Vintage 1950s Recipes - Overview

[Default User]

My sister worked for some years for a local church. One of the things
she accumulated were copies of a cookbook that the Women's Association
compiled from contributions of the members. This was first issed in
1957.

She gave me one, and I have spent some time reading those. I will be
posting each day one of those recipes that I found to be interesting
for one reason or another, along with and explanation of why I chose it
and some commentary.

The recipe book was divided into the following chapters:

Appetizers and Beverages
Breads, Coffee Cake and Sandwiches
Cakes and Frostings
Candies
Casseroles and One-Dish Meals
Cookies
Desserts
Eggs and Cheese Dishes
Meats
Pastries
Salads and Salad Dressings
Sauces, Pickles and Preserves
Soups
Vegetables

The recipes definitely reflect the times in many cases. For example,
almost all bread recipes call for cake yeast, which my supermarket
doesn't even carry anymore. I expected to see canned soup in use, which
was the case, but the ingredient I hadn't thought of was canned
pimentos. That seemed to be quite popular.

It appears that they were printed as submitted without testing or
editing, so some have elaborate instructions and others rather sparse
ones. Some of these most wouldn't imagine serving these days, others
could go right on a modern recipe blog without much alteration.


Brian

[Michael Trew]

On 9/8/2021 8:46 PM, Default User wrote:
> For example,
> almost all bread recipes call for cake yeast, which my supermarket
> doesn't even carry anymore.

Oddly enough, my small chain grocery store in town still carries the
fresh cake yeast. Typically around holidays, but I've seen it
throughout the year near the cheese/dairy section.