Wartime recipes, substitutions and other related austerity hints

Primrose

Wednesday2000 wrote: »

I just made a lunch with gravy and it occurred to me that I was doing something my mother and grandmother did. Using the hot water I cooked the vegetables in to put into the gravy.:)



I remember helping feeding the pigs and piglets when I was on my family's farm when I was very young.

I have seen two people walking directly behind a horse on TV lately and it makes me cringe.:eek: I was warned as a kid on the farm that you don't walk directly behind a horse as it can get startled and kick out and badly hurt you if you are too close.

Oh I was always allowed to walk behind the milkman' horse, the coal delivery man's horse or the Rag and Bone man's horse with a bucket and shovel as a wartime child as their droppings were eagerly coveted for manurimg the essential wartime vegetable patch.

Wednesday2000

Primrose wrote: »

Oh I was always allowed to walk behind the milkman' horse, the coal delivery man's horse or the Rag and Bone man's horse with a bucket and shovel as a wartime child as their droppings were eagerly coveted for manurimg the essential wartime vegetable patch.

Lucky you, lol!

Owain_Moneysaver

Wednesday2000 wrote: »

Lucky you, lol!

Be fair, there weren't any telly.

Watching a horse having a crap really were height of excitement.

Jojo_the_Tightfisted

Bigjenny wrote: »

Enjoyed reading this thread


There seems to have been very little protein in the WW2 diet from the meat, cheese and milk ration allowance by todays standards, high in fat, carbs and vegetables, so where did the extra protein come from.

My mother said it came from hiding the extra eggs from the Ministry Man and trading them amongst selected (ie, not gossipy or rather enjoyed swapping their tea ration for Nanny's sugar ration) neighbours and a few nocturnal visits from Father Christmas doing a spot of rabbiting or other countryside pursuits outside his December 25th job. And as she and my uncles were some of the few children in the area, there was plenty of opportunity for visiting assorted fruit and nut trees whilst their owners were away.

RicardaRacoon

Jojo_the_Tightfisted wrote: »

My mother said it came from hiding the extra eggs from the Ministry Man and trading them amongst selected (ie, not gossipy or rather enjoyed swapping their tea ration for Nanny's sugar ration) neighbours and a few nocturnal visits from Father Christmas doing a spot of rabbiting or other countryside pursuits outside his December 25th job. And as she and my uncles were some of the few children in the area, there was plenty of opportunity for visiting assorted fruit and nut trees whilst their owners were away.

My granny told me that the Swiss made a feeble attempt of finding out who owns how many bunnies early in the war... Most likely to reduce your meat reation for every bunnie you have... They qickly gave up again as it is just no use trying to keep stock of animals that reproduce at the speed of, well, rabbits...

Granny still refuses to eat rabbit as she says she had enough for all her life as a child....

[Deleted User]

RicardaRacoon wrote: »

My granny told me that the Swiss made a feeble attempt of finding out who owns how many bunnies early in the war... Most likely to reduce your meat reation for every bunnie you have... They qickly gave up again as it is just no use trying to keep stock of animals that reproduce at the speed of, well, rabbits...

Granny still refuses to eat rabbit as she says she had enough for all her life as a child....

You'd be suprised how little protein we actually need. Its about two ounces a day as a minimum for a man (50g), slightly less for a women (40g). This is minimum, we probably do better on slightly more but don't actually need the vast amounts we actually eat nowadays and think they are essential in these quantities.

Primrose

I'd previously read that mock marzipan during the war was made by smashing down cooked haricot beans and mixing in some almond essence.

Apparently it dried like cement and housewives experimented and found a more satisfactory alternative version could be made by cooking semolina with a drop of almond essence and some milk until it reached the right consistency, then allowing it to cool before spreading over a cake.

[Deleted User]

RicardaRacoon wrote: »

My granny told me that the Swiss made a feeble attempt of finding out who owns how many bunnies early in the war... Most likely to reduce your meat reation for every bunnie you have... They qickly gave up again as it is just no use trying to keep stock of animals that reproduce at the speed of, well, rabbits...

Granny still refuses to eat rabbit as she says she had enough for all her life as a child....

You'd be suprised how little protein we actually need. Its about two ounces a day as a minimum for a man (50g), slightly less for a women (40g). This is minimum, we probably do better on slightly more but don't actually need the vast amounts we actually eat nowadays and think they are essential in these quantities.

Thank you for this thread. I am another person who's had lots of memories of my grandmother raised by it. My mum was born during the war so obviously her parents tried to cope during it. My mom's bed was a chest of drawers drawer.

I remember my grandmothers kitchen, she didn't move until the 80's, it was as it was in the 1920's - the retro style would cost a fortune now lol. She did have a bath (think it was in the old scullery next to the kitchen downstairs), but the toilet was next to the kitchen, with the entrance outside. My Grandad insisted on using newspaper cut into squares as toilet paper. I remember the tracing paper rolls that was the alternative when I was young, horrible stuff.

She always remember rationing, had a larder with rows of jars she'd preserved (Grandad had an allotment). I will never forget the joy of her home made jams, including gooseberry jams. She'd wait til there was a glut, prices dropped and buy them from Walsall market if Grandad didn't grow them.

I absorbed a lot of her attitudes, including making Tayberry Jam (got to be the best tasting thing ever). Unfortunately, I don't live near a pick your own farm now like I used to and no garden to grow a bush which is a shame.But Damson Jam was my favourite as a child. Most people don't know what Damsons are although you can buy Damson trees nowadays. I have a sewing machine and have made clothes although not for some time. I did repair a dog mutilated fabric sofa last year though so it looked as good as new. Always been one to try and repair things and do it myself rather than throw it away. My family didn't have much money either (they had to grow a lot of their veg to eat, I remember my poor brother finding slugs in his cabbage and just being told it was extra protein, that didn't go down to well with him) so its how I grew up watching my stepfather try to modernise a terraced house with single window glazing so thin my mother fell through it one day when cleaning it, no central heating, a nervous making old geezer to run to have a bath (this was in the 70's). I remember about two weeks ago there was a post in the House Selling and Renting board about how unhygienic it was to wash with a flannel and how could one manage without a shower lol. Oh dear is all I could think. I still remember the strikes in the 70's - electric and gas going off regularly, having to make bread. No freezers, no premade food. We survived quite nicely thank you but I do wonder how people like my children would survive if something went wrong.

Does anyone remember the paraffin heaters we used to use when it was cold? You could go to the garage and fill cans of paraffin? It was a cheap way of keeping 'just about warm enough to move'. Used to get snow every year then (not where I live in Kent now). Nowadays I have the luxury of fleece blankets, one that is heated (my younger son took it as his own lolol).

I also remember burns from hot water bottles lol. Not pleasant lol.

Does anyone realise that the 'so healthy' brown bread that's more expensive nowadays was the cheap bread many many years ago - normal people would long for 'posh' white bread? Now you have to pay a fortune for it quite often lol, they'd have been amazed 100 years ago. Mind you, in early Victorian times, flour was adulterated with some nasty harmful stuff. Not sure if this was the Victorian Kitchen series that talked about it? Think it was. There are also some social history documentaries that go further back (Secrets of the Castle, Tudor Monastery Farm, Tales from the Green Valley, Victorian Farm, Edwardian Farm). Some episodes are on Youtube, I had to download quite a few of them but some you might be able to buy. Very interesting insights into all aspects of living in these times and why you did.

Sorry, I've written a book. I was born in 1964 but still seen a few changes in attitudes.

I watched one of those back in time series, with a family living through the war years. The older mother was criticised for not using vinegar to clean things but no one told her. I know, and have litre cartons of it, and bicarb of sofa tubs, but its knowledge that's been lost except if you know to look for it on the net, unfortunately.

I think if we truly want to live a more carbon neutral society we need to be aware how people used to do things so we can understand what we can change now, incorporate it into science lessons. Watching vinegar bicarb and water fizz up, feel the heat build up because of the chemical reaction and then using it to clean stuff is actually quite fun. Or am I just a complete 55 year old oddity lol?

Greenglockenspiel

Bigjenny wrote: »

Enjoyed reading this thread


There seems to have been very little protein in the WW2 diet from the meat, cheese and milk ration allowance by todays standards, high in fat, carbs and vegetables, so where did the extra protein come from.

The key phrase there is "by today's standards". Most people nowadays eat much more protein than they need. Historically, it would have been very uncommon to eat meat every day like most people do now, unless you were royalty! All fruit, vegetables, grains etc contain protein in varying amounts, not just meat and dairy. If you ate enough calories even of something low in protein like potatoes, you'd still get enough!

VintageLady

PipneyJane - sorry for late reply. I have very limited access to Internet since I moved house. I do use those reprinted patterns, I buy them online or from the pattern books in a local hardware shop.
Thank you for the link to the knitting patterns. I do knit but have been using my wartime knitting books so far.
The gingerbread is very sturdy. I don't think there's a way round that. And actually we quite like it. It's very filling.