Author: vtspecblogger

Betty Crocker at 100

On By vtspecbloggerIn Feature Items, Just for funLeave a comment

2021 is the 100th Anniversary of Betty Crocker! Here at Special Collections and University Archives, we have over a hundred books and pamphlets throughout the years from this iconic company. While these are a sampling of our wide collection, here are a few books that SCUA staff find interesting.

Betty Crocker’s Cooky Book

  • Cover of Betty Crocker Cooky Book
  • Pg 50 of the Cooky Book
  • Pg 57 of the Cooky Book

Featuring over 450 recipes, you are sure to find a cookie recipe for everyone’s palette. This cookbook has been a staple in many kitchens since 1963, containing everything from drop cookies to Christmas favorites.

How to Prepare Appetizing, Healthful Meals with Foods Available Today

  • Cover of Betty Crocker Pamphlet
  • Pg 14 and 15 of Pamphlet
  • Back of Pamphlet

Like many food companies during World War II, Betty Crocker was involved with the war effort. This booklet from 1943 helped housewives to create good meals with rationing. Before the food pyramid, there was the Basic Seven Food Groups, as seen on the back of the booklet. This helped home cooks not only use rationed foods wisely, but in a healthy way as well.

Let the Stars Show You How to Take a Trick a Day with Bisquick

  • Cover of Betty Crocker Pamphlet
  • Pg 25 of Pamphlet, ft. Bette Davis
  • Pg 31 of Pamphlet, ft. Clark Gable

Before celebrities were sharing their recipes on Instagram, celebrities were sharing cooking and entertaining tips in newspapers and pamphlets. In this pamphlet from 1935, stars like Clark Gable and Bette Davis share their Bisquick tips for afternoon teas, snacks, and other meals.

How to Have the Most Fun with Cake Mixes

  • Cover of Betty Crocker Pamphlet
  • Note from Betty Crocker to Readers
  • Pg 4 of Pamphlet, White Cake Mix recipes

Betty Crocker is not only an icon in cookbooks, but also in cake mixes as well. This 1955 pamphlet features Betty Crocker cake mixes and recipes to spruce up each box to create something new. As Betty Crocker is known for recipes that are quick, easy, and fun, this pamphlet helps home cooks achieve that.

While this only a small sampling of our Betty Crocker collection, we encourage those interested by the home culinary icon to check out the Special Collections and University Archives website for a full list of the rest of the collection.

It’s National Pumpkin Month!

On By vtspecbloggerIn Feature Items, Just for fun, RecipesLeave a comment

October is National Pumpkin Month! If you are not sick of pumpkin flavored everything by now, how about you try your hand at a few pumpkin recipes from the stacks here at Special Collections and University Archives.

Recipe 1 – Pompkin

  • Cover of American Cookery
  • First Version for Pompkin on pg. 34
  • Second Version for Pompkin on pg. 35

If you are feeling slightly adventurous, try out one of the earliest ways to make pumpkin “pie.” When the first pumpkins appeared in European and American cookbooks, a common way to prepare them was hollowing out the pumpkin, filling it with a sweet, spiced milk mixture, and then baking the pumpkin. This recipe is from the first American cookbook, America Cookery, by Amelia Simmons in 1796.

Recipe 2 – Betty Crocker’s Pumpkin Pie

  • Cover of Betty Crocker’s Pie Parade featuring Gold Medal Flour
  • Recipe for Pumpkin pie on pg. 22
    Also includes other pie recipes

Still don’t know how to make this classic American holiday dessert? Well Betty Crocker has you covered. Known for her Picture Cook Book, this 1957 pamphlet features the best of Betty’s pie recipes.

Recipe 3 – Pumpkin Chiffon Pie

  • Spine of Culinary Arts Institute Encyclopedic Cookbook
  • Recipe for Chiffon Pumpkin Pie on pg. 585

Wanna feel fancy with your pumpkin pie? Upgrade it to a chiffon pie! This Encyclopedic Cookbook from the Culinary Arts Institute from 1948 will help make a fancy pie in no time.

Recipe 4 – Pumpkin Cake

  • Cover of Easy Homemade Desserts with Jell-O Pudding
  • Base recipe for Pumpkin Cake
  • Pumpkin Cake version recipe from the Base Recipe

Are you a lazy cook but still like delicious treats? Then grab a boxed mix of yellow cake and butterscotch pudding to add to your canned pumpkin for a delicious Pumpkin Cake from this 1979 Jell-O recipe book.

There are countless more cookbooks and pamphlets here in SCUA that have all sorts of pumpkin goodies! You can also learn more about the history of pumpkin pie through the Food Timeline! If you want to try something new at Thanksgiving or Christmas, come check them out!