What People Ate to Survive During the Dust Bowl

[@lauriemarie6902]

I grew up hearing about the depression. My grandmother was raising 4 babies alone and would suck the marrow from bones to feed my father and siblings. She lived to 100 and was sharp as a tack.

[@cb142]

That's awesome! Mom was 92yrs when passed. She used turmeric,Knox gelatin,blueberries and never skipped breakfast. I'm 62yrs and hope I get there. I hope you have a long life also.

[@texastea5686]

My husband's grandmother was born in 1910 and died in 2017. She only had cataracts ... grew up on a small ranch in Mexico then they came to Texas. I'm sure all she ate during that time was rice, beans and tortillas.

[@TheFoxisintheHouse]

Nice!

[@DebbiesSanctuary49]

Don't forget dandelion wine!!!When I was thirty a had a good friend that was 83. She taught me a lot about what to find to eat in the woods and how to cook or dry foods. Even saw her cook a fresh killed ground hog too. Bacon grease can't be made or recreated...it is perfect alone and to season wilted lettuce and most every thing else! Yum!!!

[@remyjenney7103]

Bone marrow is liquid gold

[@KateRambo]

Anyone else here thinking about Clara? She was KZbin’s grandmother that survived the depression!

[@zacharyrome3432]

I am now !

[@furrymessiah]

Aw man, you had to remind me. I cried when I found out she passed away. RIP Nana Clara. 😭

[@Grookyslime]

Yes!

[@TruthNeverFade]

Aw man she was great! RIP

[@my2commonsense476]

She was great.

[@longbow671]

As someone who’s lived in the south it’s kinda odd that you guys never herd of cooking with bacon grease. It’s awesome amd adds great flavor.

[@omegadubois6619]

A jar of bacon grease is a must have

[@charlesroberts3910]

I used to hate when my dad made our pancakes in bacon grease . Mom had a bad heart so sometimes dad would let her stay in bed and he'd make breakfast but dad liked to cook everything in bacon grease . To him It was liquid gold

[@ftdefiance1]

Or the West

[@LALacey]

I'm from the north and my mother always uses at least a little for everything she cooks (unless it's vegan, of course)

[@Reallifenewz]

Ahh the horror lol. It’s a natural oil. Nothing natural at a store.

[@charliedavis8894]

I was raised by my grandparents who raised their kids during the great depression. I didn't have popcorn and milk but I had crumbled soda crackers and milk more than once. Bacon grease? I still have and use my grandma's bacon grease canister with the strainer. I use bacon grease for frying potatoes, eggs and making bacon/sausage gravy for biscuits, fried potatoes or SOS. I also make wilted spinach salad with bacon grease, using the grease, sugar, and vinegar cooked and poured over spinach, onion and crumbled bacon. Casseroles are delicious and filling and many families depend on them to this day to stretch their food budgets. Corn meal mush, oatmeal and cream of wheat are great cooked, cooled in a pan then fried the next morning with syrup or honey. Bean soup is still a staple in many families and I myself have survived a 6 month time period when that was my primary meal for the day, bonus if I could make cornbread, homemade bread or biscuits to go with it. This narrator sounds as if these foods are beneath him but they've kept hunger from many Americans doors even today and will in the foreseeable future given the dramatic rise in food prices in 2022.

[@MelissaThompson432]

Did you ever eat a casserole made from a can of cheap fish, saltines, and milk? It's surprisingly good, especially with a little butter dotted on the top.

[@charliedavis8894]

@@MelissaThompson432 No, but trust me, if grandma had thought of that, we sure would have! She canned the fish & game grandpa caught and we'd go to the coast during tuna season, buy a couple tuna off the boat and grandma canned it over a fire on the beach while we were camping. Good times, we always had canned fish and meat and crackers and milk were cheap then in comparison to wages, unlike now.

[@lindathomas2350]

I totally believe we're going to see a replay of many of these dishes as every the meals as inflation rises. I agree that casseroles are wonderful dishes that lend a lot of variety and can be made out of just about anything. A big thumbs up for your comments! 👍

[@jazzwinsky]

I'm sorry but at the rate the Bidden regime is going egg, meat, milk and lots of different grains will be impossible to get. Just look up articles on the supply chain, governments cutting all meat from the shelves In the name of their climate scam. Also since Jan 1 2022 many of the food supply meat plates, granaries, etc are being burnt to the ground or a plane suddenly crashes into them. 18 I do believe have been distroyed across the USA and Canada. That's double the all of last year. The .market and the food crisis is being done on purpose and this will all be done either before the mid terms or before the next USA federal election. Oh a d do t forget Ww3 is around the corner

[@charliedavis8894]

@@jazzwinsky Don't be sorry, I believe you're absolutely correct. We are on the cusp of a major food shortage worldwide, by design. I can't remember the source right now but the quote is "Control the food and you control the people." That's why these recipes and learning how to "make something from nothing" is crucial to our survival. Destroying food processing plants is part of the plan no matter how many times "they" tell us it's just coincidence. Selling most of our pork processing plants to China is another example because when the nasty stuff hits the fan, China will ship the pork to their own people while we do without. Thanks for your comment.

[@kandreasworld4374]

We were dirt poor growing up. A family of four. We ate a lot of depression style dishes to survive. Rabbit stew was common. Spaghetti and tomato sauce was several days a week. Hot dogs were cheap and so was chipped ham. We ate a whole loaf of "butter bread" at meals to fill us up because bread and margarine was also cheap. We made "poor man's pot" often. It is layers of potatoes alternated with layers of onions until the casserole dish was full. Then you added a little milk and maybe some cheese on top, if you had it. Then it was baked. We often had baked potatoes at every meal as well. We made a lot of vegetable soup using canned vegetables because, again, it was cheap. Popped corn was a daily snack. We also fished a lot and would eat whatever we caught for dinner. Bacon grease and vegetable oil was always used. I didn't know what olive oil was until I was 16 or so. You get creative and you get by.

[@dianheffernan2435]

Can't help this but you kept the value of close family meal time, plenty of hugs sent

[@angele9375]

You're from Pennsylvania 😸

[@suhtangwong]

Oh wow, Ig I'm not the only one.

[@Chickadeetreedesign]

I remember lots of “hamburger soup” and yes the bread and margarine too. Treat night was yep, popcorn and apples and if we were lucky cheese slices from WIC.

[@DB-sy6xc]

This is normal food that we eat all the time. Lol we are technically poor though.

[@kathrynmast916]

As a child we ate a lot of so-called Depression Foods well into the 1950s. We always saved bacon grease. When Dad passed away in 2002, we found a jar of bacon grease in his refrigerator. My Dad and Uncle loved mush fried in bacon grease and the they poured Karo syrup over the mush. I remember assorted casseroles and still have my mother’s recipes. I still make a big pot of my own vegetable soup. There is nothing better on a cold rainy day than my soup. We also had Sunshine salad which was lemon jello with shred carrots which was a dessert. When had ham and beans for supper, which I hated thus refused to eat, my Dad would get after me. He sternly say, “If you lived during the Depression, you’d eat beans or starve! Now, eat!” My parents, especially my Dad, considered wasting food on par with high crimes and treason.

[@CaseyUnderCovers]

I grew up poor in the 90s and early 2000s and ham bits and pinto beans was a meal I also hated and would refuse to eat. I knew that if my mom was soaking a pot of beans we had reached the back of the cabients and PB&J was long gone. She made biscuits to go with it most of the time so thankfully I'd eat those with a smear of Country Crock, jelly if we had any. On occasion I'd eat the biscuits with whatever canned vegetable we had and soak up the cooking liquid with the biscuits.

[@BobPantsSpongeSquare97]

My family which came from poor Mexican Americans also took to saving bacon grease, even my mom still does it because yeah it would be a waste to throw it away.

[@MsSwitchblade13]

In my poor Mexican-American household, beans were essential and went with almost every meal. So we had something similar to yours, but instead of ham it was cut up pieces of weenies. I loved it and still do. Another meal was a bowl of fresh beans with a slice of American cheese single to be eaten with slices of white bread. I'm getting nostalgic and craving this just thinking about it.

[@squeegied3rdeye713]

@@MsSwitchblade13 i grew up middle class Mexican American but my parents both grew up in poor large families so sometimes we would eat like we were cause they still enjoyed some of the things they grew up eating which I still love to eat like spam and egg tacos, picadillo, rice and beans with cornbread and my mom would definitely use bacon grease when making refried beans which I still always do

[@janiceharris5475]

My mom was a WWII baby. My grandma talked about growing everything on the farm. They received rations to buy sugar, coffee and gas. My grandma,mom and aunts all grew up on a lot of beans and continued to cook them up until their deaths. My aunt had four big growing sons the size of football and basketball players. She cooked a pot of beans every day. My mom always felt like food wasted was a sin equal to murder.

[@elijahhamilton4857]

Truthfully I thought everyone saved their bacon grease, we still do it today! Maybe it’s just a southern thing, or a poor thing!

[@missouribackwoodsadventures]

My grandpa, and dad still save all theirs

[@MeowVicious]

I vote it’s a delicious thing!

[@bcaye]

Naw, it's an intelligent thing.

[@SestraVixen]

screw Crisco bacon grease for the win!

[@janiceharris5475]

Shoot, I bet some new generation wealthy people in the south have a stock of bacon grease way in the back of the fridge sitting just behind the Dom and fancy bottle water. Shhhh, don't tell anyone.

[@sandramorey2529]

A lot of folks survived the Depression. Tillie Olsen, the writer, used to tell us kids about Stone Soup. At dinner time in the migrant camps, a woman would put out a call. Everyone brought an ingredient, they threw them into a big pot and whatever was in the soup was what they ate for dinner. Fed a whole lot of folks.

[@corneliusdinkmeyer2190]

There’s a kids book called Stone Soup!

[@Zombie_Chow]

​@@corneliusdinkmeyer2190 All this time, I thought it was a metaphor about community.

[@fsaldan1]

When I was a kid my mother used to tell a story about stone soup. It happened in wartime. A peasant sees a soldier cooking something in a pot, and asks what it is. The soldier says "It is stone soup". The peasant asks "Is it good?" The soldier says "Yes, but it would be better with some carrots." The peasant fetches some carrots and the soldier adds them to the soup. This is repeated with potatoes, meat, and other ingredients. Finally the soldier tastes the soup, says it's ready, throws the stone away, and has the soup for dinner.

[@wandamedenwaldt8484]

We always save our bacon grease here. It's a necessity in the state of Oklahoma. Fried potatoes and onions cooked in bacon grease is the best thing on the planet

[@loriwyoming835]

Replace the taters with greenbeans and they're just as tasty.

[@organicinohio5398]

I save my bacon grease up North. Use it in my fried cabbage recipe among other things as well.

[@Sandra-kv4vf]

Amen! Florida here!

[@kimpbay]

I'm born and raised Canadian. My grandmother always saved her bacon grease to cook with

[@alitlweird]

I can see that. 🥓 🥔

[@AMJava]

Well, that explains why my family always popped our popcorn in bacon grease. (It’s incredible by the way.) My grandmother got married in 1932 and moved to Ft. Worth, TX. It was evident that the impact of the Depression never left her. She saved everything…twist ties leftover from trash bags, rubber bands from the newspaper, ice cream and cool whip tubs (cheap Tupperware), newspapers (made great glass cleaning rags or wrapping paper). I do a lot of things in my own home because it’s what I saw her do.

[@cartomancymesquite]

I drew the line at washing the paper plates.

[@droolies7079]

Yep - my grandparents moved to Ft Worth too. I saved all those big blue rubber bands from veggies and made a back door mat last year like she used to have and showed me how. Hadn’t thought about it in years and years but my dogs kept tearing up what I bought and repaired a trashed one with rubber bands and it worked so well I made a big one. It’s amazingly durable and a pretty color too. So far it hasn’t gotten all crusty from the heat either. She would weave big pots out of rubber bands for growing herbs in too. lol

[@MikaelaKMajorHistory]

You can also use newspapers as insulation if you want to save on the heating bill

[@starababa1985]

Ooo! Popcorn popped in bacon grease. Thanks for the idea.

[@starababa1985]

@@MikaelaKMajorHistory Folks made quilts with newspaper for batting back then, if they didn't have the cotton wadding to go in between.

[@LordoftheOzarks]

Country folks still eat some of this stuff today. I literally keep a jar of bacon grease on the back of the stove, just like my parents, my grandparents, my g-grandparents, and so on.

[@tiffanyjohnson3336]

I thought everyone kept bacon grease on their stove until I moved to Florida when I 21 (I grew up in Idaho). My roommates looked at my little jar of grease weird and one tried to throw it away

[@LordoftheOzarks]

@@tiffanyjohnson3336 *angry possum noises "Dont touch my grease!!"

[@stevebrownrocks6376]

Same here. Always keep your bacon grease!

[@LifesPeachy321]

I was going to write a very similar comment about my parents, my grandparents, my g-grandparents...however, I don't do it, my husband would have a heart attack LOL

[@daleeasterwood2683]

@@tiffanyjohnson3336 Any self respecting Southerner always has bacon grease in their kitchen.

[@frybry01]

Soup beans is still a staple in many houses in the south. It;s a cheap meal and we love it at least once a month with cornbread, fried taters and some type of fried greens.

[@carrieporter3401]

Not just the South. I grew up with beans and corn mush and corn bread😂

[@carrieporter3401]

But I'd have to be pretty hungry to do popcorn and milk😂

[@valiaudet3415]

Bean soup is popular in many countries and certainly not only for poor

[@frybry01]

@@valiaudet3415 Soup beans and Bean soup are different here in the southern US. Soup beans are pinto beans only flavored with pork fat, nothing else which is what I'm talking about and those of us who grew up eating it weekly will admit it's a cheap meal for when your poor bcoz you can't afford anything else. Bean soup often has more than one type of bean, and often has ham or bacon and diced veggies in it.

[@LB-eh5fz]

HONEY ,,,,PINTO BEANS, CORNBREAD, CHOPPED ONIONS, POTATOES, IS FINE FINE EATING HERE IN KENTUCKY, THEN BLACKBERRY COBBLER GLASS OF MILK ,, 👍🏻♥️

[@Lady_Chalk]

Dandelions are pretty good. There’s all kinds of common yard “weeds” that are edible. I wanna say herbicide companies were responsible for saying all these plans were weeds.

[@MRHG126]

Yes! Too bad they shiwed the flowers instead if the leaves while describing salad.

[@robertmoore1123]

Makes good time

[@robertmoore1123]

Meant makes good wine

[@bcaye]

@@robertmoore1123, well, good wine makes good time 😉 My dad used to make dandelion wine, I remember hours picking them.

[@chrismeredith3626]

I do recall "something" on y.tube addressing dandelions being specifically targeted by herbicide Co.(s?) decades ago..

[@MsSwitchblade13]

You should do a food history episode for (at least) every major immigrant group. The Irish, the Chinese, the Mexican, the Scottish, Indian, etc. Like how they adapted their cuisine to the American kitchen.

[@jennifermcguire8867]

Brilliant idea !!

[@rebeccafoster-faith6647]

Love this idea

[@jamesmcguire5018]

Up the irish

[@texastea5686]

@chris mclaughlin 🤭

[@brianabraham8726]

"Unlike popcorn in movie Theaters today, popcorn was affortable for families hit hard by the great depression." Just this sentence deserves my like 😄😄

[@channel_---]

Popcorn in theatres was successful mass mkultra experiment

[@brosefmcman8264]

@@KAT-dg6el it’s you can’t bring your own popcorn to the theatre 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

[@wesgray5832]

@@brosefmcman8264 you can if your wife's purse is big enough. :-)

[@colleenlussier7106]

A

[@kimb868]

@@channel_--- it so good 😊 My favorite

[@GraysonMiller69420]

To be honest, the carrot-marmalade actually sounds good. I remember being a kid & my mom would mix shredded carrots into orange jello & it was pretty good.

[@echognomecal6742]

Sounds good...& I've been looking for ways to eat more carrots.

[@corneliusdinkmeyer2190]

I was thinking the same about carrot marmalade! It sounds quite good!

[@jessicathompson236]

It's delicious. It's amazing in carrot cake too

[@darrylroederer2680]

Would I ever try any of this stuff? Hell, I was raised on this stuff. I wouldn't turn my nose up at any of it even today.

[@janiceharris5475]

Never forget where you come from, you may have to go back due to unforseen circumstances. Every one should live by this rule.

[@muzicaempathica6479]

‼🥰♥️my cornmeal mush, refrigerated, then sliced, fried, and eaten with pure maple syrup‼

[@atmywhitson]

Yep. I remember Sh*t on a shingle,corn meal mush, just plain old potatoes with maybe a sprinkle of salt or pepper if we had it. (Grew up poor in MI)

[@atmywhitson]

@@janiceharris5475 so true! I believe it's people like us who may fair longer in bad times because we've already been there,done that. 🤷

[@AshleyGodwin]

Exactly. I was so confused when he acted like these things were so unheard of! Lol! I was like… wait a second … casseroles? Yes. Bacon grease? Yes. Hoe cakes (corn meal cakes) with milk/buttermilk/“white sauce” … ummm yes absolutely.

[@Grungedude93]

Love the food episodes. People look past the little things like this in history.

[@yuwannakno1269]

This seems to me like it should be considered an important thing but you're RIGHT.

[@Keeperoffyre]

wanna know about the history of a civilization? look at their menu :D

[@katelaloba8243]

And life occurs in the minutiae

[@elvisjames]

Right, and for meet it's the daily life that is most fascinating because THAT is how I get a grasp of hope things were

[@asteriasheria2053]

Exactly,

[@snakemanmike]

My mother grew up during the Depression, In fact, she got married at age 14 in 1934, mainly to escape the hard life on the family farm. She continued to cook these recipes the rest of her life. I grew up in the 1960's eating many of these. I considered them normal southern country food. I find it amusing that what I grew up eating is now considered weird history.

[@jerrycummings2821]

Not so much amusing as confusing. Many times (weeks on end) our mom would make a big pan of cornbread and we'd wait until dad milked the cow so we could have our dinner of cornbread and milk - often we'd have had to shell the corn so it could be ground into meal - mush was and IS still good, try it fried sometime and you will find it is delicious.

[@lindathomas2350]

@@jerrycummings2821 we used to have our Sunday dinner as any kind of bread dipped in milk. That was the whole meal!

[@jerrycummings2821]

@@lindathomas2350 God Bless you Linda - I truly can identify - I think the longest we went without ANY food was three days.

[@luisar5755]

The "casserole" as described in the video, doesnt sound bad really..

[@katielou700]

Sounds like hot water cornbread! Love it!

[@reneamos163]

My family grew up on so much of this food! I was born in the 1960's, but ate eggs fried in bacon grease ( delicious) , casseroles, bean soup...don't knock it til you try it!! We're so very privileged now to be able to stick our noses up at the recipes that kept so many alive when it wasn't a time of plenty!!

[@ErinoftheValley]

Regarding dandelion: “honey” can be made from the flower, the roots are roasted for hearty tea, and the leaves are used in salad or boiled. There are also medicinal uses for parts of the dandelion. I think that it is more likely that they used the entire plant rather than disposing of the leaves and roots. Great video, thank you!

[@jolenethiessen357]

Dandelions were brought specifically to the Americas as a forage plant for animals and for food/medicine. The entire plant is useful! My grandmother looked forward to them coming up in the spring... On the farm they existed on home canned food and whatever would keep in the ice house. Dandelions was their first shot of vitamin C in the spring!

[@lelou12]

We call andelion honey "cramaillotte" in french. Delicious in tea and even coffee ☕

[@terriemartinez9989]

I pick mine before they flower in the Spring and wilt them like bib lettuce..yum. Bacon grease is the best when making corn bread, frying eggs..taters...

[@elultimo102]

Another use: The Russians used dandelion "latex" to make synthetic rubber during WW2.

[@terriemartinez9989]

@@elultimo102 that is so cool..

[@Dubngrub]

As a born and raised Minnesotan, your claim that noone gets excited over casseroles is blasphemy. Casseroles and hit dishes, genuinely not sure how they differ, are staples of the long cold winters. They're absolutely delicious and I look forward to them.

[@karensiegel6669]

Especially make the day ahead casseroles. My family always looked forward to them!

[@ingridgallagher1029]

It's the same in the south. Plus some are just American classics- tuna casserole, shepherds pie, c'mon.

[@Klos1neMN]

Casseroles and hot dishes are things that Minnesotans know and love (I'm from Duluth, MN). Tater tot hotdish anyone?

[@rnupnorthbrrrsm6123]

I grew up in Oklahoma and my parents lived through the dust bowl and Great Depression, I moved to Minnesota years ago, so I didn’t know there were people that didn’t eat casseroles and hot dishes 🤷🏼‍♀️ I love them too !!!!

[@rnupnorthbrrrsm6123]

@@Klos1neMN heck yeah….I’m over here by Bemidji :)

[@graceandglory1948]

My now deceased parents grew up during the depression. It's amazing that they lived such long lives considering what they endured. Bacon grease had its special metal container on top our stove, and was used everyday. At 73, I still save it for occasional use. Hard times are coming. Sure hope people learn how to cook from scratch.

[@kinkane5566]

Amen ma'am!

[@joshjablonicky171]

Yeah unfortunately people don't cook like they used to and less and less people learn how to cook using alternate ingredients or whatever you can get your hands on to make a meal. I grew up poor my mom grew up even poorer and lived on a small farm always had a garden we didn't do much canning but she did as a child. Single parent of three boys would make us food using little ingredients but would always have a meal that would fill you up. My dad was a cook that's how I learned my food prepping we hunt and fish so we always have some kind of meat. I was single most my adult life taught myself how to cook and pride myself on being able to make a nice dinner out of what most would think you couldn't make a meal from. Can't be afraid to try new things and work with what you got you would be amazed what you can come up with. I turned so many people on eating fish who never liked it because it was always too fishy taste into them for one I only eat fish that I catch I've never and will never eat fish from a restaurant or a store. Like gave me if you don't know how to cook it it's very easy to make it not palatable. Next you going to make some squirrel soup today and the last few times I made it everybody just thought it was a chicken noodle soup until they finished eating and then I told them what they had just eaten most of the time it blows their minds that something that they didn't think would be any good to eat was amazing.

[@graceandglory1948]

@@joshjablonicky171 You have a rare gift. Perhaps God will use you and this gift to help those who have no idea how to survive when things get really bad. ✝️

[@cb142]

I'm now 62yrs and I grew up with different family. My mom and step dad ran a country restaurant. Brother's wives cooked different. Sister's were simple. My husband's mom was a chef in New Orleans. I learned so many ways but I learned the most from my mawmaw. I'm glad too cause I remarried to a man that loves Southern meals. Funny story is I just learned how to make real cornbread that's not Jiffy 8yrs ago. I'm always trying new things and I love this video.

[@kinkane5566]

@@cb142 How much better is it than Jiffy?

[@freakinfrugal5268]

I may not want corned beef jello, but I am all ready to make some carrot marmalade!

[@rhiahlMT]

I have a recipe for carrot cake jam that is really good.

[@greywater3186]

@@rhiahlMT going to google this right now

[@rhiahlMT]

@@greywater3186 Just ask. I have one for carmelized onion jam also. It's really good with meat. 😀 Carrot Cake Jam 1 can (20 ozs) unsweetened crushed pineapple, undrained 1 1/2 cups shredded carrots 1 1/2 cups of peeled chopped ripe pears (fresh not canned) 3 tablespoons commercial lemon juice (acidity of commercial is consistent 1 teaspoon cinnamon 1/4 teaspoon cloves 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg 1 package powdered fruit pectin 6 1/2 cups of sugar In large saucepan combine everything except the pectin and sugar. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 15 - 20 minutes OR until pears are tender, stir occasionally. Remove from heat (at this point the neighbors think you are making carrot cake). Stir in the pectin. Bring up to a full rolling boil over high heat , stirring CONSTANTLY. A full rolling boil is when you can't stir the boiling down. Boil and stir for 1 full minute. Remove from heat, skim off any foam you can get (foam will crystallize in the jars. A little won't hurt anything.) Or, you can add a tad or teaspoon of butter to the mixture before you boil it. This recipe doesn't really create a lot of foam though. Ladle hot mixture in hot jars just washed in the dishwasher and on a heat dry cycle. Leave 1/4 inch headspace. Run a plastic knife down the sides of the jars releasing air bubbles (metal in a hot jar not a good thing, easier to break the jars). With a damp rag wipe the rims and put on lids and rings (if using Tattler lids remember to tighten and untighten by 1/4 turn per manufacturer’s instructions). Process in a water bath canner for 5 minutes. Please check the canning process time charts for your altitude. I'm at 4,000 and must process for 10 minutes.

[@loriwyoming835]

I made some last year and it's really yummy.

[@AZCanner]

Look up how head cheese is made.

[@JWimpy]

Yes, I have had all of these food items. I was raised by my grandparents and they were both survivors of the Great Depression. They kept the idea of saving food and being frugal through their last years. I would guess it was out of fear that it could happen again at any time. And the way things are today I am beginning to return to my roots of frugality and preparing for the worst.

[@gregwatson8219]

Even Bonnie& Clyde ate like Dustbowl Okies!

[@SerenitynPeace]

Smart! 👍👏

[@Laudanum-gq3bl]

I’m back to keeping peels and tops of veg along with chicken or beef bones. Makes a good base for broth.

[@hummingbird275]

Johnny. There’s probably going to be LOTS of “ high rollers “, coming down to “ reality “ , from all appearances. $5 dollar per gallon gasoline already.👎🏼

[@geographicoddity9444]

It CAN and probably WILL happen, again.

[@uthyrgreywick5702]

My parents went through the Great Depression too. There were two rules - don't waste money, and don't waste food. What we didn't eat the cats and dogs got. Just think how many tons of food is thrown away by restaurants every day. There needs to be a "just-in- time" plan for fast food production instead of wasting it.

[@Stalkergames916]

Indeed we feed our dog meat and other leftovers if it’s gonna be wasted our dog passed back in June but we wasted no meat that we couldn’t use just gave it to the dog for him with his dinner

[@Diddley_Squat]

@@hummingbird275 they can give old food away, but the restaurants throw it away, so nobody hangs around waiting for it.

[@dbs555]

Spent time in France during 2019 and found the supermarkets there are required to get any food not sold but near expiration to their equivalent of food banks.

[@uthyrgreywick5702]

@@dbs555 That makes too much sense to happen in this country.

[@eddiesroom1868]

Putin ate the dogs and cats.

[@ryeguy54]

I lived next to a man that lived through the dust bowl as a kid. He told me a story about eating skunk. He was a tough dude

[@IrishMike22]

That's a risky venture there mate, eating skunk that is. All the way from catching to cleaning to cooking. *I'm guessing 😉

[@Alex_Richmond]

Damn, dude was borne as a wasteland survivor

[@MoejiiOsmanTV]

@@IrishMike22 u have to cut the glands underneath there tail/genitals or the stinky glands will soak into the meat, skunks are part of the weasel family. I saw a couple documentaries on KZbin I think about people keeping them as pets n some ate them as well

[@Benni777]

Woah, that’s so cool! How old was he? ☺️

[@bcaye]

I'd rather eat skunk than possum.

[@bettypearson5570]

Cleaned dandelion greens (not flowers) would be quickly stir fried preferably in bacon grease. If you waited for the flowers to bloom your greens would be more bitter so you tried to harvest before the flowers emerged. Vinegar would be sprinkled on top to help counter the bitterness of the greens. If you were lucky you might fry up a strip or two of bacon cut into pieces before adding the dandelion greens. It was always a treat to find little bits of bacon in your serving. Pair that with some baking powder biscuits and you had a good meal. Once flowers did emerge you could pick them and as they showed in the video cook them up to make dandelion jelly. And after all of that you could dig up the roots to use as a poor man's coffee substitute. I'm surprised they didn't mention other wild greens that people would forage (and still can today) like plantain (not the banana) or lambs quarters to name a couple. Another great thing was stale bread. Because most poor people baked their own bread, which has a much shorter shelf life b/c no preservatives, mom would toast those dry ends up on top of the wood stove so until they were dry through and through and put them through the meat grinder (today you would put them in a food processor). When flour would be getting low and we were short on money those crumbs would be used as a flour replacement. My favorite way was to make pancakes with them. We even used them to make pan gravy, although you had to cook the gravy longer so to get it to thicken smoothly. It would be good to have families today to try things that people did to get through hard times. As soft as we all have become, if there were a true disaster most Americans would starve without ever realizing the abundance they had all around them.

[@geoffpriestley7310]

We have a local delicately called Dock pudding it's Dock ,oats, and onion it's fried for breakfast it seems to be limited to the calder Valley in West Yorkshire

[@vaellyth]

I tease him for it, but this is why I'm thankful that my boyfriend is a geek about plants. When I first moved here I was ignorant and bought into the "desolate landscape" trope. We live in the AZ desert but there are so many cacti, weeds, herbs, and flowers that we could survive on if things were to ever hit the fan.

[@craftymystery]

Makes me miss my grandma - some of these foods were things I grew up on! Some things are good because they're tasty, some are good because they have memories attached and fed your soul.

[@user-is7xs1mr9y]

I'm not from the U.S., but I can relate. I miss both my grandmas' beans. I didn't get to know them very well because we moved houses a lot so we lived far, but those beans, each one with their unique flavor.

[@bradleyschlarb2549]

I grew up with about half of these, mom's favorite Sunday all day meal was a giant pot of ham and bean soup with cornbread. We had neighbors come and visit through the day and the sit and have a bowl with us. My mother was raised to never turn down a guest.

[@Viewsx-tw5sz]

Thank u n ya mom for feeding people

[@joytotheworld2100]

Yes me too. I was raised eating some of these foods as my mom lived through the depression. I still use all her recipes " out of poverty comes a wealth of ideas".

[@LPerez-pn5ni]

I came from a large family of 9. In tbe 1960s we use to love watching our Dad making white gravy. He would make a light colored rue, some salt and pepper and serve it over boiled potatoes. That was one of our side dishes every Easter. We loved it!! 😍 Mom added bacon grease & onions to green beans for flavor. I can make just about any traditional gravy really well by having watched my Dad all those years!! Thanks for your video. Much gratitude from Chicago, IL, USA 🇺🇸

[@wendy61865]

Roux* (rue)

[@frybry01]

Bacon grease and onions added to green beans is how we still make them in the south.

[@trashfishtvoregon7290]

Just reading your comment makes me hungry, yum! Thanks for sharing 😀

[@geeky12ful]

@@frybry01That is how I do my green beans, blackeyed peas and refried beans. I live in Texas and save my bacon grease just like my mother & grandmother did.

[@mommas2470]

I was raised in the 70s...by a depression baby and one of the first war boom babies...while I thoroughly enjoy your sarcasm and snark, I can tell that you personally have never eaten many of the meals that you made fun of. When you are truly hungry and poor, any well cooked and carefully prepared meal is not only appreciated but truly enjoyed...and yes, looked forward to.

[@adcummings1224]

This guy sensationalizes and 'freaks out' at food that is perfectly fine and tasty. He seems to have been raised in a shopping mall food court, and has never seen a 'make do' day in his life.

[@Meh-hr7gq]

My grandfather til the day he died would eat a “depression super” every week to remind him of how it was. Half a glass of butter milk filled with one piece of torn up toast. He said it had to be eaten with a spoon to make the brain think it was more filling that way.

[@grannyfisher3863]

My dad always insisted on a glass of milk or buttermilk whenever my mom made cornbread, and he would crumble the cornbread up in the milk and eat it with a spoon.

[@jeaniejbutler4911]

My dad loved that for his bedtime snack lol, he would eat it every nite if my mom would have let him.

[@Mrburger-um8by]

@@grannyfisher3863 lol my dad to...must have been a treat back then ...he still had it in today's time..

[@bettyc.parker-young1437]

My mom believed in buttermilk! We grew up drinking it!

[@texanbill6032]

@@grannyfisher3863 My grandfather would eat leftover cornbread in a glass of buttermilk. He lived through the depression on a farm in West Texas.

[@Randy_Butternubs]

Popcorn and milk, distant ancestor of Pops cereal.

[@abelq8008]

Real talk a good sugary kettle corn makes an amazing breakfast cereal.

[@morganschwery6250]

Me reading this comment as I’m eating pops😦😳 I thought the same thing though I was like now we got pops for that, we don’t need actual popcorn😂

[@mercurymangonada]

Damn for real huh

[@karensiegel6669]

My grandma always gave us milk with popcorn and asked if we wanted sugar!

[@Linusrox123]

Yes, if there is Puffed Wheat and Puffed Rice, why not Puffed Corn? This was also eaten by the colonists.

[@wainmundt8062]

I live off soup and casseroles, I'm autistic and am on disability so I'm on a very low fixed income. but I'm a very smart shoper and hit up the marked down and redused priced parts of the store every day and find all kinds of good veggies, meat and bread!

[@grumpynurple1919]

Legend!!

[@carolynmcintyre5645]

I too lately have been going to clearance. The boxed and cans you can keep for a while of course, produce items I eat within one to two days and they're fine. Sometimes I just might have to cut a section that is going soft off of it. Groceries are so ridiculously expensive and there's many people that don't know about these markdown items. I just got an idea..haa. maybe we should make a channel on this lol.

[@mine332way069]

At first I was reading comments and feeling very yuck to these foods but your comment brought me back to the humanity of people during these trying times. Thank you ❤❤

[@wainmundt8062]

@@mine332way069 if you tasted some of the soup that take me 5 days to make you'll be saying yum! 2 days for bone broth, 2 days for meat, and 1 day for veggies. I go threw alot of slow cookers

[@mine332way069]

@@wainmundt8062 I have only made homemade soup one time for my mom when she was sick once but I get bone broth from my fav Ramen spot and it taste like magic.

[@wolfgirl8187]

I was taught to cook my eggs in bacon grease growing up, I thought everyone did it that way lol

[@charleydraper8656]

Bacon grease, is good for cooking everything.

[@gregorymccullough3801]

Me too. I grew up with my grand parents. The generation before the WWII generation.

[@getin3949]

My uncle did until his cholesterol was up over 500 and he had over 13 stents placed. Not something good for your body, only in moderation. Plus the nitrates and nitrites in bacon are carcinogens. If you would drink one ounce of sodium nitrite you can go to sleep permanently. It's a known death cocktail.

[@mctourer5549]

Potato soup was always a staple when we were growing up and didn't have so much. We ate a lot of cabbage in dishes as well.

[@davidcantwell2489]

Up in the north east potato soup is called Chowder, you know, clam chowder, fish chowder ......

[@butterfly-of-prairie-limin9012]

I got a container full of Mashed Potato and Squash Soup in the fridge right now, and I made it with bacon grease. Think I’ll go have some with toast right this minute

[@peteburciaga5416]

@@davidcantwell2489 "I said CHOW-DAH!"

[@davidcantwell2489]

@@peteburciaga5416 Yes quite right, now could I have some steamed quahogs to go with that fish chawda, don't forget the butter and oyster crackers please.

[@greggi47]

There are some informative vids about wartime rationing. Americans complained about not getting enough sugar, meat and so on. They seem to have had no idea what folks on the other side of the Atlantic had to work with--both the Brits and others ate lots of potatoes. LOTS of potatoes.

[@aliciaschultz309]

Live in east Tennessee. My parents were born in the late twenties, and my mother made most of this stuff on a daily basis.

[@JohnnyAngel8]

Same here in Massachusetts. We were raised on some of these foods. My favorite breakfast we called milk toast, a flour, milk, and butter mix, poured over toast and flavored with salt and pepper.

[@landocomando69]

Did you like any of them?

[@matthewstephens8630]

@@JohnnyAngel8 We had quite our share of variations on 'S.O.S'... More often than not, without any ground beef for the gravy. I still love the dish, it is one of the best comfort foods in my opinion 😊 Think I'll make some for dinner tonight! With the beef, since I am fancy 😆

[@amywilliams6242]

I'm in East TN, too! My grandmother made several of these recipes.

[@BeeWhistler]

My dad was born in Sacramento in 1933 to a family of sharecroppers. He used to cut up and fry leftover cream of wheat. Bean soup was definitely a staple and not a bit weird. We had a large family and lived in Louisiana so a big pot of red beans and rice fed everyone and was the opposite of bland.

[@baylorsailor]

S.O.S, aka Shit on a Shingle, is actually pretty good. My mom made it in the 90s when money was tight. I can live on bean and lentil soups with depression bread. Delicious!

[@letoubib21]

What the heck is "depression bread"?

[@SestraVixen]

Heck yes SOS is awesome!

[@BeardedBaldGuy87]

@@letoubib21 type that question one more time.. But in Google this time.

[@CaseyUnderCovers]

SOS was one of my favorites that my mom made. Gravy toast for dinner, yes please!

[@letoubib21]

@@BeardedBaldGuy87 I only asked once. the other two times must have been a flaw of the computer---today that artificial stupidity seems to be a bit lunatic *. . .*

[@bobbie6468]

Born and raised in central Oklahoma, I grew up eating all the foods and dishes mentioned in this video. One of my favorites not mentioned was cornbread and buttermilk (or water-whatever you had) mixed in a tall glass, add salt, pepper, and chopped onions stir and eat with a spoon. I loved it. Still eat it. Love the Depression era recipes.

[@christaverduren690]

"Would you ever try any of these dust bowl foods?" Uh, I grew up in the 70s, 80, and even the 90s eating them! lol We were so piss poor broke, but we ate like kings from our veggie garden and fruit orchard (plus my folks knew how to forage and hunt, and taught us kids). Living through last year (and now with sky high food prices) with so few options, I was brought back in time! I started making yeast from potatoes, or apples, even raisins as well. With no yeast, baking soda or baking powder in the stores, I made our own breads. My son was floored at all I knew how to do. My Gramma grew up in the depression and taught me everything she knew. Bacon Drippings aka LIQUID GOLD! Acorn squash cut in half, deseeded and poked with a fork. Then add a good size spoonful of bacon drippings (if you can find maple flavored bacon go with it) I then add a bit of brown sugar and some salt, I roast it in a 350 oven for an hour (uncovered). So yummy!!! Just go ahead and google dandelions! Talk about using everything but the squeal, this little 'weed' has so much value! Medicinal is top of the list. Dandelion wine, jelly, tea, just google it lol

[@homeuser5951]

Yep, that didn't look like the dandelion salad we eat. We use the greens. Dandelion is 'said to be' a great cancer killer and a good diuretic. Not a doc nor do I play one on TV. Do your own due diligence. 😉

[@NarrowPathDiaries]

That acorn squash sounds delicious

[@christaverduren690]

@@NarrowPathDiaries I just had some tonight! It was a reheat of the ones I made last week. Yum!

[@NarrowPathDiaries]

@@christaverduren690 Try some bacon-fried okra sometime, season however you like (but IMO it’s not needed) That’s good eating too!

[@kathymc234]

I wish you were my neighbor.

[@frankieamsden7918]

I grew up in the 70s eating all these things. Popcorn in milk isn't bad, neither is the gelatin salad. You can add steel cut oats to soup to stretch the meat. Fried balonga is great, as is rabbit.

[@amandakelley1665]

Right!? I add barley to my beef soups all the time

[@MrEddienoe]

I’ve eaten rabbit many times yum I had cottontail and snowshoe hare

[@monkeygraborange]

I add bulgar wheat to pretty much all my meat based soups and stews just because I like the texture it gives.

[@jomann2789]

Well try popcorn milk

[@Littlepaw7]

Ate a lot of fried bologna with eggs or fried potatoes growing up. Still love it.

[@manicmechanic448]

Apparently you've never been to the south. We still eat some of these, like pinto beans and corn bread, or tuna casserole, or potatoes fried in bacon grease. Bread puddin is really good too.

[@thelight.thedark]

Yeah we keep bacon grease in a jar

[@joyaustin6581]

Mix some banana peppers with the pinto beans

[@Katalinmason]

My parents were born in Hungary and grew up during war time. The recipes my mother cooked were the ones she learned from her mother. They are what I learned also because they are very tasty and healthy. They’re great for feeding a family frugally.

[@MrBibi86]

*Love these "What did people eat?" videos. keep them coming! this KZbin channel needs to win an award or something. learned more on this channel than in 12 years of school*

[@funkycoldmedina29]

Probably because you want to learn now but didn’t care to for those 12 years

[@Aaaaaaaalonika]

Same! I wasn’t taught about the dust bowl in school and I live in Kansas! Also, yes, I paid attention in school. I just had bad history teachers, a bad curriculum, and a bad learning environment.

[@luvmibratt]

@@Aaaaaaaalonika same,in Chicago public school teacher thought reading their newspaper to themselves was teaching.

[@christopherfreeman1340]

Some ate tree bark and their boot leather.

[@christopherfreeman1340]

Some ate the family dog or cat why was that not mentioned?

[@TysMommy609]

Flour, butter, milk and salt is basically the start of a gravy, roux or other white sauce (think Alfredo). There’s no reason it couldn’t be tasty.

[@NefariousKoel]

Cocked my eyebrow at that description mixed with "dreaded white sauce" in the same sentence too.

[@teenietoad]

i suppose because its bland. there was nothing to provide flavor in that spaghetti casserole

[@akbrooks70]

My grandma grew up in Oklahoma during this period and I swear that’s all she knew how to make.

[@christopherfreeman1340]

Bacon,hog jowl, and sausage grease makes better gravy.

[@morgant6660]

I'm super confused by his disdain for bacon greese, white sauce and rabbit

[@karensiegel6669]

That was an awesome meal for us growing up with green beans.

[@laurelherold1956]

In French cooking, white sauce is called béchamel sauce and people don't disdain it.

[@tayinabyss]

He comes off quite pretentious w his tone about these things for sure

[@paulwolf7562]

He obviously didn't know what good eatin was? Hot dandelion with bacon dressing and baked fish and potatoes was a staple around our house, when we were kids. Boy, I miss that.

[@grizzzelda2712]

I'm from the south and we save our bacon grease to season greens, cabbage, and other vegetables. You can make gravy with it. Fried eggs are delicious cooked in it. It's great to grease a cast iron pan when making non sweet cornbread.

[@PrimoLife2]

I have to note that the dandelion clips shown here were to make jam/jelly since the bloom is used. The salad he describes uses the leaves. And you can roast and grind the root to make a coffee.

[@heidimisfeldt5685]

Absolutely 💯 % correct.

[@VictoriaEMeredith]

That bothered me, too. And I prefer to remove every bit of green before I cook the blossoms. I think the sepals make it a little bitter.

[@OKBushcraft]

I grew up eating cornmeal mush. It's a favorite even today. My folks were born in 1938 in Oklahoma. Lots of the foods mentioned were common for us to eat 30 to 40 years later. Great video.

[@monicapyle]

Yes, I live in Oklahoma and everyone cooks with bacon grease

[@valerieeslick6324]

I live in Oklahoma. My grandmother would fix cornmeal mush a lot when I was a kid

[@undernetjack]

I can't understand how anyone who had to eat mush every day could say "it's a favorite even today". It's either hot - bland grainy snot , or cold, bland grainy jello. I may eat it , just as a reminder, but never call it a favorite. Oatmeal was just as bad, if not slimier. No. Just no.

[@OKBushcraft]

@@undernetjack opinions are like butts, everyone has one, some are bigger than others and most stink. Our mush was never bland, it is usually made with chicken stock. We eat it rolled in flour then fried. It goes well with eggs. Polenta is nothing more than mush. The Italians serve sauce over polenta. My stinky opinion of oatmeal agrees with yours.

[@justmeandthethree]

I have never heard of cornmeal mush, but my mother made many pots of grits. I still make it, but only on Christmas Day because it take so long to make it right.

[@TraceVandal]

I could see the carrot orange marmalade being good, also bacon grease broccoli would probably be decent.

[@MRHG126]

Wilted lettuce salad is awesome....fresh green leaf lettuce, chopped green onion hot bacon grease. Mmmmm

[@burnyizland]

If you've never cooked stuff-that's-not-bacon in bacon grease you're missing out! You arteries are likely healthier than mine though.

[@joydenault7794]

You can’t cook any kind of beans without bacon grease. Pinto beans are tasteless without it. If you grew up in Texas you learned to use bacon grease in veggies in home economics at school.

[@joydenault7794]

@@MRHG126 best salad ever

[@billgrandone3552]

@@joydenault7794 Fried green beans with onion and garlic in bacon grease. Oh Yeah!

[@lirael423]

"Would you ever try any of these Dust Bowl foods?" I'm 38 and was raised on a lot of this food. Cornmeal mush (and the similar grits), casseroles, bacon grease, bean soup, rabbit, canned/pickled fruits and vegetables, depression cake... All very common in the southeast US. I make a lot of these myself (except rabbit, which isn't common at grocery stores). Depression cake is great to make for a party where there will be people who don't eat eggs or dairy.

[@heidimisfeldt5685]

I think most people eating rabbit, go in the bush to fetch some themselves, kinda hard to find in the grocery stores. Best to eat in the winter, in the summer they are full of worms.🐇🐇🐇🐇🐇

[@christopherfreeman1340]

Remember the dust is needed for a more authenic flavor to these meals. Adds extra grittieness to the hot water corn pon.🤪

[@christopherfreeman1340]

@@heidimisfeldt5685 do you think the native americans waited till winter to hunt wild game? If they had by winter they would have starved. Not all of them get infected with warble fly maggots unless they get an injury like a cut or tear in their skin. I ate jack rabbit in Arizona in August on a 105 degrees day. cooked with wood on an outdoor grill. Delicious!

[@heidimisfeldt5685]

@@christopherfreeman1340 From what I have read and heard, people would place their meat in the smokehouse, later in the fall, before winter. One or two hogs would feed a family for the entire cold season. The native people's in Northern areas smokehouse their fish in the fall as well. Getting ready for winter is a very old tradition.

[@lindsayhengehold5341]

The Dust Bowl and the Great Depression are events in history that never should be forgotten!

[@meman6964]

Very likely heading into similar depravation, as we see so many Preppers on UTube

[@sixstringcity3931]

They’re back for 2022!

[@MarianneKat]

Still eat cornmeal mush. The leftovers get tossed with egg and fried next day.

[@WyattRyeSway]

I love fried mush!

[@nmoney6655]

I ate like that back when I was little I ate ketchup sandwiches 🥪 though

[@SnowflakeHenri]

Loved potato pancakes.

[@patjones4250]

Never had it or seen it but that's the dish I'd be willing to try.

[@candicekellyhomes]

We used to put the cornmeal mush in a bread pan and slice it the next day. Roll it in flour, fry it in butter and serve with maple syrup. Yummy!

[@sandrajames7961]

I grew up in the south. We had chickens and pigs and my dad fished and hunted. We had garden each year and canned foods up for winter. We were considered poor but as a kid i never knew it because we always had plenty to eat. I ate some of these meals growing up and still do. I don't consider them bad at all. I guess those who grew up eating fancy meals or eating out a lot would consider them gross but i don't regret it at all. As the old saying goes, a country person can survive!

[@Frame_Late]

Same. I grew up dirt poor but my mom made ends meet so we never starved. We weren't rural, but I learned how to cook from her. Lots of muffins and breads, plenty of casseroles and my mom would make homemade gnocchi from old potatoes and yams and seared some tomatoes in a pan to make a basic sauce or even just a bit of brown butter sauce. The crock pot was also busted out a lot when my mom would find cheap, tough cuts of beef and pork about to go off at the store. Chili and Grands was a favorite.

[@lifeinaditch]

@@Frame_Late I grew up thinking "ends meet" was a cut of meat. I never realized how tough the times were in my family because the stuff my mom made was always good.

[@VCBee042]

my grandparents lived through the dust bowl, and my grandma was a prolific canner and baker, and saved bacon grease for frying instead of using vegetable oil. she made the best damn fried chicken with that bacon grease. growing up during those lean times meant my grandparents always made sure to have plenty of preserved food on hand because "you never know."

[@SamtheMan0508]

My mother used to fry potatoes in bacon grease.

[@LeoMidori]

@@SamtheMan0508 Oh it's the best. You get a crispness you can't quite get with some oils, and the remaining bacon flavor in it is great!

[@SamtheMan0508]

@@LeoMidori They sure were and the smell permeated the whole house!

[@cartomancymesquite]

I still do all of it.

[@misst.e.a.187]

We need people like your grandparents today. Salt of the earth souls.

[@johnhanes5021]

Carrot marmalade goes way back to Persia. There are many recipes before the depression times. It prevented scurvy on the old sailing ships.

[@christinafidance340]

Who hasn’t had bean soup and cornbread??? I’m pretty well off and I still cook it regularly in the wintertime with a cheap hunk of pork bone like a neck... or even bacon grease! 😝 Yum!

[@grs6262]

Bean soup is a favorite here.. AND I in no way disdain casaroles.. My disdain is directed towards those who assume they are superior.. those of us who truly are superior know better..☻😏😏

[@ng3069]

When you feel the need to tell people you're "pretty well off" you're usually not!

[@grs6262]

@@ng3069 Hmmmmm?

[@MommaBear360]

I love bean soup and cornbread.

[@johnnielson7676]

And with collard or mustard greens or spinach cooked with a bit of bacon grease with some bits of bacon if you’re lucky. Mm..mmm. Now science tells us that in order to absorb the vitamin B9 (folate) from greens there has to be some fat eaten with the greens. So whether you’re eating kale with olive oil, or (my preference) collards with bacon grease, you’re doing the right thing. And don’t throw out that pot likker left over after you take out the greens. It’s filled with vitamins and minerals. You can sop some up with your cornbread or even just drink it down. If you throw it out, then like BB King would say, “The thrill is gone.”

[@DawnOldham]

If we are hungry enough, we will eat whatever is available! When I give thanks for our meals, I always pray, “Thank you, Lord for this food AND that we get to eat food that we really like.”

[@user-is7xs1mr9y]

This is so true. I'll make sure to also thank the Lord for this.

[@shila8379]

I hope God blesses you with soooo much wealth, you won’t even know what to do with yourself! 🤍

[@michaelpearce8661]

I feel very blessed by being born in the United States 74 years ago.

[@PhantomLover007]

Would I ever try any? Hell of eaten them. My grandparents lived through the depression and World War II. I actually grew up all the way until my teenage years eating dandelion salad with a white bacon dressing, the mush, meals, and definitely various bean soups. I have to say absolutely that bacon grease makes the best foods. This is probably why none of my eggs fried in butter or any of them that my mom makes with cooking oil turn out as well as the ones that my grandmother made with bacon, grease in a cast iron skillets.

[@jlshel42]

The canning part reminded how one of my grandfathers kept shelves upon shelves of canned food in his basement…but if you asked to cook any of it, you were told “No, that’s the emergency supply.”

[@kara431]

Same. My grandmother was born early 40's and she kept an entire cupboard of canned vegetables from her garden. She wouldn't even let us touch the cupboard itself 😂

[@SnowflakeHenri]

Unfortunately my mom's will have to be thrown out someday when she goes to be with the Lord. 😔

[@jessica_gerbil]

the entire store room of canned produce my grandpa left behind when he passed...my god. he canned food when it was so unnecessary, being a comfortable homeowner in the 60s, but the depression left a lifelong fear of food instability clearly. it was never needed. my mother diligently uncanned and dumped everything to save the beautiful canning jars and sanitized them, so i have some beautiful blue ball jars that i treasure.

[@kara431]

@@jessica_gerbil i bet those are lovely!!

[@stinkybritches4540]

Here in my part of Kentucky canning has always been a big thing. Something we did/do every year. Ya can’t just can it and forget it. Gotta eat your food up and replenish. Even canned it won’t last forever. Them seals break over time, so ya gotta be mindful of botulism.

[@rockstarJDP]

If you're taking requests, could you do a vid on the history of military field rations please? Like from hard tack and salt pork through to the development of canning (bully beef etc) and on to the modern MRE? That would be awesome to see how it all developed! Thanks :)

[@travisadams4470]

Check out Steve1989MREInfo. He has the best channel covering military field rations.

[@spooniesarah]

Also check out Townsends channel. He does lots of stuff on 1700s and 1800s life, and has a mini series on colonial soldiers rations and what kinds of food they'd have eaten

[@rockstarJDP]

Thanks for the replies guys, I'm already subbed to both :) I just thought it would be interesting to see WH take on it!

[@spooniesarah]

@@rockstarJDP understood, yes it would be nice for WH to cover it

[@billgrandone3552]

@@spooniesarah Townsends is AWESOME. I would love to buy some of the cooking materials but they are a bit pricey. I am going to buy an apron and one of those stocking caps though.

[@rridderbusch518]

*Bacon grease:* You have to go out of your way now to find bacon that is *smoked.* Darned artificial "smoke flavor" chemicals just don't cut it.

[@sandilindemuth121]

I agree liguid smoke is not the same .

[@2JobsStillPoorUSA]

My father used to smoke bacon and hams. I really hate it when i get a flavorless ham or ham hocks.

[@kristita_888]

Coming from a Southern/Oklahoma family, I have indeed tried some of these recipes! My kids love depression cake - I’ve made both chocolate and yellow versions. I grew up on beans and cornbread (basically bean soup - made with some bacon or ham hocks if you have them). And dandelion greens can be super-yummy in a salad, if you know they are pesticide-free.

[@audrey5941]

You just described my childhood. My mom was born in ‘34 and this is just the way she cooked, and I still use many of her methods to this day. Nothing wrong with it.

[@308dad8]

Yep, every culture and subculture has their own quirky foods that are unique to the geography and local resources and in some cases religious restrictions. I have traveled a lot from my beautiful home in TN and the local cuisine is different everywhere. Spaghetti in Cincinnati is different than spaghetti in TN which is different than spaghetti in Omaha. Same basic idea completely different execution. In fact growing up Grandma would frequently make spaghetti with bell peppers, and macaroni noodles, maybe my favorite way but my wife and kids love it with spaghetti noodles and no added veggies which is good too.

[@SerenitynPeace]

Darn right! Nothing wrong with it at all! ((hugs))

[@mtadams2009]

Please be careful. There is a reason poverty is the leading killer and a poor diet is a big part of that equation. I was raised eating a lot of depression meals since my parents lived through it. When I grew up I moved on from that crap. My had had a triple bypass at the age of 58. He had had a massive heart attack. Fortunately my sisters and I did not end up poor and could eat healthy. My parents did what they had to do to make it.

[@308dad8]

@@mtadams2009 well, sadly politicians are driving our ship straight for the rocks and we may end up eating as poorly or even worse.

[@mtadams2009]

@@308dad8 You never really know. I have gone through some hard times over the years like most people have. Take care

[@Chakfor]

I grew up with grandparents that lived through the dust bowl. We regularly ate cornmeal mush for breakfast. Polk salat (not salad) was another popular summer food. My grandfather loved popcorn and milk and would make it at night as a treat for us kids. And as an adult I *still* save my bacon grease for use in cooking.

[@sharonshearouse5611]

My parents grew up in the depression in the Smoky Mountains. I remember Mama saving bacon grease. It was used to flavor green beans to dog food. Mama said her job growing up was to scrape the hair off a dead hog, then taking the skin that wouldn't be saved and throwing it in the fire to get REAL pork rinds. Mama always loved onions, she ate them like an apple. *shudder*.

[@teresastaggs7923]

Onions have more vitamin c than an orange. I eat onion sandwiches if the Onions are sweet. Hope I didn't gross you out 🙂

[@sharonshearouse5611]

@@teresastaggs7923 No, watching Mama eat onions like an apple grossed me out. I ate banana sandwiches and my best friend ate pineapple sandwiches. They all had gardens and pigs or cows when they could afford,but no fruit but apples from their own trees. I think fruits were a luxury and they taught us to love them.😎👍❤

[@tawnnope7196]

My family lived in the smokey mountains at the same time....i wonder if they knew each other. 😊

[@tawnnope7196]

@@teresastaggs7923 My momma ate onion tomato sandwiches too.

[@sharonshearouse5611]

I don't know. They might've. Sheltons and Brysons and many more.😀

[@shelbymclendon4009]

My great grandmother on my mom’s side was a child of the Great Depression (Born in 1930), learned from her mother to always save any sort of cooking grease and can it in a jar for later, my grandmother does the same thing and so does my mother and aunt. I plan on doing it once I start frying food every now and again myself and one day pass it on to my children as well. In the beginning it was out of necessity and now it’s in a sort of common sense list of family traditions.

[@nicholasnadeau3499]

My great grandma says she remembers eating mustard sandwiches for dinner, and how sometimes that was the only meal of the day. She’s still alive and health, 96 and going strong 💪

[@squirreltailsurvival4529]

Hold on now, “S.O.S” is awesome

[@NefariousKoel]

Hell yeah!

[@tiffanyjohnson3336]

Any military brat loves SOS!!!! I know this one does!!! I make it for my 10 year old. He’s been eating since he could eat solid food!!! I have to make triple just for him now and there’s only 3 of us!!!!!

[@spooniesarah]

@@tiffanyjohnson3336 that's how come I even know what it is. Mom is an army brat. She made SOS on occasion, and she still loves to eat creamed chipped beef on toast (which is a cousin to SOS)

[@cy1329]

Bean soup with any vegetables i can find is my favorite meal. I can eat that every day for the rest of my life.

[@glenysthomson5955]

I am Canadian born in 1933. We had depression too. My mother could cook and even during the war and rationing we ate well. Not rich and no one fussy. Back in those days, no one was fussy

[@johnhart3480]

You forgot to mention that dandelions are easily fermented into alcohol, my family used to make dandelion "wine" in the summer. Dandelions should not be called weeds so easily. 🍷🌻😀

[@bethstearns377]

Can you give me the recipe for dandelion wine? I’m serious!!

[@johnhart3480]

Use dandelion petals only, no stems. Mix with 3 times the amount of water to the weight of petals. Use very hot but not boiling water. After 10 minutes throw out the petals, and mix in a few cups of sugar, the more sugar the sweeter it gets. Now stir in 1 ounce of wine yeast. Put it all in a large jug and keep it in a cool dark place for about 2 weeks. If it bubles and fizzes its fermenting. There will be sediment on the bottem, thats normal. Discard it dont drink it, just drink the liquid. Good luck! 😀

[@dapdne4916]

I've made dandelion wine, going through my parents neighborhood finding flowers. Tastes like port wine strangely at least mine did. I sort of put together my own recipe. Funny that one of my two big glass wine bottles of fermenting dandelion wine actually blew up at 2am. This happened when my parents were home. Fortunately the bottles were outside in a small shed. Unfortunately the shed was next to my parents bedroom window. I had just woke up a few minutes previous. It sounded like a cannon. I explained about my project. Oops! I am making dandelion wine and one bottle blew up! 🙄😂 Lucky our neighbors did not call the police. We knew them pretty well.

[@dondon8161]

@@dapdne4916 😄

[@michaelmiller5194]

My dad used to have us pick bags of dandelion so he could make the wine. It wasn’t bad. Actually had a bottle that was twenty years old. We uncorked it and it tasted pretty good.

[@kassyyar97]

In Mexico we still eat corn bread, its fried in a special stove and its delicious!

[@cadywilson5556]

Plenty of people still eat cornbread in the U.S. Might be less popular now, but people still eat it

[@swatkabombonica4103]

When my grandma makes it, I could eat the whole big oven pan. She would make it to go alongside cooked fermented cabbage with dry, smoked meat. Delicious meal.

[@PabloRodriguez-cl4ox]

@@cadywilson5556 cornbread is popular during thanksgiving

[@zacharyfraser5490]

@@swatkabombonica4103 that sounds so good I wish I could try that right now

[@kingjoseph5901]

Corn bread is awesome! My mom is from the American South and makes some real good corn bread.

[@teacherdude]

I have a few of them. When I was a kid, 'dripping' from whatever meat had been roasted was used as a substitute for butter. I've also tried wild green salads, which are common in Greece and finally, I've made thousands of portions of soup as a volunterr chef in refugee soup kitchens

[@sharimullinax3206]

Both of my parents grew up during the depression. I remember my dad saying that he was lucky because he got bread with butter and sugar, were his friend had to eat lard and sugar on bread. Mom's grandparents both had farms, so they always had food

[@zach7193]

Man, this was something else. People ate what they could to survive.

[@bcaye]

A lot of these foods are very nice to eat, not survival food at all. I would rather eat a lot of these than McDonald's.

[@nmoney6655]

@@bcaye I would rather eat McDonald’s than something I’m allergic too

[@notsureiL]

@@nmoney6655 lol what the 😅

[@TK-ij2xi]

Read Winter Garden, it's a fiction novel about the Siege of Leningrad...what they ate to survive would make you cry.

[@DaftPunkSkittle]

I ate ass to live

[@tylerhackner9731]

Wow, lots of creative stuff they made even with dire circumstances

[@conniesmith3858]

When I was a kid in the 60s we had a lot of this stuff. I didn't know my Dad was in between jobs. My Mother made everything seem normal. We took the bus everywhere. I thought it was an adventure. We lived on casseroles especially tuna on Fridays. I love casseroles to this day. We also had SOS with chip beef and potted meat and Spam. She made her own bread, pies, cakes. Ruff times make strong people!

[@Shade_Dragon]

Young dandelion leaves are actually pretty good in a salad. Mallow, purslane, "lambs quarters"(red amaranth), particularly the young leaves, and, surprisingly, blanched nettles, are also pretty tasty.

[@rachalnocchi5600]

I grew up eating some of these foods. They've been old family favorites for generations. One of our favorite meals is a simple bean and veggie soup with cornbread, yum!

[@lb9031]

still eat bean soup, pea soup and cornmeal mush (my parents grew up in the 30s)

[@rachalnocchi5600]

@@lb9031 My grandparents grew up in the 30's and 40's, and many family recipes were just passed along! My 1st grandchild was born in May, I can't wait to share dishes with him, that my grandma's shared with me!❤💙

[@smilemore7431]

Depression cake? Finally a cake made for people like me!

[@MeowVicious]

Funny but hope you are able to overcome the depression at least some.

[@alexhalstead8824]

Here is my Wacky Cake recipe to cheer you up😊: Wacky Cake 1 1/2 cups flour 1/3 cup cocoa 1 cup sugar 1 tsp baking powder 1/2 tsp salt 1/4 cup powdered milk 1 cup water, milk or cooled coffee 6 tbsp oil 1 tbsp vinegar 1 tsp vanilla extract 1/2 cup chocolate chips and/or walnut pieces Mix dry ingredients together. Make 3 wells in the dry ingredients. Put vinegar in one, oil in another, water in the third. Mix until incorporated. Fold in chocolate chips and walnuts. Pour into greased pan. Bake 40 minutes at 375°

[@NarrowPathDiaries]

@@alexhalstead8824 Could butter be used instead of oil?

[@alexhalstead8824]

@@NarrowPathDiaries I've never tried it but I don't see why not. Go for it!

[@Keeperoffyre]

it's interesting to see what my grandparents possibly ate as children and teens. i know my grandmother would--whenever she made cornbread to go with the pinto beans and ham (frigging love!)--she would take the leftover cornbread and add it and some milk to a mug or bowl and eat it that way. and this wasn't the sweet cornbread mix either! two of my favorite meals growing up were pinto beans and ham, or green beans and ham. my mema would take her cast iron skillets out and used one to bake cornbread in and the other to fix some skillet potatoes to perfection! one thing we didn't eat at her house was casseroles. she hated them lol

[@spooniesarah]

I don't like sweet cornbread so I have to make mine from scratch--I always use a less-sugar recipe--i think northern cornbread is typically less sweet?--and I still reduce the sugar by half. Bonus: I add bacon grease as the required fat, if we've had bacon in the past week or so.

[@furrymessiah]

I love cornbread and milk for breakfast. Add a little honey or maple syrup and it's the best!

[@KkBo15]

OMG, we got oranges in our Christmas stockings. What a special treat!

[@annafandel9983]

My mom called me a weird child for eating things like dandelions. Can’t wait to tell her that I was just channeling the lives of my ancestors💆🏼‍♀️

[@Sanderly1820]

Over here in the UK. When food was low, my Grandparents said they would have beef dripping on bread with salt, if it was too stale for that, they would have hot milk with torn up bread in a bowl and add salt and pepper, eat it like a soup

[@tiddles9596]

Im Uk too,lots of these recipes are very similar to what I was brought up on,good stomach filling food🙂

[@doreenrosenthal4307]

I'm 78 and I still like torn up bread in warm milk for a snack

[@Sanderly1820]

@@doreenrosenthal4307I think about it now I start to feel sick I think it was the unique smell of the hot milk with salt and pepper. My grandad knew this, so he would lip-smack and slurp really loud, only to see he gag , he passed away 25thcDecember 11.58pm 2010 I would do anything to see him just for 5 mins, I didn't just loose my grandad but my best friend and my hero, they say time is a healer and it gets better,, who ever said that needed to be shot, he's the only one that I miss more and more everyday, and the grief gets worse. Only saving grace I'm, terminally sick, It won't be long before I see him again

[@Dingdongbingaling]

I'm 35 and grew up on bread and dripping in England. Its delicious.

[@Dingdongbingaling]

And I was given the milk and bread as a kid if I was poorly!

[@amandakelley1665]

The narrator acts like casseroles are the bane of existence. Shoot, casseroles are awesome!

[@SatanikanataS]

Tater tot casserole is the food of the gods.

[@christinaFaith84]

You from the Midwest as well?

[@amandakelley1665]

@@christinaFaith84 from the south. We do a lot of casseroles here.

[@ingridgallagher1029]

That's what I said. Maybe they're crap up north, idk never been, but casseroles in the south can be bitchin

[@christinaFaith84]

@@ingridgallagher1029 We've got some great casseroles up here. There as always someone who doesn't know how to make them or adds something gross, but aside from the person who THINKS they can cook, they are mostly all really good. We also call it Hot Dish up here.

[@Mo-MuttMusic]

Thanks for sharing. My mom, who lived during the Depression, but wasn't in the Dust Bowl, learned to can and reused bacon grease. She taught the reusing of grease to my brothers and me. The canning, not so much. As for the foods I'd try, probably dandelion greens, given I already use the blossoms to make tea. Shawn R., Mo-Mutt Music/Sacred & Secular

[@karaamundson3964]

The corned beef salad persisted for many years after the Depression, changing with each generation to reflect the times. I have a little cookbook from a Louisville TV station which features the salad. Lemon jello, minced onion and celery, mayonnaise and cream cheese, corned beef, and other ill-matched ingredients combine to create an outstanding challenge to courtesy at the table.

[@meman6964]

Sounds similar to"ham salad" or not that far from tuna salad that we still eat today

[@ericspencer4599]

My great-grandmother was born and raised in southern Oklahoma in the early nineteen hundreds. When I was a kid I would complain about eating liver and onions with cabbage she would always tell me that beats the hell out of possum and dandelion greens. She told me back in the day if you served possum for dinner and had guests that you were to leave the feet on the possum so that people would know that you weren't eating domesticated house cat

[@marcvslicinivscrassvs7536]

That is a cool story.

[@bettyc.parker-young1437]

My mom cooked liver and onions once a week and I sure miss Her and her great cooking! She and my dad were both born in the 1920's. I learned so much from them that I am passing down to my girls and granddaughter.

[@cccmmm6812]

Growing up, my family ate either Grits and Eggs or Cornmeal Mush (with a touch of brown sugar or molasses) almost every weekend for a hearty family breakfast. I still cook it from time to time... so yummy. Yes, we do occasionally really enjoy homemade casseroles or Skillet Pot Pie, we just make sure that they are flavorful and nicely browned on top. Spaghetti and Red Sauce is a staple too. I just make sure to add a Large amount of steamed vegetables to it. One of our favorite cakes is "Wacky Cake"... so chocolaty and moist even without eggs and milk. I think that it sounds a bit similar to your "Depression Cake".

[@katywalker1048]

We eat grits with butter and pepper or red eye gravy

[@thebeesknees745]

Skillet pot pie! Yeah!

[@forestrot666]

Oh wow I forgot about skillet pot pie. Yum. And my mom would do a breakfast version with shredded tatters. Yum.

[@josephdockemeyer6782]

My favorite breakfast is grits with butter, bacon, fried eggs over easy, fluffy buttermilk biscuits and white gravy with enough black pepper.

[@josephdockemeyer6782]

Oh, and steaming hot brewed coffee.

[@willthomas4286]

Dad was born in 1910. That's 2 years before the Titanic sank. He had said that during The Great Depression food was obviously scarce and wild game (here in Kentucky) had been quickly depleted. Many times for them a meal consisted of cornbread, wild green onions and water.

[@michaelhowell2326]

When I was just a kid, I went to get something out of the fridge and seen some cake frosting. I got a spoon and got a big dollop. It was not frosting. It was bacon grease.

[@sammyjo8109]

LMAO!!!

[@miriambucholtz9315]

I saw these little yellow squares on a plate and, thinking they were cheese, I ate some. They were squares of (yecch!) butter.

[@cindycampbell3761]

🤢

[@jolenethiessen357]

My grandfather (born 1921) used to steal salted pork fat from big barrels in their cellar (the meat was sealed in this fat, and you uncovered it and ate the meat and fat). It was a naughty treat he and his 10 siblings would enjoy.

[@DarkandStormyNight01]

@@miriambucholtz9315 I quite vividly recall being a toddler and seeing a large yellow something on the kit counter. I reached as high as I could, grabbed a fistful and shoved it in my mouth... and immediantly threw up all over the kit floor. I haven't eaten butter since, as just the smell and taste make me retch. Can't even cook with it (bake yes, fry no). I even avoid the popcorn aisle since a lot of brands reek and fill the aisle with "butter" smell (gag!).

[@marks1638]

My Grandma learned how make due with what she could buy on a little money (my grandpa was an alcoholic and didn't always bring home his paycheck during the depression). One of my favorite recipes was a Polish recipe called Hulski which was actually very cheap to make in the 30's and 40's. Simple fried cabbage, noodles (or a substitute pasta), and butter (or some people use bacon fat if butter wasn't available.) with salt and pepper in cast iron skillet. Still fondly remember it from my childhood and make it for my family when the mood strikes me (or they bug me to make it.).

[@ettalanuti7926]

I make that dish, with

[@ettalanuti7926]

I make that same dish! If you have some smoked sausage you're living high. The secret was to get some of the noodles crisp on the edges. We call it ' Poor Richard'.

[@GaryCarpenter-y2k]

My grandmother always canned and frozen most of her stuff

[@GaryCarpenter-y2k]

My grandmother always canned and froze most of her stuff she had a garden and she was raising 5 kids but grandpa had died by 1960 and she had her 5th after he died she had a green 💚 thumb and could raise just about anything she could

[@SK22000]

50 years from now “What people ate during Covid 19”

[@seagecko]

ANYTHING - if the restaurant delivers... Ha, my two-year-old daughter declares all scooters as "a delivery man". Nothing like a year of lockdown to get a generation used to eating in... She eats sushi like a pro, demands soy sauce and tries to use the chopsticks. Occasionally you have to eat something different, for the variety.

[@asteriasheria2053]

Literally not that different from any current year.

[@Senaihh]

We ate fried fried toilet paper with bacon grease. We are a poor family living in Tennessee. :(

[@MichaelSHartman]

After the 2008 Crash people learned to grow a garden. Some learned to bake bread during COVID-19. Neither came close to the Oil Crisis, Stagflation, and unemployment of the 1970s, and early 80s. These weren't close to the Great Depression, especially in the South. Millienials may have some bad inflation ahead, and the possibility of war, but to date they haven’t seen half of what their parents, and grandparents went through. If America goes communist, I pity the generations after them. At least people in the Depression were free.

[@billgrandone3552]

Fried Republicans

[@stevev3664]

Here in the U.K. I can buy cooked cornmeal sold as a couscous. It only needs boiling water and after soaking up the water it is ready. Takes about 5 minutes. I add sugar to it and stir it in to make a sweet food. It has a high calorie value so is helpful in maintaining my weight.

[@sapphoculloden5215]

Do not speak disparagingly of a simple white sauce! The spaghetti casserole is basically macaroni cheese (not mac and cheese) without the cheese and it's great.

[@NoName-hg6cc]

@no or maybe yes what the hell do you American eat?

[@sapphoculloden5215]

@no or maybe yes - the first time I encountered deep fried sushi was at a Korean hole-in-the-wall in Sydney. Oh, they had the best bad-for-you food. I miss the little "rafts" of glutinous rice with a spicy red sauce so much.

[@kmeccat]

Bacon grease IS delicious. My grandmother and mother always saved it to use in frying. I always put it in a metal can while hot and then in the fridge. It can be used in frying--or warm it up, mix it with birdseed and use as suet for the birds! And I hope they didn't throw out the leaves of the dandelions--great on salads and to make tea--extremely nutritious!

[@Aeyrie1]

Some of these I eat on a regular basis. I use bacon grease a lot, from frying eggs to pancakes or even the cornmeal mush. I absolutely love cornmeal mush. And the “dreaded” white sauce is just a bechamel sauce, one of the mother sauces in French cuisine.

[@Bobbied100]

People still eat Dandelion salad here in Germany today. it is called Löwenzahn or Lion's tooth for the jagged edges on the leaves. it is a great source of dark leafy greens and many consider it a delicacy