The Betty Crocker Cookbook | Cathy Swanson Wheaton
Intro: Welcome to the number one cookbook podcast, Cookery by the Book with Suzy Chase. She's just a home cook in New York City, sitting at her dining room table, talking to cookbook authors.
Cathy Swanson Wheaton: Hi, I'm Cathy Swanson Wheaton. I'm the executive editor of the new 13th edition of The Betty Crocker Cookbook, or as we like to call it, Big Red.
Suzy Chase: I never tire of hearing the story of Betty Crocker. I think one of the most interesting things about Betty Crocker, that some people may not realize, is she wasn't a real woman. Can you talk a little bit about that?
Cathy Swanson Wheaton: That is correct. She was created when our predecessor company, called the Washburn-Crosby Company, who made Gold Medal flour, put out a puzzle for people to solve. If they won, they could get a little pin cushion that looked like a sack of Gold Medal flour. Well, when people sent in their completed puzzles, they got more than 30,000 completed puzzles, but they also got hundreds of baking and cooking questions and recipe requests. The company officials thought it would be really a nice idea to have a nice persona answer those questions and recipe requests, and so they came up with the name Betty, because that was a warm and friendly name of the time, and Crocker was the name of a very beloved executive. Betty Crocker was born, and she's more than a hundred now.
Suzy Chase: It boggles my mind that in the 1920s, Betty got anywhere between 4,000 and 5,000 letters per day.
Cathy Swanson Wheaton: Yes, and also marriage requests.
Suzy Chase: Really?
Cathy Swanson Wheaton: Yes. There were men that loved the sound of her voice on the Betty Crocker radio program and she would regularly get marriage proposals. Who wouldn't want Betty Crocker cooking for them?
Suzy Chase: Yeah. Tell me about the Betty Crocker Cooking School of the Air. That was the country's very first radio cooking program.
Cathy Swanson Wheaton: Yes. It started locally here in Minnesota, but then it became a national radio program. It was one of the longest running radio programs, not only of the cooking type, but of any type in history. There were a few women that were in the Betty Crocker kitchens that were writing the recipe scripts and then performing as Betty on air.
Suzy Chase: In 1936, the first official portrait of Betty was released. Can you talk a little bit about that?
Cathy Swanson Wheaton: How they came up with the first portrait was all the remarkable women that did everything in the kitchens, from creating recipes to answering consumer letters and even writing these radio scripts, they decided that they would make a mold of all these people together. They took the eyes of one person and the hair of another and the chin of another, and then also went around the office and had everyone sign Betty Crocker's signature to find the signature that we all know and love.
Suzy Chase: Then in the '60s, Betty kind of resembled Jackie O.
Cathy Swanson Wheaton: Yes. Every portrait that was done of Betty Crocker does resemble remarkable women of the times. As the newer portraits were done, they started resembling Betty Crocker in the workforce. In fact, there's one that has her in a red suit jacket and bow tie, which us that work in the Betty Crocker kitchens and represent her think it's just hilarious because you'd never want to be cooking over a stove in a bow tie blouse.
Suzy Chase: That's so funny.
Cathy Swanson Wheaton: Yeah, we get a kick out of that.
Suzy Chase: Stepping back to 1950, tell us about Betty Crocker's first picture cookbook that was introduced that year. I'm so curious as to why it was a picture cookbook.
Cathy Swanson Wheaton: Well, yes. 1950 was the first edition Betty Crocker Big Red Cookbook, I call it Big Red, Betty Cracker Cookbook. Because Betty Cracker was all about being a helpful friend in the kitchen, they thought it would be so much more helpful if there were a lot of pictures that explained how to do different techniques or what recipes should look like. It was a remarkable success, it turned out to be the second best seller of all time, next to the Bible.
The book that we have out now is the 13th edition of that book, and there are some recipes in it that are still the quintessential favorites that shouldn't ever change, like banana bread is one, but each edition reflects the changes in the way Americans are eating today. This one, because people, when they find out what they do, they say, "Oh, I have that book," or, "I have my grandmother's book," and I want to say, "No, each one is different. It's like a snapshot in time." Yes, you'll find your favorites, like chocolate chip cookies or how to roast a turkey, but you'll also find more on trend recipes for the way we're cooking today. I thought it was time that we did a major refresh, so there are so many things that have changed in this book, but those favorites are there, but we have over 375 brand new recipes exclusive just to this book.
Suzy Chase: Can I tell you something? I've been reading the PDF. I got home from dinner last night and I checked my mail and I got the cookbook in the mail. It is huge, it's 704 pages.
Cathy Swanson Wheaton: Yes, if you need a workout of your arms, it's a good hefty book and it really has everything you need at your fingertips. If you need to know a substitution for buttermilk, it's there. If you're looking for vegan recipes, they're there. If you're looking to see how many cups of wine are in a bottle because you need to add some to a soup, it's there. I really love that everything is in one place, you don't have to be fuddling through your phone, searching for things that you need to find, as well as just a host of really awesome recipes. I've been cooking from my laptop, because I've had the files on my laptop since we started this project four years ago. I'm so excited to finally actually cook from the actual book, it's strange to put my laptop down.
But I just love these recipes and I've been sharing them with family and friends and they're always like, "Oh, this is awesome. Can I get the recipe?" I'd have to say, until now, "Sorry, it's from the new cookbook. I can't tell you what it is, but as soon as it comes out I'll let you know." Now they're all excited about getting it and actually making these foods they've tried.
Suzy Chase: I call this a countertop cookbook, because you can just leave it on the counter in your kitchen. I know I sound like an infomercial, but this cookbook has everything you need.
Cathy Swanson Wheaton: Yes, it really does. When I started working on this book, I kind of did the Julia & Julia type approach to this, like that movie, where I cooked my way through the last edition of Big Red, those recipes that I wasn't familiar with, to help me decide what things we should keep and what things we needed to replace. I'm so thrilled that we've added a veggie forward chapter to this book. I know people are looking for recipes for Meatless Mondays and even other days, and boy, in these times of inflation, what an awesome thing to have so many plant-based recipes that are less expensive to make and even better for you. That's just one example of the things that we have changed in this book.
Suzy Chase: Could you please read the first paragraph on page five that starts with, "Dear makers."
Cathy Swanson Wheaton: Oh, I would love to. I spent a long time writing this letter from Betty, and this is my heart and passion so I'm so excited to share this with people. "Dear makers, whether you're a seasoned pro or want to fake it till you make it, this book is filled with everything you need to know how to cook today. Anyone can be a Betty. From the ever present dinner dilemma crunch to finding healthy foods your kids will actually eat, or wowing your family and friends with a memorable meal, let the yummy, on trend recipes, helpful tips and how-tos from America's most trusted kitchens be your expert kitchen helpers for fun cooking adventures and amazing eats."
Suzy Chase: I love the phrase, "Anyone can be a Betty."
Cathy Swanson Wheaton: I love that phrase too, and that's really what Betty has always been about. She's made it a priority to make baking and cooking inclusive for all. Betty has never really been about making things perfect, Betty is just there to help you feel confident in the kitchen no matter what you make. You don't have to be a very experienced cook to use these recipes, this book is fabulous for brand new cooks or people who don't even have enough time to cook, they think that they don't.
We've included recipes in this book in a feature called Five Ingredient Recipes. Each one of these recipes has a picture that shows the five ingredients that you need, so visually it's just super quick, and then it also shows what the finished dish will look like. That's awesome for really stressful nights when you've got a lot going on or you just don't feel like cooking.
Suzy Chase: Another thing I love about all Betty Crocker cookbooks is I'm always learning different techniques. I'm thrilled you didn't do away with the teaching component of the Betty Crocker brand because, for example, not everyone knows how to blanch.
Cathy Swanson Wheaton: Exactly. That's what Betty has always been about and continues to teach consumers new techniques or even just basic techniques. We don't get the opportunity to be learning in school like we used to, how to cook. We think it's very helpful to have these things there, like the five most essential knives that you need if you're setting up a kitchen. We've added even more how to images and descriptions of how to do techniques or specialized recipes, like if you want to make your own fermented hot sauce. We even have a recipe in here, and really great directions, on how to make your own kombucha. That stuff's expensive, so it's a nice way to still enjoy that beverage without having to spend as much as you would at the grocery store.
Suzy Chase: You have a few recipes called heirloom and new twist. Can you chat a little bit about that?
Cathy Swanson Wheaton: Yes. We wanted to of give a nod to Betty's past, but also show how Betty is still just as relevant today. The heirloom recipes are Betty Crocker's recipes that we have had for a very long time and people might be familiar with, or if you're looking for a classic, this would be a great place to find it. Then the new twist is we took the essence of that heirloom recipe and gave it a modern, updated flavor profile or change in the way it was made to make it an exciting new version that you would enjoy today. Both recipes are lovely and taste great, it just depends, you can choose between a classic one or a modern one.
Suzy Chase: An example in the cookbook is the heirloom one was eggs Benedict and the new twist is spinach mushroom eggs Benedict enchiladas. That's a mouthful and hard to say.
Cathy Swanson Wheaton: Hard to say, but it's easy to put together. It still has the eggs, it still has the sauce, the Hollandaise that you think of with eggs Benedict, but put into enchiladas, which makes it really fun and a different way of serving eggs in the morning.
Suzy Chase: Or for dinner.
Cathy Swanson Wheaton: Or for dinner, I love breakfast for dinner. It's so comforting, but it's also easy to do when you can't think of anything else. You probably have a lot of those ingredients on hand in your kitchen anyway.
Suzy Chase: As a home cook, I oftentimes have leftover ingredients and have no clue what to do with them. You have smart tips, called Use it Up.
Cathy Swanson Wheaton: Yes. We recognize that people are really concerned about keeping their food budget in control and also not wasting the food that they have. We worked really hard on this book, every time we were developing recipes, we would think about the things that we were using. We tried really hard to make sure we were using whole cans of things. I hate it when you find a recipe that calls for a half a cup of tomato sauce. Well, what do you do with the rest of that eight ounce can?
Suzy Chase: You always tell yourself, I always say, "I'm going to put this in the fridge and I'm going to use," and never, never do I use the rest of it.
Cathy Swanson Wheaton: Right. How many things do you want to keep in that brain of yours, that you've got all these partials in your refrigerator and have to remember to use that up? We try to make that effortless and take that away from you. Then also, things like what do you do with all those scraps of vegetables when you've been trimming vegetables for a soup or stew? Soup or stew, that sounded kind of different. I thought I said super stew. Anyway, we have some great ideas for how to use those up. You can add them to boost nutrition to different recipes, you can save them to add for soup or broth. Or crackers, you know how crackers seem to collect in your pantry? We have some creative ways to use those. Even pickle brine, you've eaten all the pickles out of the jar, we've got ways to use that pickle brine in some exciting recipes.
Suzy Chase: Now to my segment called I Could Keep Eating, where I ask you what one food you could just keep eating and eating. For example, I could keep eating store cake.
Cathy Swanson Wheaton: Store cake?
Suzy Chase: Store cake. You know the cake that they sell at the grocery store?
Cathy Swanson Wheaton: Oh sure, okay. Okay, all right. Keep eating, well, just last night I made roasted sweet potato and kale salad. I know I want to make this for Thanksgiving, but I really couldn't wait until then to eat it. This has all the flavors of fall put together. It's got dried cherries, crumbled blue cheese, toasted pecans, and a lovely Dijon maple vinaigrette. I think my husband and I polished off pretty close to the entire recipe, which is intended for eight, but it made a great dinner for us last night.
Suzy Chase: Wow, that's really healthy. That's just funny, because I said store cake.
Cathy Swanson Wheaton: Well, it's only because I'm still thinking about that salad. Otherwise, no, there's a ton of things I could keep on eating.
Suzy Chase: Where can we find Betty Crocker on the web and social media?
Cathy Swanson Wheaton: Bettycrocker.com and she's also on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram. Betty Crocker Cookbook is available wherever cookbooks are sold, you can find it at Target, Amazon, Walmart, big box stores, it's all over. I think it's such a helpful book and has such great recipes. I'm sharing my heart on this book and I think people will really like it.
Suzy Chase: It's always so much fun to chat with you, Cathy. Thanks for coming on Cookery by the Book podcast.
Cathy Swanson Wheaton: Thank you, Suzy. I love chatting with you too. Thanks for having me.
Outro: Follow Cookery by the Book on Instagram, and thanks for listening to the number one cookbook podcast, Cookery by the Book.
