food history
- food editors, food history, food journalism, Jane Nickerson, Jeanne Voltz, journalism history, ruth gray, women's page history
Women’s Pages & Florida Food History
Lance are going to hear my favorite Florida historian tonight – Gary Mormino. He is going to speak about one of my favorite topics – the history of food in Florida. The event is being held at the Orange County History Center. Florida newspapers have had some great food editors over the years. Jeanne Voltz was the food editor at the Miami Herald during the 1950s and traveled the state looking for food stories. After being the first food editor at the New York Times, Jane Nickerson went on to be the food editor at the Lakeland Ledger. Ruth Gray was the food editor at the St. Petersburg Times who…
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Food Studies Presentation: Ohio Food Editor History
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Who Says We Can’t Cook?
I recently came across this 1955 cookbook “Who Says We Can’t Cook” that was put together by the Women’s National Press Club. The members noted that the book was not a defense of their culinary talents but rather a fundraising venture to rent space for a clubhouse. A story by the journalists accompanied each set of recipes. Henrietta Poynter who was then editor of Congressional Quarterly contributed recipes for “Heavenly Hamburger” and “Cheese Wafers.” She explained: “I learned to cook at about 14 when my mother went on a three-month speaking tour for suffrage and left me to keep house. Whatever I saved out of the budget was mine, so…
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History of Sugar
Yesterday, I was lucky enough to hear the wonderful talk “America’s Sweet Tooth” about the history of sugar by food historian Francine Segan. It was a great mix of facts and anecdotes, along with some interesting ads. It really helped to confirm many of the areas I have researched for my book about the history of newspaper food editors. When it came to sugar, several of the newspaper food editors noted that readers never seemed to tire of recipes for cakes. The New York Herald Tribune food editor Clementine Paddleford helped her home cooks deal with the challenges of World War II and the limits on sugar. She encouraged her…
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Food Studies Presentation: Ohio Food Editor History
- food history, food journalism, Jane Nickerson, Ruth Casa-Emellos, women's history month, women's page history
Women’s History Month: Ruth Casa-Emellas
Day 28 of Women’s History month features Ruth P. Casa-Emellos, a former home economist for The New York Times. She worked with Jane Nickerson who I blogged about yesterday. In the photo above, she is feeding New York Herald Tribune food editor Clementine Paddleford. Casa-Emellos taught at Columbia University for 20 years before joining the food-news staff of The Times in 1943. Working with Nickerson, Casa-Emellos prepared the dishes that appeared in recipes and food photographs in the newspaper. She tested the recipes for accuracy in The Times’s test kitchen and adapted them, when necessary, for home use. She also wrote occasional columns on food. In one example, she re-created…
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Food Studies Presentation: Ohio Food Editor History
- food history, food journalism, Jane Nickerson, New York Times food, women's history month, women's page history
Women’s History Month: Jane Nickerson
Day 27 of Women’s History Month features New York Times food editor Jane Nickerson. Nickerson’s work is often overshadowed by Craig Claiborne at the NYT. He is given credit for including news in the food section in 1957 but Jane had been doing that since World War II. The story of Nickerson’s resignation from the newspaper was explained in Craig Claiborne’s memoir, A Memoir with Recipes: A Feast Made for Laughter (New York: Doubleday & Co., 1982). He wrote that at the beginning of 1957, she told the Times that “for reasons for family” she would be resigning from the newspaper as of September 1. Claiborne, who became the NYT…
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Food Studies Presentation: Ohio Food Editor History
- food editors, food history, food journalism, Mary Meade, Ruth Ellen Church, women's history month, women's page history
Women’s History Month: Ruth Ellen Church
Day 25 of Women’s History Month features the Chicago Tribune’s Ruth Ellen Church (who often used the byline Mary Meade). She was the food editor from 1936 to 1974. She graduated from Iowa State University in 1933 with a degree in food and nutrition journalism. She guided the development of The Tribune’s test kitchen, one of the first at a newspaper, and in 1962 became the first American writing a regular wine column. She won six Vesta Awards – the top recognition for food sections. In 1948, Church introduced the recipe feature “Cake of the Week.” Church was quoted: “My staff and I have known for a long time that…
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Food Studies Presentation: Ohio Food Editor History
