Several months ago, Vera Guthrie sent me a cook book she had published-called Vintage Vera a Collection of Old Timey Recipes. The book has recipes from Vera and her family members. As I paged through the cook book I found recipes I was familiar with-and a few I had never heard of-one being Soakey.
The recipe is easy-1 cup hot black coffee; saltine crackers; and sugar to taste. Pour Coffee into large mug, crumble crackers into coffee, sprinkle with sugar to sweeten.
Vera said Soakey was a favorite snack for her and the other children when she was young. Once my curiosity was roused over soakey-I asked for more details about the recipe. Phyllis, Vera's sister, checked with other family members for me.
Phyllis and Vera's cousin Ellen offered this: Mama was just talking about this the other day. We never knew it had a name but she used it on us when we had a upset stomach and she still uses it till this day for the same purpose. She crumbles up crakers in a saucer, pours coffee, a little milk and sugar. Makes me want some right now. ha-ha".
Garland, their brother had this to say: I ate something similar, but instead of crackers, a cold biscuit was used. A biscuit was halved and placed into a saucer and soaked with coffee, sugar was sprinkled over it. Truthfully, I don’t ever remember eating crackers and coffee. Not saying I didn’t eat it, just don’t remember.
Another cousin, Clara, remembered this: The cracker and coffee thing at home was we just put the cracker in the coffee and ate it….not crumbled in the cup. That was a favorite of mine.
After reading the information Phyllis provided for me, I wondered if soakey was just a family thing for them-and not a recipe that was widespread. But my recent post on coffee put that thought to rest. Two Blind Pig readers left a comment about soakey.
Robert Loftis said: I remember pouring coffee in a saucer,cooling it with my breath, then drinking it. Also I remember while I stayed with my grandparents on Buck creek in McDowell County. We would pour sugar on a biscuit then pour cold coffee on it and eat it. We called it a "soaky".
Bradley said: There used to be ( and probably still is ) a brand of coffee called Luzianne. It had chickory in it. There was a white label and a red label. My great Grand Ma always drank that brand. I don't know maybe I was a sissy but, I thought it was so bitter when it was black that it would make a hog shake its foot if it got in their trough! We used to - when the grown-ups weren't around - would take a cup and fill it with sugar and cream and get a biscuit and make SOAKIE BREAD. Hey look, when you are a little poor boy ain't nothing wrong with that. We thought it was good ( after we had changed its original chemistry ).
I asked Granny if she knew about soakey-she said didn't-but she did remember spending the night with a girl who put crumbled cornbread in her coffee.
Phyllis did a bit more research about soakey for me and found: eating crackers/biscuits with coffee, brown sugar/white sugar, and sometimes butter was a depression era breakfast dish called coffee soup.
I believe soakey would for sure fit in the make do foods category-something a little sweet made from things you typically have on hand.
Vera has sold most of her cookbooks-but she's trying to decide if she should order another printing. For more information about the cookbooks-you can email Phyllis at: phyllissalmons@yahoo.com If you're on facebook jump over to Vintage Vera's facebook page and check out the discussions she has going on. Oh and that Vera-she's so nice-she gave me a Vintage Vera Cookbook for one of you. All you have to do is leave a comment on this post to be entered in the giveaway. The giveaway ends on April 3rd-next Sunday.
How about you-ever had soakey?
Tipper
p.s. A special THANK YOU to Vera and Phyllis for helping me!
Never heard of soakey. Not sure whether I think I would like it, but I like most foods. I wouldn't use good cornbread or biscuits with coffee, though. Only want them with milk...
Posted by: Mike McLain | March 28, 2011 at 11:03 AM
Never had a soakey..But my mother would put a chunk of chedder cheese in the bottom of her coffee mug. When she got to the bottom of her coffe there would be a nice gooey glob of cheese ...It was so good.
Posted by: Joji | March 28, 2011 at 10:54 AM
We dipped the cracker into the hot coffee until it was soft & then ate it. Often they broke off & fell in the coffee to be fished out with a spoon.
Bought crackers were a rare item in our family & biscuits were a substitute for them to dip in coffee but I never liked the biscuit in coffee.
Still eat the crackers/coffee occasionally & so does my brother.
Tipper, I just checked out Southern Talk A Disappearing Language by Ray Cunningham from the library. If you haven't seen it, I know you'd enjoy it. Tons of old timey words--Do you know what hockey is? Thought my oldest bro was the only person who said this.
Wanda
Posted by: Wanda Devers | March 28, 2011 at 10:32 AM
I love the old fashioned cooking and ways of doing things, but I like my coffee with just milk. I know it was common for some of the older folks to dip their breakfast biscuit in their coffee. I used to watch while some would pour their coffee in the saucer to cool. I visited an aunt one time in Roanoke and inquired about coffee one afternoon; she mentioned she sure could tell I was from WV. The coffee pot works all during the day in many homes here.
Posted by: Pinnaclecreek | March 28, 2011 at 10:22 AM
oh my, I remember my mom and her sisters telling and laughing about a cousin who loved her 'soakey'.
Posted by: Sue Crane | March 28, 2011 at 10:18 AM
How interesting, never had "soakey" and sounds like something to try! But coffee for an upset stomach? That sounds strange. In any event, the cookbook giveaway sounds great and would make a wonderful addition to my collection! Thanks, Tipper, for another interesting post.
Posted by: Elizabeth K | March 28, 2011 at 10:05 AM
A new one on me -- kind of a country biscotti.
My grandmother liked saltines in buttermilk.
Posted by: Vicki Lane | March 28, 2011 at 10:03 AM
Tipper,
I love black coffee, but don't want anything in it. One time I
tried dipping my biscuit in the
coffee: didn't like it. Enjoyed
reading all the recepies and ways
folks have their snaks...Ken
Posted by: Ken | March 28, 2011 at 10:02 AM
I ate biscuits soaked in coffee-black coffee, no sugar, just about every morning growing up. As far as I remember we didn't call it anything in particular. I never actually drank coffee until I was about 25 years old and too far away from home to find a biscuit.
Posted by: Lonnie L. Dockery | March 28, 2011 at 09:58 AM
Tipper--As a staunch trencherman and co-author of a bunch of cookbooks (I'll readily admit Miss Ann gets most of the credit on the books) I thought I was pretty much up to snuff on mountain culinary traditions. However, soakey is new to me. I was sufficiently curious to check it out in two of the finest treatments of mountain fare, John Parris' "Mountain Cooking" and Joseph Dabney's "Smokehouse Ham, Spoon Bread, & Scuppernong Wine: The Folklore and Art of Southern Appalachian Cooking." Neither mentions soakey.
Mind you, I've had plenty of milk and cornbread, and milk with soda crackers, and I love both of 'em.
I wouldn't care for soakey, because I have no use whatsoever for coffee (neither does brother Don), but if Vera has any cookbooks left or reprints it, I'm in the market. Our collection of cookbooks runs up somewhere around 500, but another one, especially if it focuses on mountain fare, is always welcome.
Finally, one thought and bit of shameless self-promotion. Of all the books I've written or edited, the cookbooks have been far and away the best sellers. All focus primarily on wild game, fish, and foods (nuts, berries, ramps, etc.) from nature, and anyone who wants details can visit www.jimcasadaoutdoors.com.
Jim Casada
Posted by: Jim Casada | March 28, 2011 at 09:49 AM
My grandfather ate this, but he was a postum drinker, I think during WW
II he started drinking postum as coffee was scarce and never went back.
Posted by: Sheryl Paul | March 28, 2011 at 09:45 AM
Interesting but never heard of soakey. Have eat cornbread or crackers crumbled in milk but no coffee added to it.
Posted by: kat | March 28, 2011 at 09:34 AM
The way we would eat soakey back in the day was to doctor the coffee with sugar, cream or honey if we could find it and ( here's what was the clincher )use a biscuit made by a MASTER Usually that would have been Granny, and dunk it like a doughnut. Guess the local dentist was glad we did. Cavities can be fun if you are a dentist!
Bradley
Posted by: Bradley | March 28, 2011 at 09:33 AM
I dont remember ever seeing anyone eat food crumbled up in their coffee. We did eat cornbread or crackers crumbled in milk. The cookbook sounds like a tresure . Barbara
Posted by: barbara gantt | March 28, 2011 at 09:31 AM
As a 1940's child of south Georgia, I looked forward every morning to a nameless conconction of a cup of milk with enough coffee to create a smooth tan color; and of course an ample supply of white sugar - how tasty! When ready, with delight, I would dip white toast into it. Gosh, that brings back fond memories. Thanks Tipper for your blog!!!
Posted by: Marta Winters | March 28, 2011 at 09:30 AM
Well.. I never heard of that! But what I did have for night-night food was crumbled graham crackers in a bowl of sweet milk. (sweet.. hehe.. another one of our terms that if you use it these days folks give you a funny eye!) oh.. I also would have peanut butter in soda crackers and dunk them in a cup of milk till they were just falling apart and then eat the left overs that went into the cup. Now mama and my aunts and uncles and papa.. they all ate that staple of crumbled cornbread smushed up in a tall glass of cold buttermilk. Ate it all up with a spoon! I tried but never cultivated a taste for it. We were never given coffee, as it would stunt your growth. I can see why that would be important regarding me.. I never did and do not now drink coffee and I am all of 4 foot 10! I couldna had coffee~!!!
Posted by: Debby Brown | March 28, 2011 at 09:28 AM
My wife says her mother used to put crackers in her coffee, but didn't know it was called soakey. I have eaten crackers in milk. Some neighbors of ours always put milk in their iced tea. I thought that was strange.
Posted by: Jerry McKelvy | March 28, 2011 at 08:34 AM
I have never heard of "soakey" before, but it sure is interesting for many variations there are. Thanks again, Tipper for teaching me something new.
Posted by: Jen | March 28, 2011 at 08:34 AM
Interesting. I've never heard of soakey, and I'm not a huge coffee drinker it probably wouldn't be my thing. I'd love to win the cookbook though!
Posted by: Lisa @ Two Bears Farm | March 28, 2011 at 08:29 AM
No soakey in my past, as far as I know. Doesn't sound like something my rather proper Canadian mommy would make! :)
Posted by: Nancy | March 28, 2011 at 07:31 AM
I wondered what this was and came over to check it out. I had never heard it called Soakey but my dad ate this all the time. He would take a slice of white bread, sprinkle sugar over it and then pour coffee over it in a saucer. He did it with biscuits, too. I have tasted it and thought it was good but we were never allowed to have coffee when we were children except for just a small taste. Glad I came! Now I know we had soakey, too.
Posted by: Judy | March 28, 2011 at 07:25 AM
As I do all of your posts, I love this! Wonderful blog (and love the music, too.)
Posted by: Catray44 | March 28, 2011 at 07:21 AM
i'm from western Pa. and my father in law and husband used to eat what they called coffee slop. white bread, coffee, milk, white sugar. then a sausage patty on the side. small piece of sausage, little bit of bread on the same spoon and they would roll their eyes it was so good. i must confess i never tried it because i like my coffee black. my 2 sons ate this also, but not my girls.
Posted by: carol harrison | March 28, 2011 at 06:56 AM
I don't remember soakey as you describe it here, but we had lots of crackers and milk, crumbled biscuits and milk, and one of my favorites, cornbread crumbled in fresh buttermilk.
That last one was always eaten with or after a meal of fried fish. The mushy cornbread and buttermilk were believed to 'kill the bones' if you swallowed any...
Posted by: Mary Shipman | March 28, 2011 at 06:35 AM
I have never heard of or had Soakey. I was interested in the comment about the coffee with chicory in it. I have had something similar, a chicory coffee from Brazil. It was horribly bitter and I couldn't drink it, even at the risk of hurting the feelings of the person who made it for me.
Posted by: GrannyPam | March 28, 2011 at 06:26 AM
wow ! This was always one of the first things a baby ate in our family. LOL I remember my grandparents crumbling a biscuit in a saucer and then pouring sweet coffee over it. I used to eat it every morning before school. Papa ate it for dessert after his meal.
Posted by: Angela Peevy | March 28, 2011 at 06:18 AM
I swear I remember my dad talking about this, but I never saw him do it. He had a nightly love affair with a cup of coffee and some cookies and he was telling us when they were really poor he would use crackers or a biscuit.
Posted by: Sara | March 28, 2011 at 05:52 AM
In researching this subject, I was amazed at the rich history of Soakey, though not everyone calls it that. A friend of mine told me of a neighbor from England who ate "coffee soup," a new term to me, but I found lots about it. There are indications of the Amish having coffee soup and the soldiers in the Civil War would soak their Hardtack crackers in coffee before eating.
When the discussion was started on Vintage Vera, I thought we were the only ones who had it, which led me to poll the cousins. Then Tipper's coffee blog got more responses (as she mentioned) and finding the term coffee soup showed me that many poeple indeed have eaten what we call Soakey.
Putting the Vintage Vera Cookbook down on paper was a stroll down memory lane for us. Mama had a habit of putting things together without looking at a written recipe. When we tried to recreate it and asked her how much of an ingredient to use, she would say "till if looks right." Many times I have called Vera and ask questions such as, "how much sugar do you think I should sprinkle over my sweet potato pie to make it look right?" If I couldn't remember a recipe, many times she could -- or we would ask our brothers.
Good luck in the cookbook give away! Note -- in the area that has the canning and preserving recipes, we couldn't help ourselves -- we included a recipe for lye soap! Now we'll meet you down by the cement pond and like Granny Clampett -- get ready to stir!
Posted by: Phyllis Salmons | March 28, 2011 at 05:23 AM