Mechanically Frozen Fruit Salad

The evolution of salads over the last century is interesting to study. Jellied salads were common, both sweet and savory, containing fruit, vegetables, and meats. Some of these concoctions sound delicious, others faintly (or even overtly) disgusting.

The New American Cook Book contains many of these recipes, such as the one below, titled Frozen Fruit Salad:

The caption for this photo reads "A loaf salad to feature your finest dinner."

Here's the recipe. I love that it refers to a "mechanical refrigerator." Similar recipes in the book refer to the "automatic refrigerator". Obviously refrigerators were still relatively newfangled even in the early 1940s.

Frozen Fruit Salad

6 ounces cream cheese

1/3 cup mayonnaise (recipe No. 701)

1/2 cup heavy cream

3 1/2 cups canned fruit cocktail

1/2 cup chopped nuts

Few grains salt

Mash cheese. Add mayonnaise. Whip cream. Fold into cheese mixture. Drain fruit cocktail. Fold fruit, nuts, and salt into first mixture. Pack into freezing tray of mechanical refrigerator. Freeze firm. Serve on lettuce. Serves 8.

New Haul!

Check out my finds from this afternoon!

It includes:

• Two Better Homes and Gardens magazines from the 1940s
• A trippily illustrated "fast food" book from the 1970s
• A hardcover book of "Electric Refrigerator Recipes and Menus" from the late 1920s
• A 1955 community cookbook published by members of the Women's National Press Club
• 2 pamphlet's from the 1930s published for Calumet Baking Powder.
• A campy 1950s cookbook
• A gold covered, index tabbed general cook book from the 1960s

Can't wait to start going through them!