Something From the Oven, Laura Shapiro | 334 pages
The 1950's: suburban living, housework in pearls, casseroles and cakes, and everything you can possibly put into Jello. Or was it? This book looks at the intersection between many elements at play in the tumultuous 1950's. It certainly wasn't all June Cleaver. The overwhelming marketing of the era has shaped what we think of how women felt but the reality was slightly different - far more women worked away from home than the media would show, and far more women cooked real food as well (despite the ubiquitous images of TV dinners). Did you know the first cake mixes were actually complete - no added ingredients except water - but unsuccessful commercially? Women felt like they were cheating, not adding that bit of love/effort a celebration cake requires. The food industry had to find the perfect balance point between cost, effort, profits, and image on the many new products on offer.
The later half of the book focuses on profiles of women in the food industry of the time from the imagined ones like Betty Crocker and the full spectrum of real ones from Poppy Cannon (The Can Opener Cookbook) to Julia Child (The French Chef). Shapiro also explores the genre of domestic chaos writing vs reality, even for the authors.
I quite enjoy this type of non-fiction. If anyone else does as well, I highly recommend A Square Meal (looking at the USDA food programs) and Consider the Fork (a history of eating utensils).
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