Warner’s Safe Promotions: Safe Cook Book

In my May 12 post I talked about the prominance of Warner’s Safe Yeast among the company’s marketed products and, in so doing, mentioned one of Warner’s lasting contributions to the culinary arts. Well, perhaps that’s a bit of an overstatement, but the distribution of his Safe Cook Book put his company’s name in the hands of those who undoubtedly did most, if not all, of the 19th Century family’s domestic purchasing…..women.

I have attached copies of the Fifth Edition and Ninth Edition including both the front and back covers. The Cookbook was first published in 1887 and continued to be published for many years afterward. The books provide an interesting insight into Victorian life. They include recipes for a wide array of foods from soups to meats to vegetables and desserts. Perhaps the most notable difference between the Safe Cookbooks and cookbooks of today are that the recipes are in a narrative form and do not include itemized lists of ingredients. They do include the measurements within the narrative.

Not one to miss the marketing angle, Warner included in the Safe Cookbook a small section at the back of the book discussing various types of maladies and their recommended treatment, which, not surprisingly, included the generous use of Warner’s Safe Remedies. The cover of the Safe Cookbook included the boast that “the Superiority of these Recipies will be appreciated when tried.”