Wartime recipes, substitutions and other related austerity hints

missusP

I'm a lurker but couldn't resist posting in this thread as I have always been interested in using war time methods to survive a tight budget. I make do and mend, don't use the heating and try to cook from scratch. http://https://the1940sexperiment.com/100-wartime-recipes/
I use this blog to help if I need a substitute or recipe like making stuffing.
I also use the hay box method. I use it to cook things like stews and chilli. Brown rice always turns out perfect so I use it if I'm cooking for guests as it's fool proof and clears a space on the hobs. I use a duvet or thick blanket inside a plastic crate as my insulation, which doubles up as warmth when dinner is served.

unrecordings

I love Archive.org, I just thought I'd post a few relevant video links as searching can be a pain sometimes if you're not lucky with the tagging, but I found this instead - not necessarily on topic, but a book of traditional Czech recipes compiled in the US in the 1920s

https://ia600709.us.archive.org/32/items/oldczechrecipesf00clar/oldczechrecipesf00clar.pdf

dreaming

Well_Preserved wrote: »

My memories of my grandmother's cooking, she a survivor of both world wars, are mainly her dripping jar in the pantry - I don't think she ever owned a fridge - and Yorkshire pudding served AS a pudding. I think she called it Drop Pudding, wi5h fruit like a few raspberries dropped in when it was risen but still soft in the middle, and sprinkled with sugar, even syrup if feeling extravagant, before serving. It filled us up, was cheap, and eked out a small quantity of fruit. It was one large pudding made in a big tin. I'm feeling all nostalgic now!

We used to have something similar but with sliced apples in - mmmm! Always hated dripping though. We never had a fridge until about 1968 and the only thing that really used to go "off" was milk in the summer. My dad used to boil it up at nights - not sure why but I suppose there was some sort of reasoning behind it. Still tasted bad though and to this day I can't abide yoghurt as it reminds me of curdled milk.

Brambling

dreaming wrote: »

We used to have something similar but with sliced apples in - mmmm! Always hated dripping though. We never had a fridge until about 1968 and the only thing that really used to go "off" was milk in the summer. My dad used to boil it up at nights - not sure why but I suppose there was some sort of reasoning behind it. Still tasted bad though and to this day I can't abide yoghurt as it reminds me of curdled milk.

I remember my parents first fridge in the early 70s we had a larder and in the summer milk sat in a bowl of water in there, even today I sniff milk before pouring as I remember the taste of sour milk _pale_ There was always a basin of dripping, used to fry during the week and the jelly used to add flavour to soups or stews

We had a old metal mincer which screwed onto the worktop and LO Sunday roast meal was turned into shepherds pie or rissoles, chicken was eating less often. A sign that the turkey was finished at Christmas was rissoles or a 'meat loaf' and then soup

Farway

Brambling wrote: »

Iwe had a larder and in the summer milk sat in a bowl of water in there, even today I sniff milk before pouring as I remember the taste of sour milk _pale_
We had a old metal mincer which screwed onto the worktop

I'm another one remembering milk sitting in bowl of water, plus a tea towel over the top and in water to wick up the water & cool it by evaporation.

I'm also a milk sniffer. Plus I've still got a screw on mincer, unused for years:p

Dreaming, the milk heating was to kill bacteria, sort of domestic Pasteurising. We did it, but the milk never tasted same after, similar to today's UHT process I guess

Primrose

Farway wrote: »

. Plus I've still got a screw on mincer, unused for years:QUOTE]

Yes I had one of those too. Only used it once as it was too stiff to operate. . Somebody also gave us a steak hammer as a wedding present - one of those things with a metal head with notched ridges in it for bashing meat to tenderise it. We couldn't even afford steak in those days! . I suppose if you were caught carrying one nowadays you'd be charged with handling an offensive weapon!

unrecordings

Farway wrote: »

Plus I've still got a screw on mincer, unused for years

Two Spongs here, one red handle, one green. Both inherited from grandparents, only used once since around 1980 but I'm loathed to get rid of them, they're such a design classic (and I think both have the full set of extrusion plates)

https://www.gracesguide.co.uk/Spong_and_Co

-taff

I have a Spong mincer, rescued from a skip about ten years ago. I use it to make what we call polpetti [which are bsaically meat and potato rissoles] but the the Italian version. They use leftover meat, or you can make them on purpose with mince, but they're basically already cooked meat of some kind [ pork or beef] minced with the spong, with two thirds quantity mashed potaoes, chopped flat parsely and garlic minced or not according to taste, an egg or not to bind, made into little patties, dusted in flour then fried.

unrecordings

I like the sound of these !

dreaming

Farway wrote: »

I'm another one remembering milk sitting in bowl of water, plus a tea towel over the top and in water to wick up the water & cool it by evaporation.

I'm also a milk sniffer. Plus I've still got a screw on mincer, unused for years:p

Dreaming, the milk heating was to kill bacteria, sort of domestic Pasteurising. We did it, but the milk never tasted same after, similar to today's UHT process I guess

Thanks - it didn't really work though did it as I well remember scooping the curdled milk off the top of a cup of tea. I can't bear UHT milk either along with yoghurt, so it's obviously buried deep in my psyche!

Re the mincers - we too had one of the metal ones when I was a kid and I had a Spong one as a wedding present in 1976. The Sunday roast always did at least 3 meals - Sunday dinner, cold on Monday, then rissoles or meat and onion pie on Tuesday. Sometimes it even got used for sandwiches as well.