Celebrating Heritage British Food & Cooking
Preparations for food rationing during the Second World War began in November 1936 when the Ministry of Food was set up. Registration began in November 1939 and food ration books were issued.
At the beginning of November 1939, families were instructed by the Ministry of Food to register with a retailer. As registration committed a customer to using a particular shop, retailers like Sainsbury’s were anxious to obtain as many registrations as possible.
What Foods Were Rationed?
The rationing system was extremely complex as products were rationed at different times and in different ways (such as weight or product type). Butter, bacon and sugar were rationed in January 1940, meat and preserves in March, tea, margarine and cooking fats in July, and cheese in 1941. Special allowances could be made for expectant mothers, babies and the elderly.
Weekly rations reached their lowest in 1942 when virtually all foods were rationed except vegetables, bread and fish. Fruit was not rationed but was extremely hard to get hold of as most fruit had been imported pre-war.
People were strongly encouraged to grow their own fruit and vegetables, as made famous by the ‘Grow Your Own’ and ‘Dig for Victory’ campaigns and keep livestock like chickens.
In January 1940, every man, woman and child was issued with a government-supplied ration book. These rations books contained coupons, which people could exchange for certain amounts of produce from different shops. Shoppers received 16 coupons per month to spend on any food items they wished.
These could be traded and spent as follows:
- Rice: 8 coupons
- Sardines: 2 coupons
- Sultanas: 8 coupons
- Skimmed milk: 5 coupons
- Currants: 16 coupons
- Baked beans: 2 coupons
- Biscuits (dry): 2 coupons
- Biscuits (sweet): 4 coupons
- Herrings: 2 coupons
- Sultanas: 8 coupons
- Stewed steak: 20 coupons
- Rolled oats: 2 coupons
- Sausage-meat: 12 coupons
- Best Red Salmon: 32 coupons per small tin
Strangely, bread which had not been rationed during the war, was rationed for two years after the war from July 1946.
Rationing continued long after the end of the war – finally ending in 1954 when bacon and meat came off the ration although cheese production remained depressed for decades because Cheddar cheese production had suppressed the manufacture of other types. The UK was the last country involved in the war to stop rationing food.
Financially the war had bankrupted the country and it was saddled with huge war debts which we paid off in annual instalments finally completing on 29th December 2006! The UK had very little money to pay for imported foodstuffs mainly sourced from the USA and the commonwealth so rationing continued until the economy had recovered enough to trade normally.
Ration Books
Few items symbolise life on the home front during the Second World War more than ration books. Rationing impacted people of all ages across British life. It changed the food we ate, how we travelled, and even how we dressed.
No one was exempt from rationing, even the royal family were issued with ration books.
Cooking During Rationing
The Second World War threw up many challenges for British cooks, with rationing and shortages severely limiting their choice of dishes.
Housewives were encouraged to be creative: ‘mock’ recipes included ‘cream’ (margarine, milk and corn flour) and ‘goose’ (lentils and breadcrumbs). Carrots replaced sugar in apricot tarts and were eaten on sticks as lollies. Powdered egg from America became a mainstay item.
Porridge for breakfast, lots of fruits and vegetables for lunch and supper, and less meat and less sugar are just a few of the elements which characterised a typical Second World War diet. Much of the meat produced at home was diverted to the men on the front.
Bread was not rationed but the ‘National Loaf’ was introduced to replace the usual white loaf. This was not to everyone’s taste due to its dark colour
Spam appeared in 1937, gained popularity during the war and is still available today. Foreign meats, such as whale meat and snoek fish from South Africa, were introduced but were not popular.
Wartime Recipes
Ministry of Food Leaflets
During the war, the UK Ministry of Food created a series of 25 leaflets to help the population make the most of what foodstuffs were available and how to make do with alternatives for things that were not.
Was rationing a success?
Rationing ensured the population got its allotted amounts, and therefore a nutritionally reasonable diet. Despite its complexity, queuing and paperwork, many appreciated the fairness and equality of rationing, providing everyone with enough to eat. The prevalence of obesity was negligible while birth weight and infant mortality improved. On the other hand, the lack of food variety became boring and it was prudent to ‘keep in’ with the local grocer, who reserved extras for favoured customers.
The Scientific Basis Of Rationing
The threat of a national food crisis led to the beginning of a top-secret research project by three scientists at the University of Cambridge: Elsie Widdowson, Robert McCance, and Frank Engledow.
The Cambridge researchers aimed to test a diet of British produce that could be sustainable on a national scale and be healthy for each individual. Critically, the diet needed to be highly nutritious to meet the energy requirements of demanding wartime labour, whether on the farm or the factory floor.
The researchers took six volunteers to Yorkshire and tasked them with completing a range of physically demanding exercises (including hiking, cycling, and mountain climbing) on a strictly rationed diet. The Peak District and the Yorkshire Dales provided the perfect testing ground.
The experiment was a remarkable success. The volunteers reported they felt full of energy as they completed the tasks, with no detriment to their overall health. They only reported one side effect: an increase in flatulence!
The researchers shared their findings with the British Government, which kept the results secret until the end of the war. The Government’s rationing was more relaxed than the experiment had been, but it was a relief to learn that the British people could still be fighting fit regardless of the availability of imported food.