'Big Red' stays ahead of the times
November 22, 2011
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General Mills Corporate Communications |
In the Betty Crocker Kitchens outside of Minneapolis, Minn., where two stories of wall-to-wall windows brighten marbled countertops and an oven is never more than a few yards away, a team that included editors, videographers and food stylists spent about two years creating a cookbook that is more than a cookbook.
The 11th edition of the Betty Crocker Cookbook exceeds 1,500 recipes, the most of any resource guide at the time of publication. It has 1,100 new photographs. But it also has an online component that links to 85 videos and 400 bonus recipes.
It’s the most significant, multifaceted revision of "Big Red," which has sold more than 75 million copies since it debuted in 1950.
And although its editor, Grace Wells, is a self-described “foodie” whose career has focused on developing cookbooks and the recipes inside them, she understands that even the best cooks have always wanted simplicity.
“I have a history of developing many, many recipes,” Wells says. “I always like to take recipes and make them easier and quicker.”
Of all the recipes in the new Betty Crocker Cookbook, Wells says two brie recipes in the appetizer section are her favorite.
Entertainment value
Most certainly this is the digital age, with people flocking to the Internet to find recipes. But people love cookbooks, holding them, flipping through pages on the counter. Even if they don’t plan to make all the recipes, there’s an entertainment value to a visual, well-designed cookbook.
It's a timely addition for a special birthday. “Betty” turned 90 this year. Although she was not a real person but a creation to personalize responses to questions about baking that arrived at the forerunner company of General Mills, she’s remained contemporary, new cookbook aside.
- Earlier this year, the first Betty Crocker Baker’s Challenge Gluten Free Recipe Contest was held in response to a growing appetite for gluten-free baking products and recipes. General Mills has a website designed specifically for people on a gluten-free diet.
- Betty’s Facebook page vaulted past a million fans this summer, and is now over 1.4 million.
- In 2010, Betty’s iPad application brought Apple’s new technology into the kitchen. People could use the app as a digital cookbook. The recent edition of Big Red has corresponding digital companionship.
New chapters, heirloom recipes
It’s taken dozens of people to create the most significant update to Big Red, and more to create related digital content, but it was the job of Wells to supervise the photo shoots, choose recipes, coordinate food testing and edit text.
“We have a beautiful new design, three new chapters, mini recipes for quick meal inspiration and tried and true heirloom recipes that feature a new twist,” Well says. “I think the Betty Crocker Cookbook is probably the most fulfilling book I’ve ever done.”
To make sure Betty stays current, it won’t be more than a couple of years before a new team will begin working on the next update.
