Food Anthropology

Last weekend I was browsing in an antique shop--the fun kind that is like a big yard sale--and I found two great vintage cookbooks. I collect old, interesting books, but I'm not looking for first editions or treasures that must be kept under glass (although, I wouldn't mind a few). The Betty Crocker Cookbook is from 1969 and in beautiful condition. My mom had this book while I was growing up, and many of her recipes come from it: bread, cinnamon rolls, popovers, lasagna, pie crust. The pictures brought back so many memories. It almost is a shame that the book is in such good condition because my mom's book is splattered, tattered, torn, and worn. Some of the recipes are a bit dated, but for a book that is 40 years old, it's pretty impressive that most of the recipes have remained relevant.

The other cookbook I found is the United States Regional Cookbook, Prudence Penny Edition, from 1939. This one is so much fun. The recipes are divided according to region, and one section is "Minnesota Scandinavian: Fine Old Recipes." I may attempt to cook an old-fashioned Scandinavian meal, circa 1939, for my Norwegian husband. I can start with a nice bowl of filbunke (sour milk soup) and a platter of fisk bollers, move on to the main event, gos med dill sas (baked pike fish with dill sauce), and end with some sweet Norske kroners. It appears that the melting pot was too hot in Minnesota--70 years after the publication of this cookbook, there are traces of Scandinavian influences in Minnesotan cuisine (herring, fish, dill, and meatballs), but only the lefse recipe looks familiar.