Food History Happy Hour: Beef Fizz (1960s?)

Thanks to everyone who joined us for Food History Happy Hour! This week we make the super retro, somewhat disgusting, Beef Fizz. We talk about the history of the Beef Fizz, including the history of consomme, the taste of Beef Fizz and why it's more appropriate for puppies, some background on the history and terminology of the word "cocktail" and its role as a first course, hot cocktails, a cameo by Sweetie Pie (who LOVED the Beef Fizz), tiki bars and cultural appropriation, Teddy Roosevelt and American colonialism in the Philippines and Polynesia, destructive ideas about Indigenous women and sexuality, Hawaiian and Pacific Foods (1940) cookbook, "it's safe to be hungry" in reference to electric and gas stoves, and foraging between the two World Wars, Nature's Garden for Victory and Peace (1942) by George Washington Carver, historic hunting, venison, and the modern deer population, the same with Canada geese, ecological carrying capacity, roadkill and historic consumption of wild meats, and Lent and what constitutes "meat."

Beef Fizz (1960s?)

So some Food Historian friends and patrons ALL tagged me in this social media post (below) with the recipe for Beef Fizz. It's been going around the interwebs for a while, so I'm definitely not the only one to make this on film. However, I couldn't track down what cookbook it was from.

A 1968 Campbell's cookbook DOES have a recipe for "Beef Fizz," but theirs calls for club soda, not ginger ale. So if anyone is able to find the original cookbook below, please let me know!

2 cans condensed beef broth
1 cup chilled ginger ale
2 tablespoons lemon juice
Combine ingredients and pour over ice in glasses. 6 to 8 servings.

Of course, as I mentioned in the video, I did not want to have 8 servings of this stuff, so I cut the recipe in half:

1 can Campbell's beef consomme
1/2 cup chilled ginger ale
1 tablespoon lemon juice (bottled)

Poured over ice. 

Not as bad as I expected, but do not recommend. Think of it as cold soup, and it's sort of drinkable. Sort of. 

Now for the roundup of links!

• Tiki bars are built on cultural appropriation and colonial nostalgia. Where’s the reckoning?​
• Let's Talk Tiki Bars: Harmless Fun Or Exploitation?

A little sparse this week, but that's because there are more links up above! Happy reading.

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