Megan Thompson - World War 2 Wartime Rationing Party Food

Megan Thompson

Copyright 2020 Megan Thompson

Introduction
DuringWorld War 2 Britain had a shortage of food, including luxury items andbasic foods. Basic foods such as meat, chesse, butter and sugar wererationed. This meant the diet was quite simple. The rationing andshortage of items such as sugar, certain fruits, meat etc, led to many"mock" dishes being created, with basic foodstuffs being substitutedfor items in short supply.
Although the food situation in WorldWar 2 meant people could not enjoy their usual foods, parties, wartimeafternoon tea etc were still held with the population creating partydishes from what they had. Try some World War 2 wartime rationing partyfood with this list of recipes from wartime Britain.
Currant Cake
Ingredients
800g/28oz of flour
340g/12 ozs of dried currants
56g/2 ozs of margarine
56g/2 ozs of sugar
4.3 fl oz130ml pint of milk
3.3 fl oz100ml of water
Put the flour and margarine in a bowl and combine. Add the sugar and fruit and stir in.
Whisk the milk and water into the mix.
Put in a greased baking tray.
Cook for 1 hour 20 minutes at 193C/380F.
Potato Mayonnaise
Ingredients
120g/4.2oz of mashed potato
130ml/4.5 fl oz of oil
half a teaspoon of mustard
1 and a half teaspoons of vinegar
Mix the ingredients together in a bowl.
Serve in sandwiches or with a salad.
Mock Bananas
Ingredients
cooked and mashed parsnips
banana essence or extract
sugar
Mix the parsnips with some banana essence and sugar to taste.
Bread Cakes
Ingredients
old bread cut into pieces
2 eggs or 1 tablespoon of dried egg mixed with 100ml/3.5 fl ozs of water
1 teaspoon of jam
half a teaspoon of vanilla essence
margarine
Cut up the bread.
Beat the egg. Add the jam. Put the bread in the mix and leave for 10 minutes.
Fry the bread pieces in some margarine until browned.
Vegetable Extract on Bread
Ingredients
Vegetable extract (marmite etc)
national bread
margarine
Spread the margarine on the bread. Spread on some yeast extract. Cut into pieces and serve.
Potato Scones
Ingredients
141g/5 ozs of flour
85g/3 ozs of cooked mashed potato
28g/1 oz of margarine or fat
4 tablespoons of milk
salt
Mix the ingredients to make a dough.
Roll out the mix and cut into scone shapes.
Cook on a greased baking sheet for 10 minutes in a preheated oven at 200C/400F.
Carrot Sausage Rolls
Ingredients
3 grated carrots
cooked mashed potato
half a teaspoon of vegetable extract
2 tablespoons of oatmeal
Cooks the carrots for 8 minutes in a covered pan on a low heat.
Add the oatmeal and extract and cook for 5 minutes.
Take off the heat.
Rollout the potato on a board. Cut into small rectangular shapes. Put someof the carrot mix on them, then fold the pastry over to cover.
Cook for 30 minutes at 200C/392F.
National Loaf
Ingredients
453g/1 lb of flour
2 teaspoons of salt
1 tablespoon of yeast
1 tablespoon of treacle/syrup
100ml/3.3 fl oz of warm water
Put ingredients in a bowl and mix to make a dough.
Knead for 10 minutes on a floured surface. Place in a bowl coated with oil, cover with a damp dishcloth and leave for 2 hours.
Knead the dough then divide to get two pieces. Place each piece in a baking pan. Leave for 2 hours.
Cook in a preheated oven at 200C/400F for 35 minutes.
Potato and Parsley Sandwiches
Ingredients
National/wholemeal bread
margarine of butter
mashed potato
parsley
salt
pepper
Mix mashed potato with some parsley. Spread margarine/butter on bread, add some potato mix and make sandwich.
Chocolate Spread
Ingredients
3 tablespoons of mashed potato
1 and a half tablespoons of cocoa
1 and a half tablespoons of sugar
1 teaspoon of allspice/cinnamon
Mix ingredients in a bowl to make a paste. Serve on bread or pastry.
Vegetable Salad
Ingredients
grated raw cabbage cores
grated raw swede/rutabaga
grated raw turnip
chopped raw cauliflower
grated raw sprouts
Put the vegetables in a bowl and mix.
Add a little fruit juice, vinegar or mayonnaise to taste.
Baked Potatoes with Vegetables
Ingredients
4 potatoes
cooked vegetables such as carrot, green beans, turnip etc
1 teaspoon of yeast extract
Bake the potatoes in their skins (at 200C/400F in a preheated oven for 1 and a half hours)
Takeout the oven. Remove the potato and mix with the rest of theingredients. Put back in the skins. Cut the potatoes in half beforeserving.

Pastries
Ingredients
255g/9 ozs of flour
113g/4 ozs of cooked mashed potato
56g/2 ozs of margarine
Mix everything to make a dough.
Form into shapes, then bake in the oven for 20 minutes in a preheated oven at 200C/400F.
Put chocolate paste or sliced fruit on top before serving.
Lemonade
Ingredients
3 lemons
450g/1 lb of sugar
1 teaspoon of citric acid
950ml/2 pints of water
Putthe water in a pan and bring to the boil. Take off the heat. Add thelemon juice, then put the rest of the lemon on the pan. Add the sugarand citric acid.
Leave to cool.
To serve, mix two tablespoons with a glass of water.
Fish Paste
Ingredients
56g/2 oz of cooked mashed potatoes
84g/3 oz of cooked fresh-salted cod cut into pieces
28g/1 oz of margarine
2 teaspoons of Worcestershire sauce
pepper
Stir the fish into the potato until it is smooth and creamy.
Stir in the margarine and Worcestershire sauce and some pepper.
Potato Pudding
Ingredients
200g/7 ozs of flour
28g/1 ozs of sugar
28g/1 oz of margarine
28g/1 oz of raw potato
1 tablespoon of syrup
1 teaspoon of baking powder
1 pinch of salt
1 teaspoon of cocoa powder
2 tablespoons of water
Mixthe ingredients together. Put in a bowl. Put a dish in a saucepan. Putthe bowl on top. Half fill with water. Cover, put on the hob on a lowheat and steam for 1 and a half hours.
Nutmeg Sauce
Ingredients
1 tablespoon of flour
a third of a pint of milk
half a tablespoon of dried egg (or 1 tablespoon of whisked egg yolk)
1 teaspoon of ground nutmeg
1 tablespoon of sugar
Mixthe flour, egg and three tablespoons of milk. Put the rest of the milkin a pan. Bring to the boil. Add to the flour to the pan. Boil for 5minutes stirring all the time. Add the sugar and nutmeg and stir. Serveon bread or pastries.
Mock Apricot Tart
Ingredients
453g/1 lb of grated carrots
short crust pastry
5 tablespoons of water
2 drops of almond essence
jam
Put the carrots in a pan with the water and the almond essence. Cook for 10 minutes.
Line a cake tin with the pastry. Cook for 25 minutes as 190C/374F.
Put the carrot mix in the pastry case. Top with jam.
Beetroot Sandwiches
Ingredients
cooked beetroot slices
butter or margarine
wholemeal bread
Butter the bread and make sandwiches with the beetroot.
Carrot and Swede Drink
Ingredients
grated carrot
grated Swede
Squeeze the liquid out of the grated vegetables into a jug. Add some water.

Carrot Biscuits