I knew I had an obsession, but I didn't think it was all that bad. Until...

A few months ago, an area museum debuted a wonderful exhibit of a World War II era kitchen and dining room. I had to take a screenshot of this news article because I recognized a couple of the cookbooks on display and because I knew that Betty Crocker's Picture Cook Book wasn't released until 1950. Does that really matter? Not in the least, but it did make me realize that my cookbook obsession may be a teensy bit out of control.

Betty Crocker's 101 Delicious Bisquick Creations (1933)

Betty Crocker's 101 Delicious Bisquick Creations

Copyright, 1933, by General Mills, Inc.

Bisquick, introduced in 1931, was still a new product when this booklet was published. General Mills claimed that this "sensational" product was faster, more efficient, and highly cost-effective and should be readily embraced by the most discerning housewives in America.

While I am intrigued by many of the recipes, I was most tickled by this:

Bisquick Method - 83.75% Faster - Saves 45.5 Steps - Costs 1/7 c More

* These Figures Were Certified to by Theodore Stark, Certified Public Accountant, 715 New York Life Building, Minneapolis, Minnesota, October 3, 1934, as Representing Results Obtained in Average Kitchen. Investigation covered kitchens of various shapes and sizes, some having gas ranges; some, coal; some, wood; and others with electric ovens. Costs of the products were average costs as you yourself would pay at your own grocer's.

Also figured in was the cost of fuel and of your labor. A department of the United States Government estimates the value of the average housewife's time as being 35c an hour. That is the figure we used, although we think it is too little.

Adjusted for inflation, 35 cents is about $8.00 in 2024, and I agree that it is far too little of a sum.

120 Wartime Meat Recipes from American Meat Institute

 

In How To Cook A Wolf, M. F. K. Fisher wrote, "One way to horrify at least eight out of ten Anglo-Saxons is to suggest their eating anything but the actual red fibrous meat of a beast."

Around the same time Fisher published How To Cook A Wolf, the American Meat Institute printed this booklet of wartime recipes.  The tips provided in the "What The Housewife Can Do" section are still valuable, as are many of the recipes suggested by the Institute. However, the dozens of variety meat recipes make this 80-percenter shudder - I will always find offal, well, awful.

Below are a few of the recipes I found intriguing.

Cauchois' Caterer's Companion (1915)

I was tickled by this section in Cauchois' Caterer's Companion, published in 1915 by Cauchois' Coffee Company. If only white wine really *was* a cure for fatness...

Source: Cauchois' Coffee Company, N. York. (1915). Cauchois' caterer's companion: contains over two thousand English definitions of French culinary terms, usually found on bills of fare, and over 100 banquet, reception and private dinner menus according to season ... New York: Cauchois' Coffee Company.

Full Book @ https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=chi.087315274&fbclid=IwAR3gnHPEHM-BF0HijLy2g51-clLyEDfpiBc5eVIHk7xJwDS3GIiHiC6gXHY&seq=5

The Work Basket - July 1950

I'm not sure which of these luscious dessert recipes sounds better! An Orange Refrigerator Torte, Chocolate Sundae Pudding, Quick Coffee Cake, Pineapple Sherbet, and Heavenly Salad all sound delightful.

The Work Basket - June 1950

I'm looking forward to trying this Rhubarb Pudding recipe from the June 1950 issue of The Work Basket this spring. 

I'd love to have that Vita-Mix and electric grill and toaster. According to the Consumer Price Index Inflation Calculator, $29.95 back in 1950 would be about $390.00 in 2024. I have no doubt the 1950s model was better built and longer lasting than today's Vita-Mix blenders - for a comparable price, no less.

The Work Basket - March 1950

 More tasty recipes from The Work Basket.