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Finding Betty Crocker: The Secret Life of America's First Lady of Food

di Susan Marks

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144	6	189,449	(3.52)	8
IN 1945, FORTUNE MAGAZINE named Betty Crocker the second most popular American woman, right behind Eleanor Roosevelt, and dubbed Betty America's First Lady of Food. Not bad for a gal who never actually existed. "Born" in 1921 in Minneapolis, Minnesota, to proud corporate parents, Betty Crocker has grown, over eight decades, into one of the most successful branding campaigns the world has ever known. Now, at long last, she has her own biography. Finding Betty Crocker draws on six years of research plus an unprecedented look into the General Mills archives to reveal how a fictitious spokesperson was enthusiastically welcomed into kitchens and shopping carts across the nation. The Washburn Crosby Company (one of the forerunners to General Mills) chose the cheery all-American "Betty" as a first name and paired it with Crocker, after William Crocker, a well-loved company director. Betty was to be the newest member of the Home Service Department, where she would be a "friend" to consumers in search of advice on baking -- and, in an unexpected twist, their personal lives. Soon Betty Crocker had her own national radio show, which, during the Great Depression and World War II, broadcast money-saving recipes, rationing tips, and messages of hope. Over 700,000 women joined Betty's wartime Home Legion program, while more than one million women -- and men -- registered for the Betty Crocker Cooking School of the Air during its twenty-seven-year run. At the height of Betty Crocker's popularity in the 1940s, she received as many as four to five thousand letters daily, care of General Mills. When her first full-scale cookbook, Betty Crocker's Picture Cook Book, or "Big Red," as it is affectionately known, was released in 1950, first-year sales rivaled those of the Bible. Today, over two hundred products bear her name, along with thousands of recipe booklets and cookbooks, an interactive website, and a newspaper column. What is it about Betty? In answering the question of why everyone was buying what she was selling, author Susan Marks offers an entertaining, charming, and utterly unique look -- through words and images -- at an American icon situated between profound symbolism and classic kitchen kitsch.… (altro)

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Born out of an advertising campaign for Gold Medal flour, Betty Crocker and the women who portrayed her over the years became a staple in the American household. In the early days, women responding to the radio broadcasts received a wooden recipe box with recipes. When the great depression hit, Betty Crocker helped women economize. During the war years, she showed women how to make the most of their rations. I found myself wanting to ask my deceased mother about her memories of the earlier incarnations of Betty Crocker. While my mom always used Gold Medal flour, I wondered why many of her recipes called for Duncan Hines yellow cake mix rather than Betty Crocker. I remember asking her once why she used Duncan Hines instead of Betty Crocker, but she didn't really have a good answer. Duncan Hines came later than Betty Crocker though. It's still an interesting culinary and social history read, focusing mainly on my mother's era. (

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thornton37814 | Nov 7, 2020 |

I may be a little biased seeing as I'm basically a hobbit when it comes to food, but I thought this book was fascinating. People got such warm fuzzies for someone who was essentially a company mascot, and the effect stretches on to this day. Even I'm not totally immune... what a charming book. (

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AnnaWaffles | Aug 28, 2020 |

I loved this book. Suspending disbelief and placing yourself in an era where, of course, Betty Crocker is a real woman is an engaging exercise. Betty was a hero to many a lonely housewife, back when (most) men and women had distinct roles as husband and wife, and Betty empowered women to do more. She shifted American culture by declaring, for example, that it really isn't cheating to use a boxed cake mix. "You'll have more free time ... just cover up the box in the trash can so nosey guests won't see the evidence." It sounds silly nowadays, but shifts like this were the stepping stones to (getting closer) gender equality. A step ahead for women and, really, for men too. Cooking is no longer women's work. I've baked completely from scratch. I've used cake mixes and added dazzle. And I'm with Betty. Go with the cake mix and pretend otherwise.

I must say, though, that the text began to wander toward the end of the book, but instead of boring myself -- and, I admit, I was getting close to boredom then -- I skipped a chapter or two to get closer toward the finale. (

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DrJSH | Jan 27, 2018 |

When electric refrigerators first came on the market, they cost more than a car. This was a fun, interesting, light read but that's about the only big new thing I learned. Simply because I've been reading so much 20th century food history lately. There's lots of info in here, however. And why in the world aren't peanut butter cake and frosting mixes common any longer? (

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kristenn | Jan 10, 2010 |

http://susanw.livejournal.com/108204.html

susanna.fraser | Apr 7, 2006 |

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IN 1945, FORTUNE MAGAZINE named Betty Crocker the second most popular American woman, right behind Eleanor Roosevelt, and dubbed Betty America's First Lady of Food. Not bad for a gal who never actually existed. "Born" in 1921 in Minneapolis, Minnesota, to proud corporate parents, Betty Crocker has grown, over eight decades, into one of the most successful branding campaigns the world has ever known. Now, at long last, she has her own biography. Finding Betty Crocker draws on six years of research plus an unprecedented look into the General Mills archives to reveal how a fictitious spokesperson was enthusiastically welcomed into kitchens and shopping carts across the nation. The Washburn Crosby Company (one of the forerunners to General Mills) chose the cheery all-American "Betty" as a first name and paired it with Crocker, after William Crocker, a well-loved company director. Betty was to be the newest member of the Home Service Department, where she would be a "friend" to consumers in search of advice on baking -- and, in an unexpected twist, their personal lives. Soon Betty Crocker had her own national radio show, which, during the Great Depression and World War II, broadcast money-saving recipes, rationing tips, and messages of hope. Over 700,000 women joined Betty's wartime Home Legion program, while more than one million women -- and men -- registered for the Betty Crocker Cooking School of the Air during its twenty-seven-year run. At the height of Betty Crocker's popularity in the 1940s, she received as many as four to five thousand letters daily, care of General Mills. When her first full-scale cookbook, Betty Crocker's Picture Cook Book, or "Big Red," as it is affectionately known, was released in 1950, first-year sales rivaled those of the Bible. Today, over two hundred products bear her name, along with thousands of recipe booklets and cookbooks, an interactive website, and a newspaper column. What is it about Betty? In answering the question of why everyone was buying what she was selling, author Susan Marks offers an entertaining, charming, and utterly unique look -- through words and images -- at an American icon situated between profound symbolism and classic kitchen kitsch.

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