The 1950s Kitchen by Kathryn Ferry

Author:Kathryn Ferry
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: The 1950s kitchen
ISBN: 9780747811602
Publisher: Osprey Publishing
Published: 2011-07-03T16:00:00+00:00

Timer-control cooking was sold as the ultimate convenience. With the Flavel ‘Autocrat’ you could ‘Go shopping … see a film. A hot meal will be waiting when you walk in the door.’ Advertisements glossed over the fact someone still had to prepare the food!

Many people who lived in older houses outside urban centres still made do with the traditional larder but the tide of public opinion was being relentlessly turned in favour of refrigerators. They were built into the kitchens of post-war prefabs because they saved space and, until councils ran out of money, they were also fitted in local authority housing. The larder began to disappear from kitchen plans; in 1955 The Daily Mail Ideal Home Book confidently asserted that ‘The new house or flat has [a refrigerator] installed as a matter of course, and the new housewife begins her catering life with it, never knowing the inconvenience of limp and not quite fresh foods and milk.’ Not having to shop every day saved time while reduced food spoilage, combined with the ability to store and use up leftovers, saved money, an estimated two to three shillings a week. Piling on the pressure, the Gas Council’s compendious guide to The Happy Home stated as fact that ‘Every housewife today aspires to own a refrigerator, which is indeed essential for the safe and satisfactory storage of perishable foods.’ Concerns about food hygiene had been on the increase since certain preservatives were banned in 1928 and from that time on advertisements for refrigerators began to prey on fears of unseen decay. The housewife who was unmoved by potential labour-saving benefits could not be so heartless as to neglect her loved ones’ well-being because, as a 1959 Prestcold promotion declared, ‘a refrigerator affects the health of the family. In an ordinary larder germs multiply fast – even in winter. But food in a refrigerator is safe food, because it is kept cool enough to prevent the action of bacteria.’ A modern kitchen was a healthy kitchen.

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