Vintage Cookbooks Passed Down in the Family

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I've received a few from my Mom -
Betty Crocker’s Cooky Book (1977)
Amish Country Cookbook, vol 1 – Das Dutchman Essenhaus (1979)
and I think I brought home some more last time I was there, but can't remember which ones. newer ones. She didn't have many cookbooks. I do have her handwritten book and all of the cutouts that she put in a photo album.

and one from my husband's Grandma - Woman’s Home Companion Cookbook (1943) - held together with a rubber band. :)
 
KathyJ said:
I've received a few from my Mom -
Betty Crocker’s Cooky Book (1977)
Amish Country Cookbook, vol 1 – Das Dutchman Essenhaus (1979)
and I think I brought home some more last time I was there, but can't remember which ones. newer ones. She didn't have many cookbooks. I do have her handwritten book and all of the cutouts that she put in a photo album.

and one from my husband's Grandma - Woman’s Home Companion Cookbook (1943) - held together with a rubber band. :)
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What a blast from the past. My husband and I ate our wedding dinner at Das Dutchman Essenhaus 14 years ago. I bought a cookbook there called Salads and Dressings. I only bought it because it had their recipe for slaw dressing in it. I still use it today.
 
when my uncle passed away a few years ago, i was asked to clean out his apartment in brooklyn. i donated all of the furniture and other belongings to charity, but i made sure to keep an old wok, cast iron frying pan, and my (also passed) aunt's hand written personal cookbook/notebook.

i thought it was going to contain all of these rare scottish recipes passed down through the ages, but i had to chuckle at how many clippings from old magazines and other recipes that she'd collected that started with "1 pkg instant mix", "add a can of mushroom soup", or "1 box jello brand gelatin" as their ingredients.

i then realized that she was a busy nurse in the 50's and was living the post war american dream with my uncle, all ready in an instant. just add water, lol.
 
1001 ways to please a husband: The Bride's Cookbook 1958
Cutco cook book 1961
The Art of Making Italian Deserts 1955
I use these daily; most pages are falling apart, spines crumbled and edges shredded. The 'please a husband' one has 'large sizes' for entertaining.
I use that one the most. Yes, it's been most effective for making my marriage happy!:cool:
 
joesfolk said:
What a blast from the past. My husband and I ate our wedding dinner at Das Dutchman Essenhaus 14 years ago. I bought a cookbook there called Salads and Dressings. I only bought it because it had their recipe for slaw dressing in it. I still use it today.
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I'll have to see if it's in my cookbooks... in addition to vol 1, they've also put out vol 2, 3, and 4, which I have thanks to ebay. Since I had taken Mom's copy, I got my sister a copy of vol 1. vol 1 has a great Marshmallow Brownie recipe. seems like there were quite a few recipes we used when I was in high school...
 
giginpeppep said:
1001 ways to please a husband: The Bride's Cookbook 1958
Cutco cook book 1961
The Art of Making Italian Deserts 1955
I use these daily; most pages are falling apart, spines crumbled and edges shredded. The 'please a husband' one has 'large sizes' for entertaining.
I use that one the most. Yes, it's been most effective for making my marriage happy!:cool:
Click to expand...

Oh I just love that you mentioned 1001 Ways to Please a Husband. I have never seen one and was curious since I have heard it mentioned before. This inspires me to look for one. Thank you for posting!! :wub: Cindy
 
KathyJ said:
I've received a few from my Mom -
Betty Crocker’s Cooky Book (1977)
Amish Country Cookbook, vol 1 – Das Dutchman Essenhaus (1979)
and I think I brought home some more last time I was there, but can't remember which ones. newer ones. She didn't have many cookbooks. I do have her handwritten book and all of the cutouts that she put in a photo album.

and one from my husband's Grandma - Woman’s Home Companion Cookbook (1943) - held together with a rubber band. :)
Click to expand...

You're making me feel like an old lady. I have cookbooks from the 70s that I bought new.

The only cookbook I have from my mother she bought for me. Mesterkokkens Store Kogebog - that's Danish for "The master chef's big cookbook". It's big and heavy and she brought it in her luggage on a trip to Montreal from Copenhagen.
 
taxlady - I think my Mom bought them new then also... I don't really remember her using cookbooks when I was growing up. She was a farmer's daughter and wife. She does have some that she cut out of (I'm assuming) a church cookbook - wish I could find that as a complete cookbook. No idea of the title. Probably where she grew up or where they first lived when they were married. So, somewhere around Zeeland or Hudsonville, Michigan.
 
Kathy, If you ever find the name of the cookbook let me know. I live in the Grand Rapids area and go to lots of yard sales. I see these kind of cookbooks often and if I come across it I'll send it to you.
 
My Mom never used a cookbook. She cooked from memory.

Dad was a chef who worked for a firm that ran in-plant cafeterias. He would spend days in different kitchens ensuring everything was running well.

As a kid I was tasked with typing up recipes for his cookbook after dinner. He'd dictate and I'd type. He kept all the recipes in a black 5x7 three ring binder. It's gone. I assume his boss got the cookbook. I wish I had it.
 
joesfolk said:
Kathy, If you ever find the name of the cookbook let me know. I live in the Grand Rapids area and go to lots of yard sales. I see these kind of cookbooks often and if I come across it I'll send it to you.
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that would be great! Unless one of my aunts has a copy, I don't know how I would find out the name. I can check with them.

I do have two complete pages from it. One from the Candy & Nuts section and one from the Canning section (tabs off to the side). Recipe Titles are in Caps and Underlined.

Candy & Nuts is page (31) with only two recipes on it - Karmel Korn by Mrs. Eugene Van Der Kolk and Popsicles by Mrs. Dale Van Der Kolk.

Canning is page (32) with five recipes - Lazy Wives Pickles by Mrs. John Hopp, Old Fashioned Pickles by Mrs. Daryl Newhouse, Bread and Butter Pickles by Mrs. Marvin Van Der Kolk, Icicle Pickles by Mrs. Pete Walters, and Bread & Butter Pickles by Mrs. Edward Mast.

I'm assuming it's a church cookbook - set up that way with the names. I also would assume it's a Reformed Church cookbook as that's the denomination my family went to. I'm also guessing late 50's to the 70's.

that would be great if you could find a copy - thanks joesfolk!
 
Guilty as charged--I have over 1000 cookbooks--many of which were purchased at thrift stores, yard sales, and auctions (the "mother load" came from an auction 2 years ago--over 500 were added for $12). I'm on my 2nd Joy of Cooking--the first one fell apart.

I have the 1951 Better Homes and Garden Cookbook--got at an estate sale years ago, same edition as my mom's. The White House Cookbook (from my grandmother), The Boston Cooking School Cookbook (my great-aunt) and Amy Vanderbilt's Complete Cookbook. The older ones do make interesting reading. And, I've used recipes for wild grapes from the White House Cookbook. I'm forbidden from buying any more cookbooks. My DH had to build a new bookcase for the auction ones. I have no more room for cookbooks. I had to create a spreadsheet to keep track of all of them.

I love church cookbooks and Junior League cookbooks. When I traveled, I used to buy those because they were reflective of the region and the foods people ate.
 
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CWS4322 said:
Guilty as charged--I have over 1000 cookbooks--
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CWS4322 said:
I'm forbidden from buying any more cookbooks. My DH had to build a new bookcase for the auction ones. I have no more room for cookbooks. I had to create a spreadsheet to keep track of all of them.

I love church cookbooks and Junior League cookbooks. When I traveled, I used to buy those because they were reflective of the region and the foods people ate.
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1000 cookbooks...WOW! A kindred spirit with a passion like my own. I loved reading your post. Thank you for sharing your enthusiasm! Oh...and BTW who is DH? Cindy :wub:
 
I can't remember my maternal grandmother cooking, but I know that my paternal grandmother was part of the 'cook by memory' crowd. My father is much the same way, as am I when I can be. Inevitably it's up to me to jot down as many recipes as I can (including my father's eggplant parmigiana recipe which is considered something sacred). One of my goals is to have a recipe book that can either be inherited throughout future family or at least sent out into the world to be used by others for years to come (high hopes but dangit, sometimes a hand written recipe book you can flick through feels so much better than scrolling through countless webpages).

Having said that I have a big obsession fascination with vintage home economics/housekeeping books. Unfortunately where I'm located means I'm not lucky enough to find such books in thrift stores/garage sales and have to rely on eBay and the like. I think the oldest book I have in my collection is from the 1920s which was intended for school girls (though I can't remember off the top of my head if it even had a cooking chapter, I only remember the cleaning and dressmaking).

One of the most curious books I have is from the 50s called 'The American Way of Housekeeping'. From what I can work out, it was written for Japanese women who married American men (either continuing to live in Japan or having immigrated to the US) and teaching all the typical customs and duties of the housewife. I am pretty sure there was some rather typical meat-and-potatoes type recipes littered throughout the book (I think I need to dig it up again and have another look).

I could probably be a very happy girl if I somehow ended up with an original copy of Mrs Beeton's Household Management and Mrs Beeton's Cookery (more to read than use... the copious amounts of lard is downright frightful).
 
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