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In the rural America of the past, a woman's reputation was sometimes made by her cherry pie - of her chocolate layer cake, or her biscuits. As America modernized and women left the home to enter the paid labour force, mastery of cooking remained a sign that a woman took her gendered responsibilities seriously. Ironically, over the course of the 20th century, as ready-made foods and kitchen appliances made home cooking less essential and labour-intensive, culinary skill continued to be perceived not only by society but often by women as a measure of a woman's true value. This work shows how cooking evolved during the 20th century as new challenges arose to replace the old. Still tied to the kitchen, women found that instead of simply providing sustenance for the household, they now had to master more complex cooking techniques, the knowledge of "ethnic" cuisines, the science of nutrition, the business of consumerism, and, perhaps most important of all, the art of keeping their families happy and healthy.
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MARY DRAXE MCFEELY is an independent scholar. She is author of Lady Inspectors: The Campaign for a Better Workplace, 1893-1921.
