In today’s episode, Bex Scott shares vintage advice and tips for the retro homemaker from “The Homemaker’s Encyclopedia - 1952” book that she recently acquired. Featuring of-the-time shopping advice, meal ideas, kitchen planning suggestions, and more, this is a genuine blast from the past glimpse into the housewife’s day-to-day mealtime expectations. Join Bex for a trip into the past and learn some new (old) ways to shop and cook to please your family.
In today’s episode, Bex Scott shares vintage advice and tips for the retro homemaker from “The Homemaker’s Encyclopedia - 1952” book that she recently acquired. Featuring of-the-time shopping advice, meal ideas, kitchen planning suggestions, and more, this is a genuine blast from the past glimpse into the housewife’s day-to-day mealtime expectations. Join Bex for a trip into the past and learn some new (old) ways to shop and cook to please your family.
“The Homemaker’s Encyclopedia -1952” includes such chapters as “Marketing Know-How”, “Different Items You Can Stock in Your Larder”, and “How Much Is Enough”. The author encourages women (the target audience for this book since it was women, the wives and mothers, who did all the grocery shopping, meal planning, and cooking in the 50s) to be unafraid of experimenting with “new foods, new recipes, and new ways of cooking”. She maintains that careful planning will enable women to provide balanced nutrition and budget-conscious meal preparation for their families. Bex also shares an amusing section on grocery store etiquette (including the gem “Dogs must be left outside, but children must often be brought inside”) and specific kitchen design shapes that maximize efficiency in prep and service. For lovers of vintage, retro cooking ideas, and amusing throwbacks, this episode is a must-listen.
Resources discussed in this episode:
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Transcript
Bex Scott: [00:00:02] Hey everybody, it's Bex Scott and welcome to the Pyrex with Bex podcast where, you guessed it, I talk about vintage Pyrex, but also all things vintage housewares. I'll take you on my latest thrifting adventures, talk about reselling, chat with other enthusiasts about their collections, and learn about a bunch of really awesome items from the past. Subscribe now on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you love listening to podcasts so you don't miss a beat.
Bex Scott: [00:00:31] Hey everybody, this is Bex Scott and you are listening to the Pyrex with Bex podcast. On today's episode, I thought it would be fun to go through a newly acquired book that I have called The Homemaker's Encyclopedia Food Buying and Meal Planning. Now this beauty is from 1952, so it is exactly what you might expect. The content is all about the woman being at home being the homemaker, the man going out and working his 9 to 5 job and coming home to his children and his wife being ready to serve him his meal and for him to relax with a drink in his hand. And I wanted to read some excerpts of this book to you because it was honestly very entertaining to read and to just note how different times are now than they were before. In my household right now my husband does all of the cooking. I like to do the cleaning. We both work and we both equally contribute to raising our three kids, and it was just really interesting to read through the difference in how they used to do things. And I know a bunch of you can probably remember this from your childhood, maybe your parents. That was the dynamic for them back in the 50s, and it would just be interesting to hear your take on things in your memories of how things were.
Bex Scott: [00:02:11] So I wanted to start off by going through the introduction, because I believe that this gives you, as it says, a good introduction to this interesting book. So it says "Every homemaker is conscious of the need to try to get the greatest value for the money she can spend. How to do this while still continuing to provide meals that are nutritious and varied, is the subject of conversation whenever good housewives get together. Books such as this can be of great help. In an interesting fashion with easy-to-follow suggestions, the author ranges over the fields of marketing and menu planning in an effort to help you in your daily program". Now, when they say marketing, this is kind of embarrassing because that's my field of work. I'm in marketing. And when I read that, I was really confused about what they were talking about. Marketing is actually going to the supermarket. So yeah, that was an interesting enlightning fact for me. "While keeping the main objective in view, that of securing the most nourishing foods at the prices you can pay, she nevertheless succeeds in proving to the reader that this branch of homemaking need never grow uninteresting or monotonous, just as the meals you serve need never become dull for your family. The willingness to experiment, to try new foods, new recipes, and new ways of cooking should be part of every housewife's equipment. In many an old-fashioned American household, the food followed an unvarying pattern: a roast on Sunday, hash on Monday, chowder on Friday, beans on Saturday, or whatever". Or whatever. "Before the family entered the dining room, they knew exactly what would be on the table".
Bex Scott: [00:03:58] Growing up, we had roast every Sunday and that was honestly the best day of the week for me. My mom's roasts, they were amazing. And when we go back home to visit with them, my mom still likes to make a roast for all of us when we get together. "Most younger women are more flexible than the old-time cooks. They are learning some of the secrets of using unusual flavor through spices, herbs, and sauces to borrow from other nations some tricks of applying imagination to the food they serve their families. American menus would be the poorer without Swiss and Italian cheeses, Hungarian goulash, French and Vienna breads, chili con carne, chow mein and chop suey, Irish stew, frankfurters and sauerkraut, England's plum pudding, or whatever your particular favorites happen to be. Bearing this in mind, you need never be afraid to experiment or pioneer in foods or methods. In this book, along with practical advice on efficient shopping techniques, cooking shortcuts, and dollar stretchers, you'll find a view of meal planning as a family affair. To many women, marketing and cooking is a burden because they do all of it alone. The author suggests ways in which the other members of the family can help. Father with the marketing, the children in preparing meals and helping to serve them. Making these projects a part of your family's life seems a practical application of homemaking. That art, which is, in the last analysis, the most important profession open to any woman".
Bex Scott: [00:05:28] So now we get into the good stuff. So we've been introduced to the book, know a little bit about it, so part one is meal planning. "Number one, a good meal doesn't just happen. The experienced traveller knows that the success of a trip depends on thorough, beforehand planning. Just so homemakers whose meals get consistent rave reviews from family and friends will tell you that a good meal is made at the meal planning desk rather than at the cook stove". And there's a nice picture of a woman sitting at her meal planning desk, and it says, "when you plan ahead, you can relax and enjoy meal times too". I can tell you that my husband doesn't have a meal planning desk, but I'm going to ask him now if he would like one, and I'll let you know what he says. Okay, so it says, "and while impromptu meals can be lots of fun once in a while, a steady succession of haphazard conglomerations tells its story in flurry and worry, not to mention the added expense which substitutes for proper planning. Your family will probably be most interested in how the food looks and tastes, and in whether you are calm and cheerful or cross and worn out when you join them at the table". I can tell you that our two sons could care less what the food looks like. They are more interested in how it tastes and how quickly they can consume it. "You, on the other hand, will be equally concerned with balancing the budget and the nutritional scale, for you know that the actual health of your family is dependent upon the meals you serve. Every smart woman knows that you can lead a husband to vitamins, but you can't always make him eat". That is something that I have never heard before. "This holds true of children as well and harping on food values usually creates eating problems rather than converts to balanced nutrition. When you plan ahead, you can relax and enjoy meal times too, secure in the knowledge that you are giving your family food they need in ways they enjoy it, with a maximum of economy and a minimum of work".
Bex Scott: [00:07:39] And then it goes into "four ways to help you turn meal planning from a hand-to-mouth operation into a pleasant and worthwhile habit". Next up, this is a little pull quote that I had to share with you guys. It says "Entree, usually a made-up dish of an unusual food". So if anybody ever asks you what an entrée is, please be sure to use this definition. Okay next up we have the elements of a successful meal. "When you get right down to the business of meal planning, you must remember to coordinate a number of other factors with your four menu factors of: number one nutrition values, number two economy or money-saving, number three efficiency or time and effort saving, and number four" is my favorite "honest to goodness pleasure in eating". That's why I eat. Not to survive. I eat to enjoy and experience the pleasure in eating. "So you may want to introduce new foods, provide an invalid diet or entertain company on a budget. You may decide to streamline the family's collective waistline through a high-protein but low in calorie diet. Or you may yearn to cut down on dirty dishes and utensils so as to have more time for after-dinner fun with the family. And don't think for a moment that to do all these things, you're going to have to sacrifice personal or family preferences and foods, or throw out the window sectional or national ways of eating that are dear to your heart and traditional in your family. Actually, whatever you want to accomplish through your meals, within reason, of course, can be yours if you plan it that way and then follow through to the best of your ability".
Bex Scott: [00:09:27] Next, it says "nutrition needn't be complicated. Once upon a time, you may have worked your way through a school course on home economics. Remember the complicated charts of vitamins and minerals, the graphs of calories and carbohydrates, and the mystic terms you studied? It was all very complex, and you may or may not have absorbed enough to apply to your own food problems when you set up housekeeping. Today, a very simple and pleasant formula has been devised to help you see that your meals are going to nourish your family by supplying the foods and food elements that are needed for good health. You don't have to worry about each individual vitamin and mineral. Instead, you follow the basic seven food group outlined here. And if your family eats the suggested number of servings from each group, you can rest assured that their food needs will be well supplied".
Bex Scott: [00:10:17] Next up we have "Part two, marketing know-how", not the marketing I thought it was. "How to shop: attitudes and ideas. With the caveman, getting food was a matter of tracking it down, whacking it over the head, and dragging it home. It was dangerous, yes. Monotonous? Hardly". This is a good intro. It's a solid start to this chapter. "Today, the getting of food or shopping is much simpler, yet much more complex. While the caveman never had an opportunity to choose from the marvellous array of foods to be found in the modern market, neither did he have to cope with nutrition or decide which of 65 varieties of vegetables was the right one for him". Man, times are tough for those cavemen. "Small wonder that today's homemaker finds shopping such a challenge. With so many things to choose from, how is she to know which foods were stocked with her in mind? Actually, marketing can be a job in which the whole family takes part. Once upon a time, men played a large role in buying the family food in this country. Then it became exclusively the woman's province. Today, Dad is not only bringing home the bacon, but buying the groceries too, especially on weekends. Current figures show that at least 25% of the groceries in this country are bought by men. And if you can make shopping a real family project by getting dad and the children into the act, you'll be doing a real educational job as well as making fun time for something that might be just another chore".
Bex Scott: [00:11:47] Okay, here are the "certain fundamental things to remember in shopping. Choose the right store. Some books on food give glowing descriptions of the joys of searching out rare spices and unknown foods at little shops, buying bread here, meat there and cheese somewhere else, and so, on until you've been all over town assembling your groceries. And indeed, this is the way that housewives in many other countries have to shop. But in the United States, the large market with every kind of food possible assembled and spread out in orderly rows containing everything plainly visible and clearly marked, has become such a tradition that few families would know how to operate without it. Here you see women in mink pushing carts next to women in shabby coats, all bound together in an effort to get the most for their money. Certainly, there are not many women who would deliberately spend enough time or shoe leather to shop item by item in different stores. One big factor that has played a part in the growth of such large markets has been the fact that with their cash and carry policy, and with everything arranged for self-selection and self-service, your food dollar really goes for food, not for service. On the other hand, the smaller grocery stores make up in service what it lacks in savings. Just be sure that you really need credit, telephone shopping service, and delivery, before you become a steady customer at such a shop, for you may be sure that you pay for these services and added food costs, and this is only fair for it costs your grocer extra to provide them. If you're working or there is a new baby or illness in your home, or you are far removed from any shops, then the telephone shopping and delivery service may be a necessity for you. But even then, you'll be wise to try to arrange an expedition to the nearest market once every week, or even every two weeks, to stock up on staple items and canned goods".
Bex Scott: [00:13:40] We definitely do that. We go to Costco, I think, at least every two weeks, sometimes every week. We're big Costco people. "The fancy grocery or delicatessen has its place in the shopping scheme of things, but is not for you on a budget. Fine hothouse fruits or deluxe foods are grand as an occasional treat, but don't belong on your regular shopping list. After all, the most expensive food is not necessarily the most nutritious. The delicatessen stays open long hours and can be a lifesaver if you happen to forget something". Next up, they talk about shopping in person if possible. "This is the only sure way of getting what you want and what you need, particularly in regard to meats and vegetables and fruits, where real saving or waste is involved. When you are shopping in a market, remember to mind your manners. Small children and dogs are a nuisance. Dogs must be left outside, but children must often be brought inside". Interesting. "Don't put babies into the push carts unless the store provides a special kind which has a place for baby. Don't let your toddler run wild through the sections. Not only is it most annoying to others, it can be dangerous if he pulls stacks of cans down on top of his head. And if your older child feels the need for action, keep him from ramming the push carts into others or from working up speed on the curves around the canned goods by giving him a job to do, such as keeping track of your checklist. Don't block the aisles with your basket while you talk with a neighbor. When you get in line, don't keep others waiting by scrambling back for one more item. And don't try to force your way ahead of others who were there before you. Shopping in a regular store also calls for manners. You may have been a customer for years, or you may be a real favorite with your butcher. Still, you can wait your turn pleasantly and without engaging service personnel in conversation at a time when they should be concentrating on other people and their orders. Don't ask for more than one delivery a day, and don't telephone for service just a few moments before closing time".
Bex Scott: [00:15:53] I want to go back to the dogs must be left outside, but children must often be brought inside. Okay, next up we have a section about different items that you can stock in your larder. My favorite one is cheese. I love cheese, I could eat cheese all day, every day. And one of my favorite memories was when I went to the grocery store with my parents, and I think this was the first time my dad had ever been to the cheese section, because he couldn't believe what he was seeing. He didn't know there were so many different types of cheese, and I think my mom and I went off to do the grocery shopping, and my dad stayed in the cheese aisle the whole time, just trying to figure out what each of them were. So this section reminded me of that memory. So "cheese comes in a bewildering variety of types and forms, domestic and imported, and for a great variety of purposes. It is, in its less exotic forms, a very economical source of protein, and supplies vitamins and minerals too". These are all really great reasons that I like to tell myself when I overeat cheese, that I am getting all the vitamins and minerals that I need for my body. "There are three general categories used for convenience in classifying cheese: soft, semi-soft, and hard. Many cheeses are available in each group. Usually, cheese is a matter on which you wax enthusiastic or are content to stay with 1 or 2 mild favorites". I think my dad would probably fall into the wax enthusiastic category after that grocery shopping trip. "Gourmets are conscious of slight variations in flavor and traditionally favor the imported cheeses or used to. For recently, very fine cheeses have been made in the Western Hemisphere. If you are a cheese lover, you may have the attitude that processed cheese is only for cooking. It is not only an excellent melting cheese, but for the average family provides very good eating. In addition, processed cheese can be kept on the pantry shelf for emergencies. The larger-sized packages are usually more economical. Cheese spreads and mixtures can be bought in jars and are convenient for party occasions, if a bit more expensive". I also love a good cheese in a jar. Cheese Whiz on toast is great and when I was pregnant with our daughter, Kraft singles were my number one craving. So that is a very strange piece of knowledge about me.
Bex Scott: [00:18:26] Okay, number ten is "how much is enough? Estimating amounts can throw the inexperienced housewife into fits". Fits, huh? "Everyone has his own classic example of the bride who tried to buy potatoes by the piece, or thought that a pound of rice was barely enough for four people". I don't know that we do have those examples. Okay. "To save you from the experiences that are supposed to teach you, but usually just make you suffer, or to refresh your memory and serve as a handy reference guide, here are some hints on amounts to buy for each serving. How much meat to buy for dinner? How many servings will come from a pound of fresh beans? A number two and a half can, or a frozen package. The food shopper, with an eye to thrift and good management, learns to buy carefully just what she can use", and then it goes into different amounts for what you should need for cooking, which is actually kind of handy.
Bex Scott: [00:19:24] Next up we have "Storage, preparation and serving: kitchen convenience. Your kitchen is the room in which you spend many of your waking hours. Therefore, you want it as attractive and cheerful as possible. Because everything in it comes in contact with your food, you want it as sanitary and easy to keep clean as you can make it. Those things are important. But to you as a cook, the prime consideration in a kitchen is efficient and helpful arrangement so that everything is where you can find it and use it quickly and easily. The less stooping, bending or stretching, the better. The more working and storage space, the happier you'll be. Good ventilation and adequate lighting, both in the center of the room and again over each working area, are of primary importance. A posture stool or chair will let you relax for the many jobs which can be done just as well sitting down. Basic kitchen arrangement. There's a pattern to kitchen arrangement, or at least there's supposed to be. Ideally, a kitchen has lots of wall space and little floor space. It is not a corridor from the front of the house to another room or outside, and the walls are not broken up with lots of doors and windows. It is three basic work centers. The storage area around the refrigerator which should be nearest the back door, the preparation department which is the sink with workspace on either side, and the cooking and serving section, which should be nearest the dining area so that food can be put right on the table while hot".
Bex Scott: [00:20:49] "The U-shaped kitchen is usually considered the most efficient. Here your equipment is grouped on three walls and you have few steps between your three work centers. The L-shaped kitchen is next in preventing waste motion. Space along two walls is provided for the equipment, and often the portion remaining can be made into a dining area, business space for your desk and cookbooks, or play space for the children. The two-wall or corridor kitchen can be as efficient as a ship's galley, unless it's a passageway to the back door. The one wall or Pullman type kitchen is convenient for use, but usually lacks adequate cupboard space".
Bex Scott: [00:21:28] Next up we have "Seasonings, salads, sandwiches, and serving. Some women have a gift for turning out flavorful meals with the hot things hot and the cold things cold, with interesting contrast and textures and tastes, and served in gay and colorful fashion. Others serve the very same meal just as well cooked, to be sure, yet so dull and uninspiring". I think if I cooked for my family, I would probably fall into the dull and uninspiring category. Which is why I love that my husband likes to cook because he is great at it. I remember one time I made my mom's meatloaf recipe for our kids. I loved the meatloaf. I thought I did it right. But I think that was the last meal I attempted to make for them, because I was so crushed that they didn't like it that I probably, I don't think I made anything again after that except for baking. I love baking, so cakes and banana bread and all that kind of stuff. So it says, "what is the secret? Well, one thing is the matter of proper seasonings. You may have a shelf full of neat little spice jars and herb containers, yet how often do you use them and do you really understand how and when to use them? And what about seeds, poppy seeds, sesame seeds, and the many other kinds? How about the different flavors you can achieve by using different vinegars and cheeses? Have you tried wines in your cooking efforts?" I've tried drinking the wine while I cook. That's great. "In general, how well developed is your sense of gastronomic curiosity? Are you willing to experiment, to try new ways of cooking your old favorites, and to offer your family new tastes occasionally? If you can answer yes to most of the above questions, then your flair for interesting meal-making is well above average. If you say no to too many of them, try to widen your scope of activities by experimenting more and investigating new products".
Bex Scott: [00:23:26] "Meal time coordination. Chilled plates and chilled ingredients for salads. Hot plates for hot foods. These are part of getting the meal to the table in attractive form. For no one cares to eat lukewarm salad or meat in lukewarm gravy. Basic preparation and meal planning often come to grief at this point, for as much organization is needed at the moment of cooking as at any other point in meal making. Go back to your basic arrangement of your kitchen for real efficiency. The fundamental idea was to establish a traffic flow from storage to preparation to cooking, so that no time was lost and that food could be gotten to the table right from the stove. Somewhere in the traffic flow, you must be operating as a thinking director. You must have the ability to look at your menu and recipes, decide which foods must be prepared when, and then see that cooking time is so handled that your meat and potatoes are ready at the time that your salad is prepared, dessert ready, and the table ready and waiting. Experience and actual one, two, three planning are the only way to develop the ability to coordinate a meal perfectly".
Bex Scott: [00:24:33] Last in this amazing book, we have a section called Camouflage Ideas. I had to read this because I didn't know what they meant, and I really needed to know what camouflaging was. "Sauces, stuffings, relishes and other accompanying dishes are methods of camouflaging either the shape or taste or amount of the foods you are serving. Sauces are valuable because they contribute to the food value and appearance of foods, and add flavor and moisture to those that need it. Good sauces are perfectly blended, smooth in texture, have no lumps, and are neither too heavy nor too thin. By serving leftover vegetables and meat in such forms as au gratin", that's not how you say it. I apologize. That was terrible. "or a la king, you create a whole new flavor treat, and make company fare out of icebox items that otherwise wouldn't stretch. Stuffings may be used to add flavor and to extend a basic food that is in short supply. Don't forget that you can stuff many forms of meat as well as poultry and fish. Remember that stuffing is meant to be a mixture with variations of seasonings. It should be neither too dry nor too moist. Relishes in accompanying dishes like dumplings, Yorkshire puddings, and cranberry sauce are excellent for bringing out the flavor of other foods". Okay, that wasn't as bad as I thought. When they said camouflage, I had pictured in my mind what we do to get our toddler to eat vegetables by hiding them inside of fruit purees and disguising things. So not as bad as I thought.
Bex Scott: [00:26:15] Okay, well, I hope you guys all enjoyed this little trip into the 1950s of food buying and meal planning, and maybe you learned a thing or two that you can apply to your kitchen or your marketing. I know I sure did. I'm going to be passing many of these tips off to my husband, for sure, and maybe we'll even have him on a next episode to give his input on this amazing book. So feel free to find me on Instagram @PyrexWithBex. Shoot me a DM, give me a follow, and I will see you next time.
