Foods ot the
30s and 40s
Mary Eccher outlines food fashions
and shows us how to miniaturize them
OCTOBER 1990
by Mary Eccher - page 1 of 7
The Thirties
The ups and downs of the 30's are legendary. The Wall Street "crash" was followed by the Great Depression; but it also was a time of uncomplicated living. Instead of television, the family surrounded the radio for the Saturday night play or variety program, or spent the evening at the Bijou watching a double-feature of the new "talking" pictures.
In the kitchen, new innovations began to make life easier and speedier. With the introduction of the mechanical refrigerator (which put the ice man out of business), homemakers started enjoying a new world of food preservation and preparation. Now, anything that could made in a gelatin mold soared to the top spot on Americans' menus. Ice cream could be made effortlessly in freezer trays instead of by the old muscle-building, handcranking method that was necessary before.
Besides the mechanical refrigerator, the 30s gave birth to the blender, the pressure cooker, and an oven that would maintain a constant temperature. Many convenience foods were born, such as Bisquick, Jello Puddings, and Clarence Birdseye's frozen fruits and vegetables. Ritz crackers were introduced and were an instant success, and Kellogg's All Bran and Wheaties hit the grocery store shelves. Margaret Fogarty Rudkin set up a bakery in a former pony stable on a Connecticut Farm!
Its eventual name? Pepperidge Farm!
Homemakers enjoyed cooking and were eager to try new recipes. The dollar-conscious woman planned everyday menus around macaroni and cheese, scalloped potatoes, cabbage, vegetables, and the abundantly available fish, or veal and pork as substitues for chicken. The homemaker still made her own pies and cakes, and dried fruits appeared in many variations such as prune whip, apple cobbler, or raisin pie.
A new menu idea of the 30s was the main dish salad which could have appeared on the table as a tossed green salad or jellied and molded. And, for the first time, men were inspired to "get involved" in the kitchen and many found a creative outlet in the new, relaxed custom of the cookout, called "outdoor supper".
The 30s brought with them economic depression, then reconstruction --- limited budgets even for necessities, then an improved financial climate. In foods too, the 30s swung from budget-minded staple foods to experimenting with regional and foreign dishes. So, the decade that came in at such a low ebb bowed out with promises of better things ahead.
Photo by Mary Eccher
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