The Prince of Pastas

I think The Prince Treasury of Italian Recipes (undated, 49 pages) is a particularly nice advertising cookbook because it contains several period illustrations of the Prince family brand of Italian cooking products. It also includes 49 recipes featuring the Prince products as the primary ingredient.

Judging by the illustrations, I would say the book was probably published sometime during the 1960's. Joseph Pellegrino is shown as the company President on the inside cover which fits into this time frame. His son, Joseph P. Pellegrino II, succeeded him as a corporate officer in 1971, so the booklet was probably published before that change.

The Prince brand got its start as the Prince Macaroni Manufacturing Co. in Boston's north end in 1912. The company name was changed to The Prince Co. in 1939 when it moved to Lowell, Massachusetts. In 1941, Guiseppe Pellegrino, one of the partners in the Roman Macaroni Co. in Brooklyn, NY (this company belonged to his father-in-law), acquired controlling interest in Prince. After becoming one of the largest pasta mills in the United States, the Pellegrino family sold the company to Borden, Inc. in 1987.

In 2001, New World Pasta acquired several pasta companies, among which was the Prince brand that was still owned by Borden. Today Prince Pasta is one of the brands currently owned by New World Pasta.

The Prince brand wasn't all pasta, tomatoes and cheese. They completed their product line with a custom-baked collection of butter cookies. Prince Butter Cookies were packed in decorator tins and boxes, in one, two, and three-pound assortments. The cookies came in fruit-filled, chocolate dipped, jelly-topped, and nut-studded varieties. They also had a line of reduced-calorie cookies that were made without sugar, available in fifteen varieties.

CHEESE NOODLE CAKE

4 oz. Prince Medium Egg Noodles
2 eggs, well beaten
1/3 cup honey
1/3 cup sugar
3 tbsp. flour
2 cups cottage cheese
1/2 cup light cream
2 tbsp. lemon juice
2 tsp. grated lemon rind
1/4 tsp. salt

Cook Noodles in 1-1/2 quarts salted water for about 6 minutes or until tender. Drain, and place in a buttered 9-inch spring-form pan. Mix together all other ingredients and pour over Noodles. Bake at 325 degrees F for about 1 hour or until firm. Chill well before serving.

Serves 8-10