Betty Crocker was like a member of our family. I remember Mom always cooking from a Betty Crocker notebook-cookbook. Betty Crocker came into being in the 1920s and by the 1960s was in full swing. When I moved to Switzerland I knew instinctively who Betty Bossi was. I guess with a name like Betty you were just destined to cook
For years Betty Bossi churned out cookbook after cookbook, she has newsletters with more recipes and sells kitchen gadgets. All that at an affordable price.
Betty was better than the basics, she dotted the “I”s and crossed the “t”s, she added pizzazz to recipes. More often than not, when you were at friends for dinner and asked about the recipe, the answer was “Betty Bossi”. So I was hooked, too.
Why Betty?
Betty is a very common name in the States. It is normally a diminutive for Elizabeth. I’ve mentioned before that Switzerland likes to take its cues from America. If you ask me it looks like Switzerland imported or at least tried to duplicate Betty.
Personally I know no one who is named Betty in Switzerland. The only person who even comes close is someone called “Pety”. Because B and P are pronounced very similarly, Pety and Betty could easily be confused. By the way, “Pety” is a nickname for “Petra” and not “Elisabet”. So why use “Betty”? Maybe for an exotic touch.
Similarities
There are many parallels with our two Betties. Of course, both have to do with cooking. Interestingly enough both are fictive people although many consumers thought they were real people. Both were called into being to help promote a product. Betty Crocker promoted Gold Medal Flour and Betty Bossi promoted Sais/Astra cooking oil and margarine.
Both use the color red in their logos. Red will make you hungry. It is an efficient, dynamic, attention grabbing color linked to speed and quickness. Wow, think Ferrari, Coke, Betty Crocker and Betty Bossi.
Both are multi-million dollar (or Swiss Franc) enterprises that have grown, prospered and changed with the times.
Differences
Betty Crocker was “invented” in the 1920s. Her last name was in honor of a company director. Betty Bossi was created in Switzerland in 1956. As far as I know, although the last name “Bossi” exists, Swiss Betty was not named for someone specifically.
I might be going out on a limb here, but I think “Bossi” could just be an marketing gag. Someone in the advertising department decided that an alliteration would attract more attention. It works in names as well as slogans. “Lucky Luke” comics created 10 years earlier were all the rage in the 1950s. “Kazen wurden Whiskas kaufen” [cats would buy Whiskas] was created around 5 years later. So, if you could just pick a last name, why not something that started with “B”?
Betty to the Rescue
One year on Thanksgiving we invited an American and a friend from Holland with their spouses. I made the turkey and, in an effort to keep it family-like, said they should bring something, too. The American said she would bring some traditional things she always made. My friend from Holland asked what she should bring. I said “Whatever you want, it doesn’t have to be Thanksgiving anything. Whatever it is, I’m sure it will fit in perfectly”. But I guess that wasn’t enough information for her. She wanted to bring the right Thanksgiving thing but was stumped.
Unbelievably she called Betty Bossi, told them her problem and asked for advice. They helped her and gave her some recipes to choose from. Our friends appeared at our door with a mixed vegetable dish that had very traditional fall vegetables in it. Delicious, thank you Betty.
Moving On
Times have changed, Internet, TV cooking shows and competitions are omnipresent. I no longer subscribe to Betty Bossi. In fact, I’ve gotten rid of almost all of the books I had. They took up way too much space. Still, about once a year I get mail from Betty Bossi asking me to subscribe again. She dangles special prices along with a booklet showing the newest cooking gadgets in front of me. Without these things I may never know how much easier my life in the kitchen could be. Oh well.
TV has cooking shows galore; I have never watched one. I don’t know why but they never really interested me. I’ve never really figured out if you are supposed to move your TV into the kitchen and cook along. Maybe you’re supposed to take notes and cook later. More than likely they will have an Internet site where you can find the recipe and print it out. But why watch it on TV first?
Generally speaking, nowadays if I need a recipe I usually go to the Internet. If it tastes good I will print it out and add it to my own cooking book. If not, throw it away and start all over.
A Fitting Tribute to Betty, Wherever You Are
The tongue-twister (type of alliteration) rhyme The Butter Betty Bought by Carolyn Wells:
“Betty Botter bought some butter, but she said, this butter’s bitter; if I put it in my batter, it will make my batter bitter, but a bit of better butter will make my bitter batter better…”
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