This little pamphlet caught my eye because, well, I am an Aunt Jenny to my nieces and nephew. Spry used this character in its marketing materials and recipe books. I’m not sure if Aunt Jenny was not a real person; she was more of an idea of a cook like Betty Crocker. As with many things that I write about on this blog, wondering about how Aunt Jenny came to exist sent me down a bit of a rabbit hole, where I learned that Aunt Jenny also had a radio program that ran the astonishingly long period from 1937 to 1956. Considering that the character of Aunt Jenny was invented to sell shortening, this is marketing brilliance. Read all about that radio program and listen to some episodes over at the Internet Archive.
I discovered a tiny little pie pamphlet with my other cookbooks. I have no recollection of picking this up anywhere, so I imagine that it was probably thrown in with some other items that I purchased somewhere. It’s a short little book, but it does have some wisdom about how to successfully craft and bake a pie. I am no pie-baking expert, but I do know that it is a skill to be able to make a good crust that isn’t too thick, isn’t too thin, and won’t fall apart when it’s baked. The title is cute, too: 12 Pies Husbands Like Best. It’s just so 50’s.
Of course, we will have to assume that these recipes will work with <gasp!> Crisco, since even Aunt Jenny couldn’t save the fate of Spry.
Check out the full booklet here.
