ministry of food

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A FREE 160 page book of wartime Ministry of Food leaflets.

I bought an electronic copy of ‘Eating for Victory’ from Amazon the other day for just 99p (even though I already have a treasured hard copy which I bought at Castle Museum in York). It’s been invaluable to have it with me to give me ideas when rummaging around in the kitchen wondering what to cook with leftovers or make things stretch further.

The book is essentially jammed full of ‘Ministry of Food’ recipe and instruction leaflets from WW2 in full colour, not only a fascinating piece of social history but so very useful too for now and in the future. I’ve included some snapshots so you can see more, I simply HIGHLY recommend it!

Since buying the book online (which I read via a free download Kindle app) I realised that actually I could have got this for free as Amazon are currently doing a 60 day FREE Kindle Unlimited promotion so yes, you get to read FREE books during lockdown and you can, of course, cancel at anytime. Needless to say I’ve signed up to that now having made a note to cancel before the end of June should my job situation not improve but for now, I’ll make the most of it!

Much love, stay safe, C xxxx

You can buy the 99p Kindle app version HERE ON AMAZON

OR You can sign-up for 60 days Kindle Unlimited and get it for FREE HERE

QUOTE:
“How would you survive on wartime rations? Eating for Victory (subtitled Healthy Home Front Cooking on War Rations) makes for absolutely fascinating reading — and may answer the question as to what the reader might have made of these more straitened times.

The book reproduces official Second World War instruction leaflets (which have never before been published in book form) and demonstrates how millions of people in Britain endured food shortages during the hardships of WWII. With a perceptive foreword by Jill Norman, Eating for Victory shows that the government endeavoured to keep morale high by producing a host of the upbeat leaflets included here on such subjects as ‘using up stale crusts’ and ‘foods for fitness’ (the leaflets are most amusing in this area, showing how much thinking has changed over the years — the use of fats and lard looks very quaint in these more enlightened times). But what gives particular pleasure here is the verbatim reproduction of the original artwork and typefaces, which vividly conjures a lost era. To read this entertaining little book is like climbing into a time machine to take us back to the 1940s.” –Barry Forshaw

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Wartime Christmas Cake – Ministry of Food – Recipe No. 156

So here is the first promised Wartime Christmas themed recipe for our ‘Wartime Christmas Countdown’ here on www.the1940sExperiment.com.

This is a recommended Christmas Cake recipe from the Ministry of Food in the mid 1940’s and the rationed ingredients make a very acceptable cake. My son works in Tesco’s so I was able to go shopping last night with him and get a 10% discount on my shopping! (he has a staff discount card!). Every little bit helps!

Wartime Christmas Cake – Ministry of Food

4 oz (115g) margarine
3 oz (85g) of soft brown sugar
1 lb dried mixed fruit
2 reconstituted dried eggs or 2 fresh eggs
3 level tablespoons of warmed treacle or golden syrup
8 oz (225g) of plain flour
pinch salt
1/2 teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda
1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon of mixed spice
3 tablespoons of cold strained tea
(I also added a slug of dark rum!)

Method

Line a 7 inch (18cm) cake tin with greaseproof or parchment paper.
Pre-heat oven to 150 C (300 F), Gas Mark 2.
Cream the margarine and sugar.
Gradually add the beaten eggs then the syrup or the treacle.
Sift all the dry ingredients together then add to the creamed mixture and then add the fruit and tea. Add a slug of rum or rum essence if you wish.
Spoon into the cake tin and make a hollow in the centre so the cake will be flatter on top.
Bake for 2 to 2.5 hours or until the top is firm and the sides are slightly sinking away from the side of the tin. (You may need to cover top with foil half way through cooking).
Cool in the tin.
When cool remove from the tin and place in airtight container.

Over the coming weeks you can feed the cake with rum/whisky/sherry and nearer Christmas you can finally ice and decorate!

“Do you enjoy my blog and recipes? I’m raising money for the Royal British Legion by running the London Marathon in April. Please consider giving a few £’s – thank you 🙂 “

DONATE HERE

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Summer Breakfast Dish – Recipe No. 153

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My breakfast this morning came from WW2 Ministry of Food Leaflet No. 33.

As always, the recipe is simple, quick and frugal and pretty good for you!

Summer Breakfast Dish
4 oz of rolled oats, barley flakes or kernels
4 tablespoons of milk
1/2 to 3/4 grated apple
Sugar or golden syrup or honey to taste

Method
Soak the rolled oats, barley flakes or kernels overnight with barely enough water to cover.
In the morning beat up well with the other ingredients.

Editors Note: This dish makes enough for two people. I used my normal rolled oats, mixed all the ingredients together and warmed through and then sprinkled a little extra grated apple on the top.

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My Ministry of Food WW2 Leaflet Board on Pinterest

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For anyone who is interested in reading authentic Ministry of Food WW2 recipe and food information leaflets I have a growing collection on Pinterest you may find interesting!

Sometimes it’s lovely to sit down with a cup of tea and browse.

I have various themed WW2 Pinterest Boards you may find fun!

Tonight I will be tucked up in bed early scouring the internet for additions to my boards. I’m enjoying ‘home-front photos’ right now, and am ALWAYS on the look out for new Ministry of Food leaflets that have been put online.

Please feel free to FOLLOW ME ON PINTEREST!

C xxx

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The Victory Garden Project – July 11

One of the overgrown areas of the garden I'm going to clear

One of the overgrown areas of the garden I’m going to clear

What better way to get more exercise and get lots of fresh veg into my diet, than to create my very own “Victory Garden”!

At the house I am renting here in Nottingham, I’ve only just started growing a few vegetables, fruits and herbs in pots. My garden has a small lawn and I’m not sure whether the landlord would be too happy if I changed that into a wartime vegetable garden just yet, so instead I’m starting to clear a very overgrown area at the back of the garden, to re-create a small Victory Garden, and eventually supply our kitchen with most of the vegetables used in wartime recipes of the 1940’s..

I started clearing one of the overgrown areas today

I started clearing one of the overgrown areas today

I got quite excited this afternoon as I started to clear mounds of tall, thick weeds from the bottom right area of the garden, and came across a semi paved flat area which will be ideal for a small greenhouse. I can’t afford a proper greenhouse yet (although I’m keeping my eyes peeled on Freecycle) so I purchased a small walk-in poly greenhouse from Argos for 25 quid which I think will be very useful indeed.

The area I'm clearing appears to be part paved and flat so ideal for my little poly greenhouse!

The area I’m clearing appears to be part paved and flat so ideal for my little poly greenhouse!

So lots of clearing work to do, I’m not quite sure where to put all the debris, as I no longer have acres of land to dispose of branches and thorny bushes! At the moment I am moving weeds and debris from one area to the other weedy area!

I found some composters hidden in the weeds!

I found some composters hidden in the weeds!

Am looking forward to doing some research on common vegetables grown in back gardens on the home front. I do have an old leaflet on growing your own during the “Digging for Victory” campaign… thought you might like to see it. Click the images below to see full size images!

C xxxx

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Danish Apple Pudding

First of all SORRY for the quality of the photo- if you stare at it for too long you’ll be heading to the nearest ‘Vogue Optical’ for an eye test…… I really miss the Canon Eos Digital (that used to take incredible photos).

So here is the recipe for ‘Danish Apple Pudding’ that I cooked yesterday. It tasted really nice and was very easy to make.

Danish Apple Pudding

  • 2lbs apples (peeled and thinly sliced)
  • 2 tea cups of breadcrumbs
  • 2 tablespoons of golden syrup (uk) or table/maple syrup (North America)
  • 1-2 level teaspoons sugar per apple used (according to taste)
  • 1/2 oz margarine
  • several drops of almond essence

Method

  1. Place apples in saucepan with a couple tablespoons of water and cook over medium/high for 5 minutes or so until apples become soft.
  2. Add in the sugar and almond essence and mix thoroughly with fork until mixture is pulpy.
  3. Grease a pie dish with the margarine
  4. Add a layer of breadcrumbs to the bottom and then cover with a layer of applesauce. Continue like this until all the mixture is used up and finish with a layer of breadcrumbs (you can always make more breadcrumbs if you run out of these)
  5. Drizzle the syrup over the top
  6. Place in a moderate over (about 180 C) for 45 minutes or until the top is golden.

Serves 4 – 6

TIP: Make sure the breadcrumbs used on the top layer are quite fine. If you use larger chunks they can resemble croutons!

100 Wartime Recipes: Page has now been updated… CLICK HERE for all 1940s wartime recipes that have been recreated and photographed as part of the 1940sExperiment!

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