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 withthe first radio broadcast of“Housekeeper’s Chat” on October4, 1926. The character ofAunt Sammy—wife of Uncle Sam—wascreated by the USDA Bureauof Home Economics andthe Radio Service. Many womenacross the country played thepart as they spoke into the microphonesof local radio stations.
The highlights of Aunt Sammy’sshow were the menus andrecipes, but Aunt Sammy alsotalked about clothing, furniture,appliances, and other family andhousehold matters. Aunt Sammywasn’t just a homebody, however.She commented on worldaffairs, reported the latest fads,and told jokes. The talk movedeasily from one subject toanother, always natural andentertaining as well as informative.
Aunt Sammy soon became popular.By the end of the first yearher program was carried by 43radio stations. By 1932, 194 stationswere broadcasting AuntSammy’s show. A number of thestations were broadcasting theshow five times a week.
Many listeners wrote for copiesof the recipes, and the Bureauof Home Economics answeredthese requests with weekly mimeographedsheets. In 1927 the mostpopular recipes were assembledinto a pamphlet. The demand wasso great that it had to be reprintedafter only a month.“Aunt Sammy’s Radio Recipes”was revised and enlarged threetimes between 1927 and 1931. In1932 it became the first cookbookpublished in braille.
Aunt Sammy faded out duringthe Great Depression. After 1934the name Aunt Sammy was nolonger used. The radio show becamedrier and more factualand was renamed “HomemakerChats.” In 1946 it was discontinued.
Today, consumers are still lookingto USDA for information onhow to make the best use of thefood available to them. A researchprogram in the Consumer andFood Economics Institute of theScience and Education Administrationprovides the basis for numerouslaboratory-tested recipes.
Current recipes emphasizetime-saving techniques, moneysaving2ingredients, and good nutrition.Taste panels are used toevaluate new recipes.
Ruth Van Deman, one of the authors of theoriginal “Aunt Sammy’s Radio Recipes.” FannieWalker Yeatman was the other author.
Research has provided a groupof publications for the consumeron specific foods such as fruits,vegetables, eggs, beef, poultry,cheese, milk, and soybeans. Theseries is designed to give informationabout buying, storing, andusing specific commodities. Theseand other publications help consumersuse a wide variety offoods to obtain nutritious, appetizing,