Cooks have shared tips across the years. A hundred years ago Good Housekeeping magazine had a tips column called Discoveries. Readers could submit tips, and were paid one dollar for each tip that was used.
Here’s a tip for how to serve salads at a picnic:
Picnic Salad
When going on little picnic suppers – especially in a machine, where one eats by the roadside or in the car seat – individual paper drinking cups are most satisfactory as containers for salads. The salad may be packed in the individual paper cups and garnished attractively with a sprig of parsley in one side. They always call forth favorable comments and are not messy to handle and each person has his own portion easily handed out. – Mrs. R.H., D.C.
Good Housekeeping (June, 1920)
A Hundred Years Ago 
Still a good idea but we’ve come full circle and are now using (re-using) seal-able plastic or glass containers! I imagine the paper cup was a luxury item as was the “machine”!
It’s fascinating how this has come full circle. I hadn’t thought about it before, but I bet you are right that paper cups were luxury items a hundred years ago.
Still works today, except, the admonition, “don’t litter” needed to be added.
I agree!
Who knew paper cups were around in the 1920s?
Like you, I was surprised that paper cups were around a hundred years ago.
Mason jars have become popular and they have lids.
Good point – I wonder how the paper cups filled with salad were transported. I’m thinking that maybe the filled paper cups were put in a box (maybe a shoe box -since people reused boxes back then), and some crumpled paper was used to keep the cups upright. I’m not sure how the cups would have been covered since plastic wrap wasn’t around a hundred years ago. Maybe the filled cups were just covered with a towel or the box lid. The box could then be put in a picnic basket.
I had those thoughts too and just keeping it cold.
I hadn’t even thought about that – but keeping it cold also would have been very important – especially if the salad had a mayonnaise-based dressing. Back then mayonnaise spoiled quickly if not kept cold because of the egg in it. At family reunions when I was a child, I remember people always worrying about whether salads with mayonnaise in them were okay to eat.
Sheryl, You often remind me ‘what is old is new again.’ Our own little portions in cups is a very helpful suggestion right now.🙂
How true – this old tip is very relevent today.
What a good idea! We don’t usually go on picnics, but serving in paper cups could work on a porch. I’m going to keep this tip in mind.
Yes, it would work well. There are some really fun paper cups in the paper party goods section at stores. I thought about buying a pack of them to use for when I did this post – but ended up just using a paper cup that I had on hand.
Great suggestion! And I bet the lunch was packed in a wicker basket and a drive in the machine was an outing in itself.
It must have been so much fun to go for a ride back in the days what automobiles were still a new innovation.
How interesting seeing a woman refer to everyone’s portions as his rather than theirs, or hers. Still pretty much the same these days.xxx
I’m going to have to pay attention when I read other articles in old magazines. Male prounouns may have sometimes been used generically to refer to everyone a hundred years ago.
Picnicking in a machine is the best.
I agree – it sounds like so much fun.
Paper cups in 1920.. they were getting modern! In a machine .. love that !😀
Makes me think of the line from the musical Oklahoma – “Everything’s up to date in Kansas City.”
There were paper cups in 1920? I didn’t know this. Not sure why that surprises me, but it does.
I also was surprised that there were paper cups that long ago.
That’s the only way to go.
Work for me.
I wonder how many different machines she meant. Tractors? Cars?
Your list looks pretty complete. There were motorcycles a hundred years ago, but I can’t picture going on a picnic that includes a salad on a motorcycle.
Especially trying to hold on to that paper cup!