Food History

Today and tomorrow are two parts of the same post. I was entirely fascinated by this particular book and thought you might be, too, but I wanted to give you a decent excerpt.

Writing during wartime (even at the tail end or just after – in the case of today’s book, obviously the preparation was done during the war) has a different feel to other writing. A country’s consciousness can change or there might be some restricted ingredients.

There have been many studies of this as regards to World War II, but very few relatively of how World War I affected the US. Published in 1918, C Houston and Alberta M Goudiss’ Foods that will Win the War and How to Cook Them is a lovely source for such a study.

The introductory bits are full of laudable intentions and how to translate those into changed eating habits. These days changes to eating habits are often about us and our health, sometimes about our carbon footprint, and very seldom how we can meet the nation’s military needs.

I’ve put it behind a cut, simply because (even cut in half) it’s long. I strongly recommend it as fascinating reading. The advice on breadmaking is particularly interesting. (I wish I knew why my writing was so formal today!)

FOREWORD

Food will win the war, and the nation whose food resources are best conserved will be the victor. This is the truth that our government is trying to drive home to every man, woman and child in America. We have always been happy in the fact that ours was the richest nation in the world, possessing unlimited supplies of food, fuel, energy and ability; but rich as these resources are they will not meet the present food shortage unless every family and every individual enthusiastically co-operates in the national saving campaign as outlined by the United States Food Administration.

The regulations prescribed for this saving campaign are simple and easy of application. Our government does not ask us to give up three square meals a day - nor even one. All it asks is that we substitute as far as possible corn and other cereals for wheat, reduce a little our meat consumption and save sugar and fats by careful utilization of these products.

There are few housekeepers who are not eager to help in this saving campaign, and there are few indeed who do not feel the need of conserving family resources. But just how is sometimes a difficult task. This book is planned to solve the housekeeper’s problem. It shows how to substitute cereals and other grains for wheat, how to cut down the meat bill by the use of meat extension and meat substitute dishes which supply equivalent nutrition at much less cost; it shows the use of syrup and other products that save sugar, and it explains how to utilize all kinds of fats. It contains 47 recipes for the making of war breads; 64 recipes on low-cost meat dishes and meat substitutes; 54 recipes for sugarless desserts; menus for meatless and wheatless days, methods of purchasing - in all some two hundred ways of meeting present food conditions at minimum cost and without the sacrifice of nutrition.

Not only have its authors planned to help the woman in the home, conserve the family income, but to encourage those saving habits which must be acquired by this nation if we are to secure a permanent peace that will insure the world against another onslaught by the Prussian military powers.

A little bit of saving in food means a tremendous aggregate total, when 100,000,000 people are doing the saving. One wheatless meal a day would not mean hardship; there are always corn and other products to be used. Yet one wheatless meal a day in every family would mean a saving of 90,000,000 bushels of wheat, which totals 5,400,000,000 lbs. Two meatless days a week would mean a saving of 2,200,000 lbs. of meat per annum. One teaspoonful of sugar per person saved each day would insure a supply ample to take care of our soldiers and our Allies. These quantities mean but a small individual sacrifice, but when multiplied by our vast population they will immeasurably aid and encourage the men who are giving their lives to the noble cause of humanity on which our nation has embarked.

The Authors.