Remember two weeks ago when we mentioned the flour sack inserts found many years ago in most five-pound sacks of flour? In the recipe collection we were given, a number of them were saved. Much like my mother and I, Marty Stover and her mother collected them too.
Mainstream products always have recipes which the manufacturer tests and retests in their corporate kitchens. Pillsbury, Gold Medal, Robin Hood and Martha White (White Lily) companies all had books, booklets, pamphlets and single paper inserts, which through the years, carried thousands of recipes from their kitchens to ours.
Every housewife had her favorite brand products. For my mother, Robin Hood flour, then Gold Medal were her favorites. In later years, she settled on Gold Medal. So, I always had Gold Medal in the flour canister, unless one of the others was on sale, hopefully with a coupon to match. By the way, coupons back then were a whopping 10 cents. Perhaps 15 cents, and only once in a great while, 25 cents. Of course, the sack of flour sold for 49 to 55 cents.
From the thirteen inserts we found, here are a few of the popular recipes from the 40s. Notable are the references to wartime baking, use of commodity points and the victory garden. Pillsbury Flour wrote of “extending dozens of precious foods…using no ration points.” Gold Medal Flour included recipes for using victory garden produce, a Victory Luncheon Menu and shortening-reduced pies and eggless cakes. Recipe instructions are recorded as written back then.
- 2 cups sifted Pillsbury’s Best Enriched Flour
- 3 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 3 tablespoons sugar
- ¼ cup shortening
- ¾ cup milk
- butter
- 3 cups fresh or canned, drained fruit
- ½ cup shortening
- 2/3 cup packed brown sugar
- 1 egg
- 2/3 cup molasses
- 2 cups sifted Gold Medal “Kitchen-tested” Flour
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 2/3 teaspoon baking soda
- 2/3 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/3 teaspoon ginger
- 2/3 cup hot water
- 6 tablespoons shortening-part butter
- 1 cup packed brown sugar
- 1 ¾ cups sifted Gold Medal “Kitchen-tested Flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ cup cold water
- Chopped nuts
Next week we’ll look at the 50s and 60s.
Contact Connie at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or Box 61 Medway Ohio 45341.