The Vasa Book of Favourite Recipes
Title
The Vasa Book of Favourite Recipes
Description
Scandinavians settled across the Prairies. The Vasa Order, named after the first king of modern Sweden, formed in the late 1890s in Connecticut with the goal of preserving Swedish culture; eventually the organization expanded its scope to include members of any Scandinavian heritage. Five lodges were established in Alberta in the 1920s and '30s, including the Calgary branch (1925), which published The Vasa Book of Favourite Recipes. According to Thelma Spielman, a member of the Calgary Branting Lodge for over fifty years, the decision to publish this book was made at the Ladies Auxiliary meeting on 2 March 1956. One thousand copies were ordered, and they sold for $1.25 each.
This book begins with a “Table of Contents” of advertisers; one of these is “Calgary Ginger Ale” from the Calgary Brewing & Malting Co. Limited, Alberta’s first brewery. Opened in 1893, the company introduced a line of soft drinks in order to stay in operation during Prohibition (“Calgary Malting”). Although this book includes recipes for “Scotch Bars,” “Spanish Meat Balls,” “Goulash,” and “Pow-wow Sandwiches” (made with bacon, dried beef, chili sauce, sweet-pickle relish and American cheese), most of the recipes are Scandinavian. The handwritten note next to a recipe for “Pepparkakor” indicates it was “Like Grandma Kranenberg used to make.”
Icelandic settlers also adapted their recipes to the available ingredients of Western Canada. In the late 1880s, an Icelandic community developed around Markerville, east of Red Deer. The settlers made use of fish from the Medicine River and Sylvan Lake, and by 1900 they had established a creamery to make butter and cheese (Stephan G. Stephansson Icelandic Society). One of the settlers was Stephan G. Stephansson, whom Iceland named poet laureate in 1917. Cultural food traditions were important to the settlers and remain so today: the recipe for “Laufabrauth” (Leaf Bread) in Recipes from Pioneer Days, a pamphlet published in the past decade by the Stephan G. Stephansson Icelandic Society, comments that it is great “Great to have children help with this part” (cutting snowflake designs into each round), suggesting the importance of passing these traditions to the next generation.
This book begins with a “Table of Contents” of advertisers; one of these is “Calgary Ginger Ale” from the Calgary Brewing & Malting Co. Limited, Alberta’s first brewery. Opened in 1893, the company introduced a line of soft drinks in order to stay in operation during Prohibition (“Calgary Malting”). Although this book includes recipes for “Scotch Bars,” “Spanish Meat Balls,” “Goulash,” and “Pow-wow Sandwiches” (made with bacon, dried beef, chili sauce, sweet-pickle relish and American cheese), most of the recipes are Scandinavian. The handwritten note next to a recipe for “Pepparkakor” indicates it was “Like Grandma Kranenberg used to make.”
Icelandic settlers also adapted their recipes to the available ingredients of Western Canada. In the late 1880s, an Icelandic community developed around Markerville, east of Red Deer. The settlers made use of fish from the Medicine River and Sylvan Lake, and by 1900 they had established a creamery to make butter and cheese (Stephan G. Stephansson Icelandic Society). One of the settlers was Stephan G. Stephansson, whom Iceland named poet laureate in 1917. Cultural food traditions were important to the settlers and remain so today: the recipe for “Laufabrauth” (Leaf Bread) in Recipes from Pioneer Days, a pamphlet published in the past decade by the Stephan G. Stephansson Icelandic Society, comments that it is great “Great to have children help with this part” (cutting snowflake designs into each round), suggesting the importance of passing these traditions to the next generation.
People
The Ladies Auxiliary of Lodge Branting No. 417, Vasa Order of America
Source
Courtesy of Verna Larson (private collection). Final image from Stephan G. Stephansson Icelandic Society, Recipes from Pioneer Days, [2000s?] (private collection).
Date
[1956?]
Files
Collection
Citation
The Ladies Auxiliary of Lodge Branting No. 417, Vasa Order of America, “The Vasa Book of Favourite Recipes,” Bruce Peel Special Collections Library Online Exhibits, accessed May 21, 2024, https://omeka.library.ualberta.ca/items/show/1554.