Manly Meals and Mom's Home Cooking

Jessamyn Neuhaus is an assistant professor of history at Denison University.

• Contents: Acknowledgments Introduction "The Purpose of a Cookery Book"PART ONE "A Most Enchanting Occupation": Cookbooks in Early and Modern America, 1796-1941One From Family Receipts to Fannie Farmer: Cookbooks in the United States, 1796-1920 Two Recipes for a New Era: Food Trends, Consumerism, Cooks, and Cookbooks Three "Cooking Is Fun": Women's Home Cookery As Art, Science, and Necessity Four Ladylike Lunches and Manly Meals: The Gendering of Food and CookingPART TWO "You are First and Foremost Homemakers: Cookbooks and the Second World WarFive Lima Loaf and Butter Stretchers Six "Ways and Means for War Days": The Cookbook-Scrapbook Compiled by Maude Reid Seven "The Hand That Cuts the Ration Coupon May Win the War": Women's Home-Cooked PatriotismPART THREE The Cooking Mystique: Cookbooks and Gender, 1945-1963Eight The Betty Crocker Era Nine "King of the Kitchen": Food and Cookery Instruction for Men Ten The Most Important Meal: Women's Home Cooking, Domestic Ideology, and Cookbooks Eleven "A Necessary Bore": Contradictions in the Cooking MystiqueConclusion From Julia Child to Cooking.comNotes Essay on Sources Index

Have you ever wondered why women's cooking tends to be tired and routine, while men can make culinary magic with hotdogs, omelettes, and fried potatoes? Or why juicy steaks are man-food, while dainty salads are for women? These stereotypes may sit like a rock in the belly, but the message has been reinforced over the past century in American cookbooks, says Jessamyn Neuhaus, author of Manly Meals and Mom's Home Cooking. She explores generations of cookery instruction and finds they didn't stop at recipes for Jell-O salad and tuna casserole. From Fannie Farmer and The Joy of Cooking to The I Hate to Cook Book, cookbooks have long told women more than how much flour to put in their devil's food cake. They have reflected and reinforced social attitudes about the distinct roles of men and women... Readers-especially veteran home cooks-are likely to find Manly Meals and Mom's Home Cooking worth tasting. -- Julie Finnin Day Christian Science Monitor An engaging analysis... Neuhaus provides a rich and well-researched cultural history of American gender roles through her clever use of cookbooks. -- Sarah Eppler Janda History: Reviews of New Books Neuhaus examines a huge number of both well-known and obscure cookbooks, as well as hard-to-find magazine articles and offers persuasive evidence about the culture of the period. -- Barbara Haber Women's Review of Books An excellent addition to the history of women's roles in America, as well as to the history of cookbooks. Choice 2004 The book has many strengths, including excellent research and cogent presentation... Good enough to entice more scholars to step into the kitchen. Journal of American History 2004 The entire book is well researched and documented, helping readers to see that cookbooks have supported America's dominant ideologies about gender. -- Anne L. Bower Gastronomica 2004 Even if you missed Jell-O salads or Pu-Pu platters, after reading Neuhaus buying a cookbook will never be the same. -- Eileen Boris American Historical Review 2006