Chiquita Banana provides a delicous recipe for Ham Banana Rolls with Cheese Sauce. 

Money-hungry companies of Post-War America were bound to target the massive amounts of women who were buying cookbooks. Young girls, who had never cooked before, were being forced into the kitchen when they were married so young. Hence the cookbook purchasing, and hence the major companies targeting the cookbook industry.

Most popular among the targeting companies were major food labels. Here came the rise of Knox Gelatine and Betty Crocker. These companies would advertise their products in their own customized cookbook to sell their products. In Betty Crocker cookbooks, you use Betty Crocker cake mix. This would send young brides flocking to the grocery store to purchase the Betty Crocker ingredients.

This consumerism mindset stemmed from the federal government as they pushed “a new postwar ideal of the purchaser as a citizen who simultaneously fulfilled personal desire and civic obligation by consuming.”  [1] This urge to spend was promoted by popular magazines of the day like Life or Bride’s magazine. Bride’s magazine in particular urged consumerism regarding things like dishware, and household appliances. They said “ the dozens of things you never bought or even thought of before…you are helping to build greater security for the industries of this country…What you buy and how you buy it is very vital in your new life- and to our whole American way of living.” This quote from  A Consumers’ Republic emphasizes the importance of purchasing in America.            

Maggi's Seasoning provides a professional cookbook with recipes using their products. 

An example of consumerism affecting the lives of families through cookbooks comes from the dancing fruit, Chiquita banana. In order to sell more of their product, this company produced a small cookbook with recipes using their bananas. Including the delicious ham banana rolls with cheese sauce.[2] Many companies took a similar tactic, producing cookbooks with recipes only from their product. Everything from gelatine, to Maggi’s seasoning, to different types of wine created their own cookbooks to advertise and sell. (see images on left and above)

The relationship between consumerism and cookbooks is a byproduct of the government trying to boost the economy. When more people spend, the better off America would be. Large companies selling their own brand of cookbooks, or even simply advertisements in a cookbook promoted the government ideal of spending.