Lesson 23

The Merry Mixer: Recipes, 1946

OBJECTIVE(S):

To familiarize students with the types of recipes which would have been available to women in 1946.

INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS:

• Handout # 1. "Ice Cream Made with Fruit"
• Handout # 2. "Add These Recipes to Your Food Files"
  

TERMS:

Betty Crocker

LESSON FOCUS:

1. What types of recipes would have been available to women in 1946?

TEACHING PROCEDURE:

1. Distribute copies of the recipes to the students. Have the students examine the recipes and complete the discussion questions below.
   a. In the recipe for vanilla ice cream, the author suggests using corn syrup in the recipe in order to save sugar. Why was this sometimes necessary in 1946 ?
   b. Today, Betty Crocker is a name on a brand of cake mix. Based on Handout # 2, how do you think women viewed her in 1946 ?
   c. These recipes would have appeared in the women's pages of the Plain Dealer. Why do you think these recipes were confined to that location. Where are recipes usually found in daily newspapers today ?
   d. How do you think the recipe for "Southern Chicken Upside Down" would be received in today's health conscious America ?
   e. Which recipes would you like to try ?
2. Have the students compare and contrast recipes in this activity with those in 1846 and 1896.
3. Have the students make one of the recipes. The ice cream is not difficult to make if you have access either to a refrigerator freezer or an ice cream freezer.
4. Have the students research new appliances which became available during the late 1940s and early 1950s. Have them design an advertisement to appear in the Cleveland newspapers of the time advertising the availability of new labor saving devices.
5. Have the students discuss what influence World War II might have had on the types of food stuffs and produce women would have had available to use in their kitchens.
6. Have students speculate what food will be like in the future.