Who Was Betty Crocker?

Like many of you I'm sure, I grew up with Betty Crocker in my kitchen. With all of her cooking products and cookbooks I would have never imagined that she wasn't a real woman. A few years ago I remembered someone telling me that Betty wasn't an actual person but just a name. Well boredom sunk in so I started doing some research and I was amazed to find it was true.

In 1921 The Washburn Crosby Company created Betty Crocker to give a more personalized response to consumer questions. The name Betty was chosen because it sounded warm and wholesome and Crocker was borrowed from a retired executive.

Surprisingly this fictional woman was the host of the nation's first cooking show, "The Betty Crocker Cooking School of the Air." Women from different cities became the voice of Betty for twenty-four years making it the one of the longest airing radio broadcast shows in history. People would sign up for the classes and try out recipes. Students would then mail in letters telling their results and receive a certificate. Although different women were doing the broadcasts the same script was used for each station.

Betty finally received a face in 1936 when an artist created an image made up from features of seventy-five real women. This image allowed consumers to believe that Betty Crocker was in fact a real woman. According to Fortune in 1945, she was voted as America's second most famous woman with Eleanor Roosevelt being the first.

In only twenty-four years, Betty Crocker had become a household name. As time went by Betty came into peoples homes in a new and exciting way with her own TV show, "The Betty Crocker Search for the All-American Homemaker of Tomorrow," with Adelaide Hawley staring as Betty. Betty was also becoming popular with her line of cookbooks and cake mixes. Over the years she has published over two hundred cookbooks, several food products, and even bake ware such as the "Betty Crocker Bake N' Fill" cake pans.

This non-existent woman has accomplished so much, more than most people ever do in their lifetimes. It is hard to believe that she never truly existed. But if you think about it although Betty Crocker doesn't exist, she reminds me of someone who has made a name for herself in the past few years... Martha Stewart.

Who Was Duncan Hines?

This post isn't directly about cooking but is a fun insight to a man many have heard of but few really know... Duncan Hines.

Duncan Hines was born on March 26, 1880 in Bowling Green, Kentucky. Later in life he west due to his asthma and eventually became a salesman for a Chicago Printing Press. During his years as a salesman he traveled and eventually became familiar with different restuarants and hotels throughout the country. In the time before McDonald's and Burger King and other major chains finding a good place to eat became a quite the task. He started to take notes of the great places he found to dine and lodge and eventually started to share his lists with his friends and family. The response to these lists became so positive that in 1935 he self-published a book called "Adventures in Good Eating."

About two years later he published a second edition. The businesses listed in his books were very happy with his books because it brought them new business. Consumers often kept one of his books in their glove box so when they would take trips they could find the best establishments along the way. The businesses that were included on Hines' list were allowed to post a sign saying "Recommended by Duncan Hines" in their windows. After being added to the list, businesses were expected to maintain their quality or they would be taken off of the list.

In the 1950's Duncan Hines sold the rights to his name and the title to his book to a newly formed company Hines-Park Foods, Inc. This new company was focused on providing high quality foods to the American Consumers. A few years later Hines-Park Foods was producing over two hundred and fifty different products featuring the Duncan Hines label.

In 1956, Hines-Park Foods was purchased by Procter & Gamble. Shortly after, Duncan Hines introduced their now famous cake mixes, which were marketed nationwide along with many other items under the Duncan Hines name.

Duncan Hines died at the age of 79 on March 15, 1959. Forty-eight years after his death, to this day Duncan Hines is still a household name. Over the years the brand has represented excellent quality in baking mixes and is currently the nation's second largest baking mix companies. The label is also one of the most recognized trademarks in the country. Even though "Adventures in Good Eating" hasn't been published for over forty-five years, there are still some establishments that still proudly display their signs saying "Recommended by Duncan Hines."