War time ration

[caroleann]

I have been taking a look at this because like everyone else we need to tighten the purse strings but it looks like its going to be good for heath reasons so in a couple of weeks i am going to try it for a month i will have to substitute one or two things ,i will keep you updated on how things go.

 

[LeeLee]

It will be interesting to see how you get on, and whether this approach can be low-carb. Keep us posted.

 

[trophywench]

LOL - powdered egg? Never seeing an orange or banana ? whalemeat? welfare orange juice? eating the same vegetable with every meal for weeks on end? rabbit stew?

Had to laugh; they said on something the other day that for Coronation Week every family were allocated an extra 1 lb of sugar and 4oz (I think it was) of margarine - for the cakes for the street parties, obviously!

 

[cherrypie]

Hi,
This site will help you with information and recipes.

http://www.lavenderandlovage.com/20...rations-with-ration-book-cooking-day-one.html

As for the whale meat that TW talks about, it was disgusting. My mum used to cook it in the oven in milk and onions to try and disguise the oily taste.😱😱 Offal was popular, hearts, liver, brains, tripe, tongue, if you could get it and my Mum used to make brawn using a pig's head. Makes me shudder to think of that now but we ate anything that was put in front of us as we were always hungry.

Wartime rations, although high carbohydrate, worked in keeping us healthy because there were no labour saving devices, no washing machines, fridges or freezers, no TV to watch and we either walked or biked everywhere. I lived in a village and all the mums walked the 5 miles into town using their large, second hand, coach built prams to carry their under school age children. Bus fares and train fares were a luxury and taxis were only for the rich. We were always moving around and the carbs were our energy source.

Those were the days.🙂

I wish you luck and please keep us updated.

 

[Pumper_Sue]

Cat used to be on the menu as well 😱 I was told from a very good source that those rabbits with long tails in the butchers shop were local ally cats 😱

 

[AlisonM]

It's nice to be able to say I'm too young to have experienced, rationing. It was all over by the time I was born, but our house still stuck with a lot of the practices learned during that time. Dad was stationed up here, at Kinloss, for a while and we stayed with my Gran in a house round the corner from where I now live. I can see what used to be her back garden from mine.

One trick was using cheaper cuts of meat and slow cooking them. There was a cut of beef, can't recall which one, but she used it with veggies to make soup and then served it as the main dish. Next day, more soup and Stovies made with the remains. If there was any left it was sandwiches for tea. The carcase of Sunday's roast chicken was used for more soup.

Growing our own veg, we had the garden at my Gran's house and an allotment as well. What we didn't grow, one of the neighbours probably had so there was a lot of swapping done. According to my mum, we were better off up here - it's still pretty rural even if it does call itself a city now - than many having access to things a lot of city dwellers couldn't get (and an earlier generation of poachers available to fill out the larder). I still go out every year picking things like brambles and hazelnuts from the local hedgerows, at least as much as I'm able. And chestnuts aren't just for playing William the Conkerer.

Oh, and unless I want a real wallow, I still only have 3" of water in the bath.

Good luck with your experiment. I'll look forward to seeing how it works out.

 

[Vicsetter]

Rousing chorus of Whalemeat again, don't know why .... da di da .