Old Cookbooks!

[pattymac]

My Mom and I have some really old cookbooks that she's had since the 40's!! There's a Five Roses Flour cookbook and a Purity Flour Cookbook. Pretty neat, it's amazing how recipes have changed over the years. Very little spices were used, even garlic is kinda rare. The books are mostly cakes and stuff being that they were put out by flour companies. Lots of yummy cakes and stuff though.

[aslan]

hmmm you might actually have a copy of a recipe my sister is looking for, i'll have to ask her what it was..we lost it when my oldest sister gave away alot of my moms stuff..

I do have tho a reeeeeally old Betty Crocker cookbook and you're right about the difference in ingredients.

[pattymac]

Sure, if you know what it is or can find out, no problem giving it to you. We have most of the pages!

[pbpatti]

Interesting thread pattymac, I have a hardcover cookbook that I got from my Grandmother. The title of the book: Electric Refrigerator Recipes and Menus. Specially Prepared for the General Electric Refrigerator.
Copyright 1927 and Third Edition, the cost of the book was $2.00.

There are what appear to be watercolor pictures of food and dishes. There are menus for family meals and bridge nights, informal luncheons and afternoon bridge.

Sample of a family dinner menu: Hot Bouillon in Cups, Cold Roast Beef, Delmonico Potatoes, Mashed Squash,Chilled Lettuce with Russsian Dressing, Apple Pie and Frozen Whipped Cream, Coffee.

This book hyas 144 pages full of information on how to feed your family and treat guests. patti

[quincymycat]

I love looking at the really old cookbooks and then the revised versions. You can be amazed at how much the "fat" contents of alot dishes are adapted to todays standards.
I have the really old Purity Cookbook...it was a wedding gift from my former MIL and is around 40+ years old. Alot of pages are missing from the cover falling off and the binding letting go, but the difference between that one and the newer version one of my girls got me about 10 years ago is amazing. The recipe names are the same....only the ingredients have changed to protect the health conscious!

[chico2]

I actually have 6 cook-books from 1911,the ones I like the best,have a fat cook in the front and they are called 365 desserts,365 Breads Bisquits,365 soups.
The other 3 have a Lady on the front cover,are called,Soups and Sauces,Breads and Puddings.
My son found the books in the garbage,years ago.

I also have a Swedish Cook-Book from 1909,where everything is very basic,even tells you how to pluck a chicken before cooking itit's really neat.
I was given that from a Swedish chef-friend of ours.

[joeysmama]

The oldest cookbooks I have are ones my parents gave me when I got married nearly 30 years ago. The ones that you all have from the early part of the century sound fascinating. (probaby worth something too.) Even the old Better Homes and Gardens cookbook that my mother gave me seems more old fashioned than any of my other cvookbooks. More basic stuff. My daughter has an American Girls cookbook that corresponds to her Molly doll and the recipes in that are from the 40's. So different.

I love to read old menus too. There's a restaurant near here that has it's old menus from the 20's hanging up. Not just the prices that are really different. The menu is nothing like what you would see today.

[Patchie]

Originally Posted by pattymac

My Mom and I have some really old cookbooks that she's had since the 40's!! There's a Five Roses Flour cookbook and a Purity Flour Cookbook. Pretty neat, it's amazing how recipes have changed over the years. Very little spices were used, even garlic is kinda rare. The books are mostly cakes and stuff being that they were put out by flour companies. Lots of yummy cakes and stuff though.

It would be lovely if you'd share some of the recipe here.

[Ernestine Sims]

Old cookbooks are both delightful and weird. I remember watching one Ellen video, there was a gelatin using tuna as an ingredient which made me feel very uneasy.

That being said, I'm sure your cookbook won't have any of those 'recipes'.

[Barkingdog]

Yeah and the recipes aren't healthy at all . I have one of my mom old cook book and they call for a lot butter and sugar . They taste good !