Things We Ate During WW 2

[Lon]

I was a pre teen during WW 2 and grew up with Food Rationing. Despite New Jersey (USA) being the Garden State I still don't remember eating fresh veggies. Canned seem to be the norm. Canned spinach, corn, beets, peas, green beans. Butter, sugar, meats were all rationed and required stamps to purchase. Powdered eggs with SPAM was a favorite?:) Margarine was made by taking the gunk and mixing it in a bag with food coloring. Grease drippings were saved in a can and turned in as they were used in the manufacture of munitions. We ate very little meat during those years save for an occasional piece of horse meat and a stew with a piece of mutton. No one seemed to eat grained bread either as plain ole white bread was the norm. Casseroles were in vogue big time-----tuna--chicken---noodles----macaroni and cheese-----spaghetti---. Apples and pears were plentiful as they were available on trees where I lived. I sure enjoy the healthier and tastier eating that we have available to us at this point in time:-6

[hoppy]

Yeah, I was born in 1940. My dad and younger uncles were away in the war. We was fortunate I guess. My gramps raised all the 'taters, 'maters, onions, lettuce, peppers and sweetcorn we could eat. He had chickens for the eggs and meat and rabbits for meat.

A couple old uncles had boats, nets and traps so we had lots of fish. We had ducks and geese too until they ran out of shotshells and couldn't buy more.

Mom, granny and an aunt worked all day in local factories. They would come home from work and have to can tomatos when they were ripe.

My old uncles had an old plymouth car. They walked to save their gas ration so they could fish or hunt on weekends or days off.

[fuzzywuzzy]

Isn't that strange .In World War 2, the majority of households (in Melbourne) had their own Kitchan gardens and chooks. Some had a goat. In the poorer areas it was a little different.

[theia]

Lon;1305605 wrote: I was a pre teen during WW 2 and grew up with Food Rationing. Despite New Jersey (USA) being the Garden State I still don't remember eating fresh veggies. Canned seem to be the norm. Canned spinach, corn, beets, peas, green beans. Butter, sugar, meats were all rationed and required stamps to purchase. Powdered eggs with SPAM was a favorite?:) Margarine was made by taking the gunk and mixing it in a bag with food coloring. Grease drippings were saved in a can and turned in as they were used in the manufacture of munitions. We ate very little meat during those years save for an occasional piece of horse meat and a stew with a piece of mutton. No one seemed to eat grained bread either as plain ole white bread was the norm. Casseroles were in vogue big time-----tuna--chicken---noodles----macaroni and cheese-----spaghetti---. Apples and pears were plentiful as they were available on trees where I lived. I sure enjoy the healthier and tastier eating that we have available to us at this point in time:-6


I was born post war in 1948 and, in the UK, we were still rationed into the 1950s on sugar, sweets and meat. Rationing finally ended in 1954.

But I much prefer the way we were in the 50s to the way we are now with what seems like a glut in everything and everything being available whatever the season. It could be my age :wah: but everything seemed to taste of what it was meant to taste. And the thrill of smelling and tasting the foods which were only available in season was like a first every time :-6

[G#Gill]

I can remember my brothers had the Eagle comic, which I got to read after they had read it first, including my dad ! :yh_rotfl I read P.C.49 and asked my mum what those long curved fruit things were, that the burglar was holding in a bunch. "Bananas" she told me, and I wondered what they tasted like. It was another year before I was treated to my first banana, and it was absolutely gorgeous! I can also remember around 1949, a little friend of mine up the road had a big box of oranges delivered to the house, sent by her dad who was working at Liverpool docks, I believe. Although she was one of my friends, I was never given an orange, even when we played in her garden! I told my mum about this, and she was very dismayed, and said that she thought that her mum must be using them all to make marmalade! In later years I thought that my friend's mum had been particularly mean, knowing that children would not have been able to have much fruit during and just after the war. Then I wondered where the heck she managed to get all the sugar from, as it was still on ration!

[hoppy]

My gramps was generous to a fault. He shared his produce first with family, then friends and neighbors. I was told that during the depression, hobos would come to his back door and ask for something to eat. If granny was alone she fed them in the yard. If gramps was there, he would insist they come in, sit at the table and eat with family if it was mealtime. That always made granny furious.

[along-for-the-ride]

Lon, I thought you might enjoy these images of a 1940's kitchen:

[Lon]

along-for-the-ride;1306024 wrote: Lon, I thought you might enjoy these images of a 1940's kitchen:


Ah yes-----------the kitchen with the pump reminds me of living at my grandma's farm 1946

[Nomad]

I was there. WWII, the big one. Normandy.

C rations. Spam on Easter. Raw Spam and 1 tin of pickled beets.

After dodging bullets and mortar shells that Spam tasted like prime rib. Never was much of a beet fan but that didnt stop me. I was damned grateful.

[along-for-the-ride]

Nomad;1306056 wrote: I was there. WWII, the big one. Normandy.

C rations. Spam on Easter. Raw Spam and 1 tin of pickled beets.

After dodging bullets and mortar shells and that Spam tasted like prime rib. Never was much of a beet fan but that didnt stop me. I was damned grateful.


:wah:

[Peter Lake]

Does anyone in England remember parafin cake? My mother made it regually and i wouldn't want to ever have to see it again.

Camp coffee was another pretty disgusting regularity.

[G#Gill]

After the war, rationing was still in full swing, I was only a little tot, there was a special pot of jam which mum always said was 'grown-up's' jam. We children had raspberry jam. We always accepted this 'grown-up's' jam as never for children, but one day my oldest brother accidentally spread 'grown-up's' jam on his bread and marge, took a bite and in horror declared all accusingly 'This is strawberry jam !!!!' So all was discovered, they had been hogging that gorgeous strawberry jam to themselves while we kids had raspberry jam! John had tasted strawberries before the war, so had my other brother Michael, but I had never tasted it, so it was like some magical nectar to me when I was allowed some on my bread! :wah:

[along-for-the-ride]

:wah: Who knew "forbidden fruit" would be strawberries?

[chonsigirl]

theia;1305633 wrote: Rationing finally ended in 1954.


Because it was the year I was born, have to have my sugar fix everyday. :wah: