Grocery Shopping Tips From The 1950s
Society may have come a long way since the 50s, but the grocery shopping tips remain the same. Inside, the wisdom that helped a generation of college-aged mothers conquer the scary supermarket.
So there you have it. Using grocery lists, buying in bulk, and comparing unit pricing have always been the best way to save at the supermarket. Add to the savings by leveraging the relatively newfangled powers of the internet to help find coupons.
Buying Food: Grocery Shopping Tips from 1950 [Get Rich Slowly]
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Comments:
I learned to never send Henry to buy dinner! I love the teeny carts in this "super"market.
Yes. Oysters and rutebagas. That sounds like a delicious meal.
I love how they have 'Henry' go to the meat counter, saying he's extra hungry and willing to eat alot and what does he get? Oysters!
@sassenach: Ironically enough, I love the smaller carts our local grocery chain (Hy-Vee) has. Since I only shop for myself (having Celiac, you pretty much have to), the massive carts make little sense to me. The smaller ones are perfect to avoid too much impulse spending.
Dammit Henry! What the hell were you thinking!
I just informed my laundress to not over starch my dress shirts again. That did not go over well.
The 50s sure could have used deep freezers for all those leftovers.
@WickedKoala: Yeah make sure the maid knows that dinner dishes must be done right after dinner.
Have a happy celibate life!
Do they still sell canned foods in different grades nowadays?
@Jon Bothe: They are one of my favorite updates to the stores also. They are a better option than the baskets if your only buying a few things that are heavy. They are also much easier to navigate the store compared to the large carts. I just wish they would bring back self checkout!
@WickedKoala: We got rid of a freezer not that long ago that I think was left over from the 50s. It was on the front porch of my grandparents' house, and they would use it to store the extra meat from when they had a cow butchered. (Yep, they lived in the country. How'd you know?)
Canned, boxed and frozen foods were seen as the life saver of 50's housewives, freeing from the duties of cooking. I mentioned to my mom (former 50's housewife) about using vinegar to clean the house and making salad dressing and sauces rather than buying them. She looked at me like I was crazy. Why would I want to do that when they have 409 and kraft salad dressing at the store?
Interesting how none of the packages included nutrition information YET back then we did have a problem with people being either overweight, diabetic, or having food allergies at such a higher degree as we do today. My how times have changed.
Aren't oysters considered by some to be an aphrodisiac? Henry picks up not one, not two, but three pints of oysters?!
Damn, Henry wants some lovin' tonight! But, I bet it'll be angry sex, since Henry needs to get punished for his horrible impulse buying.
@ugadawg: Part of the lesser degree of obesity 50 years ago was not so much due to eating excessively more healthily (a lot of butter and whole milk and high-fat foods in home cooking at the time), but instead due to higher physical activity. More walking, fewer cars. Less TV. Also, if you're seriously *scrubbing* a house regularly, you burn a lot of calories and build a lot of muscle. Less so if you Swiffer it once a week. ;)
@MauriceCallidice: Because I am a nerd, I dream of owning a big freezer in which to store bulk items. So thrifty. And so nerdy.
That was awesome. The more things change, the more they stay the same.
None of the food looks appetizing. Don Draper has his work cut out for him.
So back, you would go to the meat counter to ask for skinless wieners?
Henry is a horny bastard.
If I could've chosen the year I was born, it would've been 1943. Damn do I hate the 2000's and current culture. Sure, society has a come along way since then, it's degenerated.
@azntg: I was just wondering that too! I've never noticed it on the cans before, but maybe it's part of the price difference between brand name and store-label canned foods?
I liked that they mentioned home canning can be a savings, as long as the housewife's time is not too highly valued. And a million 50's homemakers give the side-eye.
@kyle4: Just a guess, but that probably only sounds good to a white male. Segregation probably does not sound sound appealing, nor would the status of women to just about anyone else.
Hold the phone, you can get a degree in Home Economics from the University of Kansas?
@Ben King: Keep in mind, it was the 50s.
KU actually put out a lot of instructional videos about various 50s era things you could learn by watching a movie.
@azntg:
Terms such as "fancy" or "choice" represent grades as well. I think many manufactures have moved away from placing the grade on the food. I would not be surprised to find that store brands have a low grade, but if they state the grade, consumers will be less likely to buy it.
@Etoiles:
Agreed - I've worked up a sweat cleaning my condo on occasion. Constant moving around and actually cleaning rather running a sponge over the counter is tough work.
@SybilDisobedience:
I'm waiting for my dad to come visit me with his pickup so I can buy a chest freezer for the garage.
Intersting that there are no children at the grocery store.
@sassenach: My neighborhood supermarket has those.
I usually just use a basket, though. Of course, I only buy enough food at one time to fill the basket up.
@dougp26364: A good housewife only goes grocery shopping while the kids are in school.
Or, if they are not yet of school age, then she drops the children off at her mother's or asks her neighbor (Betty, perhaps) to watch the children.
It's more interesting that no one was smoking.
I kind of expected the butcher to have a cigarette hanging out of his mouth while he was ladeling up some hamburg.
@azntg: Basically not for the mass consumer market, you might find some at a super discount chain, and perhaps government food pantry food.
Now days the lower grades all go to pre-made food packers. You'll notice very little of prepackaged food (cake excepted) in the video, people still generally went to the market to get ingredients, whereas now they are much more likely to get ready to eat or near ready to eat. Lean cuisine, and others are more than happy to use grade B and C veggies.
@Matt Peters: Yeah, I heavily thought about that. I'd probably be outcasted by my peers for treating black folks the exact same as white. For encouraging the woman I'm with to be strong, intelligent and argue my points. To be independent. This would only be possible if I had this brain and was born then. I just want to live through the Beatles, Marilyn Monroe, twisting at bars, greasers and everything else.
@yasth: More likely meant if you can afford a proper maid, your wife doesn't need to do her own canning.
@Hilary Richardson: Well there's Henry's problem: they cooked the rutabagas wrong. Boil and mash as per potatoes ... add pepper.
Drowning in butter is optional.
If Henry grew up with my grandmother, he'd be familiar with his rutabagas!
@Etoiles: Also food was considerably more expensive as a percentage of household income, and it tended to be less processed. Calories were simply more expensive.
@AuntieMaim: Rosie in the 1950s was no longer as riveting as she used to be. I like in the opening moments the film emphasizes the point that the modern housewife is a true scientist and manager, even if she doesn't have a real job or as much disposable income anymore.
A little bit sexist... but the tips are nonetheless timeless.