Date: Fri 07-Aug-1998

Publication: Bee

Author: DONNAM

Quick Words:

Booth-Jell-O-Elsie-cookbooks

Full Text:

Old Cookbooks Celebrate The Joy Of Fat And Sponges

(with photo)

Everything you took for granted -- or outright abhorred -- about growing up in

the 30s, 40s and 50s is huge again! Take, for instance, three hot collectible

cookbooks selected for special offering at Newtown's Labor Day Book Sale by

Booth Library's cookbook expert Gloria Palmer.

Recently Gloria kindly explained about grandma's culinary secrets. Gloria sat

resplendent in her 40s yellow-and-blue-flowered apron, as she sliced her nifty

50s carrot and almond cake into minute equal slivers for the 20 volunteers

gathered to sort books.

"Fat," says Gloria. "It's all in the fat. For instance, this cake has no

flour, just ground almonds, so it's loaded with fat. Pretty good, huh? Fat

adds flavor."

Certainly Elsie the Cow would agree. Elsie's Cook Book , written in 1952 with

help from Harry Botsford (it's hard to type with hooves) is overflowing with

useful recipes that incorporate more fat into your diet. But its real appeal

comes from the chapter introductions.

Each begins with an anecdote about Elsie's and Elmer's marital

miscommunications. Elmer is bullish on male stereotyping and Elsie really

stars as the bovine queen of the subtle put-down. Elsie does relent to give

Elmer some credit. In "Outdoor Cookery" she declares, "Outdoor cookery is a

man's job" and it "calls for good timing, but the man of the house will soon

learn to manage nicely."

Curiously, Elsie is not a vegetarian and she is well traveled for a cow. She

denotes a chapter to soups, in which she exhorts cooks to "simmer soup lazily"

as the French do. ("Chicken feet, scalded and skinned, make one of the best

soup materials.")

Elsie also recommends using spices in moderation and wine, because it

"tenderizes and mellows" cheap cuts of meat, as "the Old World cooks

discovered." Plus its alcohol evaporates in cooking, so your family will not

become addicts. However, Elmer reminds us that "the swellest dishes in the

world came right out of American farm kitchens." This is, after all, cooking

in the McCarthy era.

Gloria has two other promotional cookbooks from the 30s printed by competing

gelatin manufacturers. Mrs Charles B. Knox goes the educational route and uses

the motto "Eat plenty, wisely and waste nothing" on the cover of Food Economy

. Inside she offers a plethora of Knox Sparkling Gelatin recipes, most notably

several for "sponges," which seem to be whipped and chilled concoctions of egg

white and gelatin.

There are the three full pages of household hints. A favorite is, "Are you in

the habit of wasting stalks of cauliflower? Cut them lengthwise into two or

three pieces... tie in bundles and cook as asparagus; then drain and mask with

a white Hollandaise sauce." Who will guess?

For the delicate stomachs of invalids, Mrs Knox suggests creamed chicken salad

accompanied by a "delicious and sustaining drink" of raw egg white beaten with

orange juice. Salmonella be damned!

Incidentally, to "cut the high cost of eggs... preserve them in water glass

for winter use. Never wash or clean eggs, as it will remove the protective

gelatinous coating." Put the eggs in a stone jar filled with one part water

glass, available at any drug store, and ten parts boiled water.

Lighten up, Mrs Knox; let Jack Benny and Mary Livingstone show you how in Jack

& Mary's Jell-0 Recipe Book . This 1937 comic masterpiece printed in

four-color features recipes for all "6 delicious flavors" of Jell-O...

strawberry, raspberry, cherry, orange, lemon and lime. It's also chock-full of

bad jokes. (Jack: Why is Jell-O like a boy before Christmas? Mary: Because

it's twice as good as before!).

You can even mail away for "dainty aluminum" Jell-O molds, "yours at a bargain

price... 6 individual size or 1 large... only 25 cents." You will want these,

because "Jell-O is so gay and sparkling."

Gloria has lots more cookbooks, several signed by the authors. In fact, the

Booth Library Book Sale will offer over 100,000 books -- including hardcovers

and paperbacks in more than 70 categories -- and recordings during the 1998

Labor Day weekend. Additionally, over 8,000 brand-new books on a variety of

subjects have been donated by The Book Review of Newtown. The sale's science

fiction section will be the largest one for the Booth Library's sale ever.

Now in its 23rd year, the book sale will be held, for the second time, inside

Bridgeport Hall on the campus of Fairfield Hills, September 5-9. Hours are

Saturday and Sunday, September 5-6, 10 am-5 pm; Monday, September 7, 9 am-4

pm; Tuesday, September 8, 2-6 pm; and Wednesday, September 9, 10 am-4 pm.