Two quirky pineapple salads from the 1940s

The American Woman’s Cook Book, edited and revised by Ruth Berolzheimer, Director Culinary Arts Institute Chicago 1946

“To become a good cook requires more than the blind following of a recipe. This is frequently illustrated when several women living in the same community, all using the same recipe, obtain widely differing results. It is the reason so many cooks say, “I good luck with my cake today”, or “I had bad luck with my bread yesterday”. 

Happily, luck causes neither the success or the failure of a product. To become a good cook means to gain a knowledge of foods and how they behave, and skill in manipulating them. The recipe by itself, helpful as it is, will not produce a good product; the human being using the recipe must interpret it and must have skill in handling the materials it prescribes.” The editor.

Pineapple and Nut Salad in Tomato Baskets

1 cup crushed pineapple; 1 cup broken nut-meats; French dressing; 6 tomatoes; mayonnaise

Mix pineapple with nut-meats and stand in French dressing in the refrigerator. Peel a cut off the top of each tomato leaving a strip to form a handle. Carefully scoop out the center and fill with the pineapple and nuts. Place one teaspoon of mayonnaise on top of each basket.

Pineapple and Cream Cheese Salad

6 slices canned pineapple; 1 cup cream cheese; purple grape-juice; French dressing; lettuce leaves

Work enough grape-juice into the cream cheese to soften it so that it can be made into balls with the hands or with butter paddles. Place a slice of pineapple on a lettuce leaf, put a cheese ball on top and pour grape-juice and French dressing over all.

Pineapple lunches across the Pacific

Luncheon Dishes compiled by the National Trust Shop Committee, Hobart

I think this is the littlest cook book I’ve ever used! Anne

Tasmanian Beef Casserole

2 lbs (1 kg) blade steak; 1 dstsp brown sugar; 2 unpeeled apples (chopped); 1 small tin crushed pineapple; 1/3 tin condensed tomato soup; salt and pepper; 1 maggi beef stock cube; 1 stalk celery; 1 diced carrot; 1 small chopped onion

Method: remove any fat from meat and chop into small cubes (I browned these in a little oil, before . . .) Mix well with all remaining ingredients and cook at 350°F (180°C) covered for 2 hours. Serve with mashed potatoes and green vegetables or rice and noodles.

Mexican Fish Dish (Salmon)

1 tin salmon; 1 tin crushed pineapple; ¼ cup rice (measured before cooking); 2 tblsp chutney; 2 tsp curry powder; ¼ tsp salt; 2 cups milk; ½ cup plain flour; ¼ cup margarine; 2 hard boiled eggs (chopped); parsley as garnish

Method: Place fish and cooked rice in casserole and mix well. Make thick white sauce with margarine, flour and milk. Add pineapple, salt, curry, chutney and eggs. Pour over fish and rice. Re-heat and garnish with chopped parsley.

Pineapple with a punch

Good Housekeeping’s Cookery Book, compiled by the Good Housekeeping Institute 1969 London

Non-alcoholic Cups and Punches: Pineapple Crush

A 19oz (500ml) can of pineapple juice; juice of 1 orange; juice of 1 lemon; sugar; 2 pints (1 litre) ginger ale

Combine the fruit juices, sweeten to taste and chill. Just before serving, add the ginger ale. Makes approx. 3 pints (1.5 litres)

The Magic Pudding Cookbook 2000 Sydney

Fizzy fruit … bungfoodlin’ fantastic!

You will need: cutting board, 1 large jug, tall glasses; a 1 litre bottle of lemonade; a 1 litre bottle of pineapple juice; ice cubes; 6 fresh strawberries; 4 slices of pineapple

What to do:

1 Wash the strawberries, remove their stalks and dice them. Put them in the jug.

2 Pour the lemonade into the jug until it is 2/3 full. Fill the remainder with juice.

3 Put the ice cubes into the jug.

4 Make a cut on one side of each pineapple ring and decorate the glasses with them (or put them into the jug along with the strawberries like Vivi and Max did)

Thanks for your help making this thirst quenchingly delicious punch Vivi and Max!

Marisa's verdict - "mmmmmmmmm"

Pineapple in Kicker Oatmeal

Jazz Cooks: Portraits and Recipes of the Greats, Bob Young and Al Stankus, photography by Deborah Feingold,1992 USA

Philip Harper, trumpet player: Kicker Oatmeal

¾ cup water; ¾ cup apple juice; 2/3 cup old-fashioned oats; 1 banana, sliced; 2 tblsp raisins; 2 slices canned pineapple, in chunks, or to taste; honey, to taste; 1 tblsp wheat germ, or to taste (I used bran)

In a medium-sized saucepan, bring the water to a boil. Add the apple juice, bring back to a boil, and add the oats. Cook, stirring continuously, for 5 minutes, or until oatmeal is cooked and desired consistency is reached. At the end, add the banana and raisins. Cook for another 30 seconds. Spoon the oatmeal into a deep bowl and stir in the pineapple ad honey. Sprinkle the wheat germ (or bran) over the top.

Philip Harper Quintet - SORCERER OF ANTIQUITY (live at Smalls) 2016

Preserves and candles - all pineapple

Thanks for this delicious jam from Mrs Oldbuck's Pantry, Donna!

The American Woman’s Cook Book, edited and revised by Ruth Berolzheimer, Director Culinary Arts Institute Chicago 1946

Canning, Preserving and Jelly Making: Pineapple and Rhubarb Conserve

4 cups shredded fresh pineapple; 8 cups sliced rhubarb; 1 cup water; 2 oranges (I used lemons); 7 cups sugar; 1 cup blanched almonds

Combine pineapple and water and cook, covered, until tender. Add rhubarb, juice and grated rind of oranges (or lemons) and sugar. Heat slowly, stirring until sugar is dissolved. Cook rapidly until thick and clear. Add almonds and cool slightly. Pour into clean hot glasses and seal with paraffin. Makes 10 (6oz/30ml) glasses.

Jill from Martin's Creek, a regular stall holder at the Dungog Markets, with some of her delicious Hot Chili and Pineapple Sauce

Annette and Jayme from J J A Aromas, Raymond Terrace, with their soya melts 

– including … pineapple scented ones

Something similar found in Hawaii by Pauline

And something delicious found in Hawaii by Pauline (Thank you)