Rationing-a whole new approach
Food rationing began in 1940. This meant each person could buy only a fixed amount of certain foods each week to preserve the amount of food that was availiable during the sparse time of the
Much of Britain's food came from other countries in ships, but enemy submarines sank so many ships that there was a shortage of some foods. Less than a third of the food available in Britain at the start of the war was produced at home. Rationing made sure everyone got a fair share. You had to hand over coupons from your ration book, as well as money, when you went shopping. When you had used up your ration of one food: cheese or meat, you could not buy any more that week. However, vegetarians could swap meat coupons for other foods. Rations were distributed by weight, value or points. One person's typical weekly allowance would be: one fresh egg; 4oz margarine and bacon (about four rashers); 2oz butter and tea; 1oz cheese; and 8oz sugar. Meat was allocated by price, so cheaper cuts became popular. Points could be saved to buy impulses too, such as: cereals, tinned goods, dried fruit, biscuits and jam, which were considered real luxuries back then.
It was very hard to supply your whole family with an equivalent of living off £1 a day. Some people in modern days have tried to recreate war time rationing experiences by living off £1 a day for five days and have failed. But this really makes you consider how hard it was to live with rationing for over 15 years during and after the war, like so much of Britain and Devon had to do in WW2.
Jaime Oliver created a menu based around WW2 rations and this depicts a great sense of how mothers during that time must have compromised and thought about how to use the rations effectively. Check it out to experience life in that time http://www.jamieoliver.com/bloggers/viewtopic.php?id=76560 .
Much of Britain's food came from other countries in ships, but enemy submarines sank so many ships that there was a shortage of some foods. Less than a third of the food available in Britain at the start of the war was produced at home. Rationing made sure everyone got a fair share. You had to hand over coupons from your ration book, as well as money, when you went shopping. When you had used up your ration of one food: cheese or meat, you could not buy any more that week. However, vegetarians could swap meat coupons for other foods. Rations were distributed by weight, value or points. One person's typical weekly allowance would be: one fresh egg; 4oz margarine and bacon (about four rashers); 2oz butter and tea; 1oz cheese; and 8oz sugar. Meat was allocated by price, so cheaper cuts became popular. Points could be saved to buy impulses too, such as: cereals, tinned goods, dried fruit, biscuits and jam, which were considered real luxuries back then.
It was very hard to supply your whole family with an equivalent of living off £1 a day. Some people in modern days have tried to recreate war time rationing experiences by living off £1 a day for five days and have failed. But this really makes you consider how hard it was to live with rationing for over 15 years during and after the war, like so much of Britain and Devon had to do in WW2.
Jaime Oliver created a menu based around WW2 rations and this depicts a great sense of how mothers during that time must have compromised and thought about how to use the rations effectively. Check it out to experience life in that time http://www.jamieoliver.com/bloggers/viewtopic.php?id=76560 .
Many people grew vegetables at home or on allotments. Children helped 'Dig for Victory' by digging, planting and weeding. Some children worked on farms picking potatoes and fruit.
Some families kept chickens, ducks and rabbits (to eat). People started 'Pig Clubs', collecting food leftovers in pig bins to feed the pigs. There were plenty of potatoes and carrots, and lots of suggestions for new ways to cook them! 'Potato Pete' and 'Doctor Carrot' advertised these foods, to encourage people to eat more of them. This was called propaganda and it was used by the ministry of food to persuade people to get involved in the war effort and provide food for the people in Britain. Grow your own produce was particularly publicised because all the ships travelling across seas containing our food were being bombed by Germans.
However, Marguerite Patten's cooking tips on the Home Service drew six million listeners daily to help the mothers during the war. Homefront housewives had to be creative: 'mock' recipes included 'cream' (margarine, milk and cornflour) and 'goose' (lentils and breadcrumbs). Amongst other things, carrots replaced sugar in apricot tart and were also eaten on sticks as lollies. Powdered egg and Spam from the US were mainstays of the era.
Some families kept chickens, ducks and rabbits (to eat). People started 'Pig Clubs', collecting food leftovers in pig bins to feed the pigs. There were plenty of potatoes and carrots, and lots of suggestions for new ways to cook them! 'Potato Pete' and 'Doctor Carrot' advertised these foods, to encourage people to eat more of them. This was called propaganda and it was used by the ministry of food to persuade people to get involved in the war effort and provide food for the people in Britain. Grow your own produce was particularly publicised because all the ships travelling across seas containing our food were being bombed by Germans.
However, Marguerite Patten's cooking tips on the Home Service drew six million listeners daily to help the mothers during the war. Homefront housewives had to be creative: 'mock' recipes included 'cream' (margarine, milk and cornflour) and 'goose' (lentils and breadcrumbs). Amongst other things, carrots replaced sugar in apricot tart and were also eaten on sticks as lollies. Powdered egg and Spam from the US were mainstays of the era.
However, another key part of the war was that clothes were rationed and a make do and mend ethic was adopted to make the most of their limited rations. David Moore, a boy during the time of the war, remembered this from the time of rationing, "My mum saved coupons and money to buy me a new pair of trousers for the day my father finally came home from India. I went for a walk before we went to the railway station and somehow I tore a big piece of material from the rear on a section of barbed wire. My mum saw the funny side of that in the end but on reflection it must have been a big effort." This memory reminds us of the blitz spirit and the war ethic. Click here to read about the blitz Spirit.