 1 part of wine vinegar and shake vigorously. Apply evenly to the leather with a soft cloth and then polish with a silk rag.

Strengthening a Casserole

To strengthen your terracotta or pottery casserole, put the dish in a large saucepan and cover it with cold water. Bring the water to the boil slowly and keep it on the boil for 20 minutes. Allow the dish to cool in the saucepan. This procedure will prevent your casserole from cracking the first time you use it.

To freshen cooking oil

To rid it of a rancid taste, add to the oil some ground charcoal about 2oz to the pint and shake it vigorously for 3-5 minutes. Then filter the oil through fine linen an old tea towel for instance.
Oil in which fish has been fried can be used for more delicately flavoured foods if you heat it gently with a bunch of parsley and a cust of bread. Then skim it carefully.

Tip for over-salted dishes

To rescue over salted dishes, add a few spoons of milk or put some rounds of raw potato in the middle of the dish. Alternatively, put a lump of sugar in a tablesppon and leave it in the dish for a few seconds.

Re: What our Great Grandmothers Knew

When I was a young teen my grandmother promised she could cure my eyesight by piercing my ears and threading yellow silk through them. I declined.

Re: What our Great Grandmothers Knew

yes I had heard about that but not of the silk, its amazing how much you forget isnt it.

Re: What our Great Grandmothers Knew

Her plan was to cut a raw potato in half, hold it behind each earlobe and shove a darning needle through it. I was much too cowardly!

Re: What our Great Grandmothers Knew

They knew when to keep their voice down and stop others listening to your conversations, unlike mobile phone users do today.

Re: What our Great Grandmothers Knew

My Paternal Grandmother was the 'wise woman' of the village.
she was called on to attend births and to lay out the dead.

Nanna had an extensive knowledge of herbs and was something of a healer with her strange brews . She maintained there was a herb for everything if only we knew which ones to use.
In those days there was no NHS and the doctors services were very expensive so many people turned to home cures. Her oat cakes (something you eat with eggs and bacon in Derbyshire) were legendary as was her wine which was made from just about anything.

Among Nanna's more pleasant cures were the common cold preparations of blackberry vinegar which was taken in hot water and butter/sugar/vinegar paste which was soothing for a sore throat.
Nettle tea was used for spots and comfrey for wounds .

Some more common ideas. A key down the back for a nose bleed, vinegar and rosemary in the rinsing water to make hair shine, oatmeal and egg for a face pack.

Re: What our Great Grandmothers Knew

Now you are talking about the secrets of Grandmother's beauty wisdom in my little book raw potato is used to relieve sunburn pain. The formula for use whn hair lacks vitality is to melt the marrow from a bone of beef in a double saucepan. Blend in 1/4 pint of warm rum in which a sprig of rosemary has been infused. apply to the scalp, massaging lightly. Wrap your head in a towel, leave for an hour or two and then shampoo your hair.

Hiccup cures:-
1 Tickle your nose with a feather to induce a sneeze
2. Drink in one draught a large glass of water in which there is an eggspoon. Drain the water to the last drop.
3.Take a pinch of snuff to make you sneeze
4.Ask someone to give you a fright - for instance a sharp slap on the back
5. Hold your breath while mentally counting up to 20 slowly
6. Breathe in and out of a paper bag for 20 breathes
7 Drink a glass f water from the opposite side of the glass.

The following is an old French peasant remedy against rheumatism. Marinade four large heads of garlic in 4/5 of a pint of brandy for 10 days. Take 1/2 teaspoon in half a glass of water first thing every morning.

Re: What our Great Grandmothers Knew

wouldnt it be a better cure if you had half a teaspoon of water in a glass of Brandy!

Re: What our Great Grandmothers Knew

I used to use spiders web for cuts ( the sticky held the skin together and healed without a scar) nettles make good eating rich in iron and still drink nettle tea, still make jam from rose hip( 1lb sugar to a pint)and elderberries(3/4lb sugar to a pint)

Re: What our Great Grandmothers Knew

Your Grandmother was quite an all rounder Meg, we could do with a few more like her today. There is still an old lady in our neighbourhood who will wash and lay out the dead, (her Mother before her did the same) if required. She attended 7 or 8 people in the last few years, only recently an old friend was laid out in the 'Parlour' of his house and it was a very lovely thing, with all his family around the coffin, everyone that went in to pay their respects and were given light refreshment and of course, a drink. Much more personal and cosy not like the cold atmosphere of the funeral home. A lot of the Folks living in my area are old and still prefer the old ways.