Vintage Recipe: Salad from the 1913 Crisco Cookbook

by Marisa McClellan, Posted Jul 28th 2007 @ 12:01PM

photograph of a page of a 1913 Crisco cookbook

Here's another entry in my recipes from vintage cookbooks series. My mom found this 1913 edition of A Calendar of Dinners at a Portland thrift store several years ago. Knowing my affection for old and eclectic cookbooks, she bought it (for all of $.50) and tucked it away to give to me at the next gift-giving holiday. I often trot it out when I have people sitting around my living room, it's an excellent conversation piece. Most folks are fascinated by the creativity of those early 20th century marketers, as they managed to include Crisco in the preparation of almost every food imaginable.

You can see most of the recipe in the picture above, but just in case you actually want to test this one out, the recipe is also after the jump.

photo by Marisa McClellan

The recipe is copied verbatim from the book, so as not to lose any of it's vintage charm.

For Dressing
1 tablespoonful Crisco
1 teaspoonful mustard
1 teaspoonful sugar
1/2 teaspoonful salt
1/4 teaspoonful white pepper
2 eggs
4 tablespoonfuls lemon juice
1 cupful whipped cream

For Salad
1 quart chopped apples
1 pint diced celery
1 1/2 cupfuls blanched and shredded almonds
2/3 cupful rolled pecan nut meats

For salad. Mix apples, celery and nut meats.
For dressing. Melt Crisco, add mustard, sugar, salt, pepper, yolks of eggs well beaten, and lemon juice. Cook in double boiler till it thickens, then add whites of eggs stiffly beaten. Chill and add whipped cream just before serving. Dressing should be mixed with fruit.

Filed Under: Retro cookery, Ingredients
Tags: america, apple celery nut salad, crisco cookbook, fruit, nuts, retro food, seeds, vintage recipe, VintageRecipe

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Reader comments (Page 1 of 1)

7-28-2007 @1:06PM MJ said... This is a refreshing addtion to slashfood! Great one thanks!I am enjoying your vintage themes! Love anything vintage.............
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7-28-2007 @1:58PM Kiwi Carlisle said... Yes! I love food abominations! Keep them coming!
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8-01-2007 @10:19AM Random said... Mmm mmm! Nothing like artery clogging trans fats in my fruit & nut salad.

I love vintage cookbooks. I often wonder how people willingly eat some of the recipes in there. Any sort of picnic salad atrocity is the best.
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8-01-2007 @2:34PM Cheryl said... Crisco! YUCK!
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8-01-2007 @12:56PM Lauren said... Crisco no longer contains trans fats: http://www.crisco.com/about/shortening_0gramstransfat.asp
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8-01-2007 @2:38PM Lauren said... Crisco contains 50 percent less saturated fat than butter and NO trans fats.
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8-01-2007 @3:03PM Stephanie said... Actually until recently Crisco was all trans fats, which would be the type of crisco this recipe is calling for. It is NOT beter than butter.
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8-01-2007 @3:34PM Random said... Yep, what Stephanie said. I haven't bought a tub of crisco in ages after I learned what it was, so more power to them if they've finally reformulated.
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8-05-2007 @6:14AM Jane said... This sounds Like an early "Miracle Whip"type Mayo substitute. I have many vintage cookbooks and they all seem so eccentric. and the food inedible.
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8-05-2007 @2:19PM MJ said... I wuld replace the crisco with something else such as yogurt or a lite sour cream. Grew up on crisco and use to not make biscuits with out it, but you live and learn. Heart healthy you only have one~
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