Our Kitchens, Ourselves

A new book centering on the 'warmest room' explores the ingredients of pop culture that have affected Americans' food fads, dieting, and appliances

By Rebecca Powers

In 1954, a Detroiter named Brownie Wise became the first woman to appear on the cover of Business Week, thanks to her key role in creating the marketing concept for Tupperware.
That detail is among many morsels dispensed in Steven Gdula’s exploration of how food and kitchens mirror American popular culture. His book, The Warmest Room in the House (Blooms-bury USA, 24.95), examines American eating and cooking habits from 1900 to present day or, to put it another way, from Fannie Farmer to Fiesta Ware, Crock Pots to Pop Tarts, and Mr. Coffee to Viking stoves.
His plainly written 100-year tour of American dinner plates proves that food trends are not only as fickle as fashion, they’re also as accurate as hemlines when it comes to predicting the mood of the economy.
Gdula blends a diverse mix of ingredients — wartime rationing, presidential diets, scientific discovery, and TV programming — into an easily digestible feast of history as it relates to our refrigerators, islands, and cooktops.

>>> There is more to this story. If you wish to continue reading, please pick up the current issue of Hour Detroit at your local newsstand, or check back when the current issue leaves the newsstands to see the rest of this article.