Letter from Anonymous Woman to Bess W. Truman

Thursday Dear Madam: I have just completed making your "Ozark Pudding" twice. When I didn't succeed the first time, I thought perhaps I did not follow the directions carefully. The second time well---maybe I followed the recipe too perfectly. The recipe calls for greased pie pan to bake it in. I did this and it overflowed. The second time I used a cake pan (deep) still it overflowed and smoked up my lovely new kitchen. It is just full of water and nothing left in the pan, and it would never serve one person, let alone four. Thursday Dear Madam: I have just completed making your "Ozark Pudding twice. When I didn't succeed the first time, I thought perhaps I did not follow the directions carefully. The second time well---maybe I followed the recipe too perfectly. The recipe calls for a gravel pie pan to bake it in. I did this and it overflowed. The second time I used a cake pan (deep) still it overflowed and smoked up my lovely new kitchen. It is just full of water and nothing left in the pan, and it would never serve one person, let alone four. -2- It is bad enough that food is so expensive and everything pointing to inflation. (Your husband proved it by asking for a raise. That is his way of fighting inflation. (also, you people received an increase in your food budget, which proves further that inflation is here. So, madam, take your "Ozark Pudding" back to the Hill Billy Mountains and feed it to them. The next time you sign your name to a recipe, and before you are paid for doing so, kindly try the recipe out first and avoid making a fool of yourself and hundreds of respectable housewives. Disgusted Housewife in High Top Harry's U.S.A. Ozark Pudding 1 egg 3/4 cup sugar 2 tbs. flour 1 1/4 tsp. baking powder 1/8 tsp. salt 1/2 cup chopped nutmeats 1/2 cup chopped apples 1 tsp. vanilla Beat eggs and sugar together until very smooth. Combine flour, baking-powder and salt; stir into egg mixture. Add nutmeats, apples and vanilla. Bake in greased pie pan in moderate oven, 350 degrees F., 35 min. Add whipped cream or ice cream. Four servings. [Postmarked] 2 Bridgeport Jan 20 8:30 PM 1949 Conn. Mrs. Harry Truman % Blair House Washington D.C. Personal -2- It is bad enough that food is so expensive and everything pointing to inflation. (Your husband proved it by asking for a raise. That is his way of fighting inflation. (also, you people received an increase in your food budget, which proves further that inflation is here. So, madam, take your "Ozark Pudding" back to the Hill Billy Mountains and feed it to them. The next time you sign your name to a recipe, and before you are paid for doing so, kindly try the recipe out first and avoid making a fool of yourself and hundreds of respectable housewives. Disgusted Housewife in High Top Harry's U.S.A. [Postmarked] 2 Bridgeport Jan 20 8:30 PM 1949 Conn. Mrs. Harry Truman % Blair House Washington D.C. Personal Ozark Pudding 1 egg 3/4 cup sugar 2 tbs. flour 1 1/4 tsp. baking powder 1/8 tsp. salt 1/2 cup chopped nutmeats 1/2 cup chopped apples 1 tsp. vanilla Beat eggs and sugar together until very smooth. Combine flour, baking-powder and salt; stir into egg mixture. Add nutmeats, apples and vanilla. Bake in greased pie pan in moderate oven, 350 degrees F., 35 min. Add whipped cream or ice cream. Four servings.