100 Year Old Recipes – Porcupine Meatballs and Snow Pudding

Ever wondered what dinner looked like a century ago? I decided to dig into the 1920s and cook up two 100 year old recipes that were genuinely popular back then: the brilliantly spiky Porcupine Meatballs, and the oddly elegant Snow Pudding. Both are quirky, both are retro, and both left me with some very mixed feelings.

100 Year Old Recipe for Porcupine Meatballs

These aren’t actually made with porcupine (thankfully), but with beef mince and rice. The rice swells as the meatballs cook, poking through like little spikes — hence the name. They first appeared in Conservation Recipes in 1918 and were a Depression-era staple, cheap and filling.

I even experimented by rolling extra rice around the outside of the meatballs, thinking it might make them puff up more. Spoiler: it didn’t. If anything, it made them look too porcupine-y, if that’s even possible. The classic version works just fine — meat and rice mixed together and simmered in tomato soup.

Method for 100 Year Old Porcupine Meatballs

– Mix beef mince, rice, onion, egg, salt and pepper in a bowl.
– Shape into golf-ball sized meatballs.
– Place in a deep pan or casserole, then pour over tomato soup or juice to cover them halfway.
– Simmer gently on the hob for 45–60 minutes with the lid on, or bake at 180°C fan for about an hour.
– The rice will puff up and poke through, creating that signature hedgehog look.

100 Year Old Recipe for Snow Pudding

Snow Pudding was big in the early 20th century — a light, wobbly dessert made from egg whites, cornflour, sugar and vanilla, served with custard and topped with a cherry. Supposedly refined and elegant, but I have to be honest… when I made it, the gloopy base reminded me of the hair gel everyone used in the 90s, the sort that left a stain on your forehead. And once it set? Imagine edible shaving foam. Sweet, strange, but just about edible.

Method for 100 Year Old Snow Pudding

– Whisk cornflour with cold water, then add the rest of the water and sugar. Bring to the boil, stirring until thick and translucent.
– Beat egg whites to stiff peaks with a pinch of salt, then fold them into the cooled cornflour base with vanilla.
– Pour into a lightly greased bowl and chill for 2–3 hours until set and wobbly.
– For the custard, beat the yolks with sugar, whisk in warmed milk, then heat gently until it thickens slightly.
– Serve the pudding with custard poured over and a glacé cherry on top.

Why Vintage 100 Year Old Recipes Still Work

People back then had fewer ingredients to hand and often made the best they could out of what they had. That limitation produced some clever, thrifty dishes that still taste decent today. In fact, I’ve tasted modern viral recipes that were far worse than these old classics — so there’s something to be said for the simple approach.

Retro Adventures with 100 Year Old Recipes

It’s always a laugh trying these 100 year old recipes — sometimes you get a hidden gem, other times you get edible shaving foam. If you fancy more retro cooking, check out my Frankaroni and Vintage Noodle Pudding experiment for more culinary throwbacks.

And of course, if you’d rather just watch me muddle through these in real time, you can watch the video above or here on YouTube