50 Recipes from a 1950s Housewife- A Cultivated Nest (2024)

FAQs

What did 1950s housewives cook? ›

Dad grew up eating his mother's Russian shtetl cuisine of borscht, pulverized potatoes, and desiccated meat, so he thought his wife's cooking was wildly exotic: an elegant relish tray with celery, carrots, and olives on ice; chicken à la king; green bean casserole made with Campbell's Cream of Mushroom soup; instant ...

Until the 1950s it was common for bored housewives to buy amphetamine-based drugs from the chemists. In 1963, the use of drugs to alleviate housewives' boredom returned with a vengeance with the introduction of the 'wonder drug' Valium.

Breakfast was viewed as the meal to set you up for the day so was, at the very least, porridge, followed by bacon, eggs and fried bread, then toast and home-made marmalade, and lots of milky tea.

The publication also outlines daily tasks that one should complete each and every day, which include: Kitchen: Put away food, clean coffee grounds, wash dishes & sink, sweep, empty wastebasket. Bedrooms: Hang up night clothes, make beds, straighten & dust, dust/vacuum blinds.

In fact, a pineapple upside down cake won the first Dole recipe contest in 1926. By the 1950s and 1960s, the cake was at the peak of its popularity perhaps because of the ease of using boxed cake mixes, which were increasingly available in the post WWII years, says Bon Appetit.

Common dishes included the likes of meat stews, creamed tuna, meat loaf, corned beef and cabbage, mashed potatoes with butter, breaded and fried veal cutlets, deep-fried vegetables, French fries… you get the idea.

Although many think of anti-anxiety medication and anti-depressants as a rather modern way of life, housewives of the 1950s were frequent users of such drugs, the first and most popular being Miltown, named after the New Jersey hamlet in which it was first manufactured in 1955.

The gendered cultural meanings of diazepam (Valium®), a well-known benzodiazepine, was cemented in the 1966 Rolling Stones' song “Mother's little helper”. Benzodiazepines are recommended for the short-term treatment of anxiety and insomnia (Baldwin et al., 2013).

What is a 1950s housewife dress called? ›

The 1950s house dress is also sometimes referred to as a shirtwaist dress, as it often, but not always, buttoned down the front, or on the “shirtwaist.” It was met at the waist in a delightful gathering of pin tucking and then extended out in a circle skirt.

The average woman in the 50s had a 27.5-inch waist and her bra size was 34B; in 2017, women's waists are 34 inches and they wear a 36DD bra. Other differences: Women in 2017 are almost 20 pounds heavier (154 vs. 136 pounds) and wear larger-size clothing (size 14 today vs. size 10 in 1957).

So, what did people eat for lunch in the 1950s? In many cases, it was a pared-down version of dinner, consisting of meat, sides and veggies. Sandwiches were also popular, particularly bologna, as were soups packed in a thermos. And on a special day, you might have dined at a Department Store restaurant.

However, packaged snacks were not about to concede to the fast food trend. Peanut M&Ms, Atomic Fireballs, Certs Mints, Hot Tamales, PEZ candy, Pixy Stix, Smarties Candy Necklaces and Marshmallow Peeps were all candies developed during this decade.

1950s Dinners

You'd find hearty main dishes like Salisbury steak, beef stroganoff and meat loaf on a '50s dinner menu, plus scrumptious sides. Casseroles were also popular, particularly those featuring seafood or ham.

Typical main dishes might have been a hamburger, tuna fish, chicken casserole, dried chipped beef in cream gravy over toast, fried chicken, mac and cheese, Spam, canned ham, spareribs, hot dogs wrapped in Bisquick, hot dogs with barbecue sauce, liver and onions or various bean dishes.

Processed foods, easily and quickly assembled into meals using electric appliances, became standard fare. Grocery bills went up as women happily purchased more and more convenience foods. Food company marketing materials assured women that their products were both high quality and healthy.

During the 1950s, food processing was viewed as a modern and scientific approach to food production. This perception was influenced by advancements in technology, such as refrigeration, canning, and freezing, which allowed for mass production, preservation, and distribution of food.