Spuds, Spam and Eating for Victory: Rationing in the Second World War

by Katherine Knight

The battle to keep the nation fed during the Second World War was waged by an army of workers on the land and the resourcefulness of the housewives on the Kitchen Front. The rationing of food, clothing and other substances played a big part in making sure that everyone had a fair share of whatever was available. In this fascinating book, Katherine Knight looks at how experiences of rationing varied between rich and poor, town and country, and how ingenuous cooks often made a meal from poor ingredients. Charting the developments of the rationing programme throughout the war and afterwards, Spuds, Spam and Eating for Victory documents the use of substitutions for luxury ingredients not available, resulting in delicacies such as carrot jam and oatmeal sausages. The introduction of Spam in America in the forties led to this canned spiced pork and ham becoming an iconic symbol of the worse period of shortage in the twentieth century. Seventy years after the outbreak of the Second World War, this book listens to some of the people who were young during the conflict share their memories, both sad and funny, of what it was like to eat for Victory.

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

240 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2007

Reviews

[Judy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an interesting and detailed account of food rationing during and after the Second World War. The author includes some of her own reminiscences from her wartime childhood, and some from other people. But overall the book is more general and has rather fewer personal memories than I had hoped for. I'm glad to have read it, though.

[Mark · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is an interesting book but a frustrating read. In it Katherine Knight provides a history of the experience of rationing — the limits imposed on the food people could purchase, their enforcement, and how people sought to cope with them in their preparation of their meals. Beginning with the establishment of the rationing regimen, she examines what rationing was like from the perspective of consumers in different areas and how people coped with rationing in a variety of circumstances.

Such a book captures an important aspect of life in the Second World War, and Knight has done her research to reflect it. Yet much of her labor is spoiled by her writing, which veers between summary, reportage, and memoir. It’s clear that Knight’s personal experience with rationing was a powerful motivation behind writing this book, but too often it intrudes into her narrative as a distraction. It doesn’t help, either, that she lumps in information from sources (such as personal conversations) that are impossible to verify, making the book more impressionistic than it deserves to be. More disciplined writing and better editing would have gone far towards providing readers with the excellent book this subject deserves, yet in the end Knight proves just a little too personally invested in her subject to be the one who writes it.

[Willow Rankin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this as part of my Kindle Unlimited subscription and absolutely devoured this book (pun intended).
This was a fascinating read, that was part social history, part memoir and part reporting. It goes through all the different variations of the limits imposed on the food people could purchase, as well as including how people coped with them.
It loses a star; as the formatting on the Kindle was poor (words were combined or letters ommissed); which made reading this particular version quite difficult. Further, I am not all over the pounds, shillings and pence of the old British currency, so a lot of the denominations I did not understand.
However, the book was well thought out; with each chapter focusing on a different aspect of the rationing situation. I wish it was a little more timely - in that I found some of the chapters toss and change in reference to which year they are discussing - which makes following the narrative a little confusing in places.
Overall, a well researched book into rationing and food in the second world war; not sure I will be making any of the recipes included though.

[Bonnie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating read for anyone interested in WWII and post-war domestic life. Offers specific rationing information, including amounts allowed during different years during and after the war. I learned that many foods were actually rationed more strictly in the years after the war than during it.

The author addresses variation in living conditions and food supply for people in cities versus the countries, how people made rations stretch farther, and how propoganda and public awareness campaigns influenced national nutrition and actually led to an improvement in children's health for lower socio-economic classes through more equitable division of resources.

There's also good coverage of the Women's Land Army, an agricultural workforce organized to help increase food production in the midst of male labour shortages, and describes the reshaping of the nation's entire food supply and organization as a midst of rationing.

Specific details, charts, and illustrations are interspersed with personal anecdotes gleaned from interviewees who grew up during the rationing period, lending to an easy-to-read balance of story and specifics.

Recommended for anyone interested in non-fiction about WWII or who needs inspiration for less wasteful living. Content warnings: safe for all audiences.

[Catherine Avci · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting easy to read book.

[AngieA Allen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Spuds, Spam and Eating for Victory is an interesting book about feeding a nation in WWII Britain. It moves along in chronological order beginning with the foundation laid by the first world war and works its way through the years or war and beyond. I found the presentation somewhat dry, but it didn't drag. I skipped parts I already knew about and read the parts that particularly interested me. Each chapter had excellent sub-titles that served that purpose. I enjoyed the section on the women's land army as I have read fictional references and watched TV shows about women moving from the cities to help on the farms since the men were called up to fight. There were several pages about the black market. Illustrations include ads for products to make it not so bad, pictures of typical meals, etc. There are some representative recipes at the back; also notes, bibliography, and index.

[Jayne · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars

I am always interested to learn more about the British Home Front during World War II and this provided a lot of information food and the rationing system, both during the war and afterwards. Sample recipes are also included.
I was particularly pleased to find a piece of information I have been searching for regarding keeping your own chickens. Many sources say that you could exchange your egg ration for chicken feed but this book gave the actual amount of feed you could receive.
Full of anecdotes as well as facts, this was a wonderful look into rationing and how Britain kept itself fed during such a difficult time.

[Mary Rude · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a surprisingly interesting little book! I bought it not realizing that it was entirely about the English experience, not the American, but it actually left me which a much greater respect with how much the British had to do without during the war. I loved all the little slice of life stories, quotes from ads, and recipes of the time. It really gave me a sense of the wartime experience of rationing.

[Donna McDermott · Rating 5 out of 5]

interesting

Really interesting book on surviving a war. Rationing must have been tough but apart from being fair, it seemed affordable. We could all learn a lot from books like this.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 rounded up

[Mrs.johnson · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was slow, but there was a lot of interesting information in it. Took me forever to read.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

A bit random in organisation.

[Amy]

DNF

got sad and didn't pick up a book for 4 months. i will come back to u xx

[Alex Moore · Rating 3 out of 5]

special mention to the pamphlet they had to hand out to US troops informing them that if they told any english people their food was dogshit they would cause an international incident

[Adam Windsor · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this a highly interesting and informative account of food rationing and other "home front" challenges of the WW2 era.

[Annie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I find it fascinating to get a glimpse of how rationing for mass population during a crucial time. I believe we "all" should always be prepare and to help others if possible.

Rationing clothing was very very interesting also.

I like the ideas of how they recycle what they have. Not being wasteful and making sure no one is starve.

I will definitely going to read this book again for some ideas.