Finding Betty Crocker by Susan Marks

Author:Susan Marks
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: SOC035000
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Published: 2005-08-25T04:00:00+00:00

Betty Crocker’s Picture Cooky Book (1948) served as a prototype for Big Red’s cookie section.

All You Have to Do

Big Red is not just for dessert. Every major recipe category—the proverbial soup to nuts—is fully represented, with dishes to suit every taste and occasion: Red Cinnamon Apples with Tiny Sausages, Melon Ball Salad, Braised Lamb Shank, Mushroom Polenta, Kaedjere, Lumberjack Macaroni, Hot Tamale Pie, Chicken Tetrazzini, Pompano en Papillote, Chicken Chow Mein, Cheese Dreams (grilled cheese sandwiches), Carrots Ambrosia, and Eggs à la Goldenrod. Betty’s repertoire contains more than a few surprises. Nestled among menus for “cozy family suppers” are recipes for squirrel and rabbit dishes (“Best in the fall and early winter”), “Sub-Gum Curry,” and Surprise Pancakes, subtitled “vegetables in disguise.”

Big Red is just as much a reference work as it is a collection of recipes. Betty details her tips for cooking success down to the letter. “All You Have to Do” is her catch-phrase for ease and simplicity—whether the reader is learning to cook or looking for a refresher on how to properly store potatoes, slice bread, cut onions, or differentiate cuts of meat. The guide to “Useful Kitchen Utensils” compares gadgets from roasting pans to ramekins, and even the stickiest substances—from shortening to grated cheese—are a snap to measure Betty’s way. Food substitutions, abbreviations common in recipe notation, nutrition, and meal planning all receive their due. “Smart homemakers say: ‘My meals are more interesting … because I avoid repetition and plan for variety in color, texture, and flavor.’ “ Case in point is the perfection to be had in lattice-top fruit pies of every variety, equal in eye and appetite appeal.

Like Betty’s radio shows, her cookbook is a compendium of food “facts” and historical tidbits. “Serve them up as table conversation,” Betty suggested. “They’ll make cooking, and eating, more fun.” It was Cortez the Spanish conquistador, for instance, who initiated Westerners’ love affair with chocolate, while appetizers date back to ancient Greece and Rome. Coffee’s legacy from Abyssinia to the Americas is traced here. “Now the art of making good coffee is an asset to successful homemaking.” And to accompany coffee—muffins, a term that comes from “little muffs” to warm the fingers. Hush puppies got their name from Florida hunters whose dogs whined over being denied the spoils of the camp fish fries. The hunters tossed leftover corn patties to the dogs, calling “Hush, puppies!” and they did.

The joy of cooking being far from a universal experience, Betty Crocker’s staff modulated Big Red to suit the inhabitant of any kitchen, be she reluctant or passionate. Like any good book, however, it had to be read to be useful. “Heed the directions,” readers were repeatedly urged. “Cooking success is up to you.” Before she could do for others, a good cook had to care for herself. Saving time, energy, and money was an economy soothing to every spirit. In “Short Cuts” came a detailed blueprint for improving domestic life. True to the tenets of home economics, Betty advised homemakers to “Make every motion count” and “Let your head save your heels.

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