58 September 5 • 2019
jn

I 

must admit I find the old advertisements for 
food products of great interest. Or, maybe, I 
am always hungry when I cruise the William 
Davidson Digital Archive of Jewish Detroit 
History. Nevertheless, during my peeks into the 
Archive, while searching for information on a par-
ticular subject for a Looking Back 
column, I collected some food ads I 
found unique. 
It appears that, beginning in the 
1930s and continuing through the 
1960s, there were lots of ads in the 
JN for particular food products. 
Although I love the names, I must 
admit that some of the food stuffs 
just don’
t seem all that appetizing. 
For example, there was an ad 
in the Feb. 27, 1948, issue of the JN for “Tamar 
Hamburger Steak” in a can. It was kosher, sure, but 
hamburger steak from a can? Now, I have eaten 
a lot of beans from a can, whether at home or in 
the military. That seems natural. But I just cannot 
seem to visualize anything called 
“hamburger” 
coming from a can. This does not seem natural.
Growing up, like a lot of Detroiters, I did drink 
milk from United Dairies, as well as from Sealtest 
and Twin Pines. Until reading an ad in the JN for 
Dec. 24, 1948, however, I didn’
t realize that “Guests 
Will Always Ask for More” of the “Hi-Test Milk” 
from United Dairies. I could not help but think 
of Hi-Test gasoline from the 1950s when I read 
this ad. It also touts United Dairies new product, 
“Sme-Tana,” to garnish your latkes instead of sour 
cream. Now, it seems that Sme-Tana is, indeed, 
sour cream, but the difference is that it is real, 
honest-to-goodness sour cream. Apparently, there 
is something just a little bit dishonest about those 
other sour creams on the market.
Sometimes the names of products seem a bit 
odd, like Mar-Parv Margarine. Again, it doesn’
t 
sound particularly appealing to me, but it does 
make more sense when the ad informs the reader 
that the Mar-Parv Margarine is both kosher and 
parve. 
Other ads are self-evident. For example, see the 

advertisement in Dec. 29, 
1967, issue of the JN for a 
“Kosher Submarine.” First, 
it is highly visual. A nice 
big bagel loaded with sau-
sage. The ad also provides 
a very simple recipe for this 
dish: “Split a fresh bagel. Fill 
generously — very generous-
ly — with Menorah All Beef 
Kosher Salami.” Something tells 
me that Menorah would like you 
to buy lots of salami.
There are also some old stan-
dards. Vita Herring is still around, 
as well as Heinz beans. The latter 
product was and is certi-
fied kosher. And there are 
prepared dinners. If you 
like cheese kreplach, you 
will certainly like Chef-Boy-
Ar-Dee Cheese Ravioli says 
the ad in the Dec. 28, 1962, 
issue of the JN. 
Perhaps my favorite adver-
tisement is the Chef-Boy-R-
Dee ad from Dec. 29, 1963, 
that compares its spaghetti 
sauce to being in Eden. “Ta’
am 
Gan… How do you say Paradiso? 
Eden is undoubtedly the word 
that Chef-Boy-Ar-Dee was search-
ing for to describe the true Italian-
style flavor of this wonderfully rich 
sauce.” Eden? Paradiso? It doesn’
t 
get any better than that! Maybe the 
description for this product is also a 
bit “rich?”
After 1970, the advertisements for 
food products largely disappeared 
from the pages of the JN and other 
newspapers, as manufacturers turned to 
television and radio to tout their wares. 
I wonder if Chef-Boy-Ar-Dee is still 
“Ta’
am Gan” on TV? ■

Looking Back

From the William Davidson Digital Archive of Jewish Detroit History

accessible at www.djnfoundation.org

Mike Smith
Alene and Graham 
Landau Archivist 
Chair

Fun Food Ads 
From Yesteryear

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