This cookbooklet by Carnation Milk called Sweet Candy Tricks encases 20 unique candy and dessert recipes from the 1930’s era, which utilize Carnation’s canned milk product. Inside recipes such as “Carnation Fudge” and “Opera Caramels” are featured. This artefact was created with the intention of sharing easy dessert recipes for the average entertainer, these recipes are intended to be shared with people at a gathering such as a holiday celebration or house party as inferred by the “Holiday Fudge” recipe. Hosting a dinner was a grand occasion in the 1930's and something that is a lot more casual now a days. Although none of the recipes clearly state how many desserts they produce, the quantities of ingredients and pictures within imply they are big enough to share with family and friends.

The cookbooklet also features advertisements and coupons for Carnation Milk products, Carnation Milk was first introduced in 1899 however after being sold to Nestle for three billion dollars in the 1950’s, their product line expanded vastly. Elbridge Amos Stuart was the creator of Carnation evaporated milk and the world renown slogan that their milk came from fine herds of “Contented Cows”. The 1930’s was a budding period for the Carnation Milk company as they merged with the six million dollar Albers Brothers Milling Company of San Francisco in 1923 becoming “The Carnation Milk Products Company” worth thirty six million in total. This was a great expansion for the company, and led to them buying an office on Wilshire Boulevard in Los Angeles California where the company took off. Today, Carnation Milk is licensed through Smucker’s in Canada and is still used in many baked goods recipes.

Evaporated milk became commercially available and quite popular in the 1920’s and 1930’s, as it has a much longer shelf life than normal milk. The product is also nutritionally equivalent to fresh milk. It was a great substitute before refrigeration for places which didn’t have a reliable source of fresh milk as the cans could be shipped with ease. Once refrigeration became widely available in homes, Carnation Milk saw a decrease in the amount of evaporated milk it was selling, Nestle took it upon itself to expand and diversify their product range.