A couple of days ago this image of a Betty Crocker cookbook was posted on Facebook. A friend of mine from high school made a comment.
Several other friends and family (of a certain age) also made comments. In fact, there were 87,000 comments so I guess it’s no surprise I knew a few of the people who had to say something about Betty Crocker and her famous cookbook.
I own this cookbook. I love this cookbook. In home ec (economics for the youngster readers) class in high school we were offered the opportunity to buy this cookbook. I don’t remember the cost at the time, but I do remember it being a major purchase that I considered an investment in my future. It doesn’t just have recipes for real, nourishing food, it’s a portable, timeless home ec class. The inside cover has a chart of herbs & spices and what kind of food to use them in. An introductory chapter includes food terms, instructions on how to measure ingredients, and how to choose the correct cooking equipment. Chapters are divided by type of food and each one has what to remember when planning, hints and tips about the ingredients, how to choose the freshest, serving suggestions, and more pictures of the cooking process than of the completed recipes. There’s a whole chapter titled Special Helps at the end of the book. Believe me when I tell you it was invaluable in the days before the internet and Pinterest.
After the tornado, this cookbook was one of the few things I regretted losing in the storm. At the time, I replaced my high school Betty Crocker cookbook (1971) with a newer version (2000) but it wasn’t the same. One of my favorite go-to recipes, New England Pot Roast (page 240) didn’t have the flour, salt & pepper rub in the later version and, in my opinion, that’s what made the roast (and the gravy produced in the cooking process) so delicious. I suppose the later version reflected a cultural change away from carbs and fat.
Several years later, I ran across a copy of the cookbook in one of those antique and consignment mall store places in Branson, Missouri. The binding was wrecked and the pages were stained almost identical to the one I’d lost in the tornado. I wondered if it might have been mine, found by someone half way across the state. I bought it for a few bucks and took it home where Randy drilled holes in it with his drill press and I put it in a binder so I could use it till the end of my days.
The whole Betty Crocker story is quite interesting. She isn’t, and never was a real person. In fact, the lost art of home economics is fascinating to me. Our world today could use a lot more home economics and shop class in the public school curriculum. But it’s probably politically incorrect to point that out these days.
I think back to how, in public school, I learned about cooking and sewing and balancing a checkbook. I am grateful for those things. Things I could use in the real world. Things that helped clarify rather than confuse my identity, and prepare me for adulting. They taught well and I learned well. I look back 50 years and know I’ve had my share of success and competence in life.
I am grateful for a mom and dad who taught me to be responsible and conscientious by expecting me to be responsible and conscientious. I am grateful for a husband who excelled at shop class and can fix almost anything that needs fixing. I am grateful that I grew up in an era where we fixed rather than discarded things. It’s a cliché, probably, but that’s probably why Randy and I are still married…47 years in December.
If you followed the “never a real person” link above you know that one of the main goals General Mills in creating the Betty Crocker character was education. I’d never thought about it before, but fictional Betty Crocker was a major educational influence in my life. I’ll take her over, say, the Kardashians, any time, any where.
P.S. We went to a wedding on Saturday. We were the last couple standing for the Anniversary Dance with the newlyweds. I was really, really proud of that.
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