Celebrate "VE Day" with Potato Pete and an Authentic WWII Recipe: "Whit Salad" (2024)

FAQs

What food started out as rations during WWII? ›

Rationed Foods. The categories of rationed foods during the war were sugar, coffee, processed foods (canned, frozen, etc.), meats and canned fish, and cheese, canned milk, and fats.

The wartime food shortages forced people to adopt new eating patterns. Most people ate less meat, fat, eggs and sugar than they had eaten before. But people who had a poor diet before, were able to increase their intake of protein and vitamins because they received the same ration as everybody else.

1940s. In the 1940s, the Second World War was ongoing and food rationing was introduced. Meat, cheese, butter, cooking fats and sugar were heavily restricted, but potatoes, other root vegetables and bread were freely available. People ate a diet much higher in carbohydrates and lower in fats than we do today.

Meat (March 1940) was first, followed by fat and eggs, cheese, tinned tomatoes, rice, peas, canned fruit and breakfast cereals. Remember this was a world where even in the pre-war days of plenty, olive oil was sold as a medical aid and dried pasta was confined to a few Italian shops. Rice was mainly for puddings.

A: Millions of ration books were issued during World War II. They were intended to prevent the hoarding of such goods as coffee, sugar, meat and other items in short supply due to the war. Ration books generally sell in the $5 to $25 range, but unlike savings bonds, you can't cash them in as you wish.

You could only buy fresh fruit grown in Britain, such as apples or pears. Fruits that had to come in ships, like bananas, vanished from the shops.

During the war, governments (including the British and American government) introduced the rationing of food supplies. This was done to ensure that everyone at least got some of the little food that was available. Foods that were rationed included meat, fats, milk, sugar, eggs, and coffee.

Otherwise known as creamed chipped beef on toast was universally eaten by all US servicemen during WWII, ( in all theaters) & was still a staple for US soldiers as a breakfast food into the 1980s. ( at least when I served). SPAM, which is salted canned pork & ham was another staple.

Second World War

However, soldiers at the front still relied on preserved foods. These largely consisted of tinned items, but also dehydrated meats and oatmeal that were designed to be mixed with water. Morale-boosting items, such as chocolate and sweets, were also provided.

On the home front

Rationing was introduced in 1940 and lasted 14 years. For most of that time, meat, cheese, butter, cooking fats and sugar were heavily restricted, but potatoes, other root vegetables and bread were freely available. People ate a diet much higher in carbohydrates and lower in fats.

Are we eating better or worse than we did in the past? ›

We eat far more food today than we did 100 years ago. You would think that the rapid growth of the fast food industry would have taken its toll on our health, but in fact the food we buy today has actually become healthier.

This could explain why fruits and vegetables are not only good for us but are vital to our survival. Indeed, we're one of the few species so adapted to a plant-based diet that we could actually die from not eating fruits and vegetables, from the vitamin C-deficiency disease, scurvy.

A: Water, first and foremost. Also coffee. Some probably drank tea, although tea wasn't established as an “every man's drink” in Germany the way it was in the British Empire. Many Germans — military personnel and civilians alike — also drank beer, wine and “hard liquor” when it was available.

Children's rations were slightly different to adults. Children were entitled to extra food that was considered essential for healthy growth, such as milk and orange juice. The National Milk Scheme provided one pint of milk for every child under 5. Fruit and vegetables were not rationed but were in short supply.

An English Breakfast during WWII. Breakfast tended to be porridge with milk if available but some families would use melted lard! OMG. A special treat was toast or bread and jam (we always had jam apparently – my grandmother would make it, but so little sugar, she relied on the fruit.

Ration books worked on a coupon system, so people could only purchase their entitlement and no more. A typical person's weekly ration allowed them 1 egg, 2 ounces each of tea and butter, an ounce of cheese, eight ounces of sugar, four ounces of bacon and four ounces of margarine.

Every man, woman and child was given a ration book with coupons. These were required before rationed goods could be purchased. Basic foodstuffs such as sugar, meat, fats, bacon and cheese were directly rationed by an allowance of coupons. Housewives had to register with particular retailers.

After the US joined the war in December 1941, essential supplies began to flow in increasing volume to Britain. Rationing was implemented allowing a person one fresh egg per week; extra allowance was allowed for those with special circ*mstances such as giving expectant mothers and vegetarians two eggs a week.

What Did People Eat During WW2? Porridge for breakfast, lots of fruits and vegetables for lunch and supper, less meat and less sugar are just a few of elements which characterised a typical Second World War diet. Much of the meat produced at home was diverted to the men on the front, and nearly all food was rationed.