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The Standard Rations

I read with great interest the article on this site from the Derby Telegraph Bygones WWII: Cabbage patch army beat the rationing blues during wartime[[1]] Eric Swales memories of that era and how people had to manage on food rations got me thinking just what sort of meals were made then – what recipes were created using only the standard rations?

I found the following details on what the standard rations were. The quantities are per week unless otherwise stated:

Food rations

1s 2d (approximately 1 lb 3 oz or 540 g) of meat (offal or sausages weren't rationed)

4 oz (113 g) bacon or ham

3 pints (1.7 l) of milk per week or 1 packet of milk powder per month

2 oz (57 g) butter

2 oz (57 g) margarine

2 oz (57 g) fat or lard

2 oz (57 g) loose tea (teabags were not used widely in the UK)

1 egg per week or 1 packet (makes 12 “eggs”) of egg powder per month

2 oz (57 g) jam

3 oz (85 g) sugar

1 oz (28 g) cheese (vegetarians were allowed a bigger cheese ration, as they gave up their meat ration)

3 oz (85 g) sweets

2 lb (907g) onions (onions were only rationed between 1942-1944)

plus, 16 "points" per month for tinned and dried food.

Non-food rations

67 (later 48) “points” for clothing per year (e.g. 2 points for a pair of knickers, 5 points for a man's shirt, 5 points for a pair of shoes, 7 points for a dress and 26 points for a man's suit). Clothing rationing points could be used for wool, cotton and household textiles. People had extra points for work clothes, such as overalls for factory work. No points were required for second-hand clothing and fur coats, but their prices were fixed. Before rationing lace and frills were popular on knickers but these were soon banned so material could be saved.

16 oz (454 g) of soap per month (household soap, beauty soap, and soap flakes, but not shaving soap)

How on earth would we manage today?

Woolton Pie

I found the following recipe which was created by Chef of the Savoy hotel and named after Lord Woolton, head of the Ministry of Food.

A tasty dish of vegetables made from the rations of the day

Woolton Pie

Ingredients:

1lb diced potatoes

1lb cauliflower

1lb diced carrots

1lb diced swede

3 spring onions

1 teaspoon vegetable extract

1 tablespoon oatmeal

A little chopped parsley

Method:

Cook everything together for 10 mins with just enough water to cover, stirring often to prevent it sticking to the pan. Let the mixture cool. Spoon into a pie dish, sprinkle with chopped parsley. Cover with a crust of potatoes or wholemeal pastry. Bake in a moderate oven until golden brown. Serve hot with gravy.

Mydish

I wonder if this was a recipe that Derbyshire people used during that time? I’ve posted this recipe on the new website Mydish [2] under the Derbyshire group www.mydish.co.uk/derbyshire [3] and would love to know of anymore Wartime recipes that Derbyshire folk used.

Do you have any memories of Wartime recipes? If so please take a look at the Mydish site and add them – I think that there is an argument for these sorts of dishes to be a much healthier option for us than the food we eat today.

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County:  Derbyshire

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