Home Economics Foods and Food Preparation

Home Economics Foods and Food Preparation is a series of cooking class leaflets created by the School District of Philadelphia. The book was used in a Home Economics class in Philadelphia and published in 1942. It contains recipes and instructions for cleaning, caring, and cooking. While the textbook itself is generic and mass produced, this particular copy was owned by a female student, Edith Fineberg and contains notes, recipes, and doodles within the pages and on the covers. The book is full of her personality and becomes a beautiful view into the past. It shows how young girls were taught to be members of society and the expectations placed on them from a young age.

Background

Home Economics

Home economics originated in the early 1900s as part of a movement aimed at preparing young women for new professional jobs by equipping them with basic skills like cooking, cleaning, and home care. The course was created as a form of science. Female students wore lab coats and were taught necessary skills that could help them procure a wide range of jobs in the future. The Federal Bureau of Home Economics was erected around the same time. The government organization helped teach women during the war how to cook with limited food supplies, had an advice radio show, published recipes, and taught about food and nutrition. There was a focus in American culture that the home could contribute to social change. Managing a properly fed and cared for nuclear family was a way in which young women could have a powerful effect on the future generation. Though a major shift happened in the 1950s that highlighted the growing conformist and repressive culture of the times. The home economics field became a prime example for feminists in the 1960s of sexist, inhibitory culture and as a result, the field is no longer studied or taught.

Chef Fritz Blank

The textbook was donated to the Penn Library in 2008 by Chef Fritz Blank, in the largest donation of cookbooks the library has received. Chef Fritz owned a famous restaurant in Philadelphia called Deux Cheminees, one of the first high-end restaurants in Philadelphia. It was opened in 1979 and it brought classic French style cooking to the growing Philadelphia restaurant scene. The restaurant was located in two conjoined townhouses decorated to feel cozy and homey. On display in the restaurant was Chef Fritz’s cookbook collection. Chef Fritz was very interested in teaching children. He would go to Philadelphia schools and run cooking classes. One of the many cookbooks in his collection was Home Economics Foods and Food Preparation. Though the book appears to be very generic, as there are thousands of copies of this specific textbook. This one is special.

Text

Edith Fineberg

There are a number of scribbles and notes in the book. Most notably, the front inside cover has the name Edith Fineberg and her address 5810 Rodman St. Philadelphia, PA (Figure 2). The name and address is written twice. Underneath her name, Edith wrote “Edith loves him” and scribbled that section 10 has sugar cookies. Edith lived in West Philly, in the 1940s a predominantly Jewish neighborhood in Philadelphia. Other sparks of Edith’s personality shine through the book. She scribbled-in-pencil her own recipe in her own chapter, number “29 ½”—for “Italian Spaghetti” (Figure 6). There is another recipe for “Hamburg Stew” and one for “Peach Short Cake.” These recipes don’t appear elsewhere in the book. Maybe they were taught to her by her teacher or maybe she had assignments to bring in or create her own recipes. On the back of leaflet 5, Vegetables, you can see her notes or an activity from the class. Edith organized different vegetables into the categories roots, leaves, stems, seeds, and tubers. She also scribbled the notes, “1. Vitamins 2. Minerals 3. Roughage.” It’s amazing to see a student of a 1940s home economics course brought to life through her interactions with a textbook.