Today is the 80th anniversary of VE day. Spending a lot of time with my grand parents as a child, I automatically picked up some of the war time habits and knowledge in my food preparation that they still used. They were really clever at being creative with few ingredients. Rationing had only ended 6 years before I was born.
Around 70% of Britain’s food was imported at the beginning of the war, and, as shipments were vulnerable due to the German U boats, ration books were printed in 1938 in preparation for the war and to make sure that everyone got access to the basic staples. Food prices were also set so that it was not only the rich that could afford food.
The rations changed during the war, depending on the amount of cargo ships sunk. Hitler had the idea that he could starve the UK into submission. Food rations were really small. An example of rations in 1942 for each person per week was 4oz bacon, meat to the value of 2d, 2oz butter, 3oz cheese, 4oz margarine, 2oz lard, 3 pints of milk, 8oz sugar, 2oz tea, 1 egg a week (or 1 tin of dried egg a month), 2oz sweets, 2 to 3 pints of milk, and a jar of jam a month. Everyone had to register with a shop and the shop was provided with just enough of those items for the number of people registered. 
I bet a lot of people would use those rations up in a day now! Tinned foods, cereal and rice could be bought through a points system as everyone was allocated 20 points a month to buy extras. It must have been hard to manage with these rations if you lived alone. The sick and pregnant women did sometimes get extra rations, as did young children who were given rosehip syrup and black currant juice.
Not every thing was rationed and chicken, offal, rabbit, game, bread, fish, and vegetables were not for most of the war (I think bread and potatoes were near the end of the war according to my Aunty, and fish was really expensive). A wholemeal ‘national loaf’ was sold instead of white bread which was milled using more of the grain. Wheat was in short supply and it added more nutrition to people’s diets. Calcium was also added to this.
Farmers were mainly growing grain and animal feed and so everyone was encouraged to ‘grow for victory’ . Gardens, parks and any open ground was planted up as a source of food, as vegetables were the main source of food to avoid hunger. So many people had allotments as, if someone didn’t grow food, they often went hungry. My Gran had a back to back house in the city and apparently she kept a pig and a turkey in her yard at times to get round the rationing after the war. Goodness knows where they came from, or how she didn’t get into trouble.
Luckily, the Ministry of food provided lots of leaflets to help with knowledge about nutrition and recipes that stretched and made the most of ingredients available. These leaflet also explained about vitamins and nutrition, how to preserve, and how to reduce waste. There were lots of recipes using stale bread crumbs. As well as the leaflets there were articles and recipes in newspapers and women’s magazines, and also a 5 minute broadcast by the BBC each morning. Ways of saving fuel were also published. It is a shame that the government are not more focused on helping people today with nutrition and saving resources. Radio programmes with presenters like Marguerite Pattern also inspired women to be creative with their meagre rations.
Rationing meant very little food waste. As I said, stale crusts, vegetable peelings, and fat from meat were all utilised, much as I and many frugal cooks do today. Things like bread pudding became regular treats. Meal planning was also important to make sure that what food there was would last the week, and that food would not be wasted, much as I do today. Items like coal were also rationed and so energy was not wasted, either.
I am thankful today that I was taught the war time skills of not wasting food. We still ration our food like meat and fish to 3 times a week, and try to grow as much of my food as possible. Having an annual food budget means that I know that all the food I buy has to last me a year. We often use recipes from the war that I saw my gran make. I just don’t go as far as making mock banana sandwiches, or making carrot jam.
Children from the war period have been the healthiest generation. I know my health has improved since I retired and I couldn’t just buy what I fancied. It is a pity the war time leaflets are not distributed now to families coping with increased food prices. They have certainly influenced the way that I cook, and helped me survive on a small budget. A lot of these leaflets can be found in a book called Eating for Victory with a foreward by Jill Norman (2007).
A very interesting post. I think one of the biggest problems nowadays is the sheer amount of food waste in the home. I try to aim for zero waste, I don’t always succeed but any wastage is minute. Convenience seems more important nowadays than nutrition and that is sad, homemade is nearly always better.
I agree. There is too much choices and we are eating and buying too much food and then wasting it. Thanks for sharing your opinions x
I use the Victory cook book and find it invaluable. I don’t peel veg any more. The peel holds most of the nutrients. On the odd occasion that I do peel veg the shins are used for crops or in potato cakes, stews or soups.
Me too. It saves time too. Thanks for sharing x
It’s very noticeable that there is a renewed interest in rationing and recipes from WW2 these days. Like you, I was brought up with the same principles regarding food and waste, and meals were made with minimal ingredients but we always ate well. I try to apply those same principles today. I think it’s a shame that more emphasis isn’t put on teaching the younger generation about basic nutrition and simple home made meals. A great post, thank you.
I agree. I feel so lucky to have been taught about nutrition at school
Something not included in the wartime diet was heavily processed foods. Meat was meat, fat was fat, sugar was sugar.
Absolutely. Real food with no hidden nasties
Very interesting thank you
Thanks for commenting
This is very interesting. I know they say as a population we were much healthier when rationing was in place
They do. My relatives from this time all lived into their nineties and beyond.
good article, thank you! We aim for zero waste and mostly manage ….. homemade is best, tasty and better for you!
Absolutely. Thanks for sharing
Far too many traditional things lost now, skills not passed on and practiced means they get lost and a new ‘normal ’ is short cuts, prepared food and intra processed. Following lots of support from SFL I’ve felt I am in the right place and love following lots of ideas as well as experimenting my own.
Thank you Toni and the Hive Mind 😀
It’s just to easy these days for people to just buy lots junk food ,I think Jamie Oliver tried to educate people when he did he’s ministry of food ! Governments could do a lot more to help ,I would certainly love some of those leaflets ! I feel magazines these days use a lot of ingredients and meals are expensive to make !
Absolutely. Jamie’s meals under £1 series is good as well. Thanks for commenting.
I am intrigued. What is a mock banana sandwich?
During the war when bananas were not available, they were a mixture of parsnips, sugar, margerine and banana flavouring. They were supposed to mimic mashed banana.