Frugal Friday: Vintage Tips

I’m an avid collector of vintage and antique cookbooks. Most include tips for a frugal household, saving time, money, or simply bringing some extra joy to the daily grind. This week, we’re sharing a few of those that might be worth a try (or just a good laugh).

The books:
Good Housekeeping’s Book of Menus, Recipes, and Household Discoveries, 9th ed., 1925;
Ruth Wakefield’s Toll House Tried and True Recipes, 15th ed.,1941; and
Betty Crocker’s New Picture Cook Book, 1st ed.,1961.

General Household Hints

These really are from a different era.

Betty Crocker’s hints to “refresh your spirits”:

• “Every morning before breakfast, comb hair, apply makeup and a dash of cologne. Does wonders for your morale and your family’s, too!”
• “Think pleasant thoughts while working and a chore will become a labor of love”.
• “Have a hobby. Garden, paint pictures, look through magazines for home planning ideas, read a good book or attend club meetings. Be interested- and you’ll always be interesting!”

Fabulous hints (and I’ll try them!) - but honestly, in the morning I’m lucky if I have one eye open and can manage to pour the coffee without spilling it.

Good Housekeeping had a plethora of household “discoveries” for the 20’s gal, such as:

• “A Crochet Hook for the Emergency: A crochet hook is a useful adjunct to the sewing basket or to the dressing-table equipment. When the end of the drawstring or tape disappears within its casing, insert the hook and quickly draw it out”.
• “A New Use for Sandpaper: I saw a painter put a small piece of sandpaper under each edge of a heavy frame when standing it on a narrow ledge”.

For the modern girl, use a crochet hook to fish out clothing waistband strings or pull a sweater snag inside. Or you could (*gasp*) crochet. And sandpaper can also be used to keep a mirror from slipping- fold the sandpaper in half and place under the mirrors edges.

More exciting Good Housekeeping hint titles:

• “Ordering Ice by Pounds”. Thank goodness for the invention of ice cubes.
• “Evening Stocking Darning”. We’re in for a wild night with this one.
• “An Excellent Way to Utilize Scraps of Toilet Soap”. Huh?
• “To Light the Christmas Pudding”. Personally, I’d use a blowtorch.

Kitchen tips

Being cookbooks, they also had great (and some not-so-great) hints to help out in the kitchen:

Betty Crocker’s “Hints for the Homemaker” Tips
Plan ahead:

• “If you have a freezer, make several cakes, pies, cookies, main dishes or sandwiches at a time and freeze some for future use”.
• “Write menus for a weeks meals at a time”.
• “Shop for staples once a week, fresh fruits and vegetables twice weekly”.

We use all these hints, especially making and freezing in advance. Huge time saver and simplifies lunches or dinners, plus it allows you to buy in bulk, which saves a lot more money.

Vintage 1942 Grocery Receipt

Ruth Wakefields Kitchen Tips

•  “After peeling bananas, dip in lemon juice to prevent discoloration. Peaches may be dropped into a bowl of milk to prevent darkening after peeling”.
• “To peel tomatoes easily insert 2 tined fork into stem end of tomato- hold over lighted gas burner turning constantly, when skin bursts remove from fire and remove skin”.
• “To peel oranges or grapefruit and free fruit entirely from the membranous or white pulp underneath skin, first place fruit in hot water for five minutes. You will then be able to peel every particle of outside from the fruit pulp”.

My son won’t get near peeled bananas if they even have a hint of brown after sitting out, plus the lemon juice adds a kick of flavor and vitamin C. Also, peeling fruits can be tedious, so I appreciate finally knowing how to do it right.

Finally, some questionable recipe hints from Good Housekeeping:

• “Mashed Potatoes of a New Flavor” When preparing mashed potatoes, season them in the usual way with salt, pepper, and butter, then add onion juice and grated nutmeg …it is surprising how this little addition lifts this familiar dish out of the ranks of the commonplace”
• Yes, I can imagine that it would. Do you think they sell onion juice by the quart? And can you add vodka to it?
• “Pop-Corn and Banana Salad: When making banana salad, try substituting pop-corn in place of (nuts) that are usually used. Cut the bananas in halves lengthwise and place on lettuce leaves. Decorate with salad dressing and pop-corn. The result is very artistic and economical”. 
• Those must have been some desperate hint-makers to come up with that. 

 And, just in case you didn’t know how to make one, “Lettuce Sandwich” instructions:


Our last hint to leave you with today comes from the Betty Crocker, page 57:

“The thoughtful wife always has a simple beverage (cold in the summer, hot in the winter) ready for her weary husband when he comes home at night. The simplest are fruit or vegetable juices served in small fruit juice glasses”.
Does wine count as fruit juice?

Find of the Week: For all you bacon adventurers out there.
Ruth Wakefield p.248. Peanut Butter and Bacon Filling

To ½ cup peanut butter add 8 slices crisp bacon which have been crumbled. Mix well and use with moist bread or better still with crisp crackers.

About Justine

Justine is a biological anthropologist, deal seeker, and stay-at-home parent to a rambunctious 4-year-old boy. She digs bones. And donuts. You can follow Justine for more frugal fun and other anthropology tidbits on Twitter: @JustineBurgess1.

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