Tuna Noodle Casserole was submitted by Beatrice Bond to The St. Andrew’s Cookbook. Tuna Noodle Casserole has been cited as one of the most popular foods of the 1950’s. Casseroles were traditionally served as lunch or dinner foods. Usually, they were made to serve larger families or crowds and as such, they were staples at traditional 1950’s potlucks. They would be served in large rectangular glass dishes that they would have been cooked in with the occasional decorative topping added. The recipe includes chow mein noodles as the base for the casserole and Mandarin oranges for flavour. The inclusion of chow mein noodles and Mandarin oranges, in what is considered a traditional North American recipe shows the prevalence of culinary mixing and the internationalization of the North American diet. Other ingredients in the recipe point to another important theme in 1950’s cooking - the mix of convenience foods and scratch cooking. These home-cooked casseroles used pre-made ingredients in scratch cooking preparations to create the perfect homemade dish. Convenience ingredients such as canned soups, like the mushroom soup used in this recipe, became very popular to save time in the kitchen. Ultimately, Casseroles were so important and appealing to women in the 1950’s to cook as they provided a hearty meal with relative easy preparation. This casserole recipe perfectly encapsulates some of the important themes in food history in the 1950s through its ingredients.

Ribbon Salad was the only recipe Mrs George Dodge submitted to the St. Andrew’s Cookbook. The Ribbon Salad was another staple of 1950’s cooking in North America. Gelatin, and Jell-O were very common and favourite ingredients for 1950’s cooks. The use of gelatine, especially in a powdered format, was very popular at this time as it was considered an integral part of the domestic science movement. The concept of a dessert salad, was another extremely popular dish representative of 1950’s cooking. This recipe uses marshmallows instead of powdered gelatine, as powdered gelatine was harder to find in during the 1950’s and marshmallows would have been cheaper. The recipe also includes a variety of other popular food items of the time namely Miracle Whip and Dream Whip. Both are names of popular mayonnaise and whipping cream brands. Food advertising was not a new concept in the 1950’s, but the use of brand names instead of the actual product name shows how successful food advertising campaigns had become. Canadian housewives would understand what actual product would be required merely by the name of a brand. Gelatin salads would have been eaten as dessert items in the 1950’s.

This recipe for Ribbon Salad specifically makes 20 servings, which would point to it being a prime party dish. It would normally be served in a bundt shape, and often other ingredients would be added inside it to decorate it. Gelatine and Mould salads were often heavily decorated and served at family functions. Ribbon Salads were another example of the mixing of convenience foods and scratch cooking. While the preparation for this Ribbon Salad may be time-consuming with three layers being made, the steps within each layer are
quite easy.