Wartime Diets That Saved Nations

[elkhound]

https://www.mypatriotsupply.com/blogs/scout/wartime-diets-that-saved-nations

i may pick this apart...the rations portions that is.

Cook Homemade Meals with Basic Ingredients​

We’ve become a bit spoiled by processed foods, frozen foods, and various flavors.

During WWI and WWII, people cooked meals at home using the most basic ingredients—which were rationed.

Here is an example of a weekly ration for one adult during WWII:

• Bacon & ham: 4 oz
• Meat: the value of 1 shilling & sixpence (approximately 1 lb of meat)
• Butter: 2 oz
• Cheese: 2 oz
• Margarine: 4 oz
• Cooking fat: 4 oz
• Milk: 3 pints
• Sugar: 8 oz
• Preserves: 1 lb every 2 months
• Tea: 2 oz
• Eggs: 1 fresh egg per week
• Sweets & candy: 12 oz every 4 weeks

Citizens received ration points to use toward tinned goods or imported goods. They used these additional rations for things like cans of tinned fish or dried fruit.

Can you produce your own food from scratch using this limited list of ingredients? Of course you can!

But it is much easier if you have a garden and a stocked supply of emergency staples, such as sugar and butter powder.

 

[Amish Heart]

Those were just the foods that were rationed. You could buy other stuff. For instance, flour is not on that list, it wasn't rationed.

 

[LadyLocust]

And you could get more sugar if you were canning foods.

 

[rice paddy daddy]

My wife has a collection of cook books.
One that she uses regularly is Cooking On A Ration, from 1944. It's original, too. Got it from her Mom who went thru WW2.

 

[sonya123]

what about corn and wheat?

Didn't know they rationed food in the US during WWII
I know they did in Germany, during and after, my mom remembers stealing a chicken with her friends , killing it and cooking it in secret . My grandmother told me the farmers all kept stuff back and reported less than what they had ( they lived on a farm)

 

[Tommyice]

Wartime Farm and Wartime Kitchen and Garden were great series that highlighted the rationing in Britain. The two hosts of Wartime Kitchen and Garden (Harry Dodson and Ruth Mott) lived during that time so there are a lot of personal references so life during that time.

Both series can be found on YouTube.

 

[Supervisor42]

what about corn and wheat?

Didn't know they rationed food in the US during WWII
I know they did in Germany, during and after, my mom remembers stealing a chicken with her friends , killing it and cooking it in secret . My grandmother told me the farmers all kept stuff back and reported less than what they had ( they lived on a farm)

You never saw pictures of the food-ration stamp books from back then?

 

[Neb]

You never saw pictures of the food-ration stamp books from back then?

"United States Office of Price Administration" Wow!

 

[Caribou]

what about corn and wheat?

Didn't know they rationed food in the US during WWII
I know they did in Germany, during and after, my mom remembers stealing a chicken with her friends , killing it and cooking it in secret . My grandmother told me the farmers all kept stuff back and reported less than what they had ( they lived on a farm)

Yes, America was rationed in WWII. My grandparents had a meat market during WWII. At the start of rationing they were given a bank of coupons to inventory their market. As they sold the meat their bank was refilled. Sometimes if a person had unused meat coupons they would give them to my grandparents. When a soldier or sailor came home on leave my grandparents made sure the family took home extra bacon and/or other meat. Growing up there were several rationing coupons sitting in random drawers around home.

Alaska was not yet a State so there was no rationing up here.

 

[Amish Heart]

My grandma lived where I live now, and they had to use ration coupons. She didn't really need any of them except for sugar. She traded her meat coupons to whoever was willing to for the sugar ones.

 

[rice paddy daddy]

"United States Office of Price Administration" Wow!

There was a lot of government control over many aspects of life during WW2.
Noted in the quote is the OPA. There were 11 different "Office of", ranging from the Office of Censorship, to the Office of Personnel Management to the Office of War Information.
The one that affected people most was Office of Production Management.

Also heavily influencing peoples lives were War Production Board, and the War Manpower Commission.

The US government exercised such control over the American public during the war that would be unthinkable today.

For those truly interested in how far the government can go, I strongly suggest the book The Darkest Year, The American Homefront 1941-1942, by William K Klingaman, St. Martin's Press, 2019.
I believe you would be truly shocked. I was.

 

[FarmOR]

Or gophers and alfalfa?

 

[Tommyice]

There was a lot of government control over many aspects of life during WW2.
Noted in the quote is the OPA. There were 11 different "Office of", ranging from the Office of Censorship, to the Office of Personnel Management to the Office of War Information.
The one that affected people most was Office of Production Management.

Also heavily influencing peoples lives were War Production Board, and the War Manpower Commission.

The US government exercised such control over the American public during the war that would be unthinkable today.

For those truly interested in how far the government can go, I strongly suggest the book The Darkest Year, The American Homefront 1941-1942, by William K Klingaman, St. Martin's Press, 2019.
I believe you would be truly shocked. I was.

Looks like a good book I need to add to my reading list. The home front stories fascinate me more than the battle stories.

 

[rice paddy daddy]

Looks like a good book I need to add to my reading list. The home front stories fascinate me more than the battle stories.

When I got the book down to make my post, I decided it was time to read it again.
Like you, the Home Front life fascinates me.
I was born in 1948, when WW2 still dominated everyday life.

 

[Cabin Fever]

My grandparents lived on a dairy farm during WW2. They had all the meat, cooking oil (lard), eggs, maple syrup, maple sugar, butter and milk they wanted. I'm wondering if they sold, donated, or traded their ration stamps (probably was illegal to do). Another reason to live out in the country during a national or world crisis.

 

[Tommyice]

When my grandmother would tell me it about, she would go all Dickens on me--it was the best of times, it was the worst of times. You get to see the ugliest of humanity and the beauty of humanity all in the same day.

She also told me all about living outside of West Point during WWI. Her younger brother and her would climb a tree that overlooked the parade grounds where the Calvary would train. She said the ground thundered so much they would almost fall from the tree.

 

[WVDragonlady]

what about corn and wheat?

Didn't know they rationed food in the US during WWII
I know they did in Germany, during and after, my mom remembers stealing a chicken with her friends , killing it and cooking it in secret . My grandmother told me the farmers all kept stuff back and reported less than what they had ( they lived on a farm)

Some foods were still rationed in GB into the 50's
Foods were rationed in Canada also

Find the time to watch some videos on YT about rationing in the US during WWII

Have some fun looking at these recipes
https://recipecurio.com/category/booklets/recipes-today/

 

[UrbanHunter]

My grand-parents talked about the "rationing days", they said that they could go into Mexico and get some of the things that were in short supply. They said that the quality wasn't as good, but beggars cannot be choosers....

 

[sonya123]

Some foods were still rationed in GB into the 50's
Foods were rationed in Canada also

Find the time to watch some videos on YT about rationing in the US during WWII

Have some fun looking at these recipes
https://recipecurio.com/category/booklets/recipes-today/

I looked at the soup recipes, and I cook stuff like that now ( part of my diet)

 

[Tim Horton]

Family stories I remember... My granny would stand in line to get a tobacco ration.. Then trade it for something.. She never smoked.. There was a lot of other ..ration stamp trading.. depending on what was needed.. My dad had a 1938 Chevy, meaning a good dependable car and would take neighbors shopping, or fill a neighbors shopping list for gas ration stamps..

I have made a number of recipes out of this collection..
https://the1940sexperiment.com/100-wartime-recipes/

 

[Magpie]

I was given this book last year, has some old photos etc, and the shortest recipes ever written. I appreciate that, when I see a long list of ingredients it puts me off.

 

[WVDragonlady]

Yea, I'm not big on long lists of things and ingredients I've never heard of either.
Just cook plain and simple food.