July reading – Finding Betty Crocker, Susan Marks
Katya and I were both excited to receive parcels in the mail this week containing our next book, Finding Betty Crocker: The Secret Life of America’s First Lady of Food. Book Depository really is amazing! In fact, we’ve both been doing some additional shopping there today.
We will start discussion on Betty on the first of August. I had a quick look at it today on the tram and it looks to be a fun read. A definite change of pace from Ian McEwan and David Mitchell. Enjoy!
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Firstly thanks to Sue for suggesting this months’ book, it was one I hadn’t heard of til she mentioned it to me. Although I wasn’t keen on the writing style in ‘Finding Betty Crocker’, I did find the content appealing, and it raised some interesting themes. I found the author’s use of quotes and letters a bit overdone – for me the story didn’t really flow, as each new issue or statement was then backed up with lots of quotes which to me made it feel a little as if I was reading an assignment written by someone who wanted to show me how much research they had done, whether it actually added to the story or not. I did think that the customer letters in particular really helped to set the tone of the era, however I think that Marks could have been a little more judicious in her use of them.
I also felt that she covered some areas much too briefly – for example, I would have liked to know more about the Betty Crocker trip to Russia. My vote would have been for less quotes and more information. I also felt that much more attention was paid to the early days, and then the time from the 60’s onwards was covered in about 30 pages.
As I read the book I found it depressing reading about how much of a woman’s worth centered around her ability to keep a good house. I love cooking and do prefer it when I can vacuum often enough so that the carpet isn’t crunchy, but I don’t feel that these things define me as a person, as they seemed to back in the 30’s – 50’s. Having said that, it must have been incredibly hard, time consuming and stressful for women to match these standards without all the devices, services and products we have now, so I can see how a pastry mix that you didn’t have to rub the shortening into would have been pretty damn exciting.
It was also interesting seeing how different forms of media helped promote the products, and how Golden Mills (or whatever it was called) used the media so well in the early days to establish brand loyalty. Given how focal the radio was to people back then the company did a really good job in making their radio program indispensible listening. I did enjoy reading about the radio show, as it tied in with other fiction books I’ve read (Fannie Flagg, Garrison Keilor) who also wrote about the value of the radio in America during and after the Depression. And personally I’ve always been a bit of a soft touch for sending in coupons to get free recipes!
As an Australian I don’t feel at all connected with the Betty Crocker name. I don’t know how long it’s been available over here, but I don’t think I’d really seen it on supermarket shelves until maybe 10 years ago when the frosting came out. The portraits of ‘Betty’ meant nothing to me, and I had to go to google images to see what this red spoon on the packaging looked like. I’m sure if I was American I would have connected with the book more, but as it was I felt pretty removed from it – I couldn’t think of a Ms White Wings or equivalent that played a role in my connection with baking.
Having said that, as someone who loves cooking and pretty much anything to do with it, I thought the photos and recipes were really interesting, and I always enjoy reading things that give insight into women’s roles in different times. The book did encourage me to think about how women are still manipulated by marketing and media – I remember a friend of mine who worked in advertising telling me that the strongest advertising image was ‘mother love’, and it seems to me that this is particularly the case when it comes to selling food products. Often when men are shown to be cooking in ads they are cast in the role of the buffoon, and the woman comes home from her busy day at work and after smiling indulgently at him makes everything alright. Actually that’s probably not a good example of mother love, and I am digressing.
Having never actually seen a Betty Crocker cook book I would be interested to know if the recipes contain packet mixes, or if they are proper cooking, as I completely associate Betty Crocker with packet mixes,
I look forward to hearing other peoples’ thoughts!
I’m a bit slow to add my comments here. Part of the reason for the delay is… well, Katya really summed up how I felt about the book and I feel as though we might be entering something of an echo chamber. I have fortified myself with coffee and cake (alas, not home made), however, and am determined to add something here.
As Katya noted, the author’s style was problematic. Given that the book is relatively recent, and the author looks young(ish), I was expecting her to explore some of the implications of the Betty Crocker persona for women – I guess I anticipated that she would examine her through a feminist lens. There is no reason for my expectation, other than the fact that I generally assume women of a certain age and education to be, well, feminist. Of course, I am frequently disappointed, as I was here. Rather than take an iconoclastic approach, Marks was more hagiographic; despite all the research she referenced, it was strangely superficial. Was there any mention of the women’s movement at all? None that I noted, although perhaps by that stage of the book I was feeling overwhelmed by all the endless updated portraits.
Speaking of the portraits, is it just me or was the idea of the “mashup” multi-ethnic portrait just plain weird? Marks really just reported on it, rather than commented or contextualised it, just as she seemed to shoo away the inconvenience of the NOW protests. I wasn’t really surprised to read this:
Simon and Schuster author page
By the end of the book, I felt as though I’d just read a General Mills corporate Christmas gift project, an in-house publication in celebration of a Crocker anniversary, or one of those famed coupon giveaways.
It was interesting to read about the foundations of the radio program, particularly since I was in the throes of watching Masterchef and becoming increasingly irritated at the product placement and endless call-backs to ads (or was it call-backs in ads, to the program? It felt like an endless loop of commercialism by the end). Reading about the manufacture of the Betty Crocker character, and the founding of an “entertainment” program specifically to promote the company’s products, would have been worth more exploration – I remember there being quite a fuss about product placement in Back to the Future, so I guess I believed that entertainment had not been so sullied by commercialism prior to that. Or maybe that just shows the self-centredness of each generation, because the origins of “soap operas” were hardly secret.
Like Katya, I really enjoyed the letters. In fact, I read the letters (in my head, not aloud) in what I liked to think was a suitably mid-century mid-western accent. The Betty Crocker replies were read (again, in my head) in Kathryn Hepburn’s accent. I’m not sure quite why I chose her speech pattern, but it just seemed to happen. I didn’t like the fact that the letters were all printed in italics – seriously, use BLOCK QUOTES, publishers! – and I also disliked the fact that nearly every full page image, whether it was a reproduction of an ad, or a recipe, came right in the middle of a sentence. Surely somebody could have worked harder on the page layouts. Maybe I’m just particularly fussy, but I hate breaking a sentence to look at something, and I don’t like having to turn pages back afterwards. I’m wondering if the book in it’s original published format was significantly larger, too, as some of the images were really difficult for me to make out (and now I sound completely elderly. Get off my lawn!).
Betty Crocker first came to my attention when I lived in London – I think it was via my Canadian landlady. We never had “cake mix” cakes growing up – no, I didn’t have a White Wings mum! – and so perhaps my enjoyment of this book was diminished by that lack of a fond association. Perhaps the American audience knows the products so well that they don’t require any further explanation, but I found myself thoroughly confused by some of the brand names. Of course, I eventually linked “bisquick” to American biscuits, and therefore scones, but it could have been made clearer when they were first mentioned.
This sounds like a long whinge, which I guess it kind of is. The “masters thesis” is too evident here – it needed a lot more editing to pull it into shape as an engaging book and to get rid of some of the repetition. I didn’t hate reading it, but I’m pleased to move on.
Oh, great comments! And when I read the bit you included about the authors’ background it all fell into place – I didn’t warm to the book because there was no actual OPINION in it. I know nothing about how the author actually felt about the company or the impact of world events/women’s issues. There was that one very small mention made about the NOW women’s group who arked up about the depiction of Betty Crocker, but the author could have gone so much further with that. You are right Injera, it was one big love fest and I wouldn’t be surprised if I saw it was published by General Mills Publishing House, and Susan Marks is in charge of their PR department.
Like you I also found the mash up face creepy – and patronising? And how boring was it reading those descriptions of her clothes and jewellery, and the knowing tilt to her eyes?
I loved the voices you used in your head when reading the letters, spot on! Thanks for clearing up the Bisquick thing, I did actually think that Bisquick was for making biscuits as we know them.
I too am happy to move on – am about a quarter of the way thru Peter Temple’s ‘The Broken Shore’, which couldn’t be more opposite in writing style if it tried. But thanks Sue for suggesting it, even though my comments are probably largely negative I am glad I read it and I wouldn’t have even known about the book if you hadn’t told me.
This is my first foray into any type of book club but I’ll do my best. I agree with several of the comments already posted. The book provided a chronological history of an iconic brand, rather than any analysis or opinion. I admit that I was a bit bored towards the end of the book. I also agree that it would resonate more with Americans.
I found it interesting that in some ways, not much has changed in the media manipulation of consumers. While the old ads appear outdated in their language and messages of catching and keeping a husband by baking him the perfect cake, advertisers today still show women reaching a blissful state of happiness by having perfectly clean clothes and houses.
The creation of Betty was obviously a clever marketing tool, exploited to the full in various forms of the media and adapted to the times. I think it’s a little ironic that it started by promoting the virtues of home cooking from fresh ingredients and developed into a huge range of convenience products that are designed to avoid cooking from scratch and replace fresh with processed ingredients. Maybe that’s just my food snobbery!
Thanks for joining in, Sarah! You’re right about the lack of evolution in advertisers’ portrayals of women’s domestic roles. The ad that particularly peeves me is the one where a group of friends visit a new mother. Of course, her loo is perfectly clean – thank god, since the idea that it wouldn’t be is implied to be a horrific outcome.
I was surprised to see that it started off as a range of flours, as my only knowledge of the BC brand has always been packet mixes. It would have been interesting if the author had explored the discussions that must have taken place as the brand moved towards the processed product, but that seemed to be out of the range of this particular book!
Hi Sarah, welcome!! I only just saw now that you posted, so thanks a lot for that and welcome to the world of blogging. I agreed with your comments, and I think you summed it up nicely when you said that the book is pretty much just a chronological history of the company. Let’s see if we can persuade Sue to comment as well!
It has been a while since I read the book, but thought it would be an interesting choice for intelligent women who like their food to sink their teeth into…….. I enjoyed reading the book but found myself getting angry as it portrayed the little woman at home in the kitchen. It shows how the media can manipulate the social norms and make a women feel she has to live a certain way to retain her husband and happy home life. I can imagine a lot of women must have felt very threatened by these expectations. No wonder ‘mothers little helper ‘ arrived on the scene to get her through the day. I was also amazed at the quantities that each recipe made. Nothing like mixing up a batch of 4 dozen biscuits at a moments notice for afternoon tea.
and found the history behind the Betty Crocker story beyond belief. How the media is capable of manipulating
Thanks for joining in, Sue, and thanks for suggesting the book! It was interesting to read something about a topic I love (food) yet have that tension of anger – as you put it – when considering the social implications. Good pick-up on the quantities! I hadn’t noticed how much each recipe made. I wonder how long the finished products kept for, or whether this marked the advent of freezing batches of home bakes.
I’ve just posted the Ffirst Tuesday Book Club’s discussion on ‘Solar’ under our ‘Solar’ discussion, but I’ll put it here as well: http://www.abc.net.au/tv/firsttuesday/s2819640.htm