ration book recipes

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10 great 1940s ration book recipes to celebrate VE Day

“This post is part of Twinkl’s VE Day Campaign in 2021, and is featured in their Best Wartime Recipes to Celebrate VE Day from Home post”

Please also take a look at their resources which include a FREE wartime recipe booklet, and also other resources for WW1 & 2 Rationing packs, Ration books, rationing shopping list, plans to make a gas mask, Anderson shelter pack and lots more WW2 related educational resources.

Twinkl Educational Publishing is an online educational publishing house, producing teaching and educational materials. Trusted by teaching communities worldwide, Twinkl provides instant access to a complete range of teaching, planning and assessment materials to support learning from birth

Carolyn

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With Victory in Europe Day (75th Anniversary) coming up on May 8th, 2020, I noticed that over the past few days I’ve had a lot of searches for ‘VE Day Party Recipes’ visiting my website. I thought maybe it would be helpful to perhaps pick 10 tasty (and occasionally bizarre) recipes that could be fun to make and taste and provide some authentic WW2 ration book recipe treats for those planning celebrations.

There is all sorts of fun below including vinegar cake, carrots in cookies, marmite filling, pink blancmange party cake and not forgetting parsnip sandwiches (OK mock banana), beetroot pudding and mock brains. Fun for all the family and frugal too!

Enjoy the experience! (don’t worry you WILL live!)

C xxxx

1. WW1 Ration Scones:  Let’s start with a sensible one for the adults! The basic recipe dates back from WW1 and you can add all sorts to add your own twist. I can highly recommend wild garlic, cheese and chives but as you’ll soon find out below, anything goes…

https://the1940sexperiment.com/2020/04/04/ww1-ration-scones-recipe-no-186/

2. Oaty Biscuits:  I’m in love with this wartime cookie recipe. These oaty, sweet, buttery, wartime biscuits really make you appreciate a 15-minute break with a hot cuppa tea in some old vintage china. These delicious oaty biscuits are so easy and quick!

https://the1940sexperiment.com/2017/07/15/oaty-biscuits-recipe-no-163/

3. Pink Layer Party Cake: Firm, chalky, strange pink icing but 100% authentic wartime celebration cake using pink blancmange.

https://the1940sexperiment.com/2016/03/06/pink-layer-party-cake-recipe-no-149-mothers-day-tribute/

4. Jam Tarts: So quick, so easy, so yummy and no mock anything!

https://the1940sexperiment.com/2017/07/23/jam-tarts-recipe-no-166/

5. Cheese Whirls: How can you not like Marmite and cheese! They actually taste delicious (if you like Marmite!)

https://the1940sexperiment.com/2009/11/11/cheese-whirls/

6. Chocolate Layer cake: A squidgy, chocolatey cake with a simple wartime chocolate spread! No beetroot, no Marmite, promise!

https://the1940sexperiment.com/2013/09/25/chocolate-layer-cake-recipe-128/

7. Blackberry Shortbread: A simple shortbread recipe in the ‘Eating for Victory’ book (a collection of Ministry of Food wartime leaflets I can highly recommend) with a blackberry plonked on top! The kids will love adding these on!

https://the1940sexperiment.com/2017/08/13/blackberry-shortbread-recipe-no-171/

8. Vinegar Cake: YES this really does have vinegar in it! People put all sorts of strange ingredients in their wartime food. Surprisingly it works. This is delicious, crumbly, and rather nice with a thick custard over the top!

https://the1940sexperiment.com/2014/03/05/vinegar-cake-recipe-no-130/

9. Carrot Cookies: Carrots were the home fronts secret weapon. The Ministry of Food propaganda machine convinced children that carrots on sticks were just as tasty as ice-creams, that eating lots of carrots helped you ‘see in the dark’ during blackouts, and that Dr Carrot would make everything better.

https://the1940sexperiment.com/2012/02/05/carrot-cookies/

10. Mock Banana Sandwiches:  And finally because in fact, this may be quite a fun thing to put out on the table and observe people’s expressions as they chew.. Dare you!

https://the1940sexperiment.com/2016/02/28/mock-banana-recipe-no-148/

If you fancy savoury dishes or puddings why not check out 190 wartime recipes for delightful culinary experiences such as mock brains, mock black pudding and beetroot pudding! >>> Click here for 190 wartime recipes <<<

If you are interested in having a look at my recommended lists for wartime books, kitchen equipment and 1940s nostalgia and fashion on Amazon, click banner below!

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Blackcurrant Jam – Recipe No. 184

This is such a simple wartime recipe for a small quantity of delicious, velvety, deep-purple, mouthwatering blackcurrant jam. You HAVE to try it and so crazy-easy to attempt for your first go at making jam!

Fresh blackcurrants are preferable but to make it even easier I made this small-batch from frozen fruit perfectly! (In fact DON’T WAIT for fresh berries to come into the shops. It might be wise to buy some bags of frozen berries. Our British fruit pickers (over 90%) come from Eastern Europe each year performing vital services to our fruit harvesting industry. With our current ‘Coronavirus Pandemic’ situation, our normal guaranteed and reliable agricultural workers from overseas may be restricted from their normal annual travel to the UK which could be devastating for UK farmers if they cannot recruit enough British workers.)

Next time I go shopping (trying to restrict it to a maximum of once or twice a week for fresh produce), I’ll certainly be buying myself a bag or two of more frozen berries while they are available.

I enjoyed two slices of bread I made yesterday slathered in this ‘juicy assed jam’ with a nice cuppa tea and I recommend you do exactly the same.

It will make you smile.

Take care, stay safe, stay home

C xxxx

Blackcurrant Jam (makes 3 x 1 lb pots)

Ingredients

  • 4 cups of frozen berries
  • 3 cups of sugar
  • 1/2 lemon squeezed (not vital)
  • 1 teaspoon of pectin (not vital but I always add to all jams I make)
  • Clean jam jars (rinse, heat in oven at 140C for 15 minutes)
  • Clean lids (rinse, place in a small bowl, cover with hot pre-boiled water until ready to seal jars)

Method

  1. Put the 4 cups of frozen berries in a large thick-bottomed saucepan and put onto a medium heat.
  2. Stir until berries are defrosted and simmering gently (about 5 mins). Remove from heat.
  3. Mash with a potato masher a little so some of the berries burst to the consistency you like.
  4. Mix the sugar and pectin and add to the berry mix and stir until all mixed together.
  5. Add in the 1/2 squeezed lemon.
  6. Return to medium heat and keep stirring slowly adjusting the heat so as not to burn.
  7. You need to bring the mixture to a rolling boil, stirring all the time and maintain this for about 10 minutes until the setting point has been reached (105 C or 220 F). If you don’t have a thermometer drop 1/2 teaspoon onto a cold plate and if after a minute it thickens and becomes fairly firm instead of liquid then it has reached the setting point.
  8. Once the correct temperature has been reached, keep stirring and give the mixture another minute.
  9. Remove from heat and stir again.
  10. Remove hot jars from oven (see above)
  11. Using a ladle and funnel, add the hot jam mixture to the hot jars and twist on the clean hot lids.
  12. Set aside, the jar will be hot and will take at least a few hours to cool.
  13. Jam is ready to use once it has totally cooled down and unopened will keep for a year or two.


People have asked me where I have been getting my cute jars and labels. The links are below:

JARS: 24 jam/chutney jars with gingham printed lids

>>CLICK HERE<<

LABELS: Re-usable and removable labels for jars and containers with chalk pen.

>>CLICK HERE<<

CANNING FUNNELS: 2 sizes, stainless steel for all jam/chutney/relish making.

>>CLICK HERE<<






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Mince-in-the-Hole – Recipe No. 146

1940sminceinhole

Another recipe from ‘Eating for Victory’. I LOVE this book because it literally is a made out of the scans of ACTUAL Ministry of Food leaflets bound together in a hardback book.

This recipe is for ‘Mince-in-the-Hole’ and was a way to use up bits of leftover meats which were minced up and formed into balls, roasted in the baking pan then the batter was added and baked until cooked.

Being a veggie I used Quorn mince but had problems forming it into balls that would stick together even with the addition of some sticky tomato chutney and a little bit of margarine. Nevertheless I was able to mound the mixture up sufficiently in the baking pan to make a fairly good attempt at it. It tasted very nice and I ate two portions with peas, carrots and gravy!

recipeminceinhole

1940sminceinhole2

rations

eatingforvictory
CLICK HERE to look at this book on Amazon!

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Chocolate Oat Cakes No 97

These are excellent biscuits/cookies for children. As cookies go they are low in fat, relatively low in sugar and have lots of rolled oats in them. My grown up kids all enjoyed them, and the dog… and as I share this recipe with you, I’m enjoying my second one and thinking I should wrap them up and stick them in the freezer before I eat the 25 that are left.

I like recipes that are easy peasy, quick and tasty and utilize ingredients most of us would find in our kitchen cupboards at anytime. This one fulfills that criteria..

Chocolate Oat Cakes

  • 2 oz (56g) margarine
  • 2 oz (56g) sugar
  • 8 oz (225g) self-raising flour (if using plain add 2 teaspoons of baking powder)
  • 1 breakfast cup (95g) of rolled oats
  • pinch salt
  • 1.5 oz (42g) of cocoa powder
  • milk and water

Method

  1. Rub the margarine into the flour
  2. Add the rolled oats, sugar, pinch of salt and cocoa powder
  3. Mix well and add a little milk and water to moisten and stick the mixture together
  4. Roll into balls and press down until very thin with the back of a fork or alternatively roll out until thin, cut into rounds and prick all over with a fork
  5. Bake in an oven at 190C (380F) for about 15 minutes until golden brown.
  6. Sprinkle with sugar and cool on a wire rack

Makes 30

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Cheese, tomato and potato loaf/pie – No 77

This was nice today for my dinner. I served it on a bed of spinach as I love my greens! I used the leftover cheese sauce I made last week and being vegan I used a dairy free cheese..

Cheese, tomato and potato loaf

  • 1 lb (450g) cooked new potatoes
  • 12 oz (350g) tomatoes
  • Cheese sauce (click here for recipe)
  • A little grated cheese (Daiya is a great vegan alternative here in Canada as it melts and tastes good!)

Method

  1. Cut potatoes into slices about 1/4 inch thick
  2. Cut the tomatoes into slightly thicker slices
  3. Grease a 2lb loaf tin or an deep pie dish
  4. Pre-heat oven to 180c (350F)
  5. Arrange a third of the potatoes in a neat layer in the dish and cover with some of the cheese sauce and then half the tomatoes
  6. Put in half the remaining potatoes with the rest of the sauce and tomatoes and finally cover with the rest of the potato slices
  7. Season, add onion slices, dried herbs and a little grated cheese
  8. Cover and cook for 45 minutes
  9. Uncover and cook for 15 minutes until brownedServes 4
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My favourite wartime recipes revisited- pt 1

I’ve had lots of recent comments left or sent regarding the wartime recipes so far re-created during the 1940s Experiment. Many people have expressed delight in finding out that wartime food was actually rather yummy! Here are some of my favourite ones I have re-created to date

 
Wartime Vegetable Turnovers: I am not sure whether there was a typo in the cook book for this one- it said serves 4 so I made 4 veggie turnovers out of the ingredients …they were each the size of 1/2 a dinner plate! BUT if Marguerite Patten tells me it feeds 4 then I will eat a whole one… click for recipe 
Wartime Pumpkin Soup: ALWAYS make pumpkin soup with the smaller, non carving variety! I had stocked up on some honey crisp apples (for pies) and some sugar pie pumpkins and butternut squash for soups from www.indiangardenfarms.ca  The pumpkin soup I made today nearly stopped me following through with our thanksgiving meal it was so delicious.. click for recipe
Glory Buns: This is a recipe for simple currant spiced buns that turned out so absolutely tasty and yummy and easy to make that I simply called them GLORIOUS.. They are not only economical but taste sooo good! …click for recipe
C xxxx
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Curried Carrots

curriedcarrots

When I saw the word CURRY leap out at me from a small book I was reading called ‘Ration Book Cookery’ I got all excited…

Curry is one of my favourite dishes, usually devoured by myself, laden with meat and cream, fresh veggies/spices or a mixture of dried ones, added carefully until the desired taste is achieved, and then sweetened slightly with a mango chutney. I am not a fan of Saffron rice but I do love to colour my rice with Turmeric and I like the bitterness this spice brings which compliments the slighty sweet curry and finally naan bread.

it did indeed taste like carrots, onions and curry powder mix

Curried carrots, despite the fact that the only ingredients seemed to be carrots, one onion and a curry powder mix (ikkk) was at least CURRY so I enthusiastically chopped and steamed the carrots, browned the onions and followed the rest of the directions.

The result? Ermmmm – it did indeed taste like carrots, onions and curry powder mix BUT hey I was hungry so I ate it and even had seconds.

I am, after-all, living in the 1940’s…… (at meal times anyway)

Curried Carrots

  • 1 lb carrots
  • 1 oz margarine or dripping
  • 1 chopped onion
  • 1-2 teaspoons curry powder
  • 1 tablespoon flour
  • 1/2 pt stock or water
  • salt and pepper
  • teaspoon marmite and a teaspoon sugar (optional)

Chop and boil/steam carrots

Meanwhile melt fat in pan and add the chopped onion and fry for a few minutes

Add the curry powder and flour and fry for a few more minutes while stirring a little

Stir in the stock or water, bring to the boil, season.

Simmer gently for about 20 minutes then add in the cooked carrots

Cook for a further 10 minutes or so

Garnish with parsley and serve with a little rice