Recipes of War: Part 2

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Only the Necessities

When we imagine a cook book or recipes, a chatty, opinion based style comes to mind. However, the Ministry of Food’s approach to cooking is simple and to the point: ‘wash and dice the vegetables. Fry the leek or onion and carrots in the fat, add the lentils.’ (18). The sentences are short and snappy and the entirety of the instructions usually consist of 10-12 lines. The recipes are rather non-descriptive, presenting the food as something essential to survival rather than a pleasure for the taste buds! The tone of the recipes lack character and are instead just instructional. The majority of the enthusiasm appears to be places into pictures and poster propaganda such as: Potato Pete and Doctor Carrot. These were vegetable caricatures designed to promote healthy eating (posters shown below). 

Potatoes, Potatoes, Potatoes

Despite, the lack of conversational tone, the Ministry did attempt to make uninteresting dishes appear delicious or appealing. Vegetables were not particular appetising to the population, and potatoes seemed to be the key ingredients to many of the war-time recipes. To combat this issue the Ministry of Food did attempt to create interesting sounding dishes, to appeal to British Households. Great examples include: ‘Surprise Potato balls’ (21), ‘potato piglets’ (30), ‘potato oven scones’ (75) and ‘sweet potato pudding’ (65). Potatoes were used in all courses including desserts!



Public health benefits

Fig 1: ⓒ IWM Archive, p. 36
The recipes and leaflets had various purposes, some were focused on sufficiency, helping households manage their rations and others had a focus on maintaining a healthy diet during the war period. For the first time feeding the country had a focus on modern ideas of nutrition. The preservation of food became significant to maintaining the benefits of nutrition. The instructions for the ‘Vegetable Casserole with Dumplings’ are very specific to the handling and cooking of the vegetables: ‘(do not scrape them) […] stir them over a low flame for a few minutes’ (47). The preservation of the vegetables was key to maintaining their nutritional value. ‘Add the prepared celery and fry without browning’ (36) – there is a constant reminder not to overcook the vegetables in order to keep the vitamins intact.
Propaganda posters such as "Doctor Carrot", were introduced to encourage families to eat more vegetables, especially carrots which were easier to cultivate all year round! The poster reminds the war-time viewer of the benefits of carrots, his medical briefcase labelled with the words "Vit A", short for Vitamin A. The caption: "The children's best friend", captivates the younger audience, encouraging them to eat vegetables. 





Images Cited:
Fig 1. from: Museum, Imperial War. Victory in the Kitchen: Wartime Recipes. London: IWM, 2016. Print.








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