One characteristic of Fifties recipes that stands out is their minimal use of canned or packaged commercially prepared foods.  Preparing a recipe of this nature was known as “cooking from scratch.”

Ingredients, which are usually common, simple staples, are weighed or measured, and then added to the dish as directed.  Three cups of flour, a tablespoon of fat, a teaspoon of salt, a cup of sugar, and a tablespoon of yeast — the Fifties cook will find herself measuring household ingredients like an experienced laboratory technician.

You will, at times, be instructed to (for example) use an 8 ounce can of tomato paste or a 7 ounce can of tuna.  Canned products, however, are most often used when the ingredient is impractical to keep on hand (such as tuna), or impractical to prepare on the spot (tomato paste or sauce).

Oftentimes, however, when a recipe does call for what sounds like a prepared ingredient, such as White Sauce, you are in fact being instructed to prepare another simple recipe first.  An accomplished chef or Fifties homemaker learned early how to prepare these basic component recipes by rote memory.  (Don’t fear, though; I will provide instructions in each recipe that calls for such an ingredient.)

Preparing a Fifties recipe often requires a knowledge of standard cooking terms.  If a recipe instructs you to dredge a piece of meat and braise it, you would coat the meat with a dry material such as flour or some other material prescribed by the recipe, sear it on both sides, and then cook it slowly in a pot, partially immersed in a liquid.  If it instructs you to cream butter, it means softening the butter with a spoon, fork, or beater, and/or combining the butter with sugar.

I will preserve the old-fashioned charm of vintage recipes by using period cooking terms.  But fear not; you will find the needed glossary, tables, and other helpful information at my site.