Institutional recipes as a source of information about food habits*

Abstract

The School of Home Science at the University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand was established in 1911 to enable women to obtain a university qualification in Home Science. Accommodation was provided for students in the Home Science Hostels. From 1940 until 1990 the hostels accommodated approximately 120 students each year. In 1943, a set of recipe cards was published for use in hostel kitchens. They were used continuously as a basis for hostel meals until 1993 and were revised four times during the period. It is suggested that an explanation of the original selection of the recipes together with an interpretation of additions and omission over the period would mirror and explain changing attitudes to food in New Zealand society. The content of the sets was examined, omissions and additions noted and a comparison made with recipes included in popular New Zealand and American household cookbooks. Overall, it was found that factors that influenced the make-up of the recipe set and bought about change were: the background of the Foods Department staff, the hostel food supervisors, the requirements of the student residents, nutritional guidelines and food ideologies. The first recipe set revealed some American influence, but over the period, despite the institutional context, hostel meals, remained fairly traditional and mirrored the food practices of most New Zealand households.