The historical significance of this cookbook includes contextualizing its relation to Jewish communities out west in Canada during the Great Depression. It is important to understand Hadassah influences and how the 1930’s impacted peoples living conditions and their relationship with foods such as sugar.

Before arriving in Canada Hadassah was radical, it was split between the dominate male society and subordinate women’s position, but it shifted meaning harmony between Arabs and Jews and the passing down of cultural responsibilities by women instead of men. Saskatchewan and other provinces such as Alberta and British Columbia saw the emergence Hadassah chapters because Jewish women were becoming more active in the public sphere.  

With Jewish emergence in the prairies there was a surge of agriculture as it allowed for opportunity, yet the emergence was stalled when the Great Depression and drought hit in the 1930’s.

The Great Depression lasted in Canada roughly between 1929 to 1939 but took many years after to fully recover, the Jewish people were not only affected by their lower class status but the severe drought caused crops to die as well. Since they could no longer make money by farming, many farmers left and headed to the cities and this began the decline of farms. Not only were farmers moving but so were Rabbi’s which in turn made it harder for the Jewish population in Regina to find kosher food and they would have to travel far into the cities to maintain their diets. The Great Depression originated in the United States but quickly found its way into Canada the reason was because Canada was also trying to become a dominate power, and the stock market was based on borrowed cash. Even though Jewish families were struggling they maintained the importance of their culture and one way they showed this was by producing the Tried and Tested Recipes cookbook.

This community cookbook represents Canadian society during the 1930s because part of the cookbook describes appetizers and the ingredients which include many vegtables and since Jewish immigrants were farmers they most likely planted some of these ingredients and relied on the kosher butcher shops in their small community to help produce these meals. However, since they were living through a drought and people were moving, many became vegetarian and vegan. The Regina Chapter of Hadassah produced this cookbook with the idea of mothers helping mothers in the kitchen to feed their family.

Recipes found within this cookbook are specific to Passover and from the ingredients such as the matzo meal needed to complete the Passover apple pudding, it can be noted that there were other ways of finding kosher ingredients as it was starting to be being produced in factories. With this cookbook the goal was to maintain the presence of the Jewish culture even with their limited abilities, through agriculture, from one generation to the next.

An ingredient that stood out historically and is a component within many of the recipes includes sugar. In 1932 the production of sugar was cut in half and the price was increasing for the given amount. Yet not only was there a need for sugar as a popular commodity but there was also a race for who controlled its production. Sugar will always be important in the distribution of food and health because sugar is found in many foods that people consume, either naturally or added. Sugar is important to the cookbook because though it was hard to come by there are no substitutes for it as an ingredient during the Great Depression. This cookbook was created to help women feed their families during a time when money and healthy food options were hard to maintain financially and agriculturally.