Food and Drink #22: 1950s Cookbooks


From Sour Cream: The Gourmet Touch to Everyday Cooking (cover pictured above):

They sure were creative with their food names back then: Oeufs Benedict Nouveau?   Chicken Pork Divinity?

There's no copyright on this cookbook; but I presume it's from the 1950s (or early 60s).

A close up of Oeufs Benedict Nouveau.  I can't decide if it looks appetizing or disgusting.

The ingredients and food combinations always astonish me when looking through these old cookbooks.  The Kiddiwiches contain cheddar cheese, carrots, peanuts, sour cream and raisins, all mashed between buttered bread.

I love the egg yolk just sitting there in the middle like the Eye of Sauron.  This sounds utterly disgusting.

Another cookbook without a copyright.  Nothing special in this one; but I like the cover.

The Morning Milk cookbook is from 1954 and is full of good stuff...

...like this Cheeseburger Loaf.  Let's have a closer look...

The Serve Eggs Some Way Every Day cookbook doesn't contain any illustrations.  It's just as well.

The Casserole Cookbook from 1956.  Casseroles reigned supreme in the 50s.

This one is full of lively cartoons throughout.  Such as this charming depiction of a Chinaman.

And this charming depiction of a turkey about to be decapitated.

And this depiction of Satan scaring small children. (Dogs can detect evil.)



  1. Whoa, the Casserole Cookbook calls for a lot of MSG, straight up. Those crazy, migraine suffering mid century cooks....

  2. I have the Casserole Cookbook, it's part of a series. I am making it my personal mission to get the rest of those insane, racist, MSG filled books!

  3. A few weeks ago, at my request, my 84-year-old mother made a vintage pineapple upside-down cake. It was fantastic.

  4. I'll take the Yulekaka and cheeseburger loaf.

  5. I have a whole collection of these types of books dating from 1917 to the 70s, my favorite is 300 ways to serve eggs from 1940. There is a Halloween egg salad recipe where you add orange food coloring! YUM!