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Dessert

Plain Graham Gems

Plain Graham Gems are simple biscuits made from Graham meal, water or milk, and coarse sea salt, baked at 400°F.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
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Plain Graham Gems

Plain Graham Gems

Oven, in the book's wordsA very hot oven

Ingredients

Directions

The book says “a very hot oven”. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.

Prepare the batter

  1. In a bowl, mix the Graham meal, water (or milk and water), and coarse sea salt, stirring briskly for 1-2 minutes.

  2. Preheat a gem pan on the stove and grease it well.

Bake

  1. Pour the batter into the hot gem pan.

  2. Bake in a very hot oven at 400°F (200°C) for 40 minutes.

  3. Check the heat towards the end to ensure they bake properly.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.

Photo for illustrative purposes only · Contact us to use it

Explore the science

What each ingredient does

Graham meal
Forms the body of the gems, giving them their coarse, hearty texture.
Water or milk and water
Hydrates the meal so it forms a pourable batter that sets in the oven.

The step that matters

Preheating and greasing the gem pan. Pouring batter into a hot, well-greased pan starts the crust setting immediately, so the gems release cleanly and rise rather than sticking and spreading.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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