# Did people in the 1950s really eat that food from the cookbooks of the era? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 30, 2008, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-people-in-the-1950s-really-eat-that-food-from-the-cookbooks-of-the-era/458290 "2008-07-30T22:27:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Cicero](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cicero/32/3594_2.png) [@Cicero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cicero)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2008, 7:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-people-in-the-1950s-really-eat-that-food-from-the-cookbooks-of-the-era/458290/21 "2008-07-31T07:34:20Z")
I still use a Country Womans Association cookbook that was first published in 1928. ---
**Author:** ![FriarTed](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/friarted/32/1052_2.png) [@FriarTed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FriarTed)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2008, 7:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-people-in-the-1950s-really-eat-that-food-from-the-cookbooks-of-the-era/458290/22 "2008-07-31T07:59:49Z")
[QUOTE=Zoe] Our spice cabinet was a 5"by5" cubbyhole. The only spices that I remember were salt, pepper and cinnamon. My dad _hated_ spices and almost made a moral issue of not using them… [/QUOTE] Serious Q- he didn’t happen to have a Seventh-Day Adventist background, did he? ---
**Author:** ![Dijon\_Warlock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a9a28c/32.png) [@Dijon\_Warlock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dijon_Warlock)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2008, 12:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-people-in-the-1950s-really-eat-that-food-from-the-cookbooks-of-the-era/458290/23 "2008-07-31T12:21:45Z")
This thread would not be complete without a link to [The Gallery of Regrettable Food](http://www.lileks.com/institute/gallery/index.html). …You’re welcome. 🙂 (The MEAT! section is my favorite.) ---
**Author:** ![TV\_time](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f17d59/32.png) [@TV\_time](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TV_time)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2008, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-people-in-the-1950s-really-eat-that-food-from-the-cookbooks-of-the-era/458290/24 "2008-07-31T13:20:23Z")
[QUOTE=Chimera] Why do you think McDonalds, Drive throughs and similar places gained popularity so quickly? [/QUOTE] Fifteen cent burgers. ---
**Author:** ![Max\_Torque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Max\_Torque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_Torque)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2008, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-people-in-the-1950s-really-eat-that-food-from-the-cookbooks-of-the-era/458290/25 "2008-07-31T15:24:12Z")
[QUOTE=pulykamell] I dunno. Minnesota Lutherans do kinda of still have the reputation for that sort of food. [/QUOTE] And how. My relatives up there still practice “glop in a pot” cooking of all sorts. The word “hot dish” invokes in me a Pavlovian spinal shudder. One thing I’ve noticed that has changed over the years is that in the 40s and 50s, canned goods seemed much more popular. I don’t know if it was because food preservation seemed “space age”, or if the big move from cities to suburbs meant that more people had to get their food in cans rather than fresh produce, or what, but lordy, there was a lot of canned food back then. And, once again anecdotally, I’ve noticed that people who grew up in that era still seem to like the canned stuff. To my palate, canned peas are oily mush that cannot be tolerated; yet, my parents and my wife’s parents keep on buying the cans. It’s the flavor of their youth, I guess, but ergh. And while I’m thinking about this, someone please answer this question for me: has anyone, at any time, in the history of the world, ever used canned cream of mushroom soup to actually _make_ cream of mushroom soup? All I’ve ever seen it used for is as the glue in various allegedly-edible primordial science projects. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2008, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-people-in-the-1950s-really-eat-that-food-from-the-cookbooks-of-the-era/458290/26 "2008-07-31T15:32:02Z")
And people wonder why immigrants coming to this country tended to stick to their own foods. :eek: ---
**Author:** ![CaerieD](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/da6949/32.png) [@CaerieD](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CaerieD)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2008, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-people-in-the-1950s-really-eat-that-food-from-the-cookbooks-of-the-era/458290/27 "2008-07-31T15:44:14Z")
**Max Torque** - I once made a pot pie that used cream of mushroom soup as the base, though it had additional vegetables added to it. That’s the closest anyone in my family’s ever come. I think my sister once threatened to cook the soup and serve it as-is, but there was a revolt. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2008, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-people-in-the-1950s-really-eat-that-food-from-the-cookbooks-of-the-era/458290/28 "2008-07-31T15:54:29Z")
[QUOTE=Max Torque] And while I’m thinking about this, someone please answer this question for me: has anyone, at any time, in the history of the world, ever used canned cream of mushroom soup to actually _make_ cream of mushroom soup? All I’ve ever seen it used for is as the glue in various allegedly-edible primordial science projects. [/QUOTE] me ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2008, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-people-in-the-1950s-really-eat-that-food-from-the-cookbooks-of-the-era/458290/29 "2008-07-31T15:56:07Z")
Dad did virtually all the cooking because Mom never really learned how. I suspect all the meals for the first few years were an approximation of what he ate in the Navy; ketchup-based spaghetti sauce, for example. The Army spaghetti in _Band of Brothers_ bore a striking resemblance. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2008, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-people-in-the-1950s-really-eat-that-food-from-the-cookbooks-of-the-era/458290/30 "2008-07-31T15:57:30Z")
[QUOTE=Max Torque] And while I’m thinking about this, someone please answer this question for me: has anyone, at any time, in the history of the world, ever used canned cream of mushroom soup to actually make cream of mushroom soup? [/QUOTE] > [@Anaamika](#): > > me And me. ---
**Author:** ![usar\_jag](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/f0a364/32.png) [@usar\_jag](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/usar_jag)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2008, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-people-in-the-1950s-really-eat-that-food-from-the-cookbooks-of-the-era/458290/31 "2008-07-31T16:04:36Z")
[QUOTE=pulykamell] I dunno. Minnesota Lutherans do kinda of still have the reputation for that sort of food. [/QUOTE] Not _THIS_ Minnesota Lutheran… 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Rebo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rebo/32/13005_2.png) [@Rebo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rebo)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2008, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-people-in-the-1950s-really-eat-that-food-from-the-cookbooks-of-the-era/458290/32 "2008-07-31T16:11:42Z")
[QUOTE=Lute Skywatcher] And me. [/QUOTE] Me, too! Cream of chicken’s good, too. ---
**Author:** ![3acresandatruck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/3/e79b87/32.png) [@3acresandatruck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/3acresandatruck)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2008, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-people-in-the-1950s-really-eat-that-food-from-the-cookbooks-of-the-era/458290/33 "2008-07-31T16:19:03Z")
[QUOTE=Dolores Reborn] Me, too! Cream of chicken’s good, too. [/QUOTE] Yes on this and on the cream of mushroom. And Mom bought cream of celery, too. The cream of mushroom had those odd, rubbery eensy-weensy little dices of mushroom, but all of them had to be stirred assiduously during cooking, lest they stick to the bottom of the pan and burn, or scum over on top and form lumps. You don’t want cream of god-knows-what soup for lunch? Just say so, Mom will find you a replacement…like head cheese on old bread. ---
**Author:** ![Sigmagirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c89c15/32.png) [@Sigmagirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigmagirl)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2008, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-people-in-the-1950s-really-eat-that-food-from-the-cookbooks-of-the-era/458290/34 "2008-07-31T16:21:06Z")
Yes on me to the mushroom soup, too. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2008, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-people-in-the-1950s-really-eat-that-food-from-the-cookbooks-of-the-era/458290/35 "2008-07-31T16:39:49Z")
[QUOTE=pulykamell] I grew up with this stuff, known in Polish as _galareta_ (used both in senses of “aspic” and “gelatin” in Polish) and later enjoyed it as _kocsonya_ (made from pork) in Hungarian cuisine. I love it. Almost everybody I know is completely disgusted by it. Just give me some _galareta_ with a little vinegar and some rye bread, and I’m a happy boy. [/QUOTE] My former father-in-law (northern MN) used to make this stuff, but called it szoltsa or soltsa: basically a Polish head cheese. It was absolutely ghastly. ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2008, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-people-in-the-1950s-really-eat-that-food-from-the-cookbooks-of-the-era/458290/36 "2008-07-31T16:57:00Z")
What’s necessarily wrong with Cream of Mushroom soup? Other than the idea of eating it straight out of the can? You haven’t lived until you’ve had Venison and Wild Rice Casserole with a CoMS base. Damned good stuff. Even better with bits of Morel in it. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Moto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9de0a6/32.png) [@Mr.Moto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Moto)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2008, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-people-in-the-1950s-really-eat-that-food-from-the-cookbooks-of-the-era/458290/37 "2008-07-31T17:00:06Z")
Just like modern cookbooks, there are good and bad recipes alike in them. I sometimes go into my wife’s copy of Ruth Wakefield’s cookbook for some tips - and that cookbook came out in 1940. There are some great recipes in there along with some horrors. Wakefield, of course, invented the chocolate chip cookie, so some things do endure. ---
**Author:** ![villa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/bc79bd/32.png) [@villa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/villa)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2008, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-people-in-the-1950s-really-eat-that-food-from-the-cookbooks-of-the-era/458290/38 "2008-07-31T17:04:49Z")
It seems like many of the cookbooks that survived were produced by food companies, and were thus pushing their products. The books put out now by food companies are atrocious too - pick up a Kraft cookbook and take a look. The exception being my Betty Crocker cookie book, which you can have when you pry it from my cold, dead, flour covered fingers. Seriously - in the property division of my divorce, I think that was the only thing we fought over. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2008, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-people-in-the-1950s-really-eat-that-food-from-the-cookbooks-of-the-era/458290/39 "2008-07-31T17:34:22Z")
I used to love those cream-of- soups. I haven’t had on in decades, though. My Betty Crocker cookbook (from the early 80s) is something of an enigma. It has the best dinner roll recipe on the planet. But the party snacks? “Spread cheese spread on a slice of balogna. Fold decoratively and secure with a pick.” Yuck! ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Moto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9de0a6/32.png) [@Mr.Moto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Moto)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2008, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-people-in-the-1950s-really-eat-that-food-from-the-cookbooks-of-the-era/458290/40 "2008-07-31T17:35:29Z")
[QUOTE=villa] It seems like many of the cookbooks that survived were produced by food companies, and were thus pushing their products. The books put out now by food companies are atrocious too - pick up a Kraft cookbook and take a look. [/QUOTE] This isn’t hard and fast either, as you mentioned - these food companies had test kitchens and home economists and cooking contests - and some of the dishes that emerged from these were amazing. One of the cookbooks I own is a compendium of recipes found on the back of cans and jars. There are fantastic recipes in there - from the aforementioned chocolate chip recipe (still on the back of every bag of Nestle’s chips) to the classic pecan pie recipe printed on every bottle of Karo syrup. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-people-in-the-1950s-really-eat-that-food-from-the-cookbooks-of-the-era/458290.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-people-in-the-1950s-really-eat-that-food-from-the-cookbooks-of-the-era/458290.md?page=3)