Wednesday, September 23, 2009

Scramble - It's Scrumptious!


That title is the caption for this photo, from the Better Homes & Gardens Snacks and Refreshments cookbook, c1963.
The chapter is 'Nibbles you can't stop munching.'
Here's Scramble
2 pounds mixed salted nuts (yep, I wrote POUNDS)
1 12 oz. package spoon-size shredded-wheat biscuits
1 10 1/2 oz. package crisp doughnut shaped oat cereal (why doughnut shaped...)
1 6 oz. package bite-size crisp rice squares
1 7-oz. package small pretzel twists
1 5 3/4 oz. package slim pretzel sticks
1 4 1/2 oz. can pretzel bits
2 cups salad oil (HUH??)
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon garlic salt (This is no party I want to attend.)
1 tablespoon seasoned salt
Mix all ingredients in very large roaster or large pans. (no kidding) Bake in very slow oven - 250 - 2 hours, stirring and turning mixture with wooden spoon every 15 minutes (be careful not to crush cereals). (get serious) Makes 9 quarts.
There is a note about how you can substitute cereals 'that won't crush'. What would those be?
This is bizarre. What kind of a party is this? It also says it 'goes well with fudge'. Worcestershire, garlic salt and fudge. Mmm, mmmm.

2 comments:

Sarah said...

That is almost the exact recipe for the original Chex Mix party mix:
cups Corn Chex® cereal
3 cups Rice Chex® cereal
3 cups Wheat Chex® cereal
1 cup mixed nuts
1 cup bite-size pretzels
1 cup garlic-flavor bite-size bagel chips or regular-size bagel chips, broken into 1-inch pieces
6 tablespoons butter or margarine
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 1/2 teaspoons seasoned salt
3/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon onion powder

Somehow 6 T butter sounds more appealing than "2 cups salad oil" !
I think it's funny when they try not to say the name of the product they mean. Do you suppose the doughnut O cereal is Cheerios???

Linda said...

Here's yet another version. This one from the very early 60's.

2 pounds mixed nuts
1 12-oz pkg mini shredded wheat
1 10-oz pkg Cheerios
1 6-oz pkg rice chex
1 7-oz pkg thin pretzels
1 7-0z pkg mini bow tie pretzels
2 Cups salad oil
2 Tbls Worcestershire Sauce
1 Tbls garlic salt
1 Tbls seasoned salt

Bake at 250 degrees for 2 hours, stirring every 15 minutes.

Salad oil used to be readily available in the grocery stores...right next to the vegetable oil. Can't find it now though, so I use the vegetable oil. The oil doesn't lend any flavor to the product...it just seems to be a way to get the salts to stick to the nuts, cereals and pretzels.