"What did people eat in those days when the refrigerator was not as advanced as it is today? How did they use it to prepare food?" There were several cookbooks in McKeldin library that answered these questions. (I was surprised that they even had cookbooks during the late 1930s and early 1940s!)

Greenbelt's first residents took their places in October, 1937. I selected four cook books dating from 1936 to 1942. Assuming that these people could afford a cook book, I perused the recipes that dealt with how they might have used the refrigerator. The Greenbelt Cooperator also made mention of some recipes that required chilling. My grandmother said that her icebox had a top and a bottom section. The ice man would deliver slabs of ice twice a week to her house. In the winter he would not come as often, but in the summer he would come at least twice a week.

In Irma S. Rombauer's The Joy of Cooking, published in 1936, she says, "This book is a result of a long practical experience, a lively curiosity and a real love for cookery. In it I have made an attempt to meet the needs of the average household, to make palatable dishes with simple means and to lift everyday cooking out of the commonplace." Among the recipes that I scanned, I tended to look at how meat was handled, and how salads and cold treats were prepared. In the section entitled "Meat", she briefly explains what to do with fresh meat that was just bought from the market. "Keep meat cold and at an even temperature. Unwrap it as soon as it is brought into the house. Place it in an open dish, loosely covered with oiled paper in the refrigerator." (She goes on to tell how to clean the meat which would never meet today's health regulations, but it was humorous.) There is no indication or instruction on what to do with leftovers. For a sandwich spread, Mrs. Rombauer says to cool the spread mixture and keep it in a closed jar in the refrigerator, however, most of the recipes seem to be made for immediate use. Many of the sandwich spreads have cream and cheese in them, yet there is no mention of preserving them for any length of time. In a club sandwich recipe, cold chicken slices are required, which implies that the chicken had to be prepared in advance and preserved. Finally, the dessert preparation was very interesting and quite involved. She gives all kinds of rules for freezing with the "mechanical refrigerator". "In order to freeze ices and ice creams successfully in a mechanical refrigerator or in a mold packed in ice and salt, it is advisable to add some thickening substance to the mixture to be frozen...the length of time for freezing ices and ice creams depends upon the refrigerator used. Companies manufacturing refrigerators issue time charts for freezing desserts. The period varies but is usually from two to four hours." (In Russell Lynes' The Domesticated Americans, the mechanical refrigerator is defined as a refrigerator that could make its own ice.) She also explains how to seal and pack a mold. The mold can be a tin can; fill it with the mixture to be frozen, cover it with enough wax paper so that the ends protrude, and then seal it with a lid. Then spread lard around the excess wax paper and the lid so that the salt water will not seep into the mixture. She says to have the ice ready by pounding it into small pieces. Mix it with the indicated proportion of salt, and cover the mold completely with the ice and salt mixture. What a job! (I hope her children appreciated her.)

The Greenbelt Cooperator was a weekly publication that came out on Wednesdays. It had information about town events, social gatherings, kids' stuff, and a small column that contained one recipe (sometimes two) from a Greenbelt resident. I looked at an issue from January 5, 1938, in order to see how the refrigerator was used during the winter. There were not many recipes that required chilling, but there was one recipe called "Food for the gods" which came from a resident's friend from another country. The directions indicate placing the dessert in the ice box for several hours before serving. I also looked at all the June issues to see if any summer recipes were being published. There was one that required the refrigerator in the June 15, 1938 issue. The Pineapple Ice-Box Cake needs to be chilled overnight in the refrigerator. (Reading some of these recipes made me really hungry!) The July 20, 1938 Cooperator has a jello recipe. The Tomato Aspic Ring Mould is to be turned "into a ring mould" and chilled until firm. Finally, in the August editions I expected to find more cool desserts, but there was only one recipe that indicated use of the refrigerator and that was not a dessert. In the August 31, 1938 issue, the Roquefort Cheese Puffs require chilling during their preparation. In an Ice Cream Interview with Ann Neville, they discuss when and where ice cream was eaten. They also talk about how most of the ice cream in Greenbelt was from the Good Humor man or the store. Their refrigerators were too small and inconvenient to make their own. That explains why the recipes in the Greenbelt Cooperator do not include frozen foods.

In Marjorie Heseltine and Ula Dow's Good Cooking, published in 1936, the "care of meat in the home" is addressed. "Unless the home affords a generous amount of efficient refrigerator space, it is advisable to cook meat within twenty-four hours from the time it is received. The length of time that cooked meat should be kept depends on the adequacy of the refrigeration." They also say to keep the fresh meat in a dish in the refrigerator until it is ready to be cooked. As far as frozen meat, they instruct the reader to keep it in the frozen state until shortly before cooking. "For the storage of frozen meat in the home, a mechanical refrigerator is highly desirable. We shall not go into detail on the interesting subject of frozen meats because the producers have taken great pains to instruct home-makers in its use in those markets where it has been introduced." The authors do explain in later chapters on desserts how the newer refrigerators for individual homes have a special switch that allows the temperature to be lower for freezing desserts. Again they mention how the refrigerator manufacturers supply recipes and instruction on how to use the refrigerator as a freezer. They also talk about the salt and ice combination which aids in freezing. The method is slightly different, but the principle is the same. After each frozen dessert recipe, the authors simply tell you to see the instructions on freezing.

Another cookbook that talks about freezing desserts is June Platt's Party Cookbook, published in 1936. In her recipe for freezing strawberries she says, "Freeze in the usual manner in a freezer, or pack in the refrigerator tray, stirring as it freezes." She also makes use of the ice itself in her recipes. In her frozen fruit recipes she makes it a point to have the ice as part of the dish. For example, Sliced Fruit with Orange Ice and Almonds, Watermelon Filled with Fresh Fruit and Water Ice and Champagne. June Platt uses the refrigerator many times when preparing salads, desserts, and other goodies. (There is one recipe for marination of venison which specifically instructs the cook not to use the refrigerator. The meat is to be marinated for 48 hours, "but do not place in the refrigerator.")

This 1942 cookbook also suggests chilling bowls or plates on which the salad is to be served. They insist having the salad materials cold, and give instructions on storing lettuce in covered containers in the refrigerator as soon as they are brought home. The recipe for Graham Cracker Pudding which sounds absolutely delicious involves chilling overnight. In the chapter on desserts, there is mention of setting the temperature in the refrigerator. "Quick freezing in the refrigerator helps to give smoothness. Therefore, the cold control should be set at the proper temperature for freezing some time before putting in the mixture to be frozen. After dessert is frozen, control can be set back to a more normal position." They also give recipes on jello, and even talk about a refrigerator cake. In the Orange Spanish Cream recipe, they say, "For an easy refrigerator cake, line mold with vanilla wafers or slices of sponge cake before putting in the cream" and chilling until firm. In this cookbook, many ingredients are expected to be cold and are stated as such.

The refrigerator is playing a significant role in cooking during the period from 1937-1942. It is used for storage of meats, vegetables, and leftovers. It is also used to prepare foods that need to be chilled or frozen such as ice cream, salads, and other frozen desserts. In all four of these cookbooks and the Greenbelt Cooperator issues, it is assumed that the cook has a refrigerator. One of the pitfalls of the early refrigerator was that it was not very big. Angela discusses the issue of entertaining and points out that large numbers of guests could not be accommodated by these small refrigerators. However, during that time, regardless of its size and capacity, the marvelous refrigerator became essential to the American household according to the recipes given in the cookbooks and Greenbelt publications during the late 1930s.