The 20th Century

1975

AMANA RADARANGE MICROWAVE OVEN

The first compact microwave oven made for home use, Amana’s Radarange debuts in 1967. People living in a fast-paced world with increasingly less time for cooking quickly view this convenient appliance

1970s

SKETCH OF JULIA’S KITCHEN

Industrial designer Bill Stumpf studies Julia Child’s Cambridge, Massachusetts, kitchen for a special issue of Design Quarterly in 1977. Julia arranges her kitchen meticulously, and it becomes a testament to functionality and the process of cooking a good meal. She places specialized workstations — for activities like pastrymaking, cutting/mixing and cooking — throughout, with dedicated tools in arm’s reach. For designers interested in human-centered design and functional spaces, Julia’s kitchen is the perfect case study.

1979

THE BOOK OF TOFU: FOOD FOR MANKIND

Research into alternative uses for soybeans predates widespread adoption of the crop by U.S. farmers. In 1931, in fact, Henry Ford directs chemists in his Greenfield Village laboratory to focus on soybeans. Their experiments yield soy cheese (tofu), flour, oil and other nutritional food substitutes. Even though soy-based products do not convince growers to shift to soybeans, the crop’s ability to fix nitrogen in the soil give it an advantage in a corn-bean rotation, helping growers reduce input costs for nitrogen fertilizers. The highprotein, low-fat, no-cholesterol bean becomes a popular diet food in the 1970s, however, amid concerns about cholesterol in eggs and fat in red meat.

1990

Oxo Peeler

The OXO Good Grips Swivel Peeler debuts in 1990 as an ergonomic kitchen tool designed by and for people with disabilities. Betsey Farber, who has arthritis in her hands, and her husband, Sam, work with design consultancy Smart Design to create the easier-to-use peeler with a wide handle and sharp blades that demand less force. Today hundreds of products in the OXO Good Grips line are beloved by those with disabilities as well as those without.

The Victory Garden Cookbook

Looking for “a vegetable encyclopedia for gardeners who cook and cooks who wish to garden”? Reach for Marian Morash’s The Victory Garden Cookbook. Morash credits Judith Jones, who edited Julia Child’s cookbooks, with envisioning a comprehensive treatment of common garden vegetables — 37 in all — from seed selection to plating. With more than 800 recipes, this book pleases both gardeners and cooks. It’s also easy to find what you need inside, with vegetables arranged alphabetically and growing tips, harvesting and storage advice included for each vegetable.

A side note: Morash’s husband, gardener and TV producer Russell Morash, first encountered Julia Child on the WGBH-TV show I’ve Been Reading in early 1962. Child’s appearance eventually led to three pilots and a new series, The French Chef, all produced by Russell Morash. He also produced Victory Garden, hosted by Jim Crockett followed by Bob Thomson. This program inspired Marian to start cooking with veggies at home. She eventually became an executive chef on the Julia Child & More Company TV series.

— DEBRA REID, CURATOR OF AGRICULTURE AND THE ENVIRONMENT, THE HENRY FORD