Grandma's Wartime Kitchen: World War II and the Way We Cooked

by Joanne Lamb Hayes, Jean Anderson

An affectionate and informative look at women on the Home Front in the 1940s, Grandma's Wartime Kitchen presents more than 150 classic recipes (updated for today's kitchens) along with anecdotes, advertisements, advice, and archival recipes from a unique and defining period in America's history.

With details and personal voices that make the material come to life, the book covers:
* The U.S. government's food rules and ration books
* Substitutes for rationed sugar, and the delicious dessert recipes they inspired
* Stretching butter, meat, coffee, and other staples
* Cooking and baking for the troops abroad
* Wartime entertaining including Defense Parties, progressive parties, and a traditional Thanksgiving dinner using wartime commodities
* Monday Meatloaf, Mother's Fried Chicken, Macaroni and Cheese, Apple Dumplings, Vermont Johnny Cake, Honey Apple Pie, and many other recipes.

At a time when America is saluting the soldiers who fought in World War II, this one-of-a-kind collection offers a portrait of the courageous (and delicious) contributions of the women who stayed behind.

Genres: Cookbooks, History, Cooking, Nonfiction, Food, World War II, Food History

256 pages, Hardcover

First published November 8, 2000

Reviews

[QNPoohBear · Rating 4 out of 5]

Part history book and part cookbook, noted food history scholar Joanne Lamb Hayes explains how rationing affected Americans during WWII. She draws on her own memories and other primary sources to share information and recipes. I liked this book so much I read it twice for scholarly research.

American rationing doesn't seem like a big deal in hindsight when we're all used to margarine and many people use low cal sweetners and alternatives to sugar and generally eat less fat and less meat then they did in the 40s. During WWII Americans missed red meat and coffee the most. I would miss sugar but I did try some of the recipes from this book and other wartime recipes and they were fine. Brown sugar and honey make sweets just as sweet. Try the Dutch Apple Cake. It's delicious! Joanne Lamb Hayes generously helped me with the historical background for my online exhibit "Rhode Islanders, Food and World War II." If you liked this book, check out my interactive exhibit at ri.foodwars.tumblr.com

[Beth E · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is not clear from the title, but this book focuses solely on American foods and rationing during WWII.

It's immediately clear upon reading this that American rationing was much less strict than in the United Kingdom. And of course rationing was much shorter lived- in the UK it started on January 8, 1940 and lasted until 1954.

I do want to try the recipe for the Sugarless Berry Ice Cream.

[ஐ Katya (Book Queen)ஐ · Rating 4 out of 5]

I realized 80% of the way through the cookbook that I've read this years ago. It was so good, I'd forgotten I'd read it as a library book as I'd find a used copy and bought it for myself. I would highly recommend many of the recipes from this book. These are recipes cooked during the war years when certain foods were rationed. So that means many are low in fat as butter and shortening were rationed. Certain meats were rationed so their are recipes to stretch meat (like Monday Meatloaf) or meatless main dishes (like Macaroni Goldenrod). Chicken and Fish weren't rationed, so they show up in many recipes. We can still learn something from the thrifty cooks who still managed to put a well balanced healthy decent meal on the table.

[Bethany Stewart · Rating 4 out of 5]

More cookbook than book. It was fascinating to see how so many of my childhood foods are actually creations from rationing during WWII. It was also interesting to know how some food trends started because certain things were not available. If you like WWII and are interested in why we eat the way we do, this would be an interesting read.

[Sue · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hayes has preserved a short history of cooking during World War II, explaining both rationing and the support homemakers received via government brochures and women's magazines to prepare nutritious, waste-not meals on the homefront. After each historical section, Hayes has included appropriate recipes from the time. Meat was stretched, victory gardens encouraged, substitutes for sugar were found, and creative ways to entertain were tried. My parents were on farms in 1943 when they married, so while produce and dairy were available, they wed in a double wedding with my aunt and uncle, having just one reception. They even pooled gas rations so they could take a short honeymoon. Having always known that it was large gardens that helped my fraternal grandmother feed a large family during the depression, with my dad even selling vegetables to neighbors when he was a boy, has always piqued my interest in food's part in history. It was only after reading about Great Britain's long years of rationing, that I thought again about America's own needs to oversee the distribution and use of food. As I read the book I came to better understand my dad's farm deferment, first to continue to the "hired hand" work he started as a teen and then taking over my maternal grandparents' farm after my parents wed and my grandmother died months later. Without those who worked the land, raised the animals, and provided the dairy, America would not have fed the troops and the home front. Nor would the government had the stores ready to aid Europe immediately after the war. Hayes' book made all that clear. But I also acknowledge that there are few recipes in this book that I will add to my meal rotations!

[Wendy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book gave me a wonderful insight as to why my Mom cooked the way she did with some of the ingredients she used. There are several recipes that were in her repertoire and in regular rotation. I know understand why Mom relied so heavily on canned goods and her use of Karo Syrup.

This is a great history of how the War affected the homemakers and caregivers while most of the men were off fighting. The little blubs with excerpts from wartime publications help give insight into the importance and difficulties of nutrition during the period. each section includes an introduction explaining the difficulties of making a simple meal.

The country as a whole was undernourished as it came out of the depression. Then the country faced the difficulties of food shortages because of the upheavals in locations that provided the country with coffee, sugar and other basics. Then as the country entered WWII rationing of basic ingredients became necessary. The government partnered with ladies' magazine to help steer the homemakers to make higher calorie foods with enough nutrition and taste to keep the people (especially men needed for fighting) healthy and strong.

[Alyssa Bohon · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting feature of this book for me was seeing how wartime cooking needs and habits formed the way we cook (and refuse to cook - here's looking at you, tomato jello salads) today. Meatloaf, mac n cheese, and pbjs are definitely survivors. Government nutritional guidelines remain like a ghostly relic.

The importance of good food to physical and mental well-being really shines through this book (even as I flipped past odd meat and mayo-laced recipes that made me a little queasy) from the blurbs on "chocolate is fighting food" to the imagery of a well-stocked lunchbox giving Hitler a stunning uppercut. The problem of sugar and its connection to happiness was also interesting.

I imagine our cultural food ideals have changed so that dealing with food shortages would result in some different recipes if it happened today - people likely would not make a holiday turkey by molding burger around clothespins, for example - but, other things like making soup, are timeless - it's all quite fascinating.

[Alyson Wills · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love to read cookbooks like novels and this one was part history book and part cookbook that I checked out from our local library. I thoroughly enjoyed the memories of these women during the war when rationing was in effect and the very creative ways they came up with to feed their families. It’s also easy to see the path that started this country down a processed pathway that would reign for the next several decades as a lot of fresh, whole foods were rationed while canned, processed foods were not. What started as necessity and ingenuity quickly became the convenient norm. Like all things, history teaches us how things were, how they dealt with it, and how it changed us for better or worse. You can’t change it but it’s always interesting to try to understand it. I will even try some of the recipes because I saw a few that had me saying “I never would have thought about that!”

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a very intriguing read! I loved the historical information throughout about WWII rationing, how and why it was set up and how families had to navigate that challenge and get creative with it. While I doubt I would try many of the recipes as they often rely on vegetable oil, corn syrup, shortening, margarine, and other additives I won't buy or cook with, I still enjoyed going through them and also reading the experiences throughout of those who lived through this time period.

[Karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

While most of the recipes aren't ones I will use, I did appreciate those in the canning section. By far, my favourite part of the book were the little blue boxes with the historical additions, memories, and quotes. They brought the book alive.

[Kirk · Rating 5 out of 5]

While not primarily a history book, there is still plenty to glean from regarding food in America during the Second World War. There are some fairly interesting recipes, and from my own experience, I can say that the carrot pie is a hit, even if it sounds weird.

[Alison · Rating 4 out of 5]

A unique look at the creativity our grandmas and great-grandmas needed to use in the kitchen during World War II.

[Kimber Li · Rating 5 out of 5]

a valuable resource and inspirational advice

[Carol Austin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wartime Recipes

I loved reading this book of recipes and historical excerpts about the homefront during World War II. I will be trying quite a few of these recipes for my family.

[Gretchen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I began researching WWII recipes and rationing when I volunteered to present some information on the subject at a two-day reenactment event. This book was an excellent resource of recipes, facts, and many anecdotes from people (plus their children or grandchildren) who experienced that time in our country's history.

I selected about a half dozen of the recipes to make as I demonstrated using kitchen utensils from that era with the recipes and talked to those stopping by about many of the things I had picked up from the book. Some of the recipes were familiar ones to many - recipes or adaptations that had been used in their families as they had in mine. A few recipes just seemed intolerable to someone not having experienced the severe privations of that era. Other recipes still seemed to include quite a bit of sweetener although sugar was heavily rationed. Corn syrup played a big factor in many of the dessert recipes as did other sweeteners such as molasses, honey, and maple syrup which may have been available to some in rural areas but less so in the cities.

It was interesting to look at cookie recipes that would have been baked (often using up much of the rationed sugar) and sent overseas to the soldiers. One really had to wonder how good they tasted after who knows how long in transit but they tasted pretty good to those stopping by to sample them. Wasting food was something that did not happen during that era; a recipe that consisted of bread crumbs in lieu of flour was probably the most popular of the recipes I put out for people to sample.

For anyone interested in that time in our history, this is an excellent and highly recommended resource.

[Amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Before reading it: I was wondering the other day how WWII era folks ate, given those ration cards, and figured they probably had a pretty healthy diet and were able to eat nutritionally correct on strict budgets, so I thought I'd take a look at this.

******

After reading it: Well, there certainly are some crazy recipes in there (vegetable pancakes??) . But it was odd.... reading some of them, well, yes. My grandmother DID used to make some of those, and I could instantly remember how they tasted. Which is odd considering she wasn't even in the US at the time, but I guess they were still being published when she moved here?

There were interesting snippets from some of the cookbooks. It was a fascinating glimpse into womens' lives at the time.

I'm no cook by any stretch of the imagination, but there were some recipes I plan on trying. I liked the chapter on packed lunches -- I'm always looking for different easy lunches to bring to work. The cobbler recipe also looked really promising.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. I thought the author did a great job compiling the various recipes and the introduction for each section was filled with interesting things about WWII that I had never known. She introduces all of the recipes and I love the reprinted wartime propaganda images and ration information along with quotes from wartime women's magazines and from women who experienced the war. I can't wait to try so many of the recipes, and I got to try the beet relish from this book that a friend made and it was wonderful, especially on a good quality hot dog!

[Dani · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a book of WWII-era recipes along with remembrances from women who were teenagers and young married women in the 1940s. I picked it up to give me ideas of how to used the produce from my version of a victory garden, but I found that I enjoyed the information about rationing and war-time sacrifices more than the actual recipes. The spirit of cheerfully trying to satisfy your family during the lean times is what I will take away from reading this book.

[LibraryDanielle · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love cookbooks, so I've been savoring this one. each chapter has a historical introduction on the whys and how the recipes in the chapter were developed. I found it really neat.
the recipes are interesting, weird, and sometimes gross, but there were quite a few I plan of trying (especially the sweets!). this might be good for a family struggling with today's prices. there were lots of tips on 'stretching' food.

[Erika · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this one. A couple pages of facts and history before each chapter of recipes fascinated me. There were pictures and anecdotes and ads from WWII. A lot of these recipes reminded me of things my grandmother made and brought back some good memories. Some of these would be good for right now as well with food so expensive.

[Aimee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Terribly interesting, finding out how home cooks dealt with rationing and the things they used as substitutes or replacements for meat, butter and fats. I particularly enjoyed seeing all the advertisements and propaganda from the era - encouragement to save your fat and sell it back to the butcher for glycerine production. Butter or bombs, indeed.

[Jaime David · Rating 4 out of 5]

I actually read the baking version of this book, but I thought it was very educational to read a cookbook that has a point of view from history. I learned a lot about substitutions for baking in general and the recipes were all very good, especially the potato bread.

[Rose Ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great cookbook filled with recipes, ads, pictures from WW2, and gives insight into what it was like to cook when everything was rationed. Fascinating and also a lot of the recipes are very good!

[Toni · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book, but I also read a lot about food history. Some personal stories, some recipes--just an interesting read.

[Terri · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty interesting book. Lots of narrative about how and why foods were rationed. Lots of pictures of the posters that were used to promote rationing "for the boys".

[sylph · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was very enjoyable, and nicely informative. I can never get enough of the subject and would have enjoyed even more information and details about daily cooking and shopping and gardening efforts.