Dear Bread Fans,
I love nothings, as one bookseller called them, dismissing my pile of baking pamphlets. Long before I was into bread and flour I started collecting baking powder booklets, fascinated by the recipes and illustrations of cakes. I couldn’t believe that there were so many brands — Rumford, Calumet, Royal, to name a few — and that this kind of advertising spanned decades. Initially, I justified my purchases with a corn quest: I was looking for ways to make corn fritters and pancakes, wondering how names and methods differed. Corn pancakes are one of my favorite things still — they take savory toppings so well, especially at high tomato time of year. Plus: the joy of looking at a griddle and watching a puddle become food? Plus: breakfast for dinner?I’ll be digging into this cornmeal neighborhood with Ellie on Friday in our second free & remote workshop — please join us.
Once my corn fritter curiosity was somewhat satisfied, I kept my love for old pamphlets. I like seeing how companies represent themselves, and trying to understand what it was like to be a woman in another time. Because of course, these guides were directed to women.
Recently, I’ve found & been given some true gems, like this Gem Chopper Cook Book, my first ever pamphlet with a cloth cover! All the recipes are for using a meat grinder, the Gem Chopper.
And the other day I got a fabulous package in the mail, from my baking friend Laurie O’Hanlon! It is a stack of incredible World War II cooking materials, and I’m amazed to see how these were generated by companies. Having food businesses take on the government’s messaging is odd — I guess because I’m aware of how now, the trend, thanks to lobbying efforts, is the opposite. Marion Nestle is a good source for tracing the hand-and-hand links between federal nutrition guidance and the food industry.
In honor of corn, I’ll give you with a recipe for a cookie from the “300 Helpful Suggestions for Your Victory Lunch Box” pamphlet — these “Hook-Up” Cook Books were published by Dell, and could be held at eye level by putting two nails on the bottom of a cupboard.
Crisp Corn Meal Cookies
1 cup shortening
1/2 cups sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon grated lemon rind
1/2 cup raisins, chopped
3 cups sifted flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup corn meal
Cream shortening, ad sugar gradually and continue creaming until fluffy. Add eggs, lemon rind and raisins. Mix. Sift together flour, baking powder, nutmeg and salt; add corn meal. Combine with first mixture. Roll out on lightly floured board to 1/8 inch thickness and cut into rounds. Place on greased cookie sheet and bake in hot oven. (400 F.) about 10 minutes. Makes 5 dozen.
In the picture above, a woman is photographed from outside her house. We see the house’s clapboard siding, the open windows. We see her studying a recipe. She wears an apron, and ‘stirs’ an empty bowl. No ingredients are on the counter. She stares pleasantly at the instructions, as if a small mystery will be explained if she follows them.
I wonder who this actual woman was. I wonder if her mate was at war. Maybe she was a home economist who wrote and tested recipes, gave suggestions for how to handle limited access to usual foods.
Many women were working in factories — just how many would have had time to study just some of the billions of words and recipes companies and publishers generated? My grandmothers would have read these — my mother’s mother was working full time, so I’m not sure how she would have incorporated them into the family’s daily life. I’m off to have lunch with my mom, and look at these, and ask.
Yours, Amy
I also love these little nothings, Amy. We should compare notes- I turn to these booklets all the time.
Great post.
E