How to Ration Food Like It's WWII | 20 Vintage Food Rationing Tips

[@VintageKitchenVixen]

What's your favourite tip? Do you have any of your own to add? Thank you so much for watching!

[@kerryjames6312]

Once you boil cabbage left over water is made into gravey

[@eatiegourmet1015]

@ 5:00 -- Not going too far at all! First of all, I use only as much water as necessary to 'boil' vegetables, so there's not much left, but there IS a 32 oz container in my freezer where I stash what remains. Usually goes into a soup, but can use for gravy. NOTE: I don't add the water from cooking cabbage, broccoli, kale -- any cruciferous vegetable -- as those flavors can tend to conflict, (usually I just drink those). I HATE wasting food!

[@rwoods6132]

My grandparents were raising 2 boys during WWII. My father was 10 in 1941 and his brother was 9. Saving food is how I was raised because it was how my mother and father were raised. It was not uncommon for us to save the carcass of a chicken or two to make bone broth. Jarring it in a pressure cooker for future use. Leftovers! I worked for 40 years and almost never bought lunch because I was raised to take them for the next day. If we had to many leftovers, we would have leftovers for supper! Great vid!

[@VintageKitchenVixen]

Thank you for sharing your story! I really need to get myself a pressure canner for jarring bone broth. And leftovers for lunch takes the guessing and the work out of lunch. Great tips!

[@harrietts]

I nearly always save vegetable water. I use it in soups, gravies & sauces. It always adds better flavor than plain water :)

[@wadebrinson8977]

Vegetable water is NOT going too far! This is how I was raised back in the 50s. It was always saved and kept in the fridge. There were not many times that it survived to be used in another meal. We worked like dogs and would come in and get the veggy water(whatever was there) and consume it! That was the "gator aid" of the time period! It rejuvenated you like nothing else could in the day! It was very refreshing and oh so good after a few hours of sweating in 90* high humidity weather as you labored.

[@VintageKitchenVixen]

Okay, you’ve sold me! I had no idea it was used as a drink, too. I’d take cold vegetable water over Gatorade any day!

[@anwa6169]

Thank you for the info. This is quite interesting and I will do that.

[@sandrareynolds6619]

Cook fresh carrots in unsalted water. Drink the carrot water either hot or cold. It's naturally sweet and delicious

[@hilltoptanks2975]

I agree. Veg boiling water is just a veg stock at the end of the day, makes sense to use it in soups and sauces

[@cziegle3794]

Even if you don't drink it or use it for stew or soup or rice or beans or whatever, you can use it to water your plants. You can give it to your dog or your chickens or your cows or sheep or whatever. You can even collect any and all water you boil - for rinsing rice, washing veggies, boiling veggies, etc., etc., in a 5 gallon bucket and, when there's a power outage, use it to flush your toilets. It doesn't have to be used only one way.

[@MissVictoryRolls1940]

I always use the water from my vegetables for my gravy - makes it delicious!

[@allyrooh3628]

I think we could all use a little rationing right now. We kind of lost sight of what a normal portion is in the United States.

[@VintageKitchenVixen]

Absolutely!

[@CynthiaRockroth]

Use a dibiatic cookbook. Go the the standard portion sizes. Look up your calories it tell you what to have per food section on a daily basis. Like bread/starch meat vegetables fruit fat and sugar.

[@Skimidavis]

In the summer when ribs are on sale, I buy one pound packages wrap them and keep in the freezer. I use a big stockpot, water, chopped onion, carrots, celery and set to boil. Add diced potatoes and I add mushrooms. Bone broth is greaat, the meat falls from the bones and Dad loves it.

[@VintageKitchenVixen]

Nothing beats homemade bone broth!

[@tilasole3252]

People of older generations would call vegetable water, Pot Liquor and it had all the left over vitamins. I never heard of using it as a broth base however, as it never lasted past the meal. Of course you could make your own vegetable stock, however.

[@christiana_mandalynn]

What excellent tips! I’ve actually been doing several of these (saving bacon grease by straining it into a mason jar and keeping it in the fridge; reusing roast chicken carcasses by boiling it in water to remove meat from bones and make chicken broth; not wasting bread abs toasting it into bread crumbs to use later for meatballs; etc) But I need to be more diligent about my kitchen and vegetable scraps! I try to cook my own beans but often rely on canned beans cause I forget to prep it before it’s needed. And THANK YOU for addressing the issue of much needed Omega-3s VS the Omega-6s of margarine /vegetable oil. And the nutrition of needed vitamins and minerals of animal meat/ offal and importance of DHA!! You are definitely knowledgeable and I am subscribing immediately!

[@VintageKitchenVixen]

I’m so glad you found them useful and that you appreciate my push for animal protein. There’s been such a big push for plant-based everything lately that I can’t stop myself from countering that narrative, as unpopular as it may be. Thank you so much for subscribing!

[@ambersummer2685]

My family use to save cooking grease. I guess my mom heard something about it not being healthy to consume so I guess she tossed it out forever lol

[@eatiegourmet1015]

Nice video overall! Timely, concise, sensible ideas that are not overly complicated,. One note @ 6:15, on roux: You really need to cook the roux before adding; you're really just cooking the flour -- Raw flour isn't going to add anything Good to a sauce. You can also use the fat from your roast instead of butter for the roux, but the point is to cook the flour slightly, take the rawness out of it. (I like to make it separately and add the roux to the simmering liquid.) It will thicken up fairly quickly. I grew up with that way of thinking/cooking, but people today really have no idea about the concept of not wasting things. I feel it is a concept they will be forced to learn and probably won't be able to cope. As you mention, you don't need to be learning a new skill while in the middle of a new situation. I hope people will take your advice to heart.

[@VintageKitchenVixen]

Thank you! I appreciate your tip on using drippings instead of butter to make the roux. My mom used to add it in raw, which is where I learned that from, but maybe that’s why she favours cornstarch these days!

[@BarbaraDr2023]

I am a historian, and i collect old cookbooks... i learned loads here. Thank you so much ❤

[@VintageKitchenVixen]

I’m delighted to hear it! Thank you for watching ❤️

[@47thcommand]

Keep up the good work people where healthier around WWII not only that they spent a lot of last time procrastinating as to what choices to make they didn't have nearly as much choice as we do nowadays but the food was healthier there's far too many preservatives artificial flavourings etc in the food nowadays

[@VintageKitchenVixen]

Good points! In addition to the heavy processing our food goes through, our soil is more depleted, too, so our food doesn't have the same mineral profile it once used to.

[@JoDempseySales]

Will be growing some potatoes this season 💪💪 Also, I found some WWII ration books at an estate sale. Super interesting.

[@VintageKitchenVixen]

I want to try growing potatoes this year, too! And it would be so neat flipping through on of those ration books.

[@markawbolton]

@@VintageKitchenVixen Potatoes are so inexpensive you would be better served by growing foods that are higher value and much better for being fresh. Raspberries. Strawberries.

[@kerryjames6312]

Picked juice is used in salad for dressing

[@lazaruscharity1121]

i got your free books. ty!!

[@sharondesfor5151]

I'm trying to wrap my mind around using up your bread. Being someone who makes my own, I'm having trouble imagining a loaf lasting more than a day or two. 🤔

[@VintageKitchenVixen]

Haha, right? It doesn’t last long around here either!

[@CynthiaRockroth]

Bread was required during war to have extra salt as well as not handing it out till it was more than a day old. People hated it. But you could have all you wanted. ( it was starting to go stale when you got it) called the national loaf. Lots of recipes called for stale bread crumbs to stretch a meal.

[@ssharp9890]

Interesting information, we might again soon.

[@kerryjames6312]

You can do weeks meal prep by filling the oven

[@monicaayres3833]

Awesome video thanks 😊

[@VintageKitchenVixen]

Thank you so much!

[@Quiltygardener1108]

Very interesting and good tips.

[@pw1669]

Do you have a great recipe for pear jam? I never thought of it. But I have a tree outback with tons of pairs. Great idea!

[@mikeks8181]

Family is First! Take Care of the homestead , Then whenever the Time fits? Video

[@VintageKitchenVixen]

Yes! Time is a precious commodity around here! I’m hoping I’ll have more time this winter to start putting out video again!

[@pw1669]

Great tips!

[@orgazmo125]

keep up the good work , kind of good info people right now

[@VintageKitchenVixen]

I think we’re going to need it!

[@Skimidavis]

My Dad still wants Fried Chicken Livers😀 I make them for him with mashed potatoes

[@monicaayres3833]

Thanks for the great video!😊

[@robertneville2022]

I planted a garden then discoverd i had rabbits When life feeds you lemons..... My marksmanship has improved and now i have meat with my potatoes Thank you Thumper 😅

[@pattycake8272]

Be careful with wild rabbit, eating them before a hard frost they may have parasites.

[@mikeks8181]

Beef Tallow is the Bomb! Look up historical Recipes for making Pemmican!? Beef Suet Is Also Shelf Stable in a Cool Darkened Room! I Have eaten Every Part of a Four Legged Animal in my lifetime! My Father and Mother Both in WW2 Cooked Every Part of the animals that Came into Our household! I'm only 56! Don't Knock it Till You Try It!! Thank You For Sharing This Video

[@VintageKitchenVixen]

I’ve never tried pemmican! I’ve heard of it, but that could be a fun project! I wish I could say I’ve tried every part of the animal. I should make it a goal.

[@ginnyjollykidd]

When I get a large piece of meat for sale (rump roast or pork loin), I can only cook 3 lb in my slow cooker. So I have the butcher (or I do it myself) cut the roast into a 3 lb roast along with steak - sized slices that can be butterflied. I then take some of the roast and cut it into flat, square pieces I can use for stir-fry. Then I freeze it individually till I need it. And some of those slices can become meat for stew. Tools we have now we might not have had in WWII: Fat separator Steamer basket Freezer and refrigerator Microwave Slow cooker Silicone spatula Steel - clad steel skillets Glass - top electric stove Internet (O! How it helps me cook!) Freezer and other shipping trucks Some of my favorites include: Slow cooker Microwave Electric, glass - top stove Sunbeam stand mixer Oster blender Bread maker (which went south, alas!) Silicone spatulas Steel spatulas Bundt cake pan And Gilhoolie jar opener. We also have a range of non - sugar sweeteners that don't give calories but still provide sweet taste with a much smaller amount. (Personally I think there is way too much sugar in canned foods anyway. Even tomato paste!) Sugar rationing might not affect a significant portion of people because of people using sweeteners like Splenda and Stevia. But cooked legumes give a lot of nutrition you don't get in either white sugar or sweetener. And thanks to your tips, many people unfamiliar with rationing and shortages can live with less and change their ways.

[@VintageKitchenVixen]

We definitely have it easier today with all the time-savers in the kitchen, that’s for sure! And that’s a good point on the sugar-there are a lot of alternatives to choose from these days.

[@markawbolton]

Opropo of nothing, I have been pickling vegetables lately. The amount of salt in the trad recipes seems insane and inedible. I am using cabage carrot cauliflower. I am using a quarter ( and experimenting with far less) of the salt and chucking in vinegar and spicy sauce. Last lot I used tamarind paste. I am eating them after about three to six weeks and they have naturally softened. They dont seem to be turning rancid or have any dint of bacterial growth. I just love them so much. I sit and snack on that stuff.

[@VintageKitchenVixen]

It sounds like you’ve been having fun experimenting! Tamarind paste is an interesting addition to a pickle. I might have to give that a try when I have extra time and produce.

[@markawbolton]

@@VintageKitchenVixen Eastern Europeans seem to be able to conjure amazing nutritious and inexpensive food using vegetables like cabage and cauliflower. I used to really annoy me that I would be chucking out such food stock because they are unlikely to last 4 weeks in the fridge, Once I pickle the they last for ever .... You Tube can be so slimy. One that particularly amused me was a marinade involving Coca Cola and ginger and garlic to marinade chicken .. Some you tube wannabe (A tottally stolen recipie tahjt wouldnt work with the professed Ingrediants.) ....~snort~ which really wouldn't work except with organic rat meat ... and when employed in this context as well as a Vietnmam traditional char grill ... on a bed of rice ... one of the most enjoyable repasts I have ever enjoyed.

[@abigailhowes5944]

We used to eat organ meats and they are very good. She would make beef and kidney pie. We use to have sweetbreads (thymus gland from cow). We are alit of fresh caught fish, I make stuffed beef heart and it is delicious. My mother used to make a liver pate from chicken livers. It is inexpensive and tasty. In fact I just made some and it makes wonderful sandwiches. We lived in the out island of the Bahamas and it was difficult to get fresh meat, so we used tinned meats, ham, corned beef, Spam, Vienna sausages, deviled ham, pitted meat and others. We even had canned bacon. If used judiciously it can make a taste meal when fish wasn't available. We would have wonderful ham dinners. We also used them when we were looking ving on our 42 foot boat. Living on a boat and in the he out islands we learned frugality and found alternatives ways to do or make things we needed. On the island, the ship came in once a week with our mail, groceries that were tinned, and other items that we needed shipped to us. I learned A LOT.

[@VintageKitchenVixen]

Wow, what an experience!

[@lindsayosterhoff2459]

I won't bore everyone with the details but I have some health issues that make it so the only animal products I can consume are eggs and honey. No meat, no dairy, etc. It is possible to eat a well balanced diet and get nearly all of those nutrients in plant based ways (enough that it's perfectly healthy to do so for most people). It does take more work, research, and sometimes a little extra cash but it can be done, and done pretty affordably, if you choose to go that route. No shame to those who choose an omnivores diet. I just thought that was worth mentioning. Also, vegetable water becomes a delicious veggie broth with the addition of a few herbs and spices and it adds lots of flavor and nutrients to all kinds of things. I love using it to cook potatoes, pasta, or rice or use it as a base for soups or sauces. It's a great way to sneak a bit more nutrients into kids who fight eating veggies. Sure, just eating the veggies is often healthier but veggie broth is wonderful for those who dislike or can't digest vegetable solids.

[@VintageKitchenVixen]

Thank you for sharing! There’s quite a bit you can do with a plant-based diet and there are certainly a number of health benefits, too!

[@branned]

Hard to make Fench Toast when WWII rationing was 1 egg/week per adult?

[@VintageKitchenVixen]

Good point! But you wouldn’t waste the precious egg ration for that. Reconstituted egg would have been used instead!

[@branned]

@@VintageKitchenVixen In the USA two months before food was rationed Rubber was first, Auto's second, Gas third, and food items were fourth a few months later. In the UK Bacon was first.

[@kamicrum4408]

My cousin is a nutrtionist Traditional fst is goid for you!😊

[@CanadianQueen.]

Would you please share your pear recipe. 😊

[@VintageKitchenVixen]

Was I talking about pear & vanilla jam or stewed pears? I can't remember! 😅

[@CanadianQueen.]

The pear jam. Please :)

[@VintageKitchenVixen]

@@CanadianQueen. I'm sorry it took so long for me to get this recipe to you! I saw your reply and then it completely slipped my mind. I can't remember which recipe I normally use, but it's similar to this one as I tend to make mine without pectin: practicalselfreliance.com/pear-jam/

[@kerryjames6312]

There was even a pumpkin used as a jam filler

[@VintageKitchenVixen]

Interesting! That’s such a creative filler.

[@sharondesfor5151]

Two words: Pumpkin Butter. Mmmmmmm.😋

[@chrisdavis1754]

Silence is golden, but my eyes still see

[@VintageKitchenVixen]

Haha, thank you!!

[@MemoryAmethyst]

If you save up your fats in a can in the fridge, when it is full, boil it with water, let it get cold and peel the fat off the top, discarding the water. If the bottom of the fat is grotty, scrap it off. Repeat this three times and the fat that is left has no flavour, is a lovely white and can be used for baking

[@VintageKitchenVixen]

Great tip!

[@jeannenabozny5675]

Everything possible was saved and reused. It was against the law to be found wasting anything. You could be fined. Saving veg water makes great soup gravy etc.

[@kerryjames6312]

Their is a queen pudding made with bread crumbs eggs sugar milk marrangue on top it's called queen of pudding

[@VintageKitchenVixen]

I’ll have to look into this!

[@kamicrum4408]

When out if eggs in bakeing 1T say flour 1T water per 1 large egg. Yournmuffins and pancakes will conenout fine! ( I have a child who is alergucbto chicken eggs.

[@VintageKitchenVixen]

Oh, interesting! I didn’t know you could sub an egg with flour and water. Thank you for the tip!

[@happycook6737]

I use soy flour + water to replace an egg in muffins. The fat and protein profile of soy flour is similar to egg.

[@kerryjames6312]

You can use meat water once you have boiled meat to not only vegetables no it's not to far

[@VintageKitchenVixen]

I consider meat water a stock, so I suppose vegetable water is the same. I’ve always made veggie stock with multiple vegetables, so had never thought to use the water of a single vegetable before making this video.

[@kerryjames6312]

Frozen bannanas can be made in a blender I to bannana icecrwam

[@VintageKitchenVixen]

That’s always a tasty treat!

[@rebeccadelbridge2998]

They also make the best banana cake.

[@kerryjames6312]

No way will I light up oven only for a pie

[@VintageKitchenVixen]

You’d be surprised how many people do this!

[@kamicrum4408]

Eggs😀👍🏻🐓🐓🥚

[@Retrofire-47]

Ultimately, the doomsday event that everyone prepares for would be instituted by the powers that be... so, there is little a man (or woman) can do to truly prepare for it.

[@tilasole3252]

offal sounds awful

[@anwa6169]

It depends on the recipe.

[@tilasole3252]

@@anwa6169 "offal" would still sound "awful"

[@anwa6169]

@@tilasole3252 HAHA!!! Well, in Germany, Poland and other countries it is just called "sausages" and it is okay. Everyone loves it. Well, except from vegetarians obviously.

[@jeanniemullinder9038]

Far too much talking !!!!! rather boring. Some kitchen scenes and cooking would have been better.

[@VintageKitchenVixen]

Thank you for your feedback!

[@kerryjames6312]

Lard is not good for you clogs artwries

[@VintageKitchenVixen]

That’s what I used to believe, too, but if you have an open mind about it, I recommend reading the book Nourishing Fats by Sally Fallon Morrell. It’s a real eye opener.