Cookbooks: Then and now
Because I'm a single, novice cook I usually cook from recipes from 'this decade' given that they're the best adapted to my circumstances/ingredients/nutritional needs.
But given my love of literature, I adore reading vintage cookbooks, and always have my lit critic's 'hat' on when I'm perusing them.
I love observing how 19th century cookbooks:
-have few very specific directions because they assume people know how to cook
-provide instructions about creating zillion-course dinner parties with huge amounts made to feed much larger households
-the very rich foods during a time when people burned more calories
-insanely long vegetable cooking times
-menus for the sick, in an era where often people convalesced at home not in hospitals
-the assumption in many cookbooks that people had servants
-and the different cooking methods (like over open flames) and ingredients we don't use regularly now, like turtle, pheasant and so forth
With 1950s cookbooks
-the unselfconscious use of politically incorrect 'ethnic' terms like 'Chicken Hawaiian' and 'Oriental Beef'
-the assumption the reader was female
-a refreshing lack of concern for childhood calories--lots of rich 'afterschool' treats
-less processed foods, but when they are used, no apologetic attitude about using them
-great kitschy names and food art, like hamburger buns with olives for eyes and ketchup for a smile
-often smaller meat portions
-more things 'done' to vegetables with sauces
-lots of references to food that will 'please your man' in some cookbooks ;)
So, for those of you more experienced cooks that have used cookbooks spanning generations--how are cookbooks from various era of history different than cookbooks today?
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14 Comments:
the use of canned or carton stock are perfectly acceptable.
(something i'll never get used to)
i think you covered it all pretty well.
love looking over old cookbooks - they assumed that people did know how to cook .... now people ask "how do you heat this up"?
pooch at 9:47AM on 04/06/09
I have one that says something along the lines of...don't bother your husband with trivial questions when he gets home from work as he may have had a stressful day...lol.
sammie at 10:01AM on 04/06/09
I have one that suggests that the hostess should be sure to offer an assortment of cigarettes and plenty of ashtrays at her party. My how times have changed.
I do dearly love those 60s and 70s cookbooks where most of the ingredients are processed "convenience" products--canned soup/meat, processed cheese slices, canned olives/pimentos, etc. I am hopeful that the recent uptick in "eat fresh and local" continues.
FoodieSearching at 10:51AM on 04/06/09
@HeartofGlass: I think you would really enjoy getting your hands on a copy of, "Hoppin John's Lowcountry Cooking, recipes and ruminations from Charleston and the Carolina coastal Plain" by John Martin Taylor. I use it all the time for recipes, but it is full of historical and geographical information of that region and the various influences that have defined the culinary tradition. It paints a picture of the Southern Way of Life that made me want to go there - and indeed, I did and we have returned each and every year since that first visit!
bareneed at 11:06AM on 04/06/09
I also love old cookbooks. I've got one that's called something like "When the Cook's Away" or something like that, and the assumption is that the wife will have to cook on the servant's day off, but that she won't have a lot of skills.
I've got another one aimed at new brides, and the assumption is that she knows nothing about "running a household" and it's got very good instructions on how to clean out the wood stove properly without having the soot fly all over, and how to start the fire and keep it burning. It's also assumed that the chickens will have feet, a beak and feathers.
I've got yet another than points out that not everyone has servants, and how to handle a dinner party if you are both the hostess and the staff. There are tips for what sorts of things can be cut back so that you can have a meal with your guests.
There are others that do assume servants, and go into great detail about who should sit next to who else at a formal dinner, and how, even though the staff is doing all the work, it's up to the wife to make sure that it's all done properly.
I've also got a pamplet from WWII and it's about the rationing, how much of what you can use, and how to get around these limitations.
Besides all this social commentary, a lot of the older books are incredibly imprecise. They'll ask for a knob of butter or something "the size of a hen's egg" or will tell you to add a teacup of something. Also, many are from before the days when oven thermometers existed, so it will ask for a fast or slow oven. And simmering something on the back burner actually meant something.
Also, it's interesting how in some senses, their diet was more varied in years past because they could just go out in the forest and shoot something. So there were a lot more recipes for game meats in the basic cookbooks.
dbcurrie at 12:26PM on 04/06/09
I see a lot of the following differences:
...Exotic ingredients. What 1950's book sold in the US would have a recipe calling for prosciutto? These days, we wouldn't blink an eye.
...Celebration food that actually looks appetizing. Some of those horrendous books from yesteryear showed hams with goo all over them and truly vomitous dishes. Fast forward - Think of any Barefoot Contessa recipe. Nuff said.
...Celebration food that is... actually celebration food. Dolling up frankfurters by inserting a slice of pasteurized processed cheese food, then wrapping in a Pillsbury tube dough sarcophagus is not my idea of posh eats.
...The more things change, the more they stay the same. Soups, stews, roasts, pound cake, bread - these are all classics. You'll find versions of all of these in books dating back hundreds of years and I have no doubt there will be more to come.
therealchiffonade at 2:44PM on 04/06/09
I learned to cook in the 50's with Betty Crocker. Housewives took great pride in their cakes and pies, and that is why the cake and pie sections in the older Betty Crocker cookbooks are quite extensive and always at the front of the book. You showed of your cooking skills with wonderful cakes and pies. .
Suzzanne at 1:06AM on 04/07/09
I love old cookbooks, not necessarily to actually cook from, but from a historical standpoint. It's fun to see how it was "back then" and it seems like the ones from the 50s always make life look so carefree and pleasant, if a bit over-exaggerated.
gourmetgal at 1:40AM on 04/07/09
@dbcurrie--I love the wartime ration recipes that I've read--actually, just from a literary/historical perspective, it's amazing how much emerges just from concrete details like recipes, much more so than lots of vague descriptions.
I know that the complete answer is 'it depends' but I still keep asking myself if old cookbooks are 'better' or healthier than ones today...on one hand, there does seem to be more sauces and an effort to extend things with flour, starches, and so forth, on the other hand, there is less Paula Dean style excess with butter and cream.
@FoodieSearching--love the comment about the cigs. I'm 34 and I remember when I was a tiny tyke everyone had ashtrays for company. Seems like another world.
HeartofGlass at 7:43AM on 04/07/09
personally I have a depression era cookbook (reprint) and I love it! basic recipes, and alot less unhealthy than you would think, a little common sense goes a long way, which is part of what I love about those older cookbooks, they gave you credit for having some and using it. alot of the newer ones just rub me the wrong way, with detailed explanations on how to boil water...
huneybumper at 8:07AM on 04/07/09
I love old cookbooks. Not so much for the recipes (though some are great), but more for the lifestyle aspect of them. I had this ridiculously great book from the mid-50's which I stupidly lost during my last move. It had not only recipes, but also household hints and such. My very, very most favorite part was when they suggested that the reader (clearly the wife) wake up about half an hour or so earlier than her hubbie (sic) and do her hair and makeup before waking him as it would make the rest of his day go better.
chisai at 8:35AM on 04/08/09
I have my grandma's home-ec book. It was published in 1914 and it said to boil pasta for one hour.
fatitalianbroad at 11:58AM on 04/08/09
@fatitalianbroad - I'm fascinated! What was the book's rationale @ the need to boil macaroni for so long? (And - btw - did they term it "pasta" or "macaroni" ?)
Robbo at 1:08AM on 04/10/09
@Robbo: the book is called The Practical Cookbook - A book of Economical Recipes by Margaret W. Howard. Her title was listed as Head of Domestic-Science Department - High School of Practical Arts, Boston, Massachusetts. There is a stamp dated March 31, 1923 - Property of the NYC Board of Education. I can only surmise that this was my grandma's book for home ec. class. Pasta was called "macaroni" - listed under the heading starch. Here is actual text from the book:
Macaroni
Source. Made in Italy and America, from wheat flour containing much gluten. Spaghetti and vermicelli are forms of macaroni, also Italian paste, letters, etc., for soups.
Food Value. Contains protein and starch.
Cost. Macaroni, 15 cents per pound. 4 c. = 1 lb.
General Directions. Break macaroni in inch pieces, wash, and cook in the boiling salted water until very tender (45-60 mins.), stirring occasionally to prevent burning. Drain thoroughly and pour cold water over the macaroni to keep pieces from sticking together.
fatitalianbroad at 8:36AM on 05/02/09