Bingo 10: Nostalgia
The title Baking of Yesteryear kind of explains the fit for the Nostalgia category; this is what it sounds like, a cookbook of baking starts from each decade of the twentieth century up to the 80s. I’m guessing that the reason the 90s get left out is because that might be the decade the author was born; I could probably look that up, but why bother?
Overall, this is kind of fun, but I also kind of wish there was a little more historical background, or at least a list of some source cookbooks; I get that this book is the product of social media stardom, and not scholarly, but if you’re going to argue authority on the basis of reading a lot of historical recipe books, maybe share some titles? Most of the recipes chosen are things you might recognize, at least by name, if you grew up in the US with older relatives who baked. There are 3-5 from each decade, as well as the occasional additional category such as ‘dates’, ‘no-bake’, and ‘worst of the worst’ (more on that in a sec). The 1900s seem pretty heavily meringue based though not entirely, but I question some of the historical hints. Firstly, suggesting that hot cross buns are from the 1900s (they are recorded much earlier than that) and also there’s the claim that they are “relatively unknown in the United States”; dude, have you heard of a phenomenon called The Great British Bake Off? Things like this make me wonder about the accuracy of other historical attributions like the term brownie in it’s now used application to Fannie Farmer. I can believe this might be true, but I also have reason to wonder for sure. That irritates me a little.
Griping aside, the recipes are intriguing. A flourless cookie that uses cornstarch instead from the 1910s called a ‘starchie’ sounds interesting, although I’m not sure about the pork cake. That one is a quick bread-type cake that’s basically a fruitcake with ground pork in it. If the Lady Baltimore cake is so super famous, maybe a little more info on its origins or at least evidence of fame? It looks kind of like a Victoria sandwich cake with a boiled frosting topper, so I get that it might be tasty but still…. The date-centric section is almost worth it for the line in the introduction alone “Behind men, they are my favorite fruit.” The date bars are something I might try (no, not like the cookie sometimes described that way) as is the date nut bread. The applesauce graham cracker torte from the 1940s also sounds pretty good, and I might have to try the peppermint patties just for funsies; yes, there’s a recipe in here for Yorks in here.
Tomato soup and mayo both make appearances too, which makes sense for a nostalgia American recipe collection, and although I don’t get why this is a baking book, ambrosia salad is also present. Ice cream cone cupcakes are part of the 1970s set, as is deep fried cookie dough, although I don’t quite get the attribution of this to the 1970s. I’m also not sure about the amount of banana in the 1980s; there’s bars and cake, even though that’s my childhood decade, I don’t quite see the nostalgia factor. The Velveeta fudge I get, also the Buster Bar tribute, but the PB&J cheesecake?
The Worst of the Worst category has a lot of promise, but why the hate on wheat germ, prunes, and dill pickles? The canned pasta ring gelatin mold, that I understand. But quick bread that’s equal parts wheat germ and flour? Spiced right, that wouldn’t be so bad, and savory cheesecake might not be everyone’s favorite, but I would think the acid nip from pickles would be welcome in something like that, although I might tone down the amount of sugar in the crust. This category has promise, but at least half of the recipes feel like they’d be better off in an oddity category, not gross.
