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Tuesday, April 17, 2012

Kitchen Oldies but Goodies

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We do a fair amount of crock pot cooking, more so in cooler weather than warmer. Lately, I’ve been looking through our slow cooker books for year-round recipe ideas.

One of the our most interesting  books is one that Grenville gave me for Christmas present. 

It’s not a large book nor does it have a lot of recipes. What is DOES have are classic ads for products and appliances that were, of course, WAY WAY before my time (really). Many of these companies are long since gone, but their advertisements were quite interesting.
IMG_9396There was some online information online about this pressure cooker, but very little for the company itself. On a site that listed various makers/models of pressure cookers, this one was shown as being out of business. The time period is the mid-1940s.
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A search for Roastwell was more successful.  The first factory was created by Ulysses Grant Fletcher (on right) and was located in Anderson, IN from 1909-1914. In 1887 natural gas was discovered in Anderson and soon afterwards, several factories and industries that could use natural gas began to locate there overnight.  But, the gas ran out in 1912, many factories left and the city’s growth spurt stopped.

In 1914, the Fletcher Enamel Factory shut down, relocating to  Dunbar, W VA, and starting another factory in 1916. According to a 1943 newspaper article, Fletcher Enamel Company produces a large percentage of the enameled ware used by American and Canadian housewives. The company is equipped to produce more than 268 items. It normally employs an average of 650 persons. The peak production ranges between 20,000 and 30,000 assorted pieces of enameled ware per day.

The company remained a family-run business, but closed down in 1958. During WW II, the company added a “shell shop” which made 60mm shells under a federal contract.
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Karo Syrups are the only corn syrup products that are available across the entire US. They're used as toppings for French toast, pancakes and waffles, and in recipes for pies, candies, glazes, sauces, beverages, ice creams.  In the 1930s, the wife of a corporate sales executive mixed corn syrup, sugar, eggs, vanilla and pecans baked in a pie shell to produce the now classic Pecan Pie. In many parts of the South, the recipe continues to be called Karo Pie

Karo Syrup began in 1902 when the Corn Products Refining Company of New York and Chicago formed then introduced Karo Light and Dark Corn Syrup. It’s believed that the chemist and expert syrup formulator coined the name “Karo” after his wife, Caroline. Another theory traces the name Karo back to an earlier table syrup trademark “Kairomel.” Until the introduction of Karo corn syrups, the American housewives carried a syrup jug to the grocery store to be refilled from the grocer’s barrels of syrup.

In 1903, it was sold in “friction-top tins” and advertised as “The Great Spread for Daily Bread.” In full page advertisements appearing in the Ladies Home Journal, it was said that the new table syrup had found “great favor with particular tastes, and was a table delight, appreciated morning, noon or night.” The full-page advertisement offered 11 recipes and a cookbook to all who wrote to the company.
Per Wikipedia: corn syrup is a food syrup, which is made from the starch of maize and contains varying amounts of maltose and higher oligosaccharides, depending on the grade. Corn syrup is used in foods to soften texture, add volume, prevent crystallization of sugar, and enhance flavor. It differs from high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS), which is created when corn syrup undergoes enzymatic processing, producing a sweeter compound that contains higher levels of fructose.
IMG_9421This Savory roaster was made by the Republic Metalware Company of Buffalo NY in the early 1900s and was quite popular. According to a home furnishings publication of that era: The sale of the roaster has been so enormous during the past year that there is not a housewife from Maine to California who does not know of these roasters.
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Crosley Corp. manufactured these freezers in the late 1940s. The company, based in Cincinnati, OH, was headed by Powel Crosley, Jr., who is credited with pioneering the ideal of affordable radios, appliances and other housewares. Crosley Radio Corporation was once the largest manufacturer of table-top radios in the US.

The original company has long since ceased operations. But, in  1976, the Crosley Corporation formed in Winston-Salem, NC when a group of independently owned distributors resurrected the Crosley trade name and introduced a line of household appliances. Per its website: Crosley Corporation is a non-profit organization that helps independent distributors and retailers compete in today's marketplace with quality appliances at affordable prices. Appliances are manufactured by world class corporations, built to Crosley specifications, and available exclusively through independent appliance retailers.

More of these ads in future posts.

15 comments:

Montanagirl said...

Terrific post! Love those old advertisements.

Christine said...

What a fun post this morning Beatrice! I still have one of those old covered roasting pans!

Lois Evensen said...

Very interesting. My Mom had and used pressure cookers. Crosley in Cincinnati not only made kitchen appliances and radios, they made cars. The Cincinnati Reds baseball field was Crosley Field until sometime in the early 70's.

Now you have me interested in digging out my Mom's old recipe books. Nice post!

Beatrice P. Boyd said...

Hi Mona, Christine and Lois and thanks for the comments. I found these ads to be fascinating which led me to search for more info on the companies and products.
Lois, I recall your post about the Crosly Co. and especially the Crosley car. My parents used to have a white table-top Crosley radio.

MadSnapper said...

like these old ads, i had the pressure cooker just like the smaller one in the ad. mother just knew i would blow it up, but never did.

grammie g said...

HI B...Awww those where the day's lol!! I still have a small pressure cooker, and I dig it out and us it for a quick fix ; }
It is fun to see the old ads and the "Father Knowes Best" and Leave it to Beaver" classic TV shows when everything was apple pie and aprons and "high heel shoes:???? no my Mom never brought dinner to the table in high heel , bare feet most ususally lol!!
Great post..sadly I remember it all so well hahaha!!
Grace

Out on the prairie said...

lots of fun cruising the ads

Cicero Sings said...

So interesting. Bet you had fun researching.

Anonymous said...

I love these old ads and information like this :-) It isn't easy to find enameled pans today, to bad because I really like them.

Have a great day!
Christer.

Elaine said...

I always like seeing the old ads. Cooking was a bit different back then. The last ad is funny. If only preparing a successful meal just took being cheerful! Is that the power of positive thinking?

Connie said...

Fun post, Beatrice! It's interesting to see how much things have changed from when those ads were done. I can be cheerful but that doesn't make me a good cook! haha! :-)

Eggs In My Pocket said...

Love, love this post! Had to laugh at the last photo,............I think there is a little more to a successful meal beside cheerfulness! LOL

L. D. said...

Great post. It brings back some memories. I like the pecan pie story. Interesting where recipes originate. You made me hungry for pecan pie and roast beef.

DeniseinVA said...

Great post! Loved the history behind these products and enjoyed the vintage looking ads. I'm hungry now too :)

Beatrice P. Boyd said...

Sandra & Grace, I've never used a pressure cooker for the same reason - fearful I could blow it up! And yes, those old TV shows are wonderful but I too always wondered about the women serving dinner all dressed up - never happened in my home either! And always wondered what those women DID all day?

Steve and Eileen, it was great fun checking out the ads and even doing some online research. This cookbook is very informative and entertaining too.

Elaine Daisy & Kathleen, usually not even that attitutde has NOT helped a bad meal.

Larry & Denise, pecan pie is a very popular dessert here in VA too, especially with Grenville. It's too sweet for me, but roast beef is another story.