lost & found cookbooks

The Ham What Am

"60 WAYS TO SERVE ARMOUR'S STAR HAM"

This undated (circa 1915) promotional cook booklet from Armour uses  "The Ham What Am" slogan throughout. Armour hired early advertising guru John E. Kennedy, who created a campaign using colloquialisms to market to different populations -- including Italians ( "The Ham What Ees") and Germans ("The Ham Vat Iss"). While these stereotypes are unappealing today, they were one of the first attempts to advertise to different ethnic groups.

Nicely illustrated and historically interesting.

[buy it at oldcookbooks.com]

Jewish Cookbook with Passover Recipes

"JEWISH COOK BOOK"
Florence Kreisler Greenbaum
1918, 1931

This scarce old Jewish cookbook is subtitled "1600 recipes according to the Jewish dietary laws with the rules for Kashering". The introductory section sets forth the rules for making meats and poultry kosher.

The section that caught my interest is a chapter entitled "Mehlspeise (Flour Foods)" with recipes for kraut, pear, noodle, apple and rice kugels as well as several variations of [schalet]. I was surprised at the variations of this dish, which is described alternately as a pudding to more of a fruitcake and can be made as a Shabbas soup or Passover dish (Matzoth Schalet).  This is one of those recipes that made me long for a Jewish mother of my own.  The first recipe for Apple Schalet is complex with layers of dough and fillings and is served flaming at the table -- not recommended for the novice! The second is a more manageable rendition and I've posted the recipe [here.]

Many terms have unexpected spellings. For example, matzo is referred to both as matzo and matzoth and schalet is spelled both with and without the "c". One of the mystery utensils used is a [spider]

There is a chapter devoted to Passover and the index shows dishes for Purim and at least seven versions of Chicken Soup, including one with Tamales!

Sample recipes for [Apple Shalet] and [Matzoth Shalet (Passover)].

[buy it at OldCookbooks.com]

[more old Jewish cookbooks]

Yes, We Have No Abalone

"THE NEW BASIC COOK BOOK"
Heseltine and Dow
1956

The intro to the first edition of this cookbook points out that the reader will "look in vain for recipes for regional specialites such as abalone steak or papayas".  As the title suggests, this is a basic American cookbook with emphasis on good, simple food. Homemaker's who started their married life with this thick cookbook received precise and direct instructions for all aspects of food preparation including nutrition, menu planning, budgeting , measurements, and cooking methods along with hundreds of basic recipes. Additional chapters cover maid service and table settings. It is a well-organized and thorough basic guide still useful today. Processes are illustrated with step-by-step photos or drawings.

I like the section entitled "What to Do with Foods that Accumulate" which is an index to using leftovers, presenting ideas for everything from using dry and stale bread, to leftover coffee and sour milk.