1924: domestic dishwashers

There are a few things that I feel continually thankful for day after day... my husband, work opportunities, and most recently my dishwasher. With the amount of dishes that are dirtied around here, I would likely be a less pleasant person to be around without this wonder machine.
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While the patent was purchased in 1886 and the dishwasher made its debut at Chicago's World Fair in 1893, it wasn't until 1924 that William Howard Livens invented a small dishwasher suitable for domestic use. It had many of the features of a modern dishwasher, including a front door for loading, a wire rack to hold crockery and a rotating sprayer. Although a novel idea for the time period, Livens' invention was not, however, a commercial success. 15 years down the road, electric drying elements were added making the product even more enticing.

While the dishwasher saw more success on the commercial front at first, it was the 1960's & 1970's when they started showing up in a large number of household kitchens.
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I'm not in the market for a dishwasher, but if I was, I would be lured by the following:

The Bosch product on the left is Consumer Reports favorite, while the Italian made SMEG on the right has definite retro appeal, the reviews are less than favorable.

1927: popsicles

It would be a shame if I did not pay tribute to the quintessential summer treat...the popsicle. (I had a delicious strawberry pop for breakfast yesterday & thought it was a brilliant idea.) As you enjoy this frosty treat, think about paying tribute to Mr. Frank Epperson and the "Epsicle."
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"The third member of the great novelty trimuvirate of the 1920s was born on a cold eureka-shouting morning in New Jersey in 1923. The inventor was Frank Epperson, who made lemonade from a specially prepared powder that he sold at an Oakland, California, amusement park. While visiting friends in New Jersey, he prepared a batch of special lemonade and inadvertantly left a glass of it on a windowsill with a spoon in it. The temperature went down below zero during the night and in the morning Epperson saw the glass. He picked it up by the spoon handle and ran hot water over the glass freeing the frozen mass. In his hand was the first Epsicle, later to be known as the Popsicle. Epperson saw immediately the potential of what he held in his hand and applied for a patent, which was granted in 1924. He was fortunate, because research conducted by The Ice Cream Review in 1925 revealed that a major ice cream company was experimenting with "frozen suckers" at the time of the windowsill incident, and as far back as 1872 two men doing business as Ross and Robbins sold a frozen-fruit confection on a stick, which they called the Hokey-Pokey."
---Great American Ice Cream Book, Paul Dickson [Atheneum:New York] 1972 (p. 83)
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My recipe revamp and vote for a homemade popsicle recipe is below:

Watermelon Popsicles

Yield: 8 servings

INGREDIENTS
2 1/2 cups seeded diced watermelon
1/2 cup fresh raspberries or frozen unsweetened, thawed
6 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

DIRECTIONS
Combine all ingredients in blender; puree until smooth. Strain into 2-cup glass measuring cup, pressing on solids to extract as much liquid as possible. Pour puree into Popsicle molds, dividing equally. Freeze overnight. (Can be prepared 1 week ahead. Keep frozen.) photo

1924: America's First Lady of Food

As I was curled up anxiously engaged in my new reading material, a quote on page 16 grabbed my attention creating one of those "AH HA!" moments. The quote had to do with America's First Lady of Food, Ms. Betty Crocker. She gave, " new ideas to old cooks, and old ideas to new cooks." I am a firm believer in the concept of history repeating itself. As I consider myself a "new cook," I consistently find myself interested in old classic ideas. Well put Betty!

While we're on the subject...Betty Crocker was not one of the women pictured above. That's because she never really existed! It was the idea of her, that prompted Fortune magazine to name this happy homemaker the second best known woman in the entire United States — right behind Eleanor Roosevelt. Not bad for someone who never really existed.

Betty secured her place in history through the radio. She began local radio programs in 1924, followed by national networks 2 years later and continued to feed homemakers advice for 3 more decades. "Betty" was actually a team of home economists employed by the Washburn Crosby Flour Company. (the creator of the domestic goddess) Although she was impersonated by various actresses, her mission was always the same to salute those fine homemakers of America telling them "how to buy, what to buy, and how to make the best with what was available," according to the Chicago Daily Tribune.
(source)
In honor of Betty, I whipped out my very cherished 1st edition Betty Crocker Picture Cookbook and decided that a classic corn bread recipe was in order. I feel like this is very Julie & Julia of me and will channel my inner Julie Powell tonight. Results tomorrow. (hopefully)

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RESULTS

While Betty's Southern Cornbread recipe didn't knock my socks off, it wasn't bad. (especially when smeared with honey butter) I think this calls for a recipe revamp. I knew that there wasn't nearly enough butter or sugar in her recipe. I'll post a perfected cornbread recipe when I nail it down.
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p.s. If you would like to learn more about Betty, look into purchasing this little gem.

1920: baking bread

In 1920 over 70% of American's baked their own bread! That's domesticity at its finest. In an effort to kill two birds with one stone, I'm sharing a Banana Bread Loaf recipe. Consider this the "recipe revamp" from yesterday's Banana & Popcorn Salad and a tribute to all of those bread baking goddesses!

Banana Bread Loaf

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 eggs, beaten
2 1/3 cups mashed overripe bananas

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a 9x5 inch loaf pan.
In a large bowl, combine flour, baking soda and salt. In a separate bowl, cream together butter and brown sugar. Stir in eggs and mashed bananas until well blended. Stir banana mixture into flour mixture; stir just to moisten. Pour batter into prepared loaf pan.
Bake in preheated oven for 60 to 65 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into center of the loaf comes out clean. Let bread cool in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack.

1920's: recipe revamp?

I'm reading this fabulous book right now that highlights classic recipes from different decades. Lucky for me (and you) I found a recipe from the 1920's entitled Banana & Popcorn Salad.

Yikes!
What were they thinking?! Straight from the author's mouth, Sylvia Lovegren calls this
"The Worst Salad of the Twenties."

Take a gander at the recipe & tell me what you think. I have a feeling opinions will be unanimous.

Banana and Popcorn Salad

1 banana, peeled and cut in half, length-wise
1 lettuce leaf
Popcorn
Mayonnaise

Place banana on lettuce leaf. Scatter popcorn over banana and place dabs of mayonnaise here and there. Makes one serving.

ahem...stay tuned for a revamped recipe tomorrow.

p.s. I thought about making this recipe to shoot a picture, but I couldn't bring myself to waste a perfectly good banana.

1920's: refrigerator

Can you imagine life without a refrigerator? Well, thanks to the "Roaring 20's" this convenient chiller was well on its way to making life easier for Americans. Although it's actual birth was in 1876, during the twenties there were over 200 models that were introduced to the market.