Better Homes & Gardens "Microwave Cookbook "The Promise of More Quality Time
I saw my first microwave in 1968 while working in a hospital's kitchen. We used it solely to bake potatoes after dinner hours at patient requests and doctor orders. It was built like a tank and probably cost several thousand dollars. By the mid-70's they were taking over as the central appliance in middle class kitchens and had become a status symbol on its way to the lowest common denominator and a frequent discard at the city dump. Regardless, when they were new and hot, they were very compelling and there were tons of cook books produced to ride the wave of popularity and their newness; it was like having an atomic energy science experiment in the kitchen and classes were common for newbies to learn how to use them safely and effectively. (Do you remember the idea of a "cool-down or standing-time" period to let the molecules stop their frantic movement after the bell rang?)
This particular cook book covers all the bases giving you the go-ahead to cook nearly everything in your pantry and fridge in the mic. And, I mean everything: Clam Dip, Blue Cheese Stuffed Mushrooms, Eggnog, Salmon Logs, Macaroni & Cheese, Curried Lamb Meatballs, Beef Stuffed Onions, Hominy Bean Bake, Wilted Lettuce, Harvard Beets, Egg Salad Sandwich Pizza (no kidding.. see page 45), Strawberry Cobbler, Opera Fudge, Bacon Rarebit, Peas and Celery Especiale, Tapioca, Chow Mien, Hot Fudge Rum Pecan Sundaes, Parsley Loaf, Crepes, Barbecued Ribs, Chicken Divan, Veal Parmesan, and Mushroom Burgers...... And, the topper is a lot of people tried to cook this way with their mics with the resultant disasters being obviously foretold in the list of moderately exotic ingredients these recipes called for. It was not long before the microwave settled into its natural level of competence as a thing to heat water for tea, make popcorn, and "cook" Lean Cuisine and frozen pizza. All that aside, I must say that someone must have worked overtime to produce the glossy food porn quality photos for this little book; the finished foods pictured glow and glisten and lie there in air-brushed perfection calling to us like the Sirens on the Rocks. 96 pages in a cloth bound 8" X 10" glossy tome with oodles of seductive photos and lots of misleading editorial hope for a revolution to improve our kitchen's quality output.
"Microwave Cookbook"
The Mid-Century Origins of Food Pornography
When I was flipping hotcakes at a Sambo's Pancake House back in the mid-century era my manager (I'm looking at you Leon) sometimes tried to impart restaurant food wisdom to my foggy mind. One of his firmly held beliefs was that we were first and foremost "Selling the Sizzle" rather than the actual food we served. A 1938 New Yorker article attributes that bit of sublime wordsmanship to a Mr. Elmer Wheeler: "In the 1930's Mr. Wheeler adopted the profession of seducing people in the mass with words including Wheelerpoint No. 1: 'Don’t Sell the Steak—Sell the Sizzle! ....the sizzle has sold more steaks than the cow ever has, although the cow is, of course, mighty important."
Up to that point cookbooks were created with the intent to produce a meal of some reliability and variety. However, around the mid-century a whole new kind of cookbook started popping up that was made for Looking, rather than Cooking! This nascent industry was first documented by Alexander Cockburn in 1979: "True Gastro Porn heightens the excitement and also the sense of unattainability by proffering colored photographs of various completed recipes." Cockburn defined Gastro Porn as a glamorized presentation of food using forms of photography and styling that presents food provocatively, similar to pornographic photography. More importantly he noted that the photographs in this genre "always repress the production process of the meal and are always beautifully lit and touched up." Soon the market was flooded with this new style of cookbook featuring glamor shots of gleaming meals for an audience of eaters who coincidentally seemed to no longer have the time, or desire, to actually cook. This was a generational shift which eventually led to the current norm for younger generations to routinely post visually appealing videos and photos of food and drink across social media: Food Porn was Born and Normalized.
Most of what we have in our Vintage Food Porn section is the early-on-mid-century work of professional pornographers. Better Homes and Gardens was a major contributor to this trend (whether they knew it or not) and we have a constant supply of their myriad iterations of this work along with many other examples. So, pull down the shades, take the phone off the hook, and find a comfortable nook to stretch out in while you browse along with us: https://www.ebay.com/str/portlandpandemonium/Vintage-Food-Porn/_i.html?store_cat=38704219017
We Will Scratch Your Vintage Itch
