The Betty Crocker Kitchens are part of the

test kitchen A test kitchen is a kitchen used for the process of developing new kinds of food. On the largest scale, they are run by the research and development departments of large companies in the food industry. Other test kitchens are owned by individuals ...

s at the world headquarters of

General Mills General Mills, Inc., is an American multinational manufacturer and marketer of branded processed consumer foods sold through retail stores. Founded on the banks of the Mississippi River at Saint Anthony Falls in Minneapolis, the company orig ...

Golden Valley, Minnesota Golden Valley is a western and first-ring suburb of Minneapolis in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States. The city is mostly residential and is bordered by U.S. Highway 12 (Interstate 394). Over 15% of the city is parks or nature reserves. ...

, operator of the Betty Crocker brand. They are modeled after and equipped like a kitchen that would be found in an American home, since the company's products and recipes tested are intended for home use.

Marjorie Husted Marjorie Husted (née Child; April 2, 1892 – December 23, 1986) was an American home economist and businesswoman who worked for General Mills and was responsible for the success and fame of the brand character Betty Crocker. Husted wrote Bett ...

, an economist hired by the Washburn-Crosby company, was not only a key player in developing the persona of Betty Crocker but also recognized the subtle difference in how home cooks measured and approached recipes compared to how these recipes were made in the test kitchens. Based on her cooking instruction experience, Hustad felt that Betty Crocker's recipes need to be reliable and fool-proof for the home cook. She passed her observations on to the company's research department. The kitchens were remodeled in 2003 and the facility contains 19 individual kitchens.

History

Originally, the test kitchens were used as a testing grounds for the Gold Medal flour produced by the then Washburn-Crosby company (later to become General Mills). The test kitchens became formally known as the “Betty Crocker Kitchens” in 1946. In 1958, seven new kitchens were built in the General Mills headquarters in Golden Valley, MN. The 1950 edition of Betty Crocker's Picture Cookbook introduction contains the evolution of the kitchen in general and discusses the testing done to create the cookbook. For example, they tested Gold Medal flour from mills across the country in the recipes to assure success for the baker at home and to help “anyone appreciate the care and thought and science which is back of heproducts”. This indicates the “careful testing and checking, experimenting and planning” that occurs in the Betty Crocker test kitchens.

References

External links

Official web site
General Mills {{food-stub