During the late-nineteenth and early-twentieth century in Montreal, working families experienced significant changes as the city became increasingly industrialized. The working and living conditions for the working class declined, which threatened families stability. The cookbook reflects the experiences of the working class in Montreal at the time.  

First, the cookbook is telling of declining working conditions of working class men, which put families into a vulnerable position. In Montreal, unemployment was a major economic problem at the time. Working men were desperate for paid hours. 58-60 hours was necessary to provide a sufficient income for their family. Working men had to start their job by seven o'clock in the morning to get ten hour days. Time meant money. Working men needed meals that they could eat quickly and go back to work. In this cookbook, there is a section titled "How Long to Cook Things," which breaks down times for baking and boiling foods. For example, it recommends baking lamb for fifteen minutes. This appealed to housewives as it helped them organize their time and taught them quick meals. The recipes are also high in calories. The cookbook contains protein and carbohydrate meals sufficient to sustain men performing labour-intensive jobs. Creamed eggs contains six eggs, six toast slices, grated yokes, and cream sauce. To conclude, the Bliss Cook Book catered to the working class by providing information and meals that could support working men. 

Next, the cookbook also considers the circumstances of working women. During this period, women were busy like their male counterparts. There was an increase of women joining the paid workforce to supplement the men's income. In a single day, a women had to perform "housework, informal production, casual earning, and wage labour." This impacted their ability to cook nutrious meals for their family. A labour investigator stated that "when the mother is at work there is not time to prepare porridge or broth… usually breakfast and dinner become bread and butter meals." People were concerned that women working would cause a decline in the household's health. Working women were under pressure to balance their waged work and housework. A section titled "old fashioned southern preserves" suggests jam recipes to keep households healthy. The Bliss preserve calls for apples, pear, and plums and instructs people to put them in jar. This recipe would have appealed to working women because jam increased the national value of bread-based meals. Preserved jams had long shelf lives and could last for several meals. Working women would not have to cook a fresh meal every day. To summarize, the cookbook's jam recipes helped working women balance their home and work life. 

Lastly, there will be a discussion about the significance of disease in Montreal. In the late nineteenth century, Montreal was an "unhealthy city." Montreal had some of the highest morality rates in North America. Diseases like gastro-enteritis, tuberculosis, typhoid and small-pox were common. Children were vulnerable to diarrhoea and childhood contagions. This was a concern for working people, who could not afford to lose a day of work. The recipes shed light on how they contributed to Montreal's high mortality rates. All of the recipes have dairy ingredients. Macarons, for example, requires: three quarter cup butter, one pounds white sugar, three eggs, two teaspoons baking powder, two teaspoons milk, and two cups of flour. Recipes with dairy would have appealed to the working class because dairy was cheaper than meat, but high in protein. Pasteurized milk did not become popular in Montreal until 1926. Since the cookbook was published before then, it means that it encouraged people to eat dairy products contaminated with bacteria. Being a medical company, people trusted their recipes and consumed unpasteurized dairy. The cookbook most likely contributed to the spread of disease. Overall, the cookbook reflects the issue of morality in Montreal and shows why it occurred. 

In many ways, the Bliss Cook Book provides knowledge about Montreal's working class during the late nineteenth and early twentieth century through food and recipes. It helped working class families struggling to survive intense urbanization and industrialization. First, due to job insecurity, men worked long hours. The cookbook gave housewives meals that husbands could consume quickly and gave them energy to work. Second, the jam recipes helped working women. The recipes shortened cooking time, while increasing the nutritional values of family meals. Despite the advice, the cookbook was not able to address the working class's most significant enemy, disease. The cookbook hold historical significance as it symbolizes working class families asserting agency towards the oppressing forces of capitalism through recipes.