On 22 February 1920 a request from ‘Elsie’ of St. Leonards appeared in the ‘Housewives Exchange’ – a column within ‘The World of Women’ page of Sydney’s The Sun newspaper.
‘any kind of useful wrinkle concerning the home-cooking,
dressmaking, care of children-will find a place in this column.’
The Sun (Sydney) 22 February 1920
The request for a recipe for Lemon Rings was one of many requests published in The Sun on that particular Sunday, appearing amongst appeals for getting rid of small black ants; a method for turning beef and mutton suet into soap; and a request for how to make pumpkin jam.
The following week the ‘Housewives Exchange’ column included a response to Elsie’s request from someone not willing to identify themselves beyond the moniker ‘Reader (Erskineville).’ The recipe for Lemon Rings was amongst three published on the day, which otherwise included helpful advice from Ada for cooks who have trouble grilling the breakfast meal (Ada has to prepare breakfast for seven persons, and has no maid); and a useful recipe for ‘Claret Cup’ for ‘J.H.’ of Redfern.
The recipe provided by ‘Reader’ of Erskineville for Lemon Rings is as follows:
The Sun (Sydney) Sunday, 29 February 1920
Here it is again, a little clearer:
LEMON RINGS
This recipe is sent to Elsie (St. Leonards) by Reader (Erskineville):
Beat 4 oz. butter to a cream and add 2 beaten eggs, separately. Mix in 6oz. sugar, 1lb flour, sifted with 2 teaspoons baking powder, grated rind of a lemon, and a little milk. Make into a paste, roll out about ¼in. thick, cut into rounds, and cut out the centres to form rings, and fry to a light brown in plenty of hot fat.
Lemon Rings
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