The evolution of TV cooking

Time magazine reviews Watching What We Eat: The Evolution of Television Cooking Shows by Kathleen Collins ’87. The review explains that many TV genres “have shorter shelf lives than organic produce,” yet cooking programs, “which began on the radio and transitioned to television in the 1940s, have stood the test of time.” The reason, according to Collins’ book, is that the shows are able to mirror changes in our own domesticated lives. As reviewer Alyssa Fetini writes, “Collins examines how far cooking programs have gone to adapt their content, style and character to both suit and define various moments in the 20th century.” (View Text)