An Asparagus Cookbook

Advertising cookbooks most commonly feature brand name processed foods. Less common are those showcasing generic or unprocessed fruits, vegetables, meat, nuts, etc.

These other booklets are often published by trade industry associations. While these products might appear generic to us, they are certainly not nameless to those who produce or grow them. Louisiana rice, California avocados, Washington apples, Hawaiian pineapple, and Alabama peanuts are just a few of the many products that are represented by industry associations.

One example for vegetables is the South Jersey Asparagus Cookbook (14 pages, undated) that was published by The New Jersey Asparagus Industry Council.

New Jersey is the fourth largest producer of asparagus in the United States. It makes sense that they would want to market their product like everyone else, and that they would use some of the same advertising methods. Get the consumers to eat asparagus, and when they do, chances are that some of it will have been grown in New Jersey, whether it is fresh, frozen, or packed in cans or jars.

The booklet contains 19 recipes. Some are favorite asparagus stand-bys such as Cream of Asparagus Soup and steamed or boiled served with simple flavored butters. There are three egg dishes that incorporate chopped pieces--an omelet, fried and scrambled. This book is probably circa 1950's as there is a page filled with asparagus ideas for the open face sandwiches that were popular then. Other more unusual recipes are Sweet-Sour Asparagus and Baked Pork Chops with Asparagus Stuffing.

One recipe, Surprised Stuffed Tomatoes, shows whole tomatoes stuffed with a tuna, macaroni and asparagus mixture with a single asparagus spear decorating the salad, protruding up from the center like a missile.