Shawty cat gave me the idea to start a small research on the most popular food and recipes in the States during the 50ies.
These will be very familiar to most of you :)
The fifties have been called the casserole decade thanks to many new varities of canned soups that they were thrown in the market
It was in the 50ies when cooks discovered that creamed soups coud be used not only as soups but as binders in casseroles or as sauces with meat.
The hits in the American tables were tuna-noodle casserole, grean bean bake and hamburger stroganood
The shelves of supermarkets provided the home cooks with all the necessary ingredients to prepare gourmet and foreign cooking which became popular in the 50ies.
Bar b ques became very fashionable along with eating in front of TV
As Sue Dawson mentions
"Swanson's TV Dinner of turkey, stuffing, gravy, peas and sweet potatoes cost only 98 cents, was easy to eat on a TV tray and involved no cleanup. For TV parties, California Dip, made from Lipton dry onion soup mix and sour cream, and Chex Mix were as necessary as rabbit ears.
Television's influence reached far. Early in the decade, a commercial on The Kraft Music Hall included a new recipe for clam dip.
Within 24 hours, New Yorkers had cleaned store shelves of canned clams"
I tried to sketch a time line based on articles of Sue Dawson, The Dictionary of American Food and Drink. And the database of Cornell University.
The 50ies Timeline
1950
Betty Crocker's Picture Cook Book is a best seller.
1951
Duncan Hines introduced a cake mix.
1952
Saran Wrap rolled out.
Lipton introduced onion soup mix, and dipping would never be the same
The first sugar-free soft drink was marketed.
1953
Eggo frozen waffles and Cheez Whiz went on sale.
1954
Swanson unveiled the first frozen TV dinner.
The first Burger King opened, selling burgers and milkshakes for 18 cents each.
1955
The first McDonald's franchise opened.
Tappan marketed a microwave oven for home use.
1956
The electric can opener began to spin.
1957
Sushi bars came to America.
Pam vegetable cooking spray was patented.
Margarine outsold butter for the first time.
Pink packets of Sweet'n Low appeared.
1959
Haagen-Dazs made life better.
The recipes
CLAM DIP
One of Kraft's most popular recipes, this appeared on a commercial in the early 1950s.
CALIFORNIA DIP
Created by an unidentified California cook about two years after Lipton introduced its dry onion soup mix, this dip spread like wildfire
TUNA-NOODLE CASSEROLE
Campbell Soup created this recipe
BAKED ALASKA
A forerunner of this dessert is thought to date to the early- to mid- 1800s.
The chef at Delmonico's restaurant in New York often is credited with creating the dessert we know today, but it was called Alaska-Florida. In the '50s, Baked Alaska was popular because it was considered elegant, even though it was easy.
CHICKEN TETRAZZINI
Named after the Italian singer Luisa Tetrazzini, this was first mentioned in print in 1951, according to John Mariani, author of the The Dictionary of American Food and Drink. Aspiring gourmets of the '50s could make it with relative ease and impress their guests.
These will be very familiar to most of you :)
The fifties have been called the casserole decade thanks to many new varities of canned soups that they were thrown in the market
It was in the 50ies when cooks discovered that creamed soups coud be used not only as soups but as binders in casseroles or as sauces with meat.
The hits in the American tables were tuna-noodle casserole, grean bean bake and hamburger stroganood
The shelves of supermarkets provided the home cooks with all the necessary ingredients to prepare gourmet and foreign cooking which became popular in the 50ies.
Bar b ques became very fashionable along with eating in front of TV
As Sue Dawson mentions
"Swanson's TV Dinner of turkey, stuffing, gravy, peas and sweet potatoes cost only 98 cents, was easy to eat on a TV tray and involved no cleanup. For TV parties, California Dip, made from Lipton dry onion soup mix and sour cream, and Chex Mix were as necessary as rabbit ears.
Television's influence reached far. Early in the decade, a commercial on The Kraft Music Hall included a new recipe for clam dip.
Within 24 hours, New Yorkers had cleaned store shelves of canned clams"
I tried to sketch a time line based on articles of Sue Dawson, The Dictionary of American Food and Drink. And the database of Cornell University.
The 50ies Timeline
1950
Betty Crocker's Picture Cook Book is a best seller.
1951
Duncan Hines introduced a cake mix.
1952
Saran Wrap rolled out.
Lipton introduced onion soup mix, and dipping would never be the same
The first sugar-free soft drink was marketed.
1953
Eggo frozen waffles and Cheez Whiz went on sale.
1954
Swanson unveiled the first frozen TV dinner.
The first Burger King opened, selling burgers and milkshakes for 18 cents each.
1955
The first McDonald's franchise opened.
Tappan marketed a microwave oven for home use.
1956
The electric can opener began to spin.
1957
Sushi bars came to America.
Pam vegetable cooking spray was patented.
Margarine outsold butter for the first time.
Pink packets of Sweet'n Low appeared.
1959
Haagen-Dazs made life better.
The recipes
CLAM DIP
One of Kraft's most popular recipes, this appeared on a commercial in the early 1950s.
CALIFORNIA DIP
Created by an unidentified California cook about two years after Lipton introduced its dry onion soup mix, this dip spread like wildfire
TUNA-NOODLE CASSEROLE
Campbell Soup created this recipe
BAKED ALASKA
A forerunner of this dessert is thought to date to the early- to mid- 1800s.
The chef at Delmonico's restaurant in New York often is credited with creating the dessert we know today, but it was called Alaska-Florida. In the '50s, Baked Alaska was popular because it was considered elegant, even though it was easy.
CHICKEN TETRAZZINI
Named after the Italian singer Luisa Tetrazzini, this was first mentioned in print in 1951, according to John Mariani, author of the The Dictionary of American Food and Drink. Aspiring gourmets of the '50s could make it with relative ease and impress their guests.
"Muabet de Turko,kama de Grego i komer de Djidio", old sefardic proverb ( Three things worth in life: the gossip of the Turk , the bed of the Greek and the food of the Jew)
