Gelatin Based Products, 1930's, Knox Gelatine
During the mid nineteen hundreds, cooking was commonly viewed as a chore within the home - as high-quality meals were practically unattainable unless one spent a sizable amount of money in a pricey restaurant. This perspective was only heightened during and after the Great Depression.
50's Housewife Illustration, 2018, Nest Media
With starvation becoming the primal focus, taste became secondary to possessing food entirely. Once the Depression passed, the looming fear of yet another economic disaster remained.
This became a controlling factor over the way meals were prepared in homes nationwide - money would rather be saved than spent on ingredients.
Fifties Housewife Posing in a Stove Advert, 1957, GraphicaArtis.
"People ate what they grew and canned, what they could afford to buy, or what they scavenged. Some ate dandelion greens, wild berries and fruits, squirrels and gophers, and the like. Economical foods introduced during the Depression years include Spam, Kraft macaroni and cheese, Bisquick, and Ritz crackers. One study found that 20 percent of children in New York City were underweight, as were up to 90 percent in the poorest regions, such as Appalachia. Larger cities had soup kitchens where people stood in line for a free meal. This is when the U.S. government started its food stamp program." ~ Ancestry.com LLC on 1930's diets
War Ration Book, 1943, The National WW2 Museum
Even after the depression passed, rationing due to World War 2 prevented any sort of culinary growth. Rationing ended in 1946.
"In the U.S., food was rationed after the 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor. Every person in a household received a ration book, including babies and small children, who qualified for canned milk that others did not receive. Sugar was the first food rationed; sales stopped on April 27, 1942, and resumed a week or two later with a limit of a half pound per person per week, half of normal consumption (bakeries got more, and because of that, people starting buying their sweets more than making them). Coffee was limited to one pound every five weeks, which allowed for about one cup of coffee per day instead of three." ~ Ancestry.com LLC on rationing during WW2
Popular Foods: 1930's, 40's and 50's
Spam Advert, 1937, Hormel Foods
Advert for Heinz Cooked Spaghetti, 1941, Heinz.
Kraft Cheez Whiz, 1954, Kraft
15 Minute Meat Loaf, 1955, Hunt's Co.
After the trials and tribulations of depression and war passed, the fifties rejoiced in peace. Companies found themselves in optimal economic circumstances after stimulation from the war, and a consumer base that was willing to buy. Reheatable products and electric kitchen appliances simultaneously took America by storm. The ease of processed goods attracted the American housewife. Whichever product most effectively boasted efficiency, often gelatin and canned ingredients, would fly off the shelves.
Background: Dinner Spread, 2020, Alex Lau