Susan Marks is persistent. What began as curiosity grew into a master’s thesis, then a documentary and now a book about the best-known cook who never was.
“Finding Betty Crocker” ($23, Simon & Schuster), traces Betty’s roots from her “birth” in Minnesota in 1921, through the tail-end of the 20th century – during which time she aged even better than most of her corporate cousins – Mr. Clean, Aunt Jemima, Mr. Goodwrench and Cap’n Crunch. From PyeQuick to Colorvision Cake, Betty made bumblers into bakers.
Her legendary influence came to govern the way the nation viewed baking, and the way women cooked. A staff of Minneapolis home economists, “Betty’s helpers,” tested recipes, answered questions, signed letters and perpetuated an extraordinary level of trust in a woman who, to this day, exists only in the hearts and minds of true believers.
– Ellen Sweets
