So Electric, So Cool

Southern California, like the rest of the nation, was introduced to the electric home refrigerator in the late 1920s and early 1930s. Of course, not every family could afford the new kitchen device (described as an upright refrigerator cabinet), and iceboxes remained in many homes through the 1940s.

But in the mid-’50s, refrigerators began replacing iceboxes en masse. According to Don Dietiker of the Air Conditioning and Refrigeration Industry Museum in downtown Los Angeles, consumers began buying brand names like Coldspot, Norge/Kelvinator, Frigidaire, Servel and Monitor Top.

An article published in The Times on Nov. 11, 1953, helped popularize the refrigerator concept by offering readers a recipe for peach cheesecake. This is a “dream dessert,” the article said. “It’s good-looking and as far as taste is concerned, words fail us. [It] does require an assembling of ingredients and a bit of cooking, but the main process so essential to the final outcome is thorough chilling in the refrigerator.”

At a 1953 newspaper editors conference in Chicago, home economist Vivian Overand even went so far as to speculate that the refrigerator of the future would be “atomic powered.” She believed that by 1975 deluxe refrigerators would open automatically when the user activated “an electric eye”--no door handles.

While the refrigerator’s design certainly has changed over the years--although not as dramatically as Overand predicted--The Times’ 1953 peach cheesecake recipe has stayed the same. It is still a sweet, delicious finish to a light lunch or dinner, and it makes for a beautiful presentation at the table.

Peach Cheesecake

Active Work Time: 25 minutes * Total Preparation Time: 4 hours

1 1/4 cups zwieback cracker crumbs

1/4 cup powdered sugar

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted

1 (15 1/4-ounce) can cling peach slices

3 eggs, separated

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/3 cup evaporated milk

1 (1/4-ounce) envelope gelatin

1 1/2 cups large curd cottage cheese

1 tablespoon grated lemon zest

1/4 cup lemon juice

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

* Combine crumbs, powdered sugar, nutmeg and butter and blend well. Press onto bottom and sides of deep 9-inch springform pan. Drain peaches, reserving 1/4 cup syrup, and set aside.

* Beat egg yolks over medium heat in top of double boiler. Stir in 1/4 cup granulated sugar, salt and evaporated milk. Cook in top of double boiler over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens, about 5 minutes.

* Soften gelatin in reserved 1/4 cup peach syrup. Stir into hot custard. Remove from heat. Stir in cottage cheese, lemon zest and juice and vanilla. Set aside to cool at room temperature, about 20 minutes.

* Beat egg whites until stiff. Gradually beat in remaining 1/4 cup granulated sugar. Fold into custard mixture and turn into crumb shell. Refrigerate until set, about 3 hours.

* Top with drained peaches, arranged in circular pattern.

8 to 10 servings. Each of 10 servings: 276 calories; 334 mg sodium; 97 mg cholesterol; 14 grams fat; 32 grams carbohydrates; 8 grams protein; 0.15 gram fiber.