vintage cookbooks

[genuineimitation]

anybody into vintage cookbooks? i've gotten some pretty outrageous stuff at the stores over the years. I love to see what people used to cook vs. how we handle food now. I just got one of those little pamphlet cookbooks from the 50's all about hamburger and hot dogs. i thought i'd freak the kids and cook something from it.. i couldn't! everything sounded so disgusting! meatloaf with canned spiced peaches on top, and diced up hot dogs in some kind of creamy sauce. I just picked up a book about japanese home-style cooking which is encyclopedic in it's listings for food products, and old-style ways for creating different fermented foods. i'm always on the lookout for stuff from different cultures.

[Good Buddy]

We love vintage cookbooks and have dozens.
We've got 30 + Better Homes and Gardens, as well as the Lipton Soup or Campbell's books. We have dozens of ethnic cookbooks as well mostly Italian cooking though.
Cookie and I enjoy looking for recipes to try out and are always fascinated by the strange recipes housewives were supposed to make.

[foutchie]

I have both the Woman's Home Companion Cookbook and Sunbeam mixer that my mom got when she was married in 1953 - use both regularly - made mashed potatoes with mixer tonight, in fact!   This cookbook is a good one - lots of info with a minimum of "regrettable" foods.

[Thrift Shop Romantic]

For historical/ephemera purposes, the old cookbooks tickle me greatly. It really does try to evoke what the image of perfection and perfect hostessing was for the time.

I do have my mother's old Betty Crocker cookbook-- also have one in a newer edition-- and use those for making actual edibles regularly. Very handy!

[thriftymama]

I actually have no interest in cookbooks. I think it's because I have no interest in cooking. 
My mother-in-law however has over 1000 cookbooks. I'm not sure if any are vintage, but I'd be willing to bet many are. She likes those church/community ones, that come from a collection of people. Those are fun.

[HS Tory]

Betty Crocker original red & white binder - yeah! 
I also love to grab old recipe boxes at thrift stores - FULL of treasures, indeed!

[genuineimitation]

my mother in law thrifted an old gold medal flour recipe file. it's green tin, with all the cards still in it. i love it. she's a pretty good thrifter.

[ChrisMiss]

I too love the vintage cookbooks.  I look through them while at the thrift store and if I like it I buy it, read it, then store it with my daughters collection of cookbooks.  I've got no room in the RV for lots of books, just current reading material.  My favorite was one from 1976 that had sections on different cultures of the US, many recipes of those cultures, where the dish originated, etc. and how recipes have changed over time because of easier techniques such as baking soda and baking powder.  It was like a mini history lesson.

[Monimania]

I have a bunch even though I cant cook!

[midibidi]

Hello:
I'm new to the forum. From Southern Minnesota, USA. My daughter and I comb the thrift stores together. ($5 sack sale, Sundays.. woohoo!!!)
I collect vintage cookbooks. I love the pictures, I love the old typestyles... I cannot IMAGINE actually cooking some of the recipes, although I have noticed a few I want to try out.  I have listed one or two cookbooks on ebay. (One sold to someone who was 'in it') How many cookbooks do I own... 100's. (and I add more every time I visit a thrift store)

[Scott]

My wife has started collecting Fannie Farmer cookbooks, so I've been keeping my eyes peeled for them at thrift shops. The seem much harder to come by than Better Homes & Gardens cookbooks ... there are usually piles of those in every store, it seems.

And welcome to the forum, midibidi! Where in southern MN are you from? I lived in Minneapolis for 30+ years, but also lived down in Northfield for about 5 or so years. How is the thrifting down in your area?

[Other People s Junk]

I cannot IMAGINE actually cooking some of the recipes, although I have noticed a few I want to try out. 

   I know what you mean!  I have one old handwritten cookbook from the 30s that has a recipe for Blood Cake in it!  Eww!   

By the way- WELCOME!!

[midibidi]

Hello,
I know where 'Minneapolis' is... and also Northfield. I'm currently 'from' Waseca. (by FarmAmerica) My husband and I bought 10 acres out in the country. So nice to have space... Lots of yard to mow, however. (Previous to being married, I lived with my parents, and we moved what seemed like a million times... true it was only 17 times... but seemed like more) My children have lived in 2 places. Our house in town, and our house here. I've lived in Grand Marais, Lutsen, St. Peter, Eagle Lake and Mankato. *Born in Mankato. I cannot imagine living in Minneapolis,myself.. I stayed in California, Los Angeles area, for several months in the 1980's and when I came home from there, Minneapolis seemed really mellow in comparison. 4 lanes of traffic, instead of 8, you know what I mean... We have a cabin in Floodwood, 40 miles west of Duluth, so we go through Minneapolis when we go up there. (80 acres wooded, no lakes)

[Scott]

I love all parts of Minnesota! The southern rural part of the state is gorgeous, as is the Duluth area,  but my "home" will always be Minneapolis ... even though right now I live in central Illinois.

Great to have you here on the forums!

[midibidi]

I know what you mean! I have one old handwritten cookbook from the 30s that has a recipe for Blood Cake in it! Eww!
**I was curious and looked up blood cake... and actually, one was made from rice and pig blood and actually sounded good... (how much worse could it be than a sausage or a hotdog.. that is also made of byproducts and bloody meat...) I may sound weird, and rightfully so, but I like fried deer heart and pickled chicken gizzards/hearts and I admit that I have eaten cow tongue.. turtle, hmmm... and, to be quite honest, they all taste about the same.  You have to boil the turtle, gizzards/hearts and tongue for hours to make them edible... or pressure cook them..  No, I am not desperate for food here...  (was just trying to think what other strange sounding foods I've tried..)
frog legs, snails, my hubby tried kidneys a while ago (without me...) and said they were good. oh, yes, and head cheese and pickled pork hocks are pretty good too.. although I think a person could cut up a pork chop and use it instead and have the same flavor.. my mother used to make us eat chicken fried cow or pig liver once in a while... (if you used enough mustard, you could get through the experience)
SMILE....  Just make sure your flour mix has Lawry's, poultry seasoning, garlic powder, pepper, cornmeal, powdered beef boullion in it... you'll like it too! (mix them all together and run them through your food processor)  -- oh, and by the way, my 'side of the family' is all from Duluth... back to the 1800's   (smile)