I think the wartime diet was fairly healthy, if extremely boring due to the low amounts of fat and sugar eaten, as everything was on ration, and childrens' teeth suffered little decay due to the lack of sugar.
On this topic I'm currently reading a fascinating library book called "Air Raids and Ration Books". Some of you might be interested to read these hints from it for helping to survive the wartime rationng regime.
Alternatives to butter for spreading on bread. Wash half a pint of lentils . Boil gently with sufficient water to cover. Stir in three oz of grated cheese, two ounces margarine, one cupful of breadcrumbs, grated nutmeg, salt & pepper to taste. Stir mixture well. Simmer for ten minutes.place in jars with melted margarine on top. spread on bread instead of butter.
Potato and carrot cake
4 oz. flour, 4 oz grated raw potato, 4 oz grated raw carrot, 8 oz mixed dried fruit, 2 oz fat, 2 teaspoons baking powder,1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda.
Rub the fat into the flour, mix in the potato and carrot, then the mixed fruit and finally the baking powder and the bicarbonate of soda. There should be enough moisture in the carrot and potsto to mix the cake. Grease a deep cake tin, add mixture and bake for about 40 minutes in hot oven .
Fruit can be stewed with about half the normal amount of sugar if you add a generous pinch of bicarbonate of soda . Add this first and when half cooked, add the sugar.
To make minced meat go further, add a small cupful of breadcrumbs, rice or lentils.
To make tea go further, grind your leaves up with a pestle and mortar. This can reduce the quantity you use by up to half. If you open both ends of the tea packet, this could render another teaspoon of tea. A pinch of soda in the teapot can also reduce the amount used by one teaspoon. Save leftover tea in a thermos and reheat
COFFEE When in short supply use acorns. Remove the shells, roast carefully in a ct iron pan with a lid, checking regularly. Grind in a coffee grinder. Use instead of coffee or to eke it out.
FAT Cut the fat off raw meat, accumulate and store in a cool place. When you have enough, put in a pan, cover with water and stew gently. Set aside to cool then spoon off the thick layer of fat which has accumulated.
PRESERVES . Use half a teaspoon of bicarb of soda per pound of fruit when making jam / marmalade to use less sugar, using 3/4 of a pound instead of a pound for each pound of fruit. If you can get oranges for marmalade, eke them out by dissolving an orange jelly and while still hot, add a 1 lb jar of marmalade to it. This will give you nearly three times the amount you started with.
CHEESE. To eke out cheese when cooking with it, add a dash or curry powder or dry mustard to give the sauce more of a kick.
To make cheese spread,
1. save odds and ends of cheese until you have four ounces. Grate finely. Add half an ounce of margarine, a dash of mustard or a teasppon of worcester sauce. Mix with a fork, pot up and keep cool
2. Cook sieved butter beans with a little melted margarine and finely grated cheese. Season liberally with salt & pepper & mustard.
Parsnip spread 1 lb boiled parsnips mashed with 2 oz margarine, salt, pepper and Bovril or Marmite.
Fish paste. Mix cooked minced haricot or butter beans and flavour with anchovy essence.
MILK If you have no milk, make up a substitute solution by boiling a tablespoon of oatmeal in a pint of water and leave it to cool. This will be fine for making cakes and scones.
EGGS . Eggs will go further for a meal if you beat for scrambling then mix in cold cooked rice, bread soaked in milk or a little cold mashed potato. For using to bind ingredients like fish cakes instead of egg use tapioca which has been left in water sufficiently long make a jelly substance to ise as a binding agent. For recipes which require several eggs, use one egg and make up with cornflour, and use grated carrot instead of eggs in batter pudding.
ONIONS. In the absence of onions, use a small tin of onion soup to add flavour to a casserole or stew, or substitute leeks.
I remember my mother telling me you could make mock marzipan by mashing up tinned haricot beans and adding a little almond essence but apparently it set like concrete
I think many young people today would struggle to survive for long under such a regime when they are used to living on ready prepared supermarket meals.
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