During World War II, the US government implemented a system of rationing to ensure the military had the resources it needed to win the war. This led to a shortage of basic staples, including food, and citizens had to get creative with cooking. The government distributed ration books that limited the purchase of restricted items, and people had to rely on alternative ingredients and recipes.
Examples of wartime recipes include:
* Sponge cake made with margarine, syrup, and milk instead of eggs and sugar
* Potato flour sour cream used in Polish recipes
* Mock fish fillets made with rice and egg
* Meatless meatloaf made with vegetables and canned tomato soup
* Bubble and squeak, a dish made with mashed potatoes and whatever meat and veggies were available
* Stuffed onions made with Grape-nuts cereal
* Roosevelt coffee, made with reused coffee grounds
* Braised beef tongue, a dish that required boiling and baking the tongue to make it edible
* Spit soup, a hearty barley soup made in occupied Poland
People also used sawdust, or "tree flour," to make bread, and vegetarian versions of traditional dishes, such as chopped liver, were created to stretch food rations. These recipes and others helped people survive during a time of war and scarcity.
Here are the key facts from the text, numbered for reference:
1. During World War II, Americans were asked to make sacrifices to support troops overseas.
2. The military received the best food, while everyone else had to tighten their belts and find ways to make do.
3. The US government imposed a system of rationing to ensure the armed forces got what they needed to win the war.
4. Every citizen, adult and child, was given a certain number of points that had to be spent, along with money, on restricted items.
5. Points were distributed in the form of stamps in books, and the Office of Price Administration (OPA) had volunteers distribute the books and explain their purpose.
6. The first product to be rationed was tires, followed by automobiles, gasoline, sugar, coffee, meats, fish, canned milk, fats, and cheeses.
7. New items were added to the list of restricted goods over time, leading to shortages and black market trading.
8. Similar restrictions were imposed in the homelands of America's European allies.
9. People had to get creative with cooking due to the rationing, leading to new recipes and ways of using ingredients.
10. Sponge cake was a popular dessert that was modified during World War II to use ingredients that were scarce, such as eggs and sugar.
11. The Welsh version of sponge cake was made without eggs, but with margarine, syrup, and milk.
12. In Poland, people had to do their best with limited ingredients, and a popular dish was potato flour sour cream with blueberry dumplings.
13. Maria Karpowiczowa collected World War II Polish recipes, including ones that used potato flour sour cream.
14. In England, cooks made mock fish fillets using rice, egg, and breadcrumbs.
15. Meat was in high demand during World War II, and restaurants started using meatless menus on certain days of the week.
16. Advertisers shared meatless recipes, including creamed eggs over pancakes and walnut cheese patties.
17. Home chefs came up with new and interesting ways to stretch what they had, including using vegetables to make meatloaf.
18. A popular dish during World War II was bubble and squeak, made with mashed potatoes, meat, and veggies.
19. People used beans instead of flour to make cakes, and added sugar to mask the earthy flavor.
20. Vegetables were plentiful in America during World War II, and people were encouraged to plant their own victory gardens.
21. Onions were a prime example of a vegetable that was easy to grow and extremely hearty, and people started stuffing them with various ingredients.
22. Grape-nuts cereal was used as a substitute for ground beef in stuffed onions.
23. Coffee was in short supply during World War II, and Americans were limited to one pound of coffee every five to six weeks.
24. People made Roosevelt coffee, which was made with reused coffee grounds, and sometimes mixed with chicory and postum.
25. During World War II, American families were only able to buy meat products such as tongue and feet, which made for interesting twists on classic dishes.
26. Beef tongue was presented in a casserole with vegetables, and had to be boiled and baked to get it into an edible consistency.
27. Spit soup was a dish created in occupied Poland as a way to make use of excess barley.
28. The soup was made with barley, and people had to spit out the husks while eating it.
29. Chopped liver was a traditional Jewish recipe that was modified during World War II to use breadcrumbs and vegetarian ingredients.
30. People living in England and Germany during World War II mixed what little wheat they had with sawdust, which was sometimes called "tree flour."
31. A German recipe for black bread called for half rye grain, two parts sliced beets, two parts sawdust, and one part "minced leaves and straw."