Make It Do or Do Without: 1940s Ration Recipes - Retro Housewife Goes Green (2024)

FAQs

What food was rationed in the 1940s? ›

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.

Food was in short supply for a variety of reasons: much of the processed and canned foods was reserved for shipping overseas to our military and our Allies; transportation of fresh foods was limited due to gasoline and tire rationing and the priority of transporting soldiers and war supplies instead of food; imported ...

WAR RATION BOOK FOUR

The book had four colored stamps. Green and blue stamps were used for processed foods such as canned and bottled fruits, juice, vegetables, soup, baby food, frozen food, spreads and dried foods. Red stamps continued to be used for meat. Black "spare" stamps were set up for future changes.

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.

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. Some important items escaped rationing, including fresh fruit and vegetables.

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.

As eggs continued to be rationed, by July of 1942, powdered eggs became available courtesy of the United States. The allowance was one tin, or packet, of dried eggs every two months. One tin was equal to 12 fresh eggs.

During WW2 cheddar cheese was promoted as an alternative to meat because of the rationing. Cheesy propaganda (🤣) was used to get people to go along with the idea. Cheddar was specifically a government-backed product until about 1954 because of the rationing and shortages caused by the war.

Ration cards included stamps with drawings of airplanes, guns, tanks, aircraft, ears of wheat and fruit, which were used to purchase rationed items. The OPA rationed automobiles, tires, gasoline, fuel oil, coal, firewood, nylon, silk, and shoes.

The overall condition of the booklet as well as the stamps have the biggest impact on the resale value, with a large number of these available on the market. With 100+ stamps and in very good condition your 1940's era War Ration Book would have a fair market or resale value of between 25-50 dollars.

What were ration cards used for in WW2? ›

During the war every family was issued a series of ration books. The ration books contained removable stamps good for certain items, like sugar, meat, cooking oil, and canned goods. To buy a rationed item, you had to give your grocer the right stamp.

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.

*I do want to point out that the nomenclature “C” is the follow-up letter after the “A” and “B” type Field Rations and does not stand for “Canned” or “Combat” ration. The post-war canned ration, evolved out of the ww2 C Ration, is the “Ration, Combat, Individual”, but are commonly called C ration as well.

The first procurement of K-rations was made in May 1942. Some believed the K-ration was named after Dr. Keys or was short for "Commando" (as elite troops were the first to receive it). However, the letter "K" was selected because it was phonetically distinct from other letter-name rations.

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.

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.

Sugar was one of the first and longest items rationed, starting in 1942 and ending in 1947. Other foods rationed included coffee, cheese, and dried and processed foods.