In 1918 Genevieve Whimp wrote a weekly feature in the Chicago Defender, then the most widely read lower caste newspaper in the country. Whimp reached her readers during the First World War, when the U.S. Food Administration asked households to conserve for the troops. Her recipes focus on inexpensive ingredients that turned wartime scarcity into good eating. Whimp was proud enough of this crust to invite her readers to test it themselves. Her secret is cornstarch, which she promises makes the pastry more tender, together with a light touch, since “handling too much makes it tough.” The recipe shows how closely home cooks guarded and traded the small techniques that set a good kitchen apart.
Excellent Piecrust Recipe
3 cups sifted flour
3 scant teaspoons salt
3 tablespoons sugar
3 even teaspoons cornstarch
3 teaspoons baking powder, slightly rounded
1 large cup shortening (cod fat)
Milk, enough to make a soft dough
Directions
Sift the flour, salt, sugar, cornstarch, and baking powder together three times. Add the shortening and cut it in with two knives; if any lumps remain, rub them in lightly with the fingers, handling as little as possible so the crust does not turn tough. Add enough milk to make a soft dough, as soft as possible to handle. The cornstarch makes the crust more tender.
The Chicago Defender, March 30, 1918