Eats
Dorcas Reilly
1926 – 2018
Celebrating the mother of “the mother of all comfort foods.”
Eats
Dorcas Reilly
Invented green bean casserole in 1955 while working for Campbell’s test kitchen creating 100s of recipes.
Tried several different versions, eventually nixing ingredients like celery, salt, & ham.
She said the appeal was in its simplicity, using everyday items most homes would have on hand.
Eats
Spilling the Beans
- Originally called “Green Bean Bake.”
- Reilly’s recipe needs only 5 ingredients: can of cream of mushroom soup, cooked green beans, milk, soy sauce & pepper. Pop it in the oven and toss some fried onions on top.
- Campbell’s corporate kitchen’s #1 recipe, despite earning lower marks in internal rankings initially.
Eats
Love it or hate it, more than 60 years after the dish was created Reilly's legacy lives on as a Thanksgiving icon, served at 20M dinners annually. Her original, handwritten recipe card was donated to the National Inventors Hall of Fame by Campbell's in 2002.
Read
Sources
- In memory of the American Inventor Dorcas Reilly:
https://www.campbellsoupcompany.com/newsroom/news/2018/10/19/memory-american-inventor-dorcas-reilly/ - Dorcas Reilly, Creator of the Green Bean Casserole:
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/24/obituaries/dorcas-reilly-dead-green-bean-casserole.html - Woman who created green bean casserole dies at 92:
https://www.apnews.com/2ee627f3dab64cbaa019d5f16d0557d5