• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to secondary sidebar

KitchenLane

Original, well-tested recipes, enticing photos, and helpful cookbook writing how-tos

  • Home
  • meet nancy
  • Blog
  • news and events
  • The Art of Cooking with Lavender
  • articles
  • recipe archives
  • cookbooks
  • reviews
  • Newsletter
  • videos
  • contact
  • New Lavender Cookbook
  • Connecticut Attorney’s Polish Client Snatched from His Car

1940s & ‘50s Baking Ads–Was Baking EVER This Fun, Fuss-free & Fulfilling?

September 30, 2011 By Nancy Baggett 5 Comments

I’ve been looking (and smiling) at lots of American baking ephemera this week—old advertisements, product brochures, package wrappers, mini-cookbooks, even antique cookware—in preparation for a talk I’ll be giving at the Home Baking Association on Monday in Vermont. The totally over-the-top vintage flour sifter is one of my own most spectacular 1950s culinary props, by the way!

Researching has been a blast, partly because these presumed inconsequential items instantly reveal a lot about what and how people baked in the past in this country. I was pleased to see that the ladies in the top pic were using a cookbook!  The homemaker on the sifter is holding up a pie.

As an avid culinary history buff and long-time writer on baking topics, I’ve loved learning the minutiae about earlier baking methods, ingredients, equipment, and recipes.  But I’ve come away even more struck by what some of the various ephemera  reveal about American 20th century social life. It’s actually hard not to snicker at the Brer Rabbit ad at left! (Interestingly, a number of their old ads hit this same “man-pleasing” theme.)  For another post along these same lines, check out the vintage valentine cards featuring little girls baking up sweets for their sweetie pies.

 After looking at literally dozens of images similar to those posted here, I couldn’t help thinking about Betty Freidan’s 1963 bombshell book, The Feminine Mystique. In it, she contended  (among other things) that in the 1940s and 1950s, the editorial decisions on what went into women’s publications were mostly made by men, who perpetuated the notion that the sole proper and rewarding roles for women were as housewives  and mothes.

Underscoring her point, many of the baking-themed visuals from that era are ridiculous and  saccharine,  presenting  a homemaker who simultaneously: maintains both a spotless house and her looks, keeps the children well groomed and deliriously happy;  pampers her man; and is relentlessly cheerful all at times. (Notice the pretty mother’s  great delight and near-maniacal look of joy on the face of the little girl at left.)
Many of the oh-so-perfect Norman Rockwell moms wear high heels, frilly aprons, stylish frocks, and, invariably, big, bright smiles. There are no curls out of place, spills on their countertops; or dishes piled in their sinks.  There are no scattered toys, grimy, grumpy children, or less than ecstatic husbands in their carefully-maintained worlds. Plus, they are diligently teaching their daughters how to follow in their footsteps. No wonder Friedan’s book immediately struck a loud chord and eventually spawned a whole, angry feminist movement.
While I’m gratified that it helped free women from having to stay home, bake cookies, and be thrilled with their lot, I’m afraid it did give home baking a bad rap that still lingers today. Now, perhaps we should spend some time telling the next generation of both young women and men that it’s okay to bake? That it doesn’t make you fuddy-duddy, or demeaned, or gender bendy, and it’s a huge amount of fun.
Frankly, it’s a wonderful, relaxing activity to enjoy with friends and family members, and it offers the bonus of fresh-from-the-oven treats. I loved the times my mother, grandmother, and aunts and I baked together, and I know my grandchildren are thrilled with the hours they spend baking with me.  (Here’s a post about a fun cookie baking session in my kitchen with my granddaughter and great niece and here’s another featuring my grandkids making chocolate dipped marshmallows with me.) So, yes, it is as fun and rewarding as the 1940s ephemera suggests. But do skip the Sunday-best garb and don’t expect the counters to stay spotless or the utensils to wash themselves.  
 Does home baking carry any of the negative connotations mentioned above for you? Or do you feel we’ve moved on and no underlying issues are at work?  If you don’t bake is it because nobody ever taught you? I’d love to hear your thoughts.
Print Friendly, PDF & Email
FacebooktwitterredditpinterestlinkedintumblrmailFacebooktwitterredditpinterestlinkedintumblrmail

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: baking ephemera, baking nostalgia, Betty Freidan, can modern women bake? 1940s baking, stereotyping of women, The Feminine Mystiique, vintage baking ads

Previous Post: « Oven-Dried Tomatoes: Preserving the Taste of Summer Tomatoes
Next Post: Cranberry, Pear, and Crystallized Ginger Muffins–Fall Baking at It’s Best »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Nancy Baggett says

    October 10, 2011 at 12:48 pm

    June, I certainly hope you aren't one of a dying breed. And actually, some recent stats suggest that you aren't. A recent survey conducted for the Home Baking Association suggested that over 80% of Americans bake at least occasionally. (Yes, some do use mixes, but at least that's a start.)

  2. June says

    October 4, 2011 at 12:26 pm

    I learned to bake from my dad and his mom. My mom doesn't bake nor cook very much, so I was fascinated with baking with my grandma. I now bake (and cook) with my kids, but I feel like I'm of a dying breed. Not many of my friends bake, and if they do, it's something simple from a box (nothing wrong with that, I do that too!) But make a cake from flour, sugar, etc? oh heck no! Make bread from scratch? Isn't that what the bakery is for? And we can buy fresh baked cookies from the grocery store! ummm, no thanks, I'd rather have fun in my own kitchen (and I think it tastes better too!)

  3. Jamie says

    October 3, 2011 at 9:14 am

    I absolutely love these ads and use them often in my blog posts. I grew up in a home where my dad baked – albeit mostly from boxed mixes – and a mother who hated to cook and was not the best cook because of it. But somehow, maybe because of dad, I grew up loving to bake. Even though my kitchen is too small and uncomfortable and often a mess, baking soothes and calms me, de-stresses and homebaked goods are my way of sharing the love! Wonderful post, Nancy!

  4. Nancy Baggett says

    October 1, 2011 at 2:22 pm

    I vaguely remember some similar ads, but they didn't impact my interest in baking one way or the other. I just really enjoyed it as a kid, and like you, have always found it quite fulfilling. I do wonder if some women today avoid trying it just because it seems too "housewifely," to them.

  5. Teawench says

    October 1, 2011 at 1:31 am

    I was born way after those adverts but I also grew up baking. My grandmother did it and my mom. As soon as I was able, I wanted to bake. And I still love it. No, it's not as fuss free as the ads would like you to believe but I do think it is that much fun and it is pretty fulfilling. And there's nothing I love more than when someone asks me to teach them to bake.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Pinterest
  • RSS
  • Twitter

Welcome to KitchenLane! It’s a comfortable place where I create, thoroughly test, and photograph recipes for my cookbooks and blog. All my recipes are original, not adaptations from others. I trained as a pastry chef, so many offerings are desserts and baked goods. Some are also healthful, savory dishes I contribute to healthy eating publications. My recipes are always free of artificial dyes, flavorings, and other iffy additives, which I won’t serve my family—or you! Instead, dishes feature naturally flavorful, colorful ingredients including fresh herbs, berries, edible flowers, and fruits, many from my own suburban garden or local farmers’ markets. Since lots of readers aspire to write cookbooks, I also blog on recipe writing and editing and other helpful publishing how-to info accumulated while authoring nearly 20 well-received cookbooks over many years.


The Art of Cooking with Lavender

The Art of Cooking with Lavender
 

The 2 Day A Week Diet Cookbook

Now available on Amazon! The 2 Day a Week Diet Cookbook
75 Recipes & 50 Photos
 

SIMPLY SENSATIONAL COOKIES

Simply Sensational Cookies
Visit the book page.
 

KNEADLESSLY SIMPLE

Kneadlessly Simple
Visit the book page

The All-American Dessert Book

The All-American Dessert Book
Visit the book page

The All-American Cookie Book

The All-American Cookie Book
 

Nancy Baggett’s Food Network Gingerbread Demo!

Watch demo HERE. Find Cookie Recipe HERE.

Secondary Sidebar

Archives

Kitchen Lane Trailer

Nasturtium Recipes & Quick Tricks

Nasturtium Recipes & Quick Tricks

Violet Quick Tips

Violet Quick Tips

Fun, Easy Cookie Decorating with Marbling

Fun, Easy Cookie Decorating with Marbling

Pretty Piping with Only a Baggie

Pretty Piping with Only a Baggie

Latest Video – Pretty Daisy Cookies

Pretty Daisy Cookies

Fun, Quick Cooking Baking with the Kids Video

Fun, Quick Cooking Baking with the Kids Video

The Best Way to Roll Out Cookie Dough

The Best Way to Roll Out Cookie Dough

The Best Way to Roll Out Cookie Dough

- Part 2 -

Best Tips for Cutting Out Cookies

Featured Bread Recipe and Video

Featured Bread Recipe and Video

Most Popular Posts

Getting to Yes on Foodgawker and Tastespotting (My Six-Month Journey, Plus Tips)

Strawberry-Rhubarb Freezer Jam–Spring in Every Jar

The Kneadlessly Simple Crusty White Pot Bread

Featured Bread Recipe and Video

Copyright © 2025 · Nancy Baggett's Kitchenlane. All material on this website is copyrighted and may not be reused without the permission of Nancy Baggett.