Cooking is an art; baking is a science. And, a lot of art and science have gone into the foods we eat.

At the onset of World War II, one of baking’s major improvements—baking powder—was less than 100 years old. This combination of rising agents, once made with pulverized animal bones, has since been perfected to guarantee light and airy cakes and breads. Before its creation, homemakers were at the mercy of sour doughs and other mineral additives.

Chemistry: Rising to the Occasion

Rumford Chemical Works was a pioneer in finding quicker, more reliable methods of getting baked goods to rise. Its revolutionary baking powder is still on the market today—though without the use of bones!

The company’s scientific achievements made it a natural kitchen authority, so when the Rumford Complete Cook Book debuted in 1908, it rapidly went through multiple reprints. In 1943, the 35th edition was released with already “More than 5,000,000 copies in use.”

Rumford’s 1943 Cook Book

The 1943 Rumford cookbook really does have a well-rounded selection of recipes in a variety of categories and of course, not all include baking. I wish I knew more of the history behind the conception of the cookbook, particularly why they chose to include entire categories that do not involve baking or baking powder. A lot of food ingredient manufacturers used recipe collections to market their goods, but most of the others I have seen use all recipes that include their products.

In the Rumford cook book, the chapter “Salads & Salad Dressings” caught my eye. With the advent of Summer, salads are always popular. I decided to try the five recipes you see below, which also include three salad dressings. Nearly all include some protein; most include a remarkable amount, plus fats, so they are quite filling.

Cream Cheese Salad

The cream cheese salad is rich! The recipe calls for two packages of cream cheese and I used the standard eight-ounce bars. After making this recipe I am curious to know how cream cheese was packaged in the 1940s. It may have been in the three-ounce packages that are now less common.

The mixture that goes in the cream cheese was very light. I ended up chopping more filling and rolling the chilled cream cheese balls in it, which makes the salad more colorful. You can see the mixture both ways in the photo below. The salad is better with the extra parsley, chives and olives but would probably taste best with the extra filling mixed in before chilling.

Potato and Egg Salad

The potato and egg salad is excellent. I was unsure about the onion juice but that is an extra little step I plan to bring back into my kitchen. It adds a delicious flavor to the salad without being noticeably onion-y and without any bitterness of the actual onion. Even if you really like onion and choose to put it in the salad, also adding the onion juice would be a good idea. You can get a teaspoon of onion juice by rubbing a small piece of onion over a grater and then squeezing the gratings.

Cucumber Stuffed Tomato Salad & Bean Stuffing for Tomatoes

The stuffed tomato recipes also highlight the different way vegetables were prepared in years past. It took a few minutes to boil a saucepan of water, but only 30 seconds to scald the tomatoes, and another few seconds to peel them.

At first, I was not happy about removing the pulp and seeds because I thought it would be wasting a lot of the tomato. However, after making this recipe I realized nothing was lost except a bit of tomato juice. The pulp that was removed was full of seeds and not the best part of the tomato, anyway. I was left with gorgeous, almost jewel-like shells of tender tomato flesh without any of the skin or seeds. Tomatoes prepared this way could be filled with a wide variety of ingredients and, since the empty tomato shells are seasoned with salt and pepper before filling, they are especially flavorful.

The bean stuffing also calls for onion juice and, again, it is worth using.

Fruit and Nut Salad

This salad was my favorite. It calls for a dressing made from equal parts of whipped cream and mayonnaise, sweetened with honey or confectioner’s sugar. That combination sounded horrible. This dressing was then combined with all the other ingredients and the whole lot placed on lettuce, only to be topped with more dressing!

I used ½ cup each of whipped cream and mayonnaise. The recipe assumes homemade mayonnaise will be used and calls for it to be made with lemon juice. I opted to use store-bought mayonnaise so added three or four drops of lemon extract. When making the whipped cream, I used about a tablespoon each of both sweeteners.

The finished product—especially with the maraschino cherries—was delicious! Although I would not use the lettuce next time, as it was too bitter alongside the other ingredients. We will definitely be having this salad again.

Finishing Touches

The salad would not have been complete with the dressings. I made the French dressing both ways suggested—one with paprika and the other with pepper. I used Dijon mustard and white wine vinegar. Both are easy and good, and only take about a minute to prepare. The whipped cream mayonnaise was also quite easy (using the prepared mayonnaise). It only took a couple of minutes to whip the cream.

Any one of these salads would be a nutritious and attractive addition to a summer table. They are even better the next day! And, they are easy to make so will leave time to make dessert—perhaps a cake using Rumford Baking Powder?

French Dressing

1/3 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon paprika or pepper
1 teaspoon [prepared] mixed mustard, optional
4 tablespoons oil
1 1/2 tablespoons vinegar
Combine salt, paprika or pepper and mustard, if used, in shallow dish. Gradually beat in oil, then vinegar a little at at time, continuing the beating until thoroughly emulsified. French dressing may be made in larger quantities and stored (covered) in refrigerator, shaking thoroughly before using.

Whipped Cream Mayonnaise

Combine equal parts whipped cream and mayonnaise (made with lemon juice) and sweeten with a little honey or confectioner’s sugar.

References

Rumford Chemical Works. Rumford Complete Cook Book. Norwood, MA: Norwood Press. 1943.

“Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good!
Blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him!”

Psalm 34:8