How Food Was Rationed in Wartime Britain | Wartime Farm | Absolute History

[@alexandersmall7380]

When my great aunt was a kid a farmer would give her a spoonful of molasses on the way to school for the first weekday of each month in exchange for bringing the newspaper from town, when the war was over she was given a mason jar full of molasses as a gift.

[@ritageorge8748]

In 1919 Boston had a shoreside accident the flooded the streets with the brown goo&on a hot hot day the distant smell can still be had

[@thebutterytoster5721]

As someone who has lived in Boston… it just sorta smells like shit and cigarettes lol, not molasses:/

[@Oleanderlullaby]

@@thebutterytoster5721 what about when it’s really really hot

[@Oleanderlullaby]

@@thebutterytoster5721 oh it was also the north end not all of Boston so the next time it’s super duper hot out go to the north end then come back and tell us 😂😂

[@eddiesroom1868]

47:39 cute freaking shoes too

[@oliviasayshi7517]

As far as being an historian with specialties, being an expert on the war time black market is by far one of the coolest.

[@--enyo--]

I love how he shows up looking the stereotype. XD

[@matthewcox7985]

@@--enyo-- Say what you like, the clothing styles of the 1940s were pretty snappy!

[@ritageorge8748]

I really liked the fun he seemed to have&the little laugh as Ruth called him wicked man

[@josefinbjork1086]

I know the Black market caust a lot of problems but it sounds pretty cool when you hear about it

[@andreav83]

Separating the petrol from the red dye reminds me of how many poor people in South Africa buy methylated spirits (often dyed blue) and strain it through bread not only to remove the colour, but part of the very high alcohol percentage. Also, I reckon many people took advantage of the black market because of poverty. My grandfather was once a bootlegger (in the 1950s? I'll have to ask my mom). He worked for the railway and had three daughters to feed, so he sold alcohol to Black people, who weren't allowed to buy alcohol during Apartheid.

[@karenebarker9244]

This is my second time watching all of series seasons. Absolutely love the style of this production. No fake drama and reality TV garbage just genuine historical research for grown ups. I don't waste my time with movie stars and sports stars acting like they have traveled back in time. Even the shows with families living lives from of the past add too much melodrama which lessens the value of the shows. This series is absolutely perfect

[@skontheroad]

Interesting. I found the Turn Back Time series absolutely charming. Not too overdone, comparing their modern lives, filled with electronics based past times, to the non-computerized decades that they had to live thru, in an overly dramatic fashion. I found it to be very believable! And exceptionally enjoyable--both seasons! I even learned a thing or two!

[@jaeboogie2786]

ok Karen

[@iamreborn3463]

Need life

[@voidhunter2800]

@@skontheroad I still rewatch turn back time here and there, some of the things showed i wish we still had today.

[@sandrakennedy4877]

My Uncle when he was 10 years old in WW2 would scour the beaches for dead bodies. He would get tuppenny per body that he tagged and notified the authorities about. He told me this 40 years ago, and also that he had made just over 8 pounds doing it. It really made me aware of the value of life and how hard it must have been then.

[@qelizabeth_i_5013]

American here, how many pennies were/are in a pound?

[@sandrakennedy4877]

@@qelizabeth_i_5013 Back then it would have been about 240 pennies to a pound that changed around 1970 to I think 100 hundred pennies per pound. So it was a lot of bodies :( over a 4 - 5 year period. Sorry I can't be more accurate, I'm Aussie. Most of those bodies were due to sinking of ships in the Channel, and also bodies thrown overboard, others were due to suicide.

[@dresden_slowjog]

@@qelizabeth_i_5013 This 10 year old boy found at least 960 bodies, how horrible. He was given a bit over 8 pounds in the 1940s so we must use the old conversion scheme. There were 240 pennies to a pound, according to projectbritain.com/moneyold.htm so 120*8 pounds...

[@noahway13]

Now, everyone has to get a trophy for anything they do.

[@sandrakennedy4877]

@@dresden_slowjog I have just seen this, ty for the math's, not my best subject. And you have made me see my uncle with more compassion, rather than feeling that he was a heartless man. I know now how he spoke of bodies as being nothing.. just a lump of flesh. It would be heartbreaking for any 10 year old to see that many deaths. So thank you. for making him more human to me.

[@joer8854]

My grandfather was in the merchant marines after being kicked out of the army during the war because his mother informed the military that he had lied about his age. His ship was sunk during the war and his hearing and body were severely damaged. He was in pain for the rest of his life. Even today when I had a conversation with a man who was a young boy in England said that young boys (they really were) who joined the merchant marines were some of the most important people in the war and that those in England who lived through the war were incredibly appreciative and understood the sacrifice they made. These young teens who were all 16 or younger had a casualty rate of 1 in 7. After the war, the Merchant Marines were told that they were workers and that they had not made any sacrifice. They were told that what they did, didn't matter. That man said that's not how those in England saw it and said without men like my grandfather there wasn't any war. No bullets, no bombs, no food, no war. I"m incredibly proud of my grandfather. At 15 which he was when he joined the marines I was hanging out with my friends, playing and my biggest worry was bullies at school. My grandfather was shooting planes out of the sky trying to protect his ship as long as possible till the U-boats inevitably sunk it. I'm glad he's finally at peace and the pain he lived with through the rest of his life is finally past. RIP Papo. Love you and miss you.

[@jandrews6254]

Joe R imagine being a woman during the war, working at unfamiliar heavy labour on a farm, or at a munitions factory, or flying new and unarmed aircraft to airfields to be used in the war. Or being field nurses, under attack themselves, working,to save the men who were injured, with incredibly inadequate supplies. Imagine being told at the end, ok dearie back you go home and make babies to restock the population, and being told that their contributions were nothing, that the real heroes were those, only those, who were on the front line shooting at the other side. Being told, no, women aren’t suitable for this or that job (any more at least) because they’re female, and men won’t work with them, or won’t take instruction from them, or they’d be a distraction. What a sad indictment of a society

[@NoNeedNoGreed]

The same fate happened in Norway. As Norway at the start of the war had one of the world's largest merchant shipping fleets, with many boys and men serving, after the invasion of Norway, the many ships that were out of German controlled zones were requisitioned to be part of the war effort. Estimates are around 1 in 10 of the sailors died. But after the war they would not get recognition in the same way, say the resistance fighters did.

[@ShadowDragon8685]

@@jandrews6254 See, if they acknowledged that yes, a female factory worker was in fact doing the work that the men were, they might have to stare down the ugly truth that she wasn't being PAID as much as the lad with a pair of bollocks instead of ovaries was. And that they couldn't have, could they? Women being paid the same wages for doing the same job as men? UNTHINKABLE! /s It's the same fucking pattern we see all over; the population with some power exploits another population to gain more power, and tells the exploited population they're worthless.

[@djosearth3618]

Thanks for his, your families and everyone else then sacrifices. _War is hell_ so often fought and died for by the furthest classes from members of a society that had decided to engage in such wars.. :| *-RESPECT *

[@joer8854]

@@ShadowDragon8685 I am actually happy that we were taught and shown how women served the war effort in school in Canada. Women actually got recognition, which they absolutely deserved. It's a shame that's not the case everywhere. If you type, "Women in factories WWII" into google you will see tons of pictures and articles and historical information about it.

[@NukeNukedEarth]

I think that explains why my grandma uses so much butter all the time, she grew up during wartime and so butter was a luxury, and she really, really likes it

[@happycook6737]

My 85 year old dad is the same, only butter and lots of it.

[@kdavis450]

I love (real butter) and use it a lot but I was born 35+ years after WW2 and I don't refer my parents using real butter. My dad is still alive and 87

[@Kim-eh2ov]

Was raised with the saying butta makes it betta😂

[@skippymagrue]

My grandma would tell me about taking sugar beets to the factory on frozen November mornings in Utah. She was a little girl and would have to sit up on top of a really tall wagon and the horses would break the wheels away from the frozen ground. She said it scared her to death, but she was the oldest and her dad needed her.

[@ritageorge8748]

It's really too bad as I sit in my 70's how many of these wonderful & most likely accurate little life chores have gone by the wayside-How if we had more of-You! just speaking-10yrs ago when no1cared of history just 'my Space'&Google- even then-a twist towards what was'in'would pick&choose facts&who listened-But those like your antie,my mom&her pals would look how shortages during'20'+ drew panic-lies cus we couldn't take scary truths-Thank you-Ubrought bk memories👍💐

[@vonniebunny8049]

5:36 Oh my god poor Henry's face when they're talking about putting him down! brilliant editing chaps.

[@kathychildress18]

I'd be jailed before I killed my pets

[@MichaelAndersxq28guy]

❤

[@ABonRMS]

My mother took classes at the University in "Food Preservation" near the Naval Air Station where my Father was stationed during WWII until he went overseas. She did say she was encouraged to take the classed but never mention why, or I never listened. I am enjoying the series every evening, THANKS.

[@exlibrisas]

Those hosts just put their hands on everything without fear. Glad to see this instead of glamorious shine.

[@ritageorge8748]

I'm with you-over 20yrs or more here watching tape stop&go back to a finished item you yourself know how long it will really take&add more time for lipstick&eyebrows&change of clothes-do watch Ruth bash that hammer🔨👍

[@valeriataylor8337]

because they are not the hosts/actors we are used to. they are real historians and archeologists. they value the work

[@barbarasturtevant8327]

Yes,, absolutely agree

[@jexl1059]

With how many historical periods Ruth has been in, i can only imagine her daughter has a full collection of historical clothing too xD i love seeing them together

[@Tsiri09]

Imagine being a professor who can not only teach history but say "I lived in this period. I KNOW what it was like."

[@royslapped4463]

@@Tsiri09 She is super lucky. I would love to role play the way they do.

[@eddiesroom1868]

She so cool, 13:00 ish sugar beets I need to know more

[@eddiesroom1868]

@@royslapped4463 I'd like to play a "role" with those boys.....

[@royslapped4463]

@@eddiesroom1868 R u a girl? Why u saying it like that? lol

[@lesleydecker1015]

I wish my mum was still alive she’d especially love this. She was in the Women Land Army. She worked at a large farm. She’s told me of all of her adventures. She got along with all the young women. Learned how to farm and enjoyed it.

[@vicysand1946]

The haybox is wonderfull....my Granny used to cook rice in a other wonderfull way....bring rice and water to boil and pop it into the bed - the heavy feather beds kept the heat too. And voila the rice was ready in a few hours just in time for lunch

[@bryku]

What I find interesting about this, is the contrast between this and America. With how rural America was in some parts, things like canning and preserving food was almost a requirement. America was large, there was no point in selling apples when it takes 5 days to get to market. So jams and jellies were almost a requirement if you wanted to make any money. Which explains the whole Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwiches. It was cheap since peanuts would have gone bad anyway's and it could last for long periods of time. Making it a great product to ship and store. You see this concept affect many other parts of early American life. Either easy-to-make foods on a farm like cotton cheese or foods that could be stored become common. You can even see it in newer foods like powdered drinks. It is much easier to preserve and ship a dry powder than a gallon of concentrated liquid.

[@Iceechibi]

It’s really interesting that us Americans still use some of these methods today. Since the start of 2020, there has been a surge in substance gardening for yourself/family and canning things (though, there have always been canners). My mother and father both grew up dirt poor in different parts of the country and only meeting when they were both stationed in West Berlin in the 1980s. However, my mother and father could make a dollar stretch and my mother taught me how to can. Even though I’m only 25, I like learning from old resources on preservation. Also, you mention the peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. It’s funny how that is still a cheap and semi-nutritious staple to have in your average American household!! I probably still eat at least 2 of them a week for breakfast or lunch or a snack with some milk. I do make my own bread, so it’s definitely a treat.

[@lyndavonkanel8603]

Speaking of pb and j sandwiches, a staple of my childhood and everybody else's in the U.S., a foreign exchange student from Germany who became my friend thought I was crazy to eat that. He'd never heard of it and I'd never heard of anyone who hadn't. Aren't cultural exchanges interesting?

[@eddiesroom1868]

I know, this show is nothing like what we have in the US. I love these, they made it actually interesting, and Peter makes me feel warm at night... Alex is too gamey

[@eddiesroom1868]

@@Iceechibi Ya it's about metabolism and human behavior these things don't really change.

[@wendystumpf1274]

@@lyndavonkanel8603 9

[@ChristopherHemsworthCreative]

When they discussed "what's to be done about Henry" for a quick moment around 5:06 I almost began screaming at the screen "NO! DON'T GET RID OF HENRY!! I LOVE HIM!!!" Okay fine, I DID. I DID scream at the screen, OKAY?!

[@Aparna2119]

I've paused there in fear of watching any further... it's so hard to think of the tough decisions people had to make then, and how we spoil our pets now!!!

[@thegracklepeck]

It doesn't help that my own dog's name is Henry 😭 I heard it was potentially worse in the cities. People did legitimately choose to have their pets killed for fear of not being able to feed them or of them making too much noise and attracting bombs.

[@noahway13]

Are you gay?

[@cmd406]

Me too! I especially love border collies!

[@MichaelAndersxq28guy]

I'd go to prison before I put down my dog.

[@DClifeMr]

Henry was a bit nervous when they’re talking about reducing the number of mouths to feed... glad they decided for him to stay :))

[@indy_go_blue6048]

"He's the smartest member of this group." Had to LOL at that one.

[@phillipburke9522]

5:35 Henry: Wait you guys are just joking right???

[@ritageorge8748]

What a great addition he was&for an 'actor' dog he seemed to relish fitting right in;getting his fur as dirty in most scenes as Peters cuffs&pants

[@indy_go_blue6048]

I'm inspired to go online and see what I can grow in my garden this winter. Of course Midwestern winters are quite a bit harsher than those of most of Great Britain.

[@SessaV]

I'm a detroiter, so my grandma was a Rosey the riveter, she worked on bombers and was a switch board operator. My grandpa was a tank driver in the Canadian army. My other grandpa couldn't fight because he was color blind, so he worked in a Detroit steel mill, and my other grandma was just a teen, staying home and having babies. Her parents were bootleggers during proabation, which was hilarious since my great grandpa was a Detroit cop. (My dad was also a Detroit cop, but his parents were the other grandparents). It's interesting seeing WW2 from a farmers perspective.

[@russcattell955i]

My Grandpa had what is called a reserved occupation. He was team leader in the Bedford commercial vehicle factory, in England. They made Army trucks & Churchill tanks. All his men went to war so he trained & supervised women to operate machinery in the transmission works. He was also in the Home guard, so called "dad's army"

[@SessaV]

@@russcattell955i I wonder how he felt about women coming to work for him? I'm always curious about the mindsets of different eras. I know here in America the president met with the guy who ran the Packard plant? (Don't quote me on which plant is was) and showed him a picture of a tank, asking if he could make it. The owner said "let me ask my girls, they'll know. " and the president was shocked that he had to ask the opinion of women. He explained that it was his girls who were building everything and who would have to retool the plant. He asked, they said they could do it, but needed 48 hours to refit the plant, and pointed out part of the plant still weren't done being built and had no roof, and it was winter in Michigan (so deadly cold), so they brought in 2 locomotives to act as portable furnaces. We still build tanks in that building to this day. It's pretty awesome that your grandpa was in charge of a similar thing over in England

[@russcattell955i]

@@SessaV He has been dead a ling time now, but he was a well mannered, easy going man yet fiercely competitive at sport. I guess he took it as a sporting challenge to succeed.

[@lisahinton9682]

@@SessaV Perfect comment until the annoying and over-used (and incorrectly-used) "awesome" at the end. FIND A NEW ADJECTIVE. There are tens of thousands of adjectives in the English language. FIND A NEW ONE!!!!!!!!

[@lyndavise971]

My great-grandparents, my grandparents, my parents, myself, and now my daughter all canned. My daughter has all the canning jars left from all of us. Some of them are from the first half of the 1800's. They are quite valuable to antique collectors.

[@missadel20]

Ruth Goodman always makes history come to life and I absolutely adore her! The wartime pharmacy was incredible

[@Lady_dromeda]

THOSE PIGLETS ARE ADORABLE

[@JohnLeePettimoreIII]

And tasty too, I'd bet.

[@frank6842]

@@JohnLeePettimoreIII yes you're so cool.

[@kathychildress18]

I'd be holding back I couldn't kill all my animals. Anyone nosing around would face a shotgun

[@That_Bender]

My grandmother (my Nanny) would tell hours of stories of her time in The Land Army. From being the first in the county to drive a Ford (not Fordson) tractor, the Italian and German POW's employed on the farm and the one bull that would chase her out of the pasture. I remember her skill with horses was unmatched by most. I really, truly appreciate the attention given to the Land Girls. What a time to be alive...

[@Cinderbloom]

Huh. My grandmother actually still makes a rice kinda pudding in a similar way as the hay box, but using the bed and the duvets. Probably an evolution of the concept.

[@maxdecphoenix]

well i mean the concept was not entirely foreign, it works the same way as a cobb oven which people used since the dawn of civilization. You take a cobb oven, burn wood fuel, the earthen materials absorb all that energy and get hot, the coals are raked out, dough/pastery put in, close the door and the trapped heat radiates to cook the food. They both work by insulating long-wave radiation by some means to maintain a higher temperature for an extended period. The only difference is the material used for insulation.

[@ritageorge8748]

use pillows&quilts under&over to rise my Italian bread dough-pieces of linen or Terry microwaved--1st( just bit warm) cuts the time

[@b.elzebub9252]

You use what you have available. I guess getting hay isn't as practical these days. And why would you, if you can just use something you have at hand?

[@mrswachita]

My mother in south America did something similar with the rice. After it boiled in the stove, she would cover the pot with newspaper and blankets.

[@MotherClucker6]

I've made a haybox before but using instead a laundry basket and a lot of blankets & towels. It worked beautifully! I cooked many pots of beans this way. Heated the beans to a rolling boil on the stove then insulated in the laundry basket for the day. The food comes out appearing to be uncooked but is perfectly tender. You won't get a gravy this way, but that's okay when you're trying to conserve fuel.

[@pollyg562]

75 years on a i got a huge lump in my throat listening to the crew of the JARVIS BAY. its a bit late but thankyou

[@olamartin701]

I love that there is something called "The Peterborough Farm Machinery Preservation Society".

[@mikkelnpetersen]

38:16 Nettle makes ok soup, not a good everyday meal, but it's edible.

[@indy_go_blue6048]

It makes a nice tea, sweetened with honey. IIRC it's high in Vit-C as well.

[@snazzypazzy]

I actually really like the taste of nettle soup. But it's best with the young leaves, early spring. Boil it up with some potato and leaks. And it has lot's of vitamins and minerals.

[@scouttyra]

a good sauce as well, goes great with fish fingers and potatoes

[@cruisepaige]

I’m crying about the lady Amelia. What a wonderful woman. Did not want to make history but she did.

[@alistairmcelwee7467]

Silage has to be in an enclosed space, like a silo, so that it heats up and ferments. Silage is fermented plant matter. We used to have a three-sided pit built into a bank with a tarpaulin on the top and an electric fence in front to prevent the cattle from accessing it. When it came time when it was fermented and feed was getting scarce, we’d move the electric fence into the silage pit a foot every day or two. This controlled access. Things could go wrong if fungus got into the fermentation. Becomes poisonous. One year, it killed 20 of our cattle. My father was beside himself.

[@maxdecphoenix]

They appear to have matted the greens down with another layer of straw. You can see the brown straw on the top of the clamp when they are putting the roof on. This had the effect of using a sacraficial layer to compact the upper layer of ensiled material, assisting the anaerobic conditions. While they used the corrugated iron (which looks to actually be a disassembled Anderson shelter from the period, so I'm surprised they destroyed it) to shed water. I'd have liked to see them use scrap boards or panels weighed with bricks to further compress.

[@dotcassilles1488]

My dads favourite treat when he was a kid was a spoon of molasses. My mum said when they first met he kept a jar of molasses and a spoon in the fridge and he would raid it in the middle of the night when he had to get up and check the sheep in lambing season.

[@JohnRodriguesPhotographer]

Victory gardens were used on both sides of the pond in rural and open spaces in urban settings.

[@jpp9876]

Farmers pretty much have to feed two head of beef for everyone that goes to market. The smaller the animal the higher net protein is produced per lb of feed they need. Often sheep will have 2 lambs per season. Pigs can have 6 to 12. Chickens can lay almost one egg per day which can be hatched. Rabbits and chickens can produce more meat per lb of feed than most other animals.

[@indy_go_blue6048]

I found that hay box absolutely brilliant. I like using our slow cooker; it'd be interesting to give the box a try. However, I think those cans should've been completely submerged; I know that's necessary in home (jar) canning. (I found a similar series called "Wartime Kitchen & Garden" here in which the hostess uses the same canning technique, and she did submerge the cans.)

[@katherinek2709]

Yeah I cringed at that.

[@jeffzimmerman2412]

Yeah that made my OCD go off to.....

[@animequeen78]

I have a canning kit myself so I can preserve foods from my garden

[@indy_go_blue6048]

@@animequeen78 Aluminum cans like Ruth's, or Mason jars? I've never seen a canning outfit like the WI is using.

[@lisahinton9682]

@indy_go_blue60 They may have added more water after the camera panned away. I am going to believe they added more water! hahahaha ... It bugged me, too!

[@hippymommy87]

The land girls have always fascinated me. Probably because I grew up farming with my grandparents and great grandparents who had a family farm. In both families there were only 3 boys and 9 girls. So the girls worked right along with the boys. When it was time to gather the hay when we were done we always got watermelon. My great grandfather could tell you the weather for the next 3 days from nature alone. I however can only tell when it will rain. My mechanical knowledge always blows people minds and I say I grew up on a farm and there is no AAA for tractors. Our family's 1951 Farmall super C (which my grandfather chose when he was 15) is still in the family and runs like a top.

[@janettebraam9396]

My mum used to save the top of the milk to make butter. My grandad would shoot rabbits on various farms to keep their population down he also gave them to loads of families in the area. He was the headmaster at the local school

[@gianna5869]

Ruth is one lady that can say she has been alive through every decade for well over 100 years!

[@sarahnixdorf1]

My grandparents grew up during 1930/1940's, they understood food rationing, not wasting food, creating recipes. And saving food money. It was 15cents for car fuel money. You had to make a stick of butter last a wk.

[@meowlody]

My heart skipped a beat when they were considering getting rid of the dog

[@lucygray6162]

I would have stopped watching.

[@erintoal2018]

Me too. Not Henry!

[@letoubib21]

Yeah. But at least they didn't want to eat it. . . *;-)*

[@berzerkerzero2636]

I laughed so hard, cause during the time they were talking about it, the dog looked really nervous. Clever editing, I know, but it was hilarious.

[@jennifermcdonald5432]

meowlody I felt exactly the same! I can’t imagine how hard it must have been for those poor people who had to actually cull their precious dogs, as well as all the other animals. Those adorable piglets!

[@Erin-rg3dw]

I'm surprised they were so anti-sheep, especially considering sheep can do well in places that aren't usable for growing. I suppose it was probably dependent on where the farm was, but especially in rocky areas, sheep are more adaptable. They also produce two goods - meat and wool.

[@Corristo89]

When Ruth started showing how little meat people got per week, it became clear to me how much of a luxury a dog really was. The pet could really become a competitor for very scarce and prized meat and I can understand that many chose to put them down. It was war and there was little room for luxuries.

[@Erin-rg3dw]

Tradionally most people fed their dogs whatever was leftover (average people, not wealthy). The concept of pet food is pretty recent. Cats would've probably fed themselves.

[@mukkaar]

@@Erin-rg3dw Yep, Cats were and still are pest control thus extremely useful. While dogs are mans best friend and worker, cats live in symbiosis with farms and early communities. Well until recently as we now have engineering, infrastructure etc to take care of that in places people live, but cats are still useful in farms.

[@loisruthstrom8143]

@@mukkaar People still need cats to control mouse populations, even in cities!

[@pollyg562]

a week ago i watched a video of this show but it was congested into a 5minutes of the highlights, i looked everywhere to find the full show with no luck and today i find this in my recommendations, wow, i think everybody under 80 needs to watch this so we get a better idea of the sacrifices of our greatest generation

[@tiffanyr9975]

these farm series have been a godsend! i'm happy to have something so very fun yet educational and wholesome to watch and listen to throughout my day. lately i've prayed for more self-discipline and focus in my life, and these shows have inspired simplicity and productivity in my everyday. thank you Ruth, Peter, and Alex, and everyone who made these shows possible. still a huge blessing 10+ years later

[@5zakuro]

Somehow i never realised how loudly baby piglets scream 😭 when that tiny thing started wailing its lungs out and WOULDN'T STOP..... I NEARLY DIED LAUGHING

[@stanlygirl5951]

Piglets really, really don't like to be picked up. From a pig farmer's granddaughter.

[@randallreed9048]

I have seen a lot of your excellent programming from Medieval to Victorian, Edwardian, and even WW2. Although all the presenters are knowledgeable and play their roles with distinction, I have always been deeply impressed with the skill, courage, and historical knowledge displayed by Ms. Ruth Goodman. Is there anything she won't try, or demonstrate, or perform flawlessly all the while bringing to life the women from the time period on display? I have experienced a lot of Living History actors and artisans here in Charleston, South Carolina, USA and Ruthe can stand shoulder to shoulder with the very best of them. Thank you Ruth!

[@beverlycrusher9713]

a majority of the sugar we have on the table to day comes from the sugar beet, though we still use the sugar cane, the beet is the largest producer of sugar today. one thing about cans back then, was the cans were soldered together instead of being welded or folded together, the lead had a tendency to leak in to the food in to the cans and that is why eating canned foods was seen as unhealthy a lot of the time, but a necessity.

[@ColtGColtG]

I wonder how many farmers snuck a little of their harvest off for their own use.

[@csvega]

Of course they did

[@ColtGColtG]

@@csvega of course they did but its something you don't hear about even in cheeky little stories. It it would be admitting a great shame.

[@angelwhispers2060]

Likely bloody all of them just to a greater or lesser extent. But never the same thing two harvests in a row to make sure no one ever caught on. One of the major things they skip over is all the things that were never rationed like bread and beer and that the farmers could keep a bit of their dairy milk for making cheese. But goat cheese was never rationed cuz you can keep a goat or two on some scrub land that's no good for your Dairy herd. Then you have milk and cheese for your Farm Workers. Goat's milk didn't keep long enough and goats cheese was never popular enough in Britain to make any difference to the overall health of the nation so no one was asked to produce it.

[@judyreynolds305]

They worked harder and longer hours to farm than most other jobs. They needed calories, fighting for your country is the hardest job and then farming is the next hardest and dangerous, and fisherman the same.

[@jessa5388]

Wow, speaking with someone who knew the woman you devoted so much time to studying. What a special moment for Dr. Brassey.

[@ahulaga8466]

we still use a lot of these same machines and motors on our farm. it often seems like we are still living in the 50s here sometimes 😅

[@strawberryjam3670]

Ah yes the haybox, my grandmother told me about that. She even continued that practice by wrapping her rice pudding in her bedsheets and newspapers to slowly let it cook.

[@coragrossnickle8185]

The bright red comb on the chicken is more likely a sign that she was due to lay. Also, the "callous" on her foot was bumblefoot, which is an infection, not an indication of an older bird.

[@lisahinton9682]

@Cora Grossnickle Thank you, Cora! I KNEW that guy didn't know what he was talking about, and was just winging it! What a dufus, yattering on like he's some sort of authority! Thank you for letting us know what, instinctively, I knew was amiss.

[@kuzadupa185]

When we see the two boys "foraging" for metals, i could imagine them driving at night into an actual war time factory making the fuselage for the fighters or bombers and taking some home, all while believing they are just "foraging" and even telling Ruth when she asked about all that metal "how incredibly lucky they got" in the woods!

[@dansumigawa1414]

My parents were released from Manzanar concentration camp to go to Work in South Bend Indiana for the family that owned “Alka Seltzer” ! Although rationing was in effect, the rich didn’t suffer at all! Once or twice a week, after midnight, my parents opened the basement doors to receive clandestine deliveries of meat, eggs butter etc! New tires, nylons, items unattainable to the masses were obtained without coupons! Cash payments, no receipts! As butler and maid, my parents kept their mouths shut or back to Amache Colorado! The rich never suffer!

[@Lavendermoon2084]

I'm hooked! I love Absolute History, and especially these 3. 🖤 from 🇨🇦

[@dorianphilotheates3769]

5:35 - Henry is like, WTF? 🐶

[@scottkaercher1733]

My grandpa was building fighter planes during ww2. He started building planes when he was 20yrs old. My grandpa was born in 1900 and he died at 90yrs old. My grandpa told me stories about how food was rationed during the war. My grandma and grandpa had 12 children and it was hard to feed them during war time.

[@JohnRodriguesPhotographer]

HMS Jervis Bay, basically a cruise liner with guns took on a German battleship. Look up the battle to see the sacrifices made at sea during the war.

[@juliantotriwijaya9208]

I mistake the thumbnail, I thought it was our fashion historian MEME mom XD lol

[@WatermelonPeppermint]

bless her our meme mom

[@francespowell6923]

I think she'd enjoy this, though.

[@jamestew5075]

You can why the ‘all in this together’ creates such fond memories for the Brits despite the horrors of the war.

[@erbearthgarden3658]

I would give anything to meet Ruth and buy her a drink. She is truly amazing and fascinating.

[@havaoren2468]

if you are not sure how to make a feather duster, I'll tell you. I remember how my grandmother made them in the early 1950's. She didn't pluck the feathers from the tip of the wing, she just cut it off, feathers and all, and let it dry. What resulted was a sort of brush used for dusting or for cleaning away the bread crumbs from the tabletop. In German she called it Flederwisch. You can see an example in the German Wikipedia.

[@MagdaleneDivine]

This is the times my grandmum grew up in...its cool to see how she was growing up. She met my granddad during a bombing in London.. The blitz I couldn't remember. He was a army sergeant. They had the most romantic relationship ever. But I can see how experiencing a long term traumatic event could cause them to bond like that. And my grandmum was cheerfully pragmatic.

[@bndissanayaka]

I would love to hear about the romantic stories during war time if you could tell us more :)

[@WhiteRabbitTricks]

So much missing from our society today. The war made us a community again on a huge scale. If only it didn’t take something so awful, to bring us together permanently

[@letoubib21]

Don't worry! The next war will come----it's just a matter of time. . .

[@t44beck10]

I find it interesting that the men farmers are all wearing ties.

[@lucygray6162]

I find it ridiculous. My grandfathers and uncles never wore fancy clothes while tending cattle and pigs. My grandmother would not have appreciated them ruining their best. A tie is a true hazard around farm machinery, and should be saved for Sunday services.

[@jandrews6254]

All that open machinery, no safety screens....

[@GearMaven]

I know in Ireland the farmers I knew would wear their white shirts, suit vest, tweed or wool jacket, and their wool cap--looking quite formal for everyday work--don't remember if ties or not. That was for all the older men even 8 years ago!

[@ritageorge8748]

I guess we all needed an overdose of the historic versions of dress-ties vests&ladies scarves&hsts to the overdose-my family here & pics of those there&Italy were not as 'dressed'& middle class- also many hardly as wealthy as land owner farmers-nonethe less mom's scarves are mine now-So if it was pic snap times-whip the scarf off-fix pincurls&put the tie on😉

[@PrimxInxTeal]

My great grandpa always dressed up to do work. Cap, tie and everything, even while picking apples and pears

[@alistairmcelwee7467]

Also, so hard to believe that these women had never canned fruit! We canned loads of fruit every autumn so that we could have a year’s supply of fruit after every dinner. Apart from our orchard, my mother took us, her three kids, all around the valley to different fruit trees to pick, pick, pick to make the canned fruit. It tasted light years better than the commercial stuff you get in tin cans. Our family farmed from at least the 1840s, (and apparently before that when they were in Britain), so we used old-fashioned ways, I guess, without even knowing they were old-fashioned.

[@ranjapi693]

My mother stilldoes canning. She got an own Garden, grows her veggies andsome for the sheep. She picks fruits, mushroom. Just the normal way. I needto learn canning..

[@sueclark5763]

They are talking about actually using tin cans, if you listen, the one lady does say she "bottled" fruit, which is what we in the US call "canning", using glass jars. Bit of a confusion because of terms!

[@woodenkat8971]

@@sueclark5763 I have canned in the British term in the US. A local food storage center rents the equipment if you buy the cans. 'Bottling' is easier for small batches.

[@mukkaar]

​@@woodenkat8971 I do think term canning is right term to use in UK too. After all canning is process of heating food inside airtight container to preserve it. It can be in any container that's suitable for the job, be it metal can or glass jar. Bottling on other hand is just placing stuff in bottles.

[@entertaintech4374]

How large of an orchard would it take it for that, just curious?

[@josefinbjork7746]

The farmar who took in amilia not caring what she lookt like only seeing a young lady who wanted too work. Thats was a great man how he got a hold of dose peopel an just told them send her too him.

[@varschnitzschnur8795]

You can use corn stalks for silage. My understanding is you use the stalks before the corn ripens. Also, we still grow sugar beets in Michigan,

[@girlnextdoorgrooming]

Ruth's daughter, Eve is quite lovely.

[@josefinbjork7746]

Yes she is and she is a younger version of her mom not just looks everyting is almoust exaktley the same Sorry fore anny miss spelled words english is not my first languigh

[@tigerz8174]

Imagine Ruth being your mum. Dress up play time would be AWESOME 👍👍

[@hasmeenc.4739]

Those rations are so big compared to what I was able to afford for a whole month! as a university student.

[@StanHowse]

You are REALLY pretty.

[@noahway13]

We all feel so sorry for you. Poor baby.

[@flowerpower3618]

Oh please!

[@joycemelo88]

Hmm I suppose those rations were meant for an entire family though?

[@lisahinton9682]

@@joycemelo88 If you had listened, she said this was for ONE PERSON for ONE WEEK. Here: 20:10.

[@AliceCdE]

Regarding the feather duster: I've actually seen (and used) them quite differently with the feathers still connected to the tissue - basically just cutting the tip of the wing of, letting it dry out and maybe adding some kind of handle if you are feeling fancy (but to be honest, it works without a handel fine). Works quite well in brushing off dust and debris.

[@lisahinton9682]

@AliceCdE Yeah, NO! I can just see my dog running off with the damned thing and gnawing away on that wing! Plus, have a little respect for the deceased chicken that, through no choice of its own, gave its life for us humans to have food and a damn duster, will ya!?

[@valeriataylor8337]

This is tough, but it enriches a people and builds a background of adaptations and organization for future needs. They learn with difficulties, develop techniques and technologies. I live in a country that never had to face war, natural disasters or whatever that makes people to think and act as one. Now, during the pandemic, selfish behaviour and lack of collective spirit - even organization - is a thing!

[@meeeka]

Let me guess, Australia? That's my experience.

[@lisahinton9682]

@ValeriaTaylor What country, if you don't mind? Having read your very colorful description, I'm so curious.

[@book_of_kelis]

I wish we could've gotten Amelia King's side of the story, she had such an amazing role in history.

[@morenofranco9235]

Such a great Production. I love Ruth! She is such impish fun!

[@angelwhispers2060]

It was originally made by the BBC and then when the show became old the BBC sold the licensing to profit off of the show

[@imhiz4eva]

so excited to see you guys take on another challenge!

[@youtubehatesus2651]

I love all the farm series. Time to watch again. I never get bored of these. I've lost track of how many times I have watched.

[@michellesotelo-mercer7797]

We've become such a "throw away" society, I think its good for communities to revisit these hard times to bring us back to humility / appreciation / and resourcefulness

[@tompahdea9263]

One time on Jacque Pepin's cooking show he mentioned that during the war his mother made a sugar syrup from sugar beets that turned everything purple or brown.

[@marksmith4235]

Rationing coupons were common here in the states for every thing from tires to sugar. Ag. Secretary. Claude. Raymond. Wickard enacted. Victory. Gardens to add to the food supply.

[@veramae4098]

At their peak, U.S. Victory Gardens supplied 25% of civilian food.

[@MladenPostruznik]

It is fantastic how people get together in wartime. In peace, crude individualism, crowds of self-made men. Think about it.

[@JelliestOfBeanz]

I love ruth's face at 29:56 she looks so just "wtf is this man going on about?!" type a way.

[@janedoe805]

Absolute History is hands down my absolute favorite Channel on KZbin! Thank you so much for another interesting video! ♥️👍🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼

[@illegaleaglebear497]

There are contemporary versions of the haybox. I think they are called "Wonderbags" and non-electric slow cookers. They are sold commercially, and there are tons of videos on YT about rigging one yourself. Of course, if you have hay and a box, you already have it down.

[@crabbycrab9955]

Good this program exist. We might need all this again in Britain the way things are going...

[@anitagaildemitroff1541]

The painstaking detail is impressive. Well done! But one thing: aren't you meant to cut wild mushrooms rather than pull them out of the ground?

[@ArchAngel673]

Technically, yes. But the reason for that is because it's believed to hurt the mycelium it grows from. However, it's something of an old wife's tale, in a way. As long as you don't just start digging with a shovel and destroying it purposely, pulling mushrooms straight up poses absolutely no harm to the Mycelium network, and you get a little extra with each mushroom.

[@AlexanderYamada]

"I think most people would have seen it as a kindness to put them down." The Dog's face is just screaming "This is just a historical reenactment, right, guys? ...RIGHT, GUYS???"😂

[@anselmenator]

That butter ration is about the same amount of butter I use for a week - but as one person.

[@freakyflow]

Grandma worked in a beef Canning factory in Canada Most of the cans were sent in wood crates onto a rail car Headed to the east coast And on to England ...Keep in mind You were lucky to get a can of corned beef you're self

[@traceymatzen4837]

I've been binge watching these shows and am learning a lot. Thank you for sharing

[@HJKelley47]

The royal family had a 'ration card.' No one really believes they were eating that little amount of butter or meat. With all that venison on their acreage of personal property, they did not endure in the same way that the citizens of Great Britain did. I do understand how they had to give the citizens the impression of them doing without. I watched a documentary revealing just how well they ate during the war. Winston Churchill ate well himself. Psychologically, it does make us feel good thinking that our leaders are suffering just like we are!

[@flowerpower3618]

Churchill didn’t look like he was a a loss for food, but perhaps that was a beer belly.

[@paulgerrard9227]

Churchill would dine each week with the king. His memoirs mention the megre rations the king relied on and while it was better than most it was humble food. The palace grounds were a farm for veges

[@iamnoone21]

A butcher named Broadrib, showing how butchers gamed the system by adjusting the width of ribs--i love that!

[@jsbarto1]

I'm in America...now I think I know how my mother acquired her liking for calves' liver...she was in her 20's and employed in "war work" at IBM in Upstate NY...and living in a rooming house in a nearby town...so, I wonder if she bought economical meat cuts (like liver) with her meat ration points and turned in what she bought to the cook/matron who ran the rooming house?

[@queencerseilannister3519]

I love watching shows like this. I recently discovered a 3rd cousin I have in England...my great uncle met this cousins mother during the war and they had a fling that resulted in a baby. I hear it happened a lot, but it was interesting to find out it happened in my family. ❤🤗 I also love how so many women from various nations were depended upon and helped so much during wartime. From spies, to this work seen in the video, to women working in US factories. Makes me feel proud.

[@lisahinton9682]

@Queen Cersei Lannister So, your great-uncle had sex with his AUNT??? GROSS. I highly doubt it "happened a lot," frankly, as the vast majority of people are going to be repulsed by the thought of having sex with an aunt or uncle!!! GROSS.

[@veramae4098]

Foot and Mouth Disease: The incubation period in humans is 2-6 days. Symptoms have mostly been mild and self limiting, mainly uncomfortable tingling blisters on the hands but also fever, sore throat, and blisters on the feet and in the mouth, including the tongue.3 Patients have usually recovered a week after the last blister formation.

[@missa2855]

The strew cooker reminds me of how my grandma makes rice porridge in the bed by wrapping the pot in the duvets once it's brought to temperature.

[@maxdecphoenix]

Watched this episode several times, and only just now realized they made the silage clamp out of a disassembled Anderson shelter.

[@resnonverba137]

Very interesting, thanks for upload. Hats off to Alfred Roberts.

[@catherinejohnson2235]

Bless this generation. They were magical.

[@sbenton62]

Truly the greatest generation!

[@fourdayhomestead2839]

The generation that knew what community, sacrifice & hard work really ment.

[@frank6842]

@@fourdayhomestead2839 because they were forced at gunpoint to do so. As any generation would do.

[@wolffang489]

Silage is just really big canning.

[@williamfindspeople4341]

Doing genealogy in this time period is this is a wonderful historical forum for understanding their experiences.