Come sit down at my kitchen table and have a peek inside one of my favorite antique recipe books!
In the last cookbook that we took a look at, we saw how cookbooks (aka recipe books) were structured in the 1920s and 1930s for houses with and without servants, and it was fun taking a look at how things have changed over the years. it was also fun to look at the holiday meals that were served in those days. If you missed that blog post you can check it out here.
Today I’m going to share with you a different type of recipe book. This book from 1913 is a type of advertising pamphlet that was created by a brand. It was most likely given away as a promotional product to support the brand Baker’s Chocolate. You probably recognize the brand because they are still a household name. I just love the brownie recipe that comes inside the packages today. It’s definitely my favorite! If you’ve never tried it you certainly should check it out.
Aside from being full of yummy recipes, I think it’s really interesting to look at how their branding has changed over many years!
I picked up this recipe book at a used book sale and I think it came in a box lot of pamphlets since this is a pamphlet type of recipe book, and often times at used book sales you will find many pamphlets put together and sold as one lot.
Going to used books sales is one of my favorite pastimes and it’s been quite a few years since I’ve been to a good one. I miss going to them dearly and can’t wait until the day that we can once again venture out to do our favorite pastimes!
In my area where I live, a woman’s association puts on a large one every year and I always mark my calendar for it! Of course due to the pandemic it’s been quite a while since they’ve had their sale and it will probably be a while until they have the next one, but I will be patiently waiting, wishlist in hand!
My favorite things to look through at used book sales are the vintage and antique books, reference books, and of course the art and craft books. I have an extensive collection of vintage jewelry making books and craft books and these types of books sales are the best places to find them. Unfortunately, due to the popularity of people thrift shopping to resell items on eBay and the like, it has become hard to find many of the vintage items we would commonly come across all the time years ago. But perhaps that is a fad as well. Time will tell!
Even though you can see how this pamphlet is very time worn, the artwork is still lovely and very colorful. I was also surprised to find a few color photo pages inside this recipe book.
Most of the recipes are short and less than one paragraph. Most call for only a few ingredients and no fancy kitchen equipment like we use today. I wonder, back when this pamphlet was new, what people’s favorite recipes inside were?
Everybody likes chocolate! OK maybe I shouldn’t generalize, I think most people love chocolate! Many of these recipes are timeless. Of course, many things improve over the years, new products, foods, tools, and techniques help us grow and learn new things and create more and more wonderful foods, quickly and with great precision.
I’d love to know what your favorite chocolate recipe is so leave me a comment below and let us know!
Like I mentioned before, my favorite Baker’s Chocolate recipe is the brownie recipe from inside of the box. My favorite chocolate fudge recipe is one my mother and sister made for years and you can find that recipe here. A third favorite is from the vintage Betty Crocker cookbook —you know, the one with the red cover—It’s the chocolate cream pie recipe which my sister brought to our attention many years ago and has become a “new” family favorite (read: it’s unbelievably decadent!) Be sure you check that one out and of course make a batch of homemade whipped cream to go along with.
And what is your favorite old recipe? Maybe one that has been passed down through generations, one that your mother or grandmother used to cook? The kitchen is indeed the heart of the home. Around the kitchen table we gather, in happy times and sad, we talk, we laugh, we celebrate, we live. And we cook!
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