Americans love cooking gurus.
Julia Child, Jaques Pepin, Graham Kerr (The Galloping Gourmet) and Martha Stewart to name a few.
But before all of those we had Betty Crocker.
Here's Betty:
No, wait, here's Betty:
No, here's Betty - and here, and here:
And here, and here, and here:
If you're confused by the many Betty portraits the answer is simple.
There is no Betty Crocker.
Unlike Julia Child and Martha Stewart, Betty Crocker is not actually a real person.
She has been portrayed since 1936 by a variety of actresses - both in print and on radio - and all of the above "portraits" were commissioned by the company behind "Betty Crocker"; General Mills.
Specifically General Mills Flour.
The history behind the creation of Betty is actually quite fascinating. To read one of the better articles, click on this link to the PBS site featuring a piece by writer Tory Avey.
Once upon a time the Betty Crocker Picture Cookbook was the kitchen bible of housewives everywhere.
Before the advent of television cooking shows, a good picture cookbook was a godsend for all those women (yes, women - we're talking 1930's to 1950's) - who felt lost in the kitchen. Or who maybe just wanted some new recipes and ideas that didn't come from their mothers and grandmothers.
My own cooking life changed profoundly in 1987 - the year my husband inherited his grandmother's copy of the 1950 edition of this amazing font of cooking knowledge.
I had entered our marriage armed with my grandmother's typed recipe book but not much else.
Here's how the book looked when we got it.
And here's how it looks now.
Clearly the broken spine and the many layers of tape are the signs of a heavily used and truly valuable kitchen resource.
Such a great resource that last Christmas I scrounged up copies to give to all my kids.
And such a great resource that I've decided to start a new feature here on the blog called "Back To Betty" which will focus on:
- Recipe Reviews & Revisions - actual breakdowns of several recipes
- Then vs Now (1950 vs 2020)
- Tips & Tricks - an exploration of all the great "how-to's" in the book
- Memories - stories of food I ate growing up that I never knew came from the book
- Who Knew? - things I'm learning from doing this project
I want to be clear about one thing right up front.
This is not going to be Julie and Julia.
There is no way I could ever cook my way through this entire cookbook. Not only would it be a herculean task, I would most certainly gain at least 20 pounds.
Nor do I have any particular desire to emulate the housewives of the 1950's.
While The Betty Crocker Picture Cookbook changed my life in the kitchen, the rest of my life, not so much.
My main goal here is to introduce new cooks to a great old resource, gather some kitchen wisdom, and have some fun along the way.
Back To Betty Posts will appear on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays, as often as the rest of my overbooked schedule allows :-).
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