What was one of the first foods to be less available during the war?

Petrol was the first item rationed in 1939 but was eventually restricted to 'official' users only e.g. bus companies and farmers. On January 8th 1940 butter, bacon and sugar followed. Later meat, tea, jam, biscuits, breakfast cereals, cheese, eggs, lard, milk, canned and dried fruit joined the list.

What was rationed in the US during WWII?

Even though thousands of items became scarce during the war, only those most critical to the war effort were rationed. Key goods such as sugar, tires, gasoline, meat, coffee, butter, canned goods and shoes came under rationing regulations.

What food was hard to get during WW2?

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 .

Which food was not available in WW2?

By mid-1942 most foodstuffs were rationed, except fresh vegetables, fruit, fish and bread . Other scarce commodities were rationed too, such as clothing, shoes, fuel, and soap.

Are WWII ration books worth anything?

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 .

What was the substitute for butter in ww2?

The butter substitute oleomargarine, also known simply as margarine , proved a hardy product that would outlast the war despite Americans' initial negative reaction to it. At that time, it came in white blocks; yellow dye had to be kneaded into it in order to give it a butter-like appearance.

What was the last thing to be rationed after ww2?

Rationing remained in effect until the early 1950s. Meat was the last item to be derationed and rationing ended completely in 1954, nine years after the war ended.

What were the food shortages in World War 1?

The ongoing Allied naval blockade kept out the food imports that Germany had come to rely upon in the prewar years to feed its burgeoning population of 70 million. Shortages included butter, margarine, cooking fat, sugar, potatoes, coffee, tea, fruit, and meat due to the lack of sufficient cattle feed .

What was the first food product to be rationed?

The government began rationing certain foods in May 1942, starting with sugar . Coffee was added to the list that November, followed by meats, fats, canned fish, cheese, and canned milk the following March.

What foods were Americans asked to reduce their consumption of in ww1?

In August 1917, the federal Food Administration began taking measures designed to conserve food for the war effort. Americans were asked to reduce their consumption of wheat, meat, sugar, and fats in particular.

What were the food shortages in 1917?

By August 1917, 1,500,000 tons of British merchant shipping had been sunk . At one stage only four days supply of sugar remained and a few weeks worth of wheat flour. The shortage of many forms of food led to long queues at the shops and rapidly rising prices.

The Wartime Kitchen and Day Five - Ration Book Fish on Friday: Devilled Fish Recipe (2024)

Fish and Chips in Black and White

The Wartime Kitchen and Day Five – Ration Book Fish on Friday:

Devilled Fish Recipe

The Wartime Kitchen and Ration Book Fish on Friday: Devilled Fish Recipe

Today is day five of my wartime ration book cooking challenge, and it’s Friday, which means it has to be fish on Friday. We may not all follow thetraditionalfish on Friday menu plan nowadays, such a shame I think, but families would have still tried to eat fish on Friday during the war, despite thescarcenessof fish as the war progressed. Fish and chips were NOT on ration during the war, and when there was fishavailable, there were long queues to the “chippie” as soon as the sign “frying tonight” was displayed in the fish and chop shop windows. Those who lived in coastal areas were luckier, as there were still some small boats that had not beenrequisitionedforwartime duty *(see below), and they would still go out fishing; thus, fish wasundoubtedlyeasier to obtain intraditionalfishingportsthan in the country, towns or cities. Tinned fish was popular (available with points), as were fish cakes (90% potato!) and preserved fish such as soused herrings and mackerel. In fact, herrings were fairly prolific throughout the war, and manyMinistryof Foodleafletswere aimedtowardsherring recipes. Smoked fish may seem to be a luxury today, but due to its long shelf life after smoking, smoked fish was also popular, especially smoked haddock. My mum remembers a favourite supper dish of smoked haddock in milk, in to which fingers of bread were dipped to mop all the precious juices up with.

HMT Moravia: Built at Beverley in 1917 for the Great Grimsby & East Coast Fishing Co
1943 Mined in the North Sea SE of Aldeburg as HMT Moravia FY 1819

The history of fishing trawlersduringWW2 is a fascinating one, and although most of us know about the important role that Atlantic convoyscontributedthroughoutthe war in order to get supplies to our island nation, not much is known about the bravery of the fishermen and their trawlers, who were called up and entered intoRoyal Naval Patrol Service. In myresearchto discover the vital role thattrawler-menmade, Idiscoveredthisfascinatingpiece ofinformationand photo courtesy of www.llangibby.eclipse.co.uk:

A photograph of MILFORD KING, kindly provided by David Todd, whose father Sydney Arthur Todd (1906-58), was her Chief Engineer from July 1941 to May 1943

“As in 1914, 1939 saw a “call-up” of trawlers, and men to crew them. Fitting-out yards carried out the conversions, while the men were recruited into the Royal Naval Patrol Service, set up in the “Sparrow’s Nest”, a converted theatre in Lowestoft. The trawlers were now allocated Pennant Numbers, with the “Flag Superior” letter or number indicating their roles: FY (“Fishery”) for minesweeping, anti-submarine, dan-laying and other trawlers; Z for boom defence (from 1940 onwards), Y for supply vessels, including the so-called “Essos” or fuel carriers, and 4 for auxiliary patrols, wreck dispersal and a few minesweeping and anti-submarine trawlers. Dan-layers worked closely with minesweepers to mark the swept channels. Those trawlers employed as Essos for the Normandy landings were effectively made redundant by the commissioning of PLUTO in 1944, and were released early to their owners. As many purpose-built minesweepers were commissioned during the War, they were able to take over this task from trawlers immediately after VE day, enabling a much quicker return to the owners than after the Great War.”

Fish and chips in newspaper

But back to my fishy recipe, as I was lucky enough to have some fish – coley (saithe), as supplied by John at Delish Fish, whose father played a vital role during the war as part of the RNPS. At this stage I would also like to mention my father too, who was just a little too young to join up during WW2, but who joined the Royal Navy just after the war and spent much of his time in the seniorserviceon minesweepers, (HMS Rattlesnake) and on fishery protection duties in the North Atlantic……as well as being involved in many other theatresthroughoutthe world.

Ingredients

1/2 lb (225g) cold cooked fish (I used Coley, Saithe)
1/2 pint (300ml) milk
1 oz (25g) flour
1 oz (25g) Stork margarine
2 teaspoons Worcester sauce or tomato ketchup
1/2 teaspoon made English mustard
1 teaspoon curry podwer
pinch of mace or grated nutmeg
pinch of Cayenne pepper
1 1/2 ozs (40g) stale breadcrumbs
1 hard-boiled egg (sliced or chopped)
salt and pepper

Note

Directions

Step 1	Flake fish and remove any skin or bones. Grease a pie-dish with a little Stork margarine. Melt the 1 oz of Stork in saucepan, stir in flour and cook until it bubbles. Take off heat and add milk (or half milk and water). Bring to boil, lower heat and cook for 3 minutes, stirring all the time.
Step 2	Add the fish, egg, nutmeg, curry powder, Cayenne, mustard, Worcester sauce or ketchup. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Step 3	Pour into prepared dish and coat with breadcrumbs, and bake for 20 minutes on moderately hot oven (Regulo Mark 6 - 180C/350F).

Join Fiona and Janice in their wartime kitchens too!

Fasting and Feasting with Fish on Friday: Middle Eastern Tahini and Lemon Baked Fish - Perfect for the 5:2 Diet
Fish on Friday and a Taste of India with Easy Fish Curry

Serves	4 to 6
Prep time	15 minutes
Cook time	20 minutes
Total time	35 minutes
Allergy	Egg, Fish, Milk
Meal type	Lunch, Main Dish, Snack
Misc	Child Friendly, Pre-preparable, Serve Hot
Region	British
From book	The Stork Wartime Cookery Book

The Wartime Kitchen and Day Five - Ration Book Fish on Friday: Devilled Fish Recipe (2024)

The Wartime Kitchen and Day Five – Ration Book Fish on Friday:

Devilled Fish Recipe

Wartime Devilled Fish

Ingredients

Note

Directions

Join Fiona and Janice in their wartime kitchens too!

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References