A Thousand Ways to Please a Husband: A 1917 Guide

A Thousand Ways to Please a Husband: A 1917 Guide

A Thousand Ways to Please a Husband was published in 1917, and offers new wives a guide to entertaining, cooking, and homemaking.

In the first chapter, the fictional couple featured throughout the guide comes home to find a pantry filled with essential staples (the “Emergency Shelf”). Pantry staples are versatile, foundational ingredients that can be used to create a wide range of dishes, from main courses to side dishes. Here is what this guide recommends for everyone’s Emergency Shelf:

  • 6 cans pimentos (small size)
  • 6 cans tuna (small size)
  • 6 cans salmon (small size)
  • 6 jars dried beef
  • 12 cans corn
  • 12 cans peas
  • 6 cans string beans
  • 6 cans lima beans
  • 6 cans devilled ham (small size)
  • 6 cans tomatoes
  • 6 pt. jars pickles
  • 6 pt. jars olives
  • 6 small cans condensed milk
  • 6 boxes sweet wafers
  • 1 pound box salted codfish
  • 3 pkg. marshmallows
  • 3 cans mushrooms
  • 2 pkg. macaroni

    • This Emergency Shelf certainly reflects the food storage practices of the era. It heavily relies on canned goods for preservation, including vegetables, fish, and meat products. The inclusion of items like salted codfish and dried beef reflects a focus on long-lasting, non-perishable foods that predate the (at the time) novel method of canning. The presence of condensed milk and sweet wafers hints at the emerging trend of convenience foods. What we notice most of all is that this list showcases the resourcefulness and adaptability of wives during a time of potential scarcity and uncertainty.