Cheer For Lunch Boxes (Recipes For Today WWII) « RecipeCurio.com (2024)

Cheer For Lunch Boxes (Recipes For Today WWII) « RecipeCurio.com (1)Here are pages 34 and 35 of the WWII ration cookbook titled “Recipes For Today” that was published by General Foods Corporation in 1943. This was during the second world war when the United States was experiencing food rations and shortages (sugar, meat, etc.) and homemakers were looking for creative ways to feed their families.

You can view all the pages in this little book by visiting this category: Recipes For Today (WWII), just click a page title to view that section of the book. You’ll find scans of the pages included below (click pictures to view a larger size) as well as a typed version for easy printing.

  • Home-packed lunches must offer good square meals, appealing each day. So don’t forget: 1. A thermos bottle for soup, cocoa, milk, or Postum. 2. These useful sandwich spreads. 3. Changes in breads, whole grain and enriched. 4. Lunch cakes and cookies. 5. Desserts to pack in jars or paper cups. 6. Crisp relishes and fresh fruit.

Cheer for Lunch Boxes

BUTTER-SAVER SPREAD

1/2 pound butter or margarine
1/4 cup cold milk
1 1/4 teaspoons Minute Gelatin or granulated gelatin
3/4 cup hot milk
1/2 teaspoon salt

Let butter stand in warm place. Work with spoon until very soft, but not melted or oily.

Add cold milk to gelatin and mix well. Then add hot milk and salt and stir until gelatin is completely dissolved. Cool to lukewarm. Add to softened butter, a small amount at a time, beating with rotary egg beater after each addition until blended. Store in covered dish in refrigerator. Use within a week. Makes 2 to 2 1/4 cups.

This spread is delicious on bread, rolls, crackers, and in sandwiches. It is not recommended for cooking uses.

One-fourth cup cold water and 3/4 cup hot evaporated milk may be substituted for cold and hot milk.

To double recipe, use 1 pound butter, 1/4 cup cold milk, 1 3/4 cups hot milk, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1 envelope Minute Gelatin.

MAYONNAISE SPREAD

1 tablespoon (1 envelope) Minute Gelatin or granulated gelatin
1 tablespoon cold water
3 tablespoons boiling water
1/2 cup fresh or evaporated milk
1/2 cup mayonnaise or salad dressing
1/2 pound butter or margarine

Soften gelatin in cold water. Add boiling water and stir until gelatin is completely dissolved. Add milk and blend. Add gelatin mixture gradually to mayonnaise, stirring until smooth. Cool until thickened. (Do not chill in ice water.)

Let butter stand in warm place. Work with spoon until very soft, but not melted or oily. Add mayonnaise mixture to softened butter, 1/4 at a time, beating with rotary egg beater after each addition until blended. Store in covered dish in refrigerator. Makes about 2 1/2 cups or enough for 20 sandwiches, 2 tablespoons each.

Savory Spreads for sliced meat or cheese sandwiches, or for spreading on crackers and snacks, may be made by adding special seasonings to Mayonnaise Spread. For each sandwich, use 2 tablespoons of the spread. Add 1 teaspoon drained horse-radish and a little minced parsley; or 1 teaspoon prepared mustard; or 2 teaspoons drained piccalilli; or 2 teaspoons ketchup; or 2 tablespoons minced olives; or 2 teaspoons grated orange rind, mixed with 1 teaspoon granulated sugar and 1 1/2 teaspoons brown sugar.

SANDWICH FILLING COMBINATIONS

For moist, flavor-full sandwich fillings, combine Mayonnaise Spread with other sandwich ingredients. Work the spread to right consistency for spreading, then add ingredients as suggested below, and season to taste. Each mixture makes 2 or 3 sandwiches.

Ham and Cucumber Filling. To 3 tablespoons spread, add 1/2 cup diced cooked ham, 1/4 cup minced cucumber, 1 teaspoon horse-radish. Or omit cucumber and add 1 teaspoon prepared mustard.

Snappy Peanut Butter Filling. To 3 tablespoons spread, add 3 tablespoons peanut butter and 1 1/2 tablespoons chili sauce.

Liverwurst and Celery Filling. To 3 tablespoons spread, add 1/3 cup cut celery, 1/4 cup mashed liverwurst, 1 teaspoon prepared mustard.

Egg and Olive Filling. To 4 tablespoons spread, add 2 hard-cooked eggs, chopped, 1 1/2 tablespoons chopped stuffed olives, 1/2 teaspoon prepared mustard, 1/4 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce.

Cream Cheese, Raisin, and Carrot Filling. To 3 tablespoons spread, add 3 tablespoons cream cheese, 1/4 cup cut raisins, 1/4 cup grated carrot.

American Cheese Filling. To 2 tablespoons spread, add 3/4 cup grated American cheese and 2 tablespoons milk.

Piquant Grape-Nuts Filling. To 4 tablespoons spread, add 1/2 cup Grape-Nuts, 3 finely chopped sweet pickles, and 3 tablespoons chili sauce. Let stand 30 minutes before spreading.

CHILDREN’S DELIGHT

1 cup finely crushed Post’s Corn Toasties
3 tablespoons flour
1/4 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
3 tablespoons melted shortening
1/2 cup raspberry or strawberry jam

Combine Toasties, flour, sugar, and melted shortening. Cover bottom of greased pan, 8×8 inches, with 1/2 of mixture, pressing firmly. Spread with jam and cover top with remaining Toasties mixture; press down lightly. Bake in moderate oven (375° F.) 15 to 20 minutes. Cool. Cut in squares. Makes 36 pieces.

Cheer For Lunch Boxes (Recipes For Today WWII) « RecipeCurio.com (4)

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Cheer For Lunch Boxes (Recipes For Today WWII) «  RecipeCurio.com (2024)

FAQs

What was a typical lunch in WW2? ›

Lunch: Stuffed onions with tomato sauce, cottage cheese salad, enriched bread, rhubarb sauce sweetened with honey, oatmeal cookies, milk and tea.

What did they eat in WW2 for breakfast? ›

An English Breakfast during WWII. Breakfast tended to be porridge with milk if available but some families would use melted lard! OMG. A special treat was toast or bread and jam (we always had jam apparently – my grandmother would make it, but so little sugar, she relied on the fruit.

What food was available in WW2? ›

Rice was mainly for puddings. Some foods such as fruit, vegetables and bread were not rationed in wartime. But shortages meant some foods such as onions and bananas were often unobtainable. People were encouraged to grow their own – leading to many gardens and parks turned over to food production.

What did children eat during WWII? ›

Children's rations were slightly different to adults. Children were entitled to extra food that was considered essential for healthy growth, such as milk and orange juice. The National Milk Scheme provided one pint of milk for every child under 5. Fruit and vegetables were not rationed but were in short supply.

What fruit was available during ww2? ›

You could only buy fresh fruit grown in Britain, such as apples or pears. Fruits that had to come in ships, like bananas, vanished from the shops.

What did poor people eat in WW2? ›

Foods that were rationed included meat, fats, milk, sugar, eggs, and coffee. The amounts given to each were calculated by scientists and statisticians. Interestingly enough – and this might sound contradictory – some people actually ate better during this rationing period than they did before!

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.

What bread did they eat in WW2? ›

The National Loaf was a bread made from wholemeal flour with added calcium and vitamins, introduced in Britain during the Second World War by the Federation of Bakers (FOB).

What did they drink in WW2? ›

A: Water, first and foremost. Also coffee. Some probably drank tea, although tea wasn't established as an “every man's drink” in Germany the way it was in the British Empire. Many Germans — military personnel and civilians alike — also drank beer, wine and “hard liquor” when it was available.

What was the most popular food during WW2? ›

At first, the meals were stews, and more varieties were added as the war went on, including meat and spaghetti in tomato sauce, chopped ham, eggs and potatoes, meat and noodles, pork and beans; ham and lima beans, and chicken and vegetables.

What are C rations called today? ›

Today's combat ration is the MRE. That stands for Meal, Ready-to-Eat. MREs are highly processed, well-packaged food. Tin cans have given way to light-weight plastic.

What is the most fulfilling meal? ›

Some foods can maintain the feeling of fullness for longer than others. The satiety index helps to measure this. Some of the most filling foods include baked potatoes, eggs, and high fiber foods. People sometimes refer to the feeling of fullness as satiety.

What did soldiers eat for lunch in ww2? ›

Also known as the 14-Man Ration, the 'compo' ration came in a wooden crate and contained tinned and packaged food. A typical crate might include tins of bully beef, spam, steak and kidney pudding, beans, cheese, jam, biscuits, soup, sausages, and margarine.

What did Union soldiers eat for lunch? ›

Typical fare during the Civil War was very basic. Union soldiers were fed pork or beef, usually salted and boiled to extend the shelf life, coffee, sugar, salt, vinegar, and sometimes dried fruits and vegetables if they were in season.

What was lunch like in the 1940s? ›

Sure there was meat, potatoes, Jello, mayonnaise, and desserts, but, in practice, if we are to believe our mentors, wise 1940s eating included a whole lot of fruits and vegetables, too.

What did the Americans eat during ww2? ›

Americans used their ration cards and stamps to take their meager share of household staples including meat, dairy, coffee, dried fruits, jams, jellies, lard, shortening, and oils. Americans learned, as they did during the Great Depression, to do without.

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