Noon over America

Campbell’s Soup was one of the most assiduous advertisers in America’s mass-circulation magazines and where possible would purchase the first page after the editorial content for their ads. Their prime target was the hard-pressed Great American Mom for whom the daily task of feeding hungry, boisterous and hard-to-please children was an eternal source of despair. Campbell’s offered a simple solution in the form of heat and serve cans of condensed soup in which the nutritional benefits of vitamins and protein were supplied in an easily absorbed liquid slurry. Rebuilding energy levels for the challenges of the afternoon had never been easier. Only 4 minutes from shelf to table and even the most fractious child is calm and content. Implicit in these messages was the idea that all mothers could mold their offspring into healthy, happy, high-achieving youngsters. Transformed into bright and smiling paragons of virtue with dazzling white teeth to match.

Postcard of the Day No. 32, Sur la Plage

A gourmet’s dream. An itinerant Maître Pâtissier in full dress uniform cruises the foreshore with a choice selection of the very finest in Viennoiserie for the comfort and pleasure of ozonally invigorated and parasolically sheltered ladies of privilege. The overcast conditions suggest we might be in Normandy or Britanny – so Breton Far or Kouign-Amman could be on offer. Breezy conditions could leave a dusting of sand on the glaze of the tartelettes but we cannot allow even the smallest shadow to fall across this vision of a life of leisure, whether earned or unearned.

Today’s Recipe No. 2

It’s easy to take Shredded Wheat for granted without reflecting on what a bizarre substance it is. Very much a product of 19th. century food technology, it seems to be formed from multiple extrusions of wheat paste filaments stacked up and modelled into pillow shaped structures and baked to a brittle finish.

This small book, The Vital Question, was published by The Cereal Machine Co., Worcester, Mass. in 1899 and contains 148 pages of recipes devised by Mrs. Harriett Higbee, every one of which depends on the inclusion of Shredded Wheat. It comes complete with a passionate testimonial from its inventor, Henry D Perky,

“From the most abject physical wreck I have succeeded, by the use of naturally organized food, in reorganizing my body into perfectly healthy conditions.”

The miraculous powers of Shredded Wheat that achieved this transformation are now available to all in combination with an extraordinary variety of foodstuffs including oysters, goose and woodcock. There exists no meal or dish that cannot be enhanced by the judicious addition of Shredded Wheat. Members of the Tatnuck Farmer’s Club were given the opportunity to discover this for themselves on January 20th. 1899 when they sat down to a dinner of:

Celery Soup with Shredded Wheat Croutons
Fricassée of Chicken on Shredded Wheat Toast
Creamed Spinach on Shredded Wheat Toast
Jellied Apple Sandwich. Cheese with Shredded Wheat Toast.
Wheat Shred Drink. Fruit. Nuts.

Today’s Recipe

This treat for the tastebuds comes courtesy of the HõVIS™ Book of Sandwich Delights, a compendium of sweet and savoury self-indulgence from the inter-war years. Today’s recommendation is the Bovril and Nasturtium Sandwich, an inspired combination of beef extract and garden plant. Bovril, the subject of a previous posting, is a Marmite-style concoction for carnivores and one of those products whose consumers would be ill-advised to enquire too closely into its contents or manufacturing process. Nasturtium leaves have a peppery flavour, reminiscent of watercress and so long as they’re harvested before the caterpillars devour them, will make an exciting accompaniment to the salty tang of Bovril. To quote from the source – a very piquante experience.