1950s Food Porn: The Good Housekeeping’s Cookery Book

Good Housekeeping’s Cookery Book was first published by Hearst Magazines inc. in 1944. A revised edition was printed in the UK in 1951 and 1954.

This revised edition contained over 500-pages of recipes. It was compiled by the Good Housekeeping Institute and illustrated with 32-pages in black and white and twelve in colour. There was also a chapter on wines by Andre L. Simon, President of the Wine & Food Society.

 

The Good Housekeeping’s Cookery Book was a national best-seller, the go-to book for the “housewife” who wanted to make housekeeping “a pleasure rather than a burden.”

The main aim of this recipe book was to “avoid monotony, for monotonous meals are both boring for the cook and disappointing for the family.”

The Good House Keeping’s Cookery Book offered suggestions for planning meals, seasonal cooking, how to prepare meats, and ways to ensure children received the correct vitamins and minerals through diet.

The coloured plates featured come from my Mother’s edition of Good Housekeeping’s Cookery Book. It was given to her as a wedding present in 1957. Some plates are more dog-eared and torn than others. These were the pages used most regularly for their recipes of steak pies, grilled fish, and soups.

 

 

MINESTRONE

2 tomatoes 1 quart good stock
½ lb. carrots Seasoning
A small piece of turnip A bouquet garni
2 stalks celery 2 tbsps. macaroni
1-2 leeks or onions A small cabbage heart
1 rasher streaky bacon 2 tbsps. chopped parsley
1 oz. butter or olive oil Grated cheese to serve separately
1 clove garlic

Prepare the vegetables and cut them into small neat pieces. Rind and dice the bacon. Heat the fat and sauté first the bacon, then the vegetables for 10 minutes. Add the crushed garlic, the stock, seasoning, and the bouquet garni, cover and simmer for about ½ hour. Then add the macaroni and the shredded cabbage heart, and continue cooking for a further ½ hour, or until the vegetables are quite tender. Reseason and remove the bouquet garni. Just before serving, add the finely chopped parsley. Serve with grated cheese handed separately — see colour picture facing page 65.

 

 

 

INDIVIDUAL SPINACH TIMBALES

(See colour plate facing page 97)

2lb. spinach 1 oz. margarine
Salt and pepper Fried bananas (see page 517)
1 egg Cooked peas

Cook the spinach until tender, drain thoroughly, sieve or chop finely, add salt and pepper, the beaten egg, and the margarine. Put into some greased dariole moulds, cover with greaseproof paper, and steam for 20 minutes. Turn out on to a hot dish, and add the bananas and peas

FRIED BANANAS

3 bananas Fat for frying
Egg and breadcrumbs

Cut the bananas in half lengthwise, egg-and-crumb in the usual way, and fry till golden brown.

 

 

 

STUFFED ROAST HEARTS

Fill the heart with veal forcemeat or sage and onion stuffing. Sew up with fine string and place in a baking tin with dripping. Bake in a moderate oven, basting frequently, and turning the heart several times. Great care must be taken to cook heart gently, otherwise it may be tough. Cook until tender, allowing 2-3 hours for a bullock’s heart, 1-1½ hours for a calf’s heart, and ¾ – 1 hour for a sheep’s heart. Serve with thickened gravy, and have red-currant jelly a bullock’s heart.

Small hearts may be arranged as seen in the colour picture opposite page 129, with alternative rows of cauliflower sprigs, sprouts and piped mashed potatoes.

 

 

 

 

FRUIT BUN PUDDING

(See colour picture facing page 288)

6 oz. flour 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
¼ oz. yeast Stewed damsons, plums or apricots
4 oz. sugar Beaten egg
¼ pint milk Sugar glaze
3 oz. fat

Put the flour into a bowl and warm slightly. Cream the yeast with 1 tsp. sugar and add the warmed milk. Melt 2 oz. of the fat and add to the flour, with the yeast and the milk. Using the hand, beat thoroughly to form a soft dough, the put aside in a warm place. When it has doubled its bulk, remove from the bowl and knead thoroughly, then roll out into an oblong. Brush it with the remaining melted fat, sprinkle liberally with sugar and cinnamon, roll up and cut into slices. Put the fruit in a dish, place the buns on top (cut side up), and set aside to prove. Brush over with a little egg and bake in a hot oven until golden-brown and well-risen–about 15-20 minutes. Glaze with a little sugar and water, and return it to the oven for 2-3 minutes.

 

 

 

 

CARAMEL SOUFFLE

1½ oz. loaf sugar 4 tbsps. water
1 tbsps. water 1½ oz. crushed almonds rock or ratafia biscuits
¼ pint milk ½ pint cream or evaporated milk
6 egg yolks 4 egg whites
2 oz. castor sugar Whipped cream
¾ oz. gelantine (short weight)

Prepare a soufflé case. Put the loaf sugar and water into a saucepan and cook to caramel colour. Add the hot milk to the caramel, re-dissolve, and pour on to the beaten yolks and castor sugar. Cook gently until thick. Dissolve the gelatine in the water over gentle heat, add it to the custard, and cool. Stir in the almond rock or ratafias and the half-whipped cream or milk. Whip the egg whites very stiffly and fold into the mixture. Put into the prepared case and allow to set. Before serving, decorate with cream, sweetened and flavoured to taste.

This mixture may also be set in a deep glass bowl–see colour picture facing page 321.

 

 

 

 

CHOCOLATE GINGER FUDGE

1lb. granulated sugar 1 oz. butter
½ pint milk 2 oz. preserved ginger
4 oz unsweetened chocolate 1 tsp. vanilla essence

Dissolve the sugar in the milk, add grated chocolate and butter to 238° F., stirring all the time. Remove from the heat, add the finely chopped ginger and vanilla essence, beat until creamy, turn into a buttered or oiled tin, press with a spatula, and cut up when cold.