WW2 Rationing Recipes - American

Marianne

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Knox Gelatin Spread, a butter extender:

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Marianne

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https://www.littlethings.com/sweet-wwii-ration-recipes/1
This thrifty treat relied on whatever fresh fruit they might have growing in their victory garden for its sweetness.

Fruit Turnover (no sugar)

Ingredients:
2 cups sifted flour
3 tsps. baking powder
3/4 tsp. salt
1 Tbsp. fat
3/4 cup of milk, or enough to make the dough soft

Instructions:
Sift together the dry ingredients and then mix the fat in thoroughly. Add milk and stir until a dough forms, then roll out onto a floured surface. Cut the dough into circles, place fresh fruit on one side of the circle and fold over the other. Crimp the edges and bake until golden brown.

fruit-turnover-850x566.jpg
 

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https://www.littlethings.com/sweet-wwii-ration-recipes/2

Apple Pandowdy
This used less sugar thanks to the tartness from the apples providing a nice bite all on their own.

Ingredients:
Dough
2 cups sifted flour
3 tsps. baking powder
3/4 tsp. salt
1 Tbsp. fat
3/4 cup of milk, or enough to make the dough soft


Filling
4 to 6 eggs
1 qt. milk
1/3 cup maple syrup or honey
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1/4 tsp. salt
Nutmeg to taste

Instructions:
For the dough, sift together the dry ingredients, then mix the fat in thoroughly. Add milk and stir until a dough forms. Roll out onto a floured surface. For the filling, combine all of the ingredients minus the last tablespoon of sugar and pour into a baking dish. Cook the apples at 400 °F for about 20 minutes. Add strips of dough on top of the apples, sprinkle on the remaining sugar, and bake until the sugar begins to melt and the pastry is golden brown.

pandowdy-850x637.jpg
 

Britesea

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I don't remember if I ever posted this, but I thought it was an interesting look at all the old-fashioned fruit desserts...


OLD FASHIONED FRUIT DESSERTS

A cobbler is a type of deep-dish fruit dessert with a thick biscuit or pie dough crust that is prepared and then served warmed to guests. It is very similar to a pie except that the crust is thicker and it is traditionally placed only on top. However, over the years, ingredients and preparation methods have been created that bake the cobbler crust on the top for some recipes and on the bottom for others.

In the United States a cobbler is typically made with fruit or berries but in the United Kingdom it is typically a meat dish. In the United States, peach, blueberry and cherry cobblers are among the most popular varieties.

A crisp is a sweet dessert made with baked fruit as the bottom layer, which is topped with a crumbly topping. It is commonly referred to as a "fruit crisp" or as a crisp described by the name of the fruit in the dessert, such as apple crisp, a three fruit crisp, or something similar. A typical crisp combines a variety of ingredients, which include brown sugar, oatmeal and nuts that are mixed with the butter, flour and cinnamon to create a granular topping that is spread over the baked fruit.

Apple crisp is one of the most commonly prepared crisps, especially in the fall when they apples are in season, but other fruits and berries, such as peaches, pears, blueberries, and rhubarb are also used to make delicious crisps. Although it can be served cold, it is most often served as a warm dessert.

A crumble is a dessert with a crumb topping made from flour, sugar, and butter combined into a mixture that is sprinkled over sliced fruit and baked. The topping is made up of basically the same ingredients as a pastry except it doesn't contain any liquid. When the crumble bakes the butter melts and mixes with the flour and sugar to create a crunchy, crumbly topping. A crumble is very similar to a crisp except that the topping for a crisp generally contains oats and often nuts, giving it a coarser texture that the crumbles toppings.

The traditional crumble topping contains flour, sugar, and butter but there are many variations, which some include ingredients such as oats, nuts, and spices. As more of these ingredients are added, the crumble becomes even more similar to a crisp. A crumble also resembles a cobbler, which has a fruit filling with a top crust and no bottom crust. The difference being that top crust of the cobbler contains a leavening agent such as baking powder with gives it more of a smooth bread type texture rather than crumbly. One of the most common crumble desserts is "apple crumble", but it is also common to use blueberries, strawberries, peaches, rhubarb, and plums.

A Buckle is a sweet dessert that is made from a cake batter traditionally topped with berries, which is topped with a streusel type topping. The batter rises up as it bakes and the berries and streusel topping sink at uneven intervals, forming a buckled affect in the cake. Originally, buckle was made as a single layer cake topped with blueberries. However, over the years a variety of berries, fruits and toppings have been added to make different versions of this cake dessert.

Some recipes have the berries folded into the batter and some spread the berries on top. It is also often made with blueberries and another fruit combined into the cake and topped with the streusel coating.

A pandowdy is a sweet dessert that is made with a pastry or bread dough topping that covers a fruit base made from one or several fruits. Apple Pandowdy is the most common version of this dessert. When prepared, the dough is rolled out into thin circular or square shape matching the shape of the deep baking dish containing the fruit. Nuts, such as sliced almonds, are often added to the Pandowdy dough.

There are two methods that can be used to bake the dough for the pandowdy. The dough may be baked separately from the fruit and then added during the baking time or it can be baked with the fruit. When baked with the fruit, the dish is taken out of the oven after a short period of baking time, and then the dough is scored, and pressed into the fruit. The pandowdy is then placed back in the oven to finish baking.

If the dough is baked separately from the fruit, the fruit is mixed with brown sugar or molasses, cornstarch, and spices and then baked until tender and juicy. The baked dough topping is placed on top of the partially baked fruit mixture, pressed down slightly into the mixture and baked with the fruit until the dough is golden brown and the fruit is thick and bubbling. The dough becomes crisp and crumbly, adding a texture that enhances the fruit mixture. Very similar to a cobbler, grunt or slump, the deep-dished pandowdy can be served as a dessert or snack that is typically warm and topped with whipped cream or ice cream.

Brown Betty is a name given to an early era baked pudding dessert made by those who came to America during the 1600's. There are now numerous variations of this dessert that use many different types of fruit, but the most well known is Apple Brown Betty or simply Brown Betty. A combination of tart apples, (Granny Smith and Gala work well or other combinations of two to three semi-tart varieties) are cut into slices and mixed with sugar, cinnamon, vanilla, and lemon juice.

Pieces of bread are torn and baked or browned on the stovetop in butter, basically creating breadcrumbs to be used as a layer or filling. The sweetened and seasoned fruit is then layered with the breadcrumbs to form a baked pudding of fruit and crispy breadcrumbs that is served warm and is often topped with whipped cream or ice cream.

A grunt is a dessert, traditionally served on America's east coast that is a combination of a pie and a cobbler. It consists of fruit, most often berries, which are cooked beneath a crust of biscuit or dumpling type dough. The Grunt was named for the echo of sounds coming from the bubbling fruit under the dough as it cooks. A Grunt is similar in preparation to the Slump with the exception that the Grunt is steam cooked and the Slump is baked.


A slump is a dessert that is basically the same as a grunt as far as ingredients and construction. It consists of fruit, berries, or a mixture of fruit and berries, which are cooked beneath a crust of biscuit or dumpling type dough. The difference between the grunt and the slump is that the slump is baked uncovered instead of steamed. Some recipes call for it to be cooked on the stovetop and others use the oven. The slump was given its name because when served on a plate it has a tendency to slump.
 

Britesea

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The vinegar pie sounds like a similar dessert to Chess Pie, which was always popular when the "boughten" foods got scarce before a trip to the store.

I found these "Rules" in a book called the Economical War Time Cookbook
Seven Commandments for War-Time Conservation

1. Set aside enough money to buy 1 quart of milk a day for each child and 1/3 quart of milk a day for each grown person
a. The grown person may use some cheese in place of all milk. 1.8 oz of cheese will replace 1/3 quart of milk.
b. If there is not enough money to buy this amount of milk, try to buy at least 1 pint a day for each child and 1/3 pint a day for each grown person.
c. The grown person may use skim milk. Half of the daily quart for the child my be skim milk, if necessary; but it is not best to feed the child skim milk.
d. Children suffer more from lack of milk than do grown persons.

2. Buy 2 to 3 ounces of some fat for each grown person
a. Children will not need as much of this as they are getting a quart of whole milk a day.
b. The best fat is butter; particularly for little children

3. If money is scarce, buy only enough sugar to make the meals palatable.
a. 1 ½ oz, or about 3 level tablespoons of sugar, honey, molasses, or syrup a day for each person will do this.
b. Sugar is not a necessary food; too much money spent for sugar is likely to deprive the family of more needed foods.

4. Buy for each day some potatoes and one other vegetable such as cabbage, onions, carrots, turnips, beets or other available fresh vegetables.
a. Children can eat daily 3-3 medium sized potatoes and ¼ to ½ pound of one of the other vegetables.
b. Grown persons can eat daily 6-8 medium-sized potatoes and ½ lb or more of the other vegetables.

5. Buy only as much wheat and wheat products as the Food Administration rulings allow.
a. The rest of your need for cereal food may be satisfied by such other cereals as rolled oats, pinhead oatmeal, cornmeal, hominy, barley, rice, and buckwheat.
b. If possible, buy flours, meals, and breakfast foods made from the entire grain, such as water-ground cornmeal, rolled oats or oatmeal, cracked wheat, graham and whole-wheat flour. They have greater food value than have the refined products.
c. Less bread and other cereal foods are needed, if some dried beans or peas are eaten and if potatoes are used freely.
d. One serving of dried beans or peas or one medium-sized potato may replace one serving of cereal or one slice of bread.

6. If some money still remains, buy a little fruit for each member of your family.
a. Apples, fresh or dried, and dried prunes and raisins are among the cheapest fruits

7. If there is more than enough money for this necessary food for all members of the family, spend it to increase the variety and flavor of the meals.
a. The plain but safe diet resulting from following rules 1 to 6 may be made more palatable by spending more money.
b. Meat may be added for grown-up members of the family
c. Eggs may be added for all members of the family.
d. The amount of money to be spent for milk, cream, butter, cheese, fruits, vegetables, fats and sweets may be increased.
e. This more expensive diet may be more pleasing but not more wholesome than the first one suggested.
 

Britesea

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I remember being told about someone's grandparents that lived in the Deep South during the Depression. Apparently the only difference the Depression caused in their lifestyle was that Grandpa started using his old muzzle-loader again, because he didn't have to spend money on ammunition!
 

Mini Horses

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Maybe PETA could provide and administer birth control to deer, coyote, possum, etc. THAT would be helpful!:D

I am for humane treatment of those animals raised for food and at slaughter. Don't see meat eating stopping anytime soon. IN FACT -- if they made more strides with stopping the over eating of cakes and donuts, it would be a more beneficial effort. :clap I love a good donut, piece of cake or pie but, you NEVER see my grocery cart (or home cabinets) with more of those things than healthy foods.

Being in stores doing demos, I see hundreds of carts go by my station each day, several days a week. I can pick the "owner" of the cart based on what I see in that cart -- from a lineup of people! Yep, you are what you eat!!:old
 

frustratedearthmother

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@Marianne - you've created a monster lol. I made some more of the extended butter - with a twist. Since I only basically use it as a spread - as opposed to cooking with it - I decided to jazz it up a bit. This time I added some stevia, cinnamon and a little pumpkin spice seasoning. Oh my goodness! I don't eat a lot of carbs, but I generally grab a piece of toast before work because it's quick and easy. Some of this spread on that piece of toast is a little sweet treat!
 

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