It has been said that a true reflection of society can not be found in history books or great literature, but in the advertisements and merchandise that it leaves behind.
As I get older, I find it difficult to let go of the retro relics of my parents and grandparents. One would think a mangled old cookbook would've made it into the trash several decades ago. But the Betty Crocker New Picture Cookbook of the 1960s has always been nearby. Not for its recipes— if you're interested in taking a trip down Cholesterol Lane this is the Bible for fatty foods— but for its remembrance of a simpler time.
As I get older, I find it difficult to let go of the retro relics of my parents and grandparents. One would think a mangled old cookbook would've made it into the trash several decades ago. But the Betty Crocker New Picture Cookbook of the 1960s has always been nearby. Not for its recipes— if you're interested in taking a trip down Cholesterol Lane this is the Bible for fatty foods— but for its remembrance of a simpler time.
Of course the 60s were not without their problems, but during the Cold War comfort food was king and in its court was the modern housewife. The 60s housewife was the kitchen magician that could entertain on a moment's notice. As stated in chapter 1 of the Betty Crocker New Picture Cookbook, she knows "how to set an attractive table at meal time”–an art form that has lost its popularity with our mega-fast microwave meals of the 21st century.
And for planning foods that go together, the Betty Crocker New Picture Cookbook of the 1960s offers this poetic advice:
Something soft and something crisp
Should always go together,
And something hot and something cold
No matter what the weather;
Serve bland foods with tangy sauce
And garnish them with green.
If you will use these simple rules
you'll be your family's Queen
The scarcity of men doing chores (unless he's barbecuing at the grill), is almost comical throughout this book. Nowhere is there evidence of a man in a supermarket. And quite often, he's being greeted at the door or served coffee by his beautiful housewife––always in formal evening attire.
The pictures are so bright and colorful they bear an uncanny resemblance to the Technicolor movies so popular during the day of Ben Hur and the Sound of Music.
The cookbook opens with a section on "kitchen know-how."
You can't help but grin at this advice for the modern 60s housewife:
Refresh Your Spirits
Every morning before breakfast, comb hair, apply makeup and a dash of cologne.
Does wonders for your morale and your family's too!
Think pleasant thoughts while working and a chore will become a “labor of love.”
Have a hobby. Garden, paint pictures, look through magazines for home planning ideas, read a good book or attend club meetings. Be interested–and you'll always be interesting!
All this is delightfully amusing to a freelance designer that has spent his entire career looking through (and creating) magazines, paints pictures, and has done all the cooking in my home for quite some time now.
I'll pass on the makeup and a dash of cologne.
My wife is still the family's queen, she's just that 9-5 (with a good deal of overtime) mom, right here in Good Ole' 2011. It's just my turn to say "Ward something's wrong with the Beaver," when she arrives at the door.
