Kitchen Tested Recipes from Canned Foods — Key Ideas to Explore

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Authors: American Can Company. Home Economics Department Digital Source: Project Gutenberg Gutenberg Release Year: 2020 First Publication Year: Not confirmed

Key Word: Canned foods; Cooking (Canned foods) Target Reader: Readers of public-domain and historical texts

Book Edition: Project Gutenberg digital edition Book Language: en

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Words 6,218

Reading time 28 min

Text sections 1

For Kitchen Tested Recipes from Canned Foods — Key Ideas to Explore, the stored edition analysis reports 6,218 words, 28 min estimated reading time, and 1 detected text section.

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Project Gutenberg metadata also associates the work with “Canned foods,” connecting these edition facts with the source record’s subject description.

Source: Project Gutenberg record #62230

This editorial note examines the language and instructional voice in a 1920s-30s recipe booklet from the American Can Company, noting how its precise can-size guides, imperative verbs, and varied pacing reflect a corporate effort to standardize home cooking with canned goods.

Editorial Edition Score 4.4/5

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File: pg62230

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KITCHEN _Tested Recipes_ FROM CANNED FOODS

A Guide to Common Can Sizes

No. ¼ FLAT CAN 4¾ oz. Used for various meat approximately ½ cup spreads, such as ham, tongue and liver. No. ½ FLAT CAN 7¾ oz.-8½ oz. Used principally for salmon. approximately 1 cup No. 1 TALL CAN 12 to 16 oz. Used for salmon, fruit approximately 2 cups cocktail and fruits for salad. No. 2 CAN 1 lb. 2 oz. to 1 lb. Used primarily for 8 oz. vegetables, fruits and juices. approximately 2½ cups No. 2½ CAN 1 lb. 10 oz. to 2 Used mainly for fruits. lbs. 3 oz. Spinach, tomatoes, approximately 3½ cups sauerkraut, beets and pumpkin are also packed in it. No. 3 CYLINDER CAN 1 qt. 14 fluid oz. Used primarily for fruit and approximately 5¾ cups vegetable juices and contains 46 or 47 ounces. No. 10 CAN 6 lbs. to 8 lbs. Used for vegetables and approximately 13 cups fruits. Commonly called institutional or restaurant size and is not ordinarily available in retail stores.

_KITCHEN TESTED RECIPES FROM CANNED FOODS_

_Preparing attractive, nutritious meals for the family is an aim in every home._

To those who know the economy, convenience, and nutritive value of commercially canned foods, this booklet of recently created and developed recipes from the Canco Testing Kitchen will be a source for new appetizing dishes. To the many who are establishing new homes and planning and preparing meals for the first time, this booklet will provide the needed recipes for the daily menus, whether they be simple or elaborate.

The use of commercially canned foods saves many hours in the preparation of fruits, vegetable, fish and meats, and also assures no waste.

_SOUPS_ Purée Mongole 3 Corn and Tomato Chowder 3 Fish Tomato Stew 3

_FISH_ Jellied Salmon Mold 5 Baked Salmon with Dressing 5 Lobster Bisque 5 Creole Fish Pie 6 Southern Shrimp 6 Tuna and Apple Salad 6 Deviled Sardines 7

_VEGETABLES_ Savory Vegetables 9 Broiled Corn 9 Carrot and Rice Croquettes 9 Creole Hamburger and Bean Pie 10 Asparagus Croquettes 10 Cheese Sauce 10 Bean Stew 11 Sweet Potato Scones 12 Baked Spinach and Corn 12 Spinach 12 Pork Chops Creole 13 Julienne Beets with Horseradish Sauce 13 Asparagus Luncheon Rolls 13

_FRUITS_ Fruit Dessert Rolls 15 Spiced Fruits 15 Golden Fruit Punch 15 Cranberry and Raisin Pie 16 Fruit Custard 16 Soft Custard 16 Pumpkin Whip 17

1 No. 1 can Condensed Tomato Soup 1 No. 1 can Condensed Green Pea Soup 2⅔ cups Milk 1 cup ½-inch Bread Cubes 2 tablespoons Margarine or Butter

Mix soups together in saucepan; add milk, stirring until well blended. Heat thoroughly. Sauté bread cubes in fat until delicately browned; serve as garnish. Thinly sliced celery may also be used as garnish. _4 to 6 Servings_

_CORN AND TOMATO CHOWDER_

2 slices Bacon or Salt Pork 1 medium-sized Onion, sliced 2 tablespoons Green Pepper 1 No. 2½ can Tomatoes 1 No. 2 can Cream Style Corn 1 teaspoon Salt ¼ teaspoon Thyme Dash of Pepper

Cut bacon into ½-inch slices. Sauté bacon, onions and green pepper in large saucepan. Add tomatoes; mix well. Add corn; season with salt, thyme and pepper. Cover; simmer for 20 minutes. _6 to 8 Servings_

3 medium-sized Potatoes (1½ cups cubed) 4 tablespoons Fat ⅓ cup chopped Onions 2 tablespoons Green Pepper 1 No. 2 can Tomato Juice 1 cup Water 1 teaspoon Salt ⅛ teaspoon Pepper Dash of Thyme 1 7-oz. can Fish Flakes

Pare and cube potatoes; sauté with onions in fat until lightly browned. Add green pepper, tomato juice, water, salt, pepper and thyme. Cook until potatoes are tender. Add fish flakes. Simmer for 5 minutes. _4 Servings_

_JELLIED SALMON MOLD_

2 tablespoons plain Gelatin ½ cup Cold Water ½ teaspoon Salt Dash of Pepper ¼ teaspoon Worcestershire Sauce 1 Bay Leaf 1 No. 2 can Tomato Juice 2 tablespoons Lemon Juice 1 7-oz. can Salmon 1 tablespoon chopped Onion ½ cup chopped Celery 2 hard cooked Eggs

Soften gelatin in cold water. Add salt, pepper, Worcestershire sauce and bay leaf to tomato juice; heat to boiling point. Remove bay leaf; add lemon juice. Pour hot seasoned tomato juice over gelatin. Stir until dissolved. Chill gelatin mixture until slightly thickened. Flake salmon, mix with onion, celery and chopped eggs. Fold mixture into thickened gelatin. Rinse 8-inch ring mold or individual molds in cold water; pour in gelatin mixture. Chill until firm. Unmold on platter; garnish with crisp lettuce and watercress. _6 to 8 Servings_

Note: _1 No. 2 can Tomato Juice Cocktail may be substituted for Tomato Juice and seasonings._

_BAKED SALMON WITH DRESSING_

1 1-lb. can Salmon 2 cups soft Bread Crumbs ¼ teaspoon Pepper ½ teaspoon Poultry or Fish Seasoning 2 teaspoons minced Onion 2 teaspoons chopped Parsley 2 teaspoons chopped Pickles 3 tablespoons Butter or Margarine, melted ¼ cup Milk

Drain salmon, reserving 2 tablespoons liquor; break into large pieces. Place in bottom of medium-sized shallow casserole; add salmon liquor. Mix together remaining ingredients; spread over salmon. Bake in a moderately hot oven at 400°F for about 20 minutes. Garnish with parsley. _4 to 5 Servings_

1 6-oz. can Lobster (1 cup) 3 tablespoons Butter 1 quart Milk, with cream 1½ teaspoons Salt Dash of Pepper Paprika

Drain lobster; cut in small pieces. Melt butter in top of double boiler; add lobster; cook 3 minutes. Add milk, salt, and pepper. Heat almost to boiling. Cover; place over hot water; let stand 30 minutes before serving to develop best flavor. Sprinkle with paprika. _Makes 5 cups_

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The booklet opens not with a recipe but with a guide to common can sizes, listing exact fluid ounces and cup equivalents for No. ¼ Flat through No. 10 cans. This front matter establishes a tone of precision and authority, positioning the Home Economics Department as a reliable intermediary between the factory and the kitchen. The recipes that follow adopt a brisk, imperative voice: “Mix soups together,” “Sauté bread cubes,” “Cook raisins in boiling water.” Instructions are concise, often omitting subjects, and rely on numbered steps or short paragraphs. Yet the pacing varies: some recipes, like Purée Mongole, are dispatched in a single dense paragraph, while others, such as Fruit Custard, unfold over several sentences with separate handling of meringue and custard. This variation suggests an awareness that different dishes require different levels of explanation.

Imperative Economy: The Voice of the Canco Kitchen

The dominant grammatical mood is the imperative, addressed to an implied “you” who is assumed to be a home cook. Verbs are direct: “Heat thoroughly,” “Add chilled lemon,” “Pour mixture into pastry shell.” There is no hedging or optional language—every action is presented as necessary. This voice mirrors the efficiency promised by canned foods themselves: no waste, no guesswork. The recipes rarely explain why a step matters; they simply state what to do. For instance, in the Soft Custard Sauce, the instruction “cook over hot water, stirring constantly, until custard coats spoon” gives a clear visual cue without elaborating on the science of egg coagulation. The language assumes a cook who can recognize that coating-the-spoon moment. This trust in the reader’s practical knowledge is consistent throughout, though it occasionally falters—the Pumpkin Whip recipe, for example, includes the oddly specific note to beat egg whites “until stiff” and then “gradually add sugar,” a sequence any experienced baker would know, but spelled out nonetheless.

Pacing and Paragraph Length as Instructional Cues

Recipe length varies considerably, and this variation functions as an implicit signal of complexity. Short recipes like Purée Mongole (four lines) or Deviled Sardines (not shown but likely brief) can be scanned quickly; longer ones like Cranberry and Raisin Pie (a full paragraph plus baking time) demand more attention. The booklet uses paragraph breaks sparingly, often packing multiple steps into a single block. For example, the Corn and Tomato Chowder recipe begins with a list of ingredients, then a single sentence: “Cut bacon i[...]” (the excerpt cuts off, but the pattern is clear). This dense layout contrasts with the Fruit Custard recipe, which separates the custard base, fruit preparation, and meringue into distinct sentences, creating a slower, more deliberate rhythm. The effect is that the reader’s eye moves at different speeds depending on the dish, mirroring the actual pace of cooking—a quick soup versus a layered dessert. The absence of numbered steps in most recipes further compresses the text, forcing the cook to parse the sequence from the prose itself.

Recurring Details: Garnishes, Yields, and the Corporate Voice

Several recurring details reveal the booklet’s dual purpose: to instruct and to promote canned foods. Nearly every recipe includes a garnish suggestion—“Thinly sliced celery,” “slivered almonds or chocolate bar,” “mint, pineapple sticks and cherries.” These garnishes are not essential to the dish but add a note of hospitality, aligning the home cook with the ideal of attractive, nutritious meals stated in the introduction. Yields are consistently given, often in two formats (“4 to 6 Servings” or “Approximately 30 (6-oz.) servings—45 (½ cup) servings”), which reflects a corporate precision aimed at minimizing waste. The brand voice emerges most clearly in the introductory paragraph, which uses the first-person plural (“we”) and the proprietary term “Canco Testing Kitchen.” This institutional “we” reappears nowhere in the recipes themselves, which remain impersonal. The contrast suggests that the recipes are meant to feel neutral and universal, while the framing material asserts the company’s expertise. The final page, with its address and printing code, reinforces that this is a commercial document, not a community cookbook.

Readers approaching this booklet should pay attention to the interplay between brevity and detail. The shortest recipes may assume prior knowledge, while longer ones offer more scaffolding. The can-size guide at the front is essential for interpreting ingredient quantities, especially for modern cooks unfamiliar with No. 2½ or No. 3 cylinder cans. The language is a product of its time—efficient, confident, and slightly promotional—but the recipes themselves are functional and, in many cases, adaptable. Treat the booklet as a historical artifact of home-economics instruction, not as a comprehensive cooking manual.

There’s something touching about those old canning booklets, their tidy absolutes about sizes and timing. I keep thinking how different the quiet confidence of that era’s kitchen advice feels from the gentle hesitations in the era’s vegetarian manuals, like Substitutes for Flesh Foods: Vegetarian Cook Book — Background and Themes, where every substitution reads as a small hope rather than a rule. Both speak to a longing for order at home, but only one admits the longing openly.