Tag Archives: cheese

Pineapple-cheese salad from the 1950s

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By Ariane Gauthier

The 1950s were a decisive decade for consumerism in the western world, particularly in the Americas. Economic growth, technological advancements and mass media have a central role in shaping a consumer-oriented culture that emerged in the post-war period. This transformation laid the foundations for the modern consumer society and the global economy that would continue to evolve in the following decades.

In the 1950s, the rise of canned food in the United States marked a key change in American food culture and, by extension, Canadian food culture. As more and more women entered the labour market and busy family schedules became the norm, canned products like vegetables, soups and meats offered a quick and reliable solution for meal preparation. This boom was fuelled by advances in food preservation technologies, which made canned products affordable and accessible to the average household. With the added benefit of a long shelf life, these products have helped redefine home cooking, making it simpler and more efficient, while meeting consumers’ growing appetite for convenient products.

It is in this historical context that Kraft Foods Limited published the 40 Famous Menus from O.K. Economy & Shop-rite booklet, from which comes the recipe of this blog post.

The cover of 40 Famous Menus from O.K. Economy & Shop-rite. It shows images of certain dishes prepared according to the recipes in the booklet.

40 Famous Menus from O.K. Economy & Shop-rite. (OCLC 1006679567)

The booklet includes a multitude of recipes showcasing various Kraft products, but I was mainly interested in aspic or gelatin-based recipes. What fascinated me, among other things, was that the primary goal of many recipes with gelatin was not so much to be appetizing, but rather to be impressive. Originally, gelatin recipes were primarily intended to showcase the beauty of the molds that could be obtained and the aesthetic art of arranging raw vegetables in them. In the 1950s, things changed a bit; there was a desire to eat aspic for its taste, but the idea of impressing remained, as we can see with the recipe I chose.

The recipe includes images of the cooking steps on the right and a menu suggestion at the top of the page.

Recipe for pineapple-cheese salad. (OCLC 1006679567)

The ingredients attest to a sincere desire to create a tasty dish. In theory, the flavours should blend well. The only somewhat suspicious intruder is the grated cheddar cheese. That said, we notice, in the penultimate sentence of the first step, the desire to impress that I mentioned earlier: Add to lime jelly, then pour a small amount (enough to make a thin layer on the bottom) into a 6-cup star mold, or other fancy-shaped mold.”

The detail regarding the mold style betrays, to some extent, the intention to create something impressive.

On that note, I embarked on making this recipe, hoping to have found something that would be tasty.

The ingredients are canned crushed pineapple, a package of lime jello powder, a brick of cream cheese and a block of cheddar cheese.

The ingredients for the pineapple-cheese salad recipe, with the mold. (Photo by Ariane Gauthier)

Once the ingredients are gathered, the recipe comes together quite quickly. To start, you had to dissolve the lime jello in a cup of hot water, then mix it with the pineapple juice and pour a thin layer of the liquid into the mold. Once done, the mold had to be left in the refrigerator so that the jello solidifies a little.

Start by draining the crushed pineapples to extract the juice. Then, mix the packet of jello powder in a cup of hot water and add the reserved juice.

The first step of the recipe, preparing the lime jelly. (Photos by Ariane Gauthier)

Once the first step is completed, you need to pour a thin layer of liquid jello into the mold and let it solidify in the refrigerator.

Pour in a ladle of the first layer of jello into the mold. (Photo by Ariane Gauthier)

In the meantime, I moved on to the next step. I combined the remaining liquid jello mixture with the lime and pineapple juice with the cream cheese. I blended it all until it was smooth, then I put the bowl in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes.

Combine the remaining jello-juice mixture with the cream cheese. Once completely incorporated, leave it in its bowl and put it in the fridge to thicken.

The second step of the pineapple-cheese salad recipe. (Photos by Ariane Gauthier)

This made it possible to thicken the liquid and incorporate the crushed pineapples and grated cheddar cheese evenly.  Afterwards, this mixture was added to the mold and left to rest in the fridge for a few hours.

Once the mixture has thickened, you need to add the pineapple and grated cheddar before placing everything in the mold.

The fourth step of the pineapple-cheese salad recipe. (Photos by Ariane Gauthier)

The next day, I brought the finished product to work and had the pleasure of unveiling the dish to my colleagues. Here is the result:

Pineapple-cheese salad in three steps.

Pineapple-cheese salad. (Photos by Mélanie Gauthier)

The moment the mold was flipped onto a plate, the reveal was met with the sound of worried, and even a little disgusted, “oohs” and “aahs.” I don’t know why, but I expected the final product to be more yellowish than green. I took the first bite in front of my colleagues and was able to encourage another person to try the so-called “salad.” His comment perfectly captured my own impressions. He said, “it is the unholy trinity: disgusting temperature, texture, and taste.”

In the end, only five of us dared to try the dish. The others simply endured the intense smell of cream cheese and the wretched experience of cutting through the gelatin.

This is the first recipe that I do not recommend you try. However, despite this failure, I still believe that it is possible to create a delicious jelly or aspic recipe.

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Recipe – Pineapple-cheese salad

1 packet of lime-flavoured powdered jelly
1 cup of hot water
1 cup of crushed canned pineapple
1 8 oz package of Philadelphia Cream Cheese
1 8 oz package of Cracker Barrel Old Cheddar Cheese
Curly endive or lettuce

  1. Dissolve the lime jelly powder in hot water. Drain the pineapple; measure the juice and add cold water to obtain 1 cup. Add to the lime jelly, then pour a small amount (enough to make a thin layer at the bottom) into a 6-cup star-shaped mold, or any other fancy-shaped mold. Leave to cool in the refrigerator.
  2. Meanwhile, soften the cream cheese. Gradually add the remaining jelly mixture to the cream cheese, stirring until smooth. Refrigerate until the mixture thickens slightly.
  3. Grate the Cracker Barrel brand cheddar cheese.
  4. Add the grated cheese and crushed pineapple to the slightly thickened cream cheese mixture. Pour over the firm jelly layer in the mold. Let cool in the refrigerator until the jelly is firm.
  5. Unmold onto a serving dish. Garnish with curly endive or lettuce.

Serves 6 portions.

Ariane Gauthier is a reference archivist in the Access and Services Branch at Library and Archives Canada

Cheese and walnut loaf from 1924

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Cooking with Library and Archives Canada bannerBy Ariane Gauthier

In 1924, the Department of Agriculture published the booklet Mangeons du fromage canadien : Recettes et menus. It highlights the health, nutritional and economic benefits of cheese, particularly Quebec cheese. Evidently knowledge of the nutritional value of this food has changed a lot since then. At the time, the booklet stated: [Translation] “There is no meal where cheese has no comfortable place, and he who goes to work fortified by this nutritious food will accomplish, with the same zest, the same amount of work as if he had eaten a hearty meat-based meal.”

I found this book in our online Collection Search tool rather than in our Aurora catalog. I was hoping to find something a little more personalized, like a family recipe slipped into an archived letter! Then I discovered a record from the Department of Agriculture on the export of Canadian cheese. Lo and behold, it was hiding the booklet Mangeons du fromage : Recettes et menus in English and French.

Cover page of a booklet with the inscription "Mangeons du fromage : Recettes et menus" [Translation: Cheese Recipes for Every Day].

Cover page of the booklet Mangeons du fromage : Recettes et menus, [Cheese Recipes for Every Day] published in 1924 (OCLC 937533172). Image courtesy of the author, Ariane Gauthier.

(This booklet can also be found in Aurora, OCLC 937533172. This is the easiest way to access it.)

This little book was tucked away in a pile of interviews, economic reports and photo envelopes about Canadian cheese from 1920 to 1924. It immediately piqued my curiosity.

But that did not stop me from reading the whole file. I learned that at the time, the dairy industry was quite unstable in Canada. Exports to Great Britain remained steady (especially for cheese) thanks to a particularly generous premium, but cheese consumption was declining. The British—our biggest buyers—no longer favoured this food as much, and neither did Canadians.

The Department of Agriculture and the producers were concerned: would Canada lose its place on the international market? In this context, Mangeons du fromage : Recettes et menus was born.

I went through the booklet looking for a recipe. My only criterion was to find something new, so I set my sights on a recipe for cheese and walnut loaf.

Text describing the ingredients and steps for the cheese and walnut loaf recipe.

Photo of the cheese and walnut loaf recipe (OCLC 937533172). Image courtesy of the author, Ariane Gauthier.

Cheese and walnut loaf recipe [translation]

One cup of cheese, one cup of coarsely chopped walnuts, one tablespoon of lemon juice, two tablespoons of hot sauce, three tablespoons of tomato sauce to moisten, one finely chopped onion, one cup of crumb, one tablespoon of olive oil, salt and pepper to taste.
Place in a well-greased baking pan; roast on low heat and leave in the oven until the top is a perfect golden brown.

I began by gathering the ingredients, making sure to choose a Canadian cheese. I chose a local cheddar made near Ottawa.

Ingredients used for the cheese and walnut loaf recipe: tomato paste, hot sauce, cheddar cheese, breadcrumbs, olive oil, lemon, pepper, salt and walnuts. (The onion is not in the photo.)

The ingredients for the recipe. Image courtesy of the author, Ariane Gauthier.

The recipe called for one cup of crumb. This seemed odd to me, and I looked at the English booklet to compare. To my surprise, Cheese Recipes for Every Day featured completely different recipes. Not a single recipe for cheese and walnut loaf! To avoid wasting a good loaf, I chose to use ready-made breadcrumbs.

The first thing I noticed was the lack of instructions. The ingredients are listed, then it simply says to put everything in a well-greased pan and [translation] “roast on low heat.”

All ingredients placed separately in a bowl: cheddar cheese, walnuts, tomato paste, onions, hot sauce and breadcrumbs.

The ingredients in a bowl. The recipe does not say to mix them, but we can guess that this is the next step. Image courtesy of the author, Ariane Gauthier.

In short, the recipe seems to rely on the reader’s common sense, so I stirred the ingredients together. The result was quite dry, probably because of the breadcrumbs. I added a little water, but that did not help much. I stuck with it nonetheless, not daring to change the recipe too much.

Three close-up shots, side by side, showing the ingredients being mixed and transferred to a baking dish.

The ingredients are added and mixed. The result is more-or-less homogenous. Image courtesy of the author, Ariane Gauthier.

I then poured the mixture into a well-greased mould, which I had lined with parchment paper to make the unmoulding easier. Since no baking temperature was specified, I decided to put it in at 400oF and keep an eye on the loaf. After about 15 minutes, it had a nice colour and smelled toasty; I removed it from the oven. Here is the result:

Cheese and walnut loaf on a wooden board.

Cheese and walnut loaf from 1924, which barely stays together in one piece. Image courtesy of the author, Ariane Gauthier.

The loaf barely held together; it was obviously very dry. It did not survive the journey from my home to 395 Wellington Street, turning into a kind of crumble. Nevertheless, I think my colleagues appreciated the surprising taste, which I would compare to that of vegetarian spaghetti meatballs.

What do you think?

If I had to do it again, I would sacrifice a good loaf of bread to use its crumb; it would surely absorb the mixture better than the ready-made breadcrumbs. I would also use a local cheese with a higher moisture content.

If you try this recipe, please share pictures of your results with us using the hashtag #CookingWithLAC and tagging our social media: Facebook, Instagram, X (Twitter), YouTube, Flickr and LinkedIn.

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Ariane Gauthier is a reference archivist with the Access and Services Branch at Library and Archives Canada.