SELECTIONS FROM
AUNT SAMMY’S RADIO RECIPES
AND USDA FAVORITES
UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
SCIENCE AND EDUCATION ADMINISTRATION
HOME AND GARDEN BULLETIN NO. 215
Issued August, 1976
Prepared by
Consumer and Food Economics Institute
Science and Education Administration
For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office
Washington, D.C. 20402
Stock Number 001-000-03523-1
Aunt Sammy came to life with the first radio broadcast of “Housekeeper’s Chat” on October 4, 1926. The character of Aunt Sammy—wife of Uncle Sam—was created by the USDA Bureau of Home Economics and the Radio Service. Many women across the country played the part as they spoke into the microphones of local radio stations.
The highlights of Aunt Sammy’s show were the menus and recipes, but Aunt Sammy also talked about clothing, furniture, appliances, and other family and household matters. Aunt Sammy wasn’t just a homebody, however. She commented on world affairs, reported the latest fads, and told jokes. The talk moved easily from one subject to another, always natural and entertaining as well as informative.
Aunt Sammy soon became popular. By the end of the first year her program was carried by 43 radio stations. By 1932, 194 stations were broadcasting Aunt Sammy’s show. A number of the stations were broadcasting the show five times a week.
Many listeners wrote for copies of the recipes, and the Bureau of Home Economics answered these requests with weekly mimeographed sheets. In 1927 the most popular recipes were assembled into a pamphlet. The demand was so great that it had to be reprinted after only a month. “Aunt Sammy’s Radio Recipes” was revised and enlarged three times between 1927 and 1931. In 1932 it became the first cookbook published in braille.
Aunt Sammy faded out during the Great Depression. After 1934 the name Aunt Sammy was no longer used. The radio show became drier and more factual and was renamed “Homemaker Chats.” In 1946 it was discontinued.
Today, consumers are still looking to USDA for information on how to make the best use of the food available to them. A research program in the Consumer and Food Economics Institute of the Science and Education Administration provides the basis for numerous laboratory-tested recipes.
Current recipes emphasize time-saving techniques, moneysaving ingredients, and good nutrition. Taste panels are used to evaluate new recipes.
Ruth Van Deman, one of the authors of the original “Aunt Sammy’s Radio Recipes.” Fannie Walker Yeatman was the other author.
Research has provided a group of publications for the consumer on specific foods such as fruits, vegetables, eggs, beef, poultry, cheese, milk, and soybeans. The series is designed to give information about buying, storing, and using specific commodities. These and other publications help consumers use a wide variety of foods to obtain nutritious, appetizing, and economical meals.
Providing directions for home canning and freezing is another service of the Consumer and Food Economics Institute. Publications give safe procedures for preserving fruits, vegetables, meats, and poultry. Many thousands of these publications have been distributed to consumers, and the procedures have been widely used by others who make recommendations to the public about food preservation. Still other publications tell how to store food properly for maximum quality and safety.
This 50th anniversary recipe collection includes recipes from current publications and a selection of recipes from the first edition of “Aunt Sammy’s Radio Recipes.” All of these recipes have been retested in the laboratory and found acceptable by taste panels.