Back to the Depression Era of Frugal Cooking
This photo is of a woman and the storage of her garden produce during the Great Depression. 1942
Frugal Cooking
During the first World War, the American government went to work to help homemakers learn how to be frugal in their cooking. Booklets and pamphlets were distributed with the reasons why people needed to be frugal, along with frugal recipes. There was a world war, crop failures, and famine in Europe. America needed to feed her fighting troops overseas and also her allies. American homemakers were taught to save:
Wheat-use more corn
Meat-use more fish and beans
fats-use just enough
sugar-use syrups
The US Food Administration advised about food:
1. Buy it with thought
2. Cook it with care
3. Serve just enough
4. Save what will keep
5. Eat what will spoil
6. Home grown is best
When the Great Depression hit about 10 years later there was some history and knowledge in place of how to make frugal meals and how to get the most out of your food supply.
Gardening and Canning
Gardening Ensures a Fresh, Frugal & Healthy Food Supply
Fresh fruits and vegetables could not easily be shipped overseas so families were encouraged to grow them to supplement their diets here at home. At harvest time the produce could be canned or dried to help the family stay well fed and nourished during the winter. They canned tomatoes and tomato juice, green beans, peaches, cherries and many more fruits and vegetables. Many families grew cucumbers for pickle making as well. Produce such as potatoes, carrots, onions and pumpkins would keep for a long time. Ball Home Canning Kit
Preserve the Harvest
Jarden Home Brands 11102 Ball Home Canning Kit
Amazon Price: $49.99 (as of 12/14/2009)
Ball Home Canning Basics Kit, Consists Of A 21 Quart Waterbath Canner, Canning Jar Rack, 6 Pint Jars, 6 Collection Elite Lids, 1 Ball Blue Canning Instruction Book, 1 Jar Lifter, 1 Lid Wand, 1 Canning Funnel, 1 Bubble Freer, Everything Needed To Begin Canning.
Many Communities are Setting up Community Gardens.
Build Community and Grow Your Own
Many towns and cities are starting Community Gardens.
- Community Gardens
- Ben and Dee Andrews believe strongly in the value of locally grown food and the benefit of growing some of it yourself.
That belief fueled their successful effort to win a $5,000 grant to help the Guide Meridian/Cordata Neighborhood Association start a community garden. Work is expected to start early March, with the beds ready for planting early May.
Families have signed up for half of the 50 raised beds planned for the garden, and efforts are under way to spread the word to other would-be gardeners in the north end of town. Organizers hope to hold events at the garden, involve children, and provide any surplus bounty to needy residents. - American Community Gardening Association
- Starting a Community Garden
There are many ways to start a community garden. Whether you're working with friends, neighbors, or a local organization, there are many things you'll want to consider before you ever dig the first hole.
This fact sheet is designed to give many different groups the basic information they need to get their gardening project off the ground
Seeds and Books on Seeds
Heirloom Seeds
Organic Carrot Seeds Carnival Blend 1000 Seeds
Amazon Price: (as of 12/14/2009)
Red Plum Tomato 30 Seeds - Heirloom
Amazon Price: $2.99 (as of 12/14/2009)
Seed to Seed: Seed Saving and Growing Techniques for Vegetable Gardeners
Amazon Price: $16.47 (as of 12/14/2009)
Seed Sowing and Saving: Step-by-Step Techniques for Collecting and Growing More Than 100 Vegetables, Flowers, and Herbs (Storey's Gardening Skills Illustrated)
Amazon Price: $13.57 (as of 12/14/2009)
The Edible Heirloom Garden (Edible Garden)
Amazon Price: (as of 12/14/2009)
Root Vegetables
What did our Grandmothers and Great Grandmothers cook?
Depression era recipes
Soups provided a good hot meal and were a way to use up leftovers so they didn't get wasted. This is still true today. Into the stockpot goes the bones, fat and any other part of the meat that no one eats. Throw in onion skins for color. Toss in carrot peelings and the ends snapped of off fresh green beans. All of this would otherwise be wasted and it can add nutrients to your stock. It will all be strained out and you will be left with a flavorful and nutritious base for soup.Here are some soup recipes historically used when times were hard. All of these recipes come from government pamphlets which are in the public domain. All the recipes were designed to show housewives how to economize on wheat, meat, fats and sugar. It was important not to waste food.
Photo is the Volunteers of America Soup Kitchen in Washington D.C. Great Depression
Stories and Recipes of the Great Depression of the 1930's
Stories and Recipes of the Great Depression of the 1930's and More From Your Kitchen Today, Vol. 1 (Stories & Recipes of the Great Depression)
Amazon Price: $17.95 (as of 12/14/2009)
Rita Van Amber, a child of the Great Depression, is passionate about preserving the authentic personal history of that era as it happened in homes across the country. Her project was born from a desire to commemorate the women who so valiantly struggled to feed their families and make do in the midst of barren cupboards and discouraged husbands, as she saw her mother do firsthand. Her daughter and co-author, Home Economist Janet Van Amber Paske, learned economical and nutritious cooking at her mother's knee and shares her recipes and techniques in the bonus section.
Vegetable Soup
Depression Era Soup, Simple and Nourishing
VEGETABLE SOUP
1 qt. boiling water
½ cup carrots
½ cup cabbage
1 cup potatoes
1 cup tomato juice and pulp
1 tablespoon minced onion
¼ teaspoon pepper
4 tablespoons fat
4 cloves
1 bay leaf
2 teaspoons salt
4 peppercorns
2 tablespoons chopped parsley
Heat onion, pepper, salt, bay leaf and peppercorns with tomatoes for 20 minutes. Strain. To juice and pulp add other ingredients and cook slowly 1 hour. Add parsley just before serving.
Cream of Carrot Soup
Another versatile Depression Era Recipe
CREAM OF CARROT SOUP
2 cups diced carrots
2 cups water
1 cup milk
1/8 teaspoon pepper
2 tablespoons fat
2 tablespoons flour
1 teaspoon salt
Cook the carrots in the water until tender. Melt the fat, add dry ingredients, add gradually the 1 cup water in which the carrots were cooked and the milk. When at boiling point, serve with a little grated raw carrot sprinkled over top of soup. Any vegetable, raw or cooked, may be used in the same way, as cauliflower, cabbage, peas, turnips, etc.
Potato and Cheese Soup
POTATO AND CHEESE SOUP
2 cups cooked diced potatoes
2 cups water in which potatoes were cooked
1 cup milk
2 teaspoons onion juice
2 tablespoons fat
3 tablespoons flour
1½ teaspoons salt
1/8 teaspoon cayenne
2 tablespoons of finely chopped parsley
¼ cup grated cheese
Dice potatoes and cook slowly until very tender. Rub through strainer, using potato and the 2 cups of water. Melt fat, add dry ingredients and gradually add the liquids and onion juice. When ready to serve, sprinkle parsley and cheese over top.
Stories and Recipes of the Great Depression of the 1930's and Low-Fat Pantry Cooking, Volume II
Stories and Recipes of the Great Depression of the 1930's and Low-Fat Pantry Cooking, Volume II (2 Cookbooks in 1)
Amazon Price: $17.95 (as of 12/14/2009)
A second collection of additional nostalgic, heartwarming stories contributed by survivors of the Great Depression, along with the comforting recipes that kept body and soul of their families together. Includes a bonus section of low-fat quick, easy recipes and motivating tips using pantry ingredients.
Little Heathens:
Hard Times and High Spirits on an Iowa Farm During the Great Depression
Little Heathens: Hard Times and High Spirits on an Iowa Farm During the Great Depression
Amazon Price: $10.08 (as of 12/14/2009)
Kalish's memoir of her Iowa childhood, set against the backdrop of the Depression, captures a vanished way of traditional living and a specific moment in American history in a story both illuminating and memorable. Kalish lived with her siblings, mother and grandparents-seven in all-both in a town home and, in warmer weather, out on a farm. The lifestyle was frugal in the extreme: "The only things my grandparents spent money on were tea, coffee, sugar, salt, white flour, cloth and kerosene." But in spite of the austere conditions, Kalish's memories are mostly happy ones
Depression Era One Dish Meal
Lentils with Rice and Tomatoes, A Meatless Meal
LENTILS WITH RICE AND TOMATOES
¾ cup lentils
1 cup rice
1 quart tomatoes
1 teaspoon Worcestershire
2 teaspoons salt
¼ teaspoon cayenne
¼ teaspoon bay leaf
¼ teaspoon sage
Soak lentils over night; drain; add one quart fresh water and one teaspoon of salt. Cook slowly until tender. Add other ingredients. Steam or bake for 45 minutes.
Serve with fruit or a dessert and bread and butter.
Depression Era Casserole Recipe
Another Depression Era Meatless Meal
RICE WITH CORN AND CHEESE IN BROWN SAUCE
½ cup rice
1 cup cheese
1 cup corn
1½ cup milk
¼ cup fat
¼ cup flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon cayenne
Melt fat until brown. Add flour and seasonings. Heat until brown. Add milk gradually. When at boiling point add other ingredients. Place in baking dish and bake 45 minutes.
Serve with fruit or a dessert and bread and butter.
Stories and Recipes of the Great Depression of the 1930's, Volume III
Stories and Recipes of the Great Depression of the 1930's, Volume III
Amazon Price: $17.95 (as of 12/14/2009)
A third collection of additionalnostalgic, heartwarming stories contributed by survivors of the Great Depression, along with the comforting recipes that kept body and soul of their families together.
Rita Van Amber, a child of the Great Depression, is passionate about preserving the authentic personal history of that era as it happened in homes across the country. Her project was born from a desire to commemorate the women who so valiantly struggled to feed their families and make do in the midst of barren cupboards and discouraged husbands, as she saw her mother do firsthand. Her daughter, Home Economist Janet Van Amber Paske, is her editor.
A Good Day's Work: An Iowa Farm in the Great Depression
A Good Day's Work: An Iowa Farm in the Great Depression
Amazon Price: $17.16 (as of 12/14/2009)
Despite beautiful landscapes and bountiful harvests, farming is hard work and always has been. The Great Depression in rural America, which began in the 1920s and lasted until World War II, made it still harder. At a time when tractors were replacing horses and the family farm was giving way to the large, single-crop enterprise, the struggle to survive and modernize in a period of economic scarcity was especially sharp. In A Good Day's Work, Dwight Hoover, who grew up on an Iowa farm in this era, recalls the events of day-to-day life on a single farm, offering detailed descriptions of daily work in each of the year's four seasons. A Good Day's Work is a fascinating if grim reminder of what it was like to be a child with adult responsibilities. Mr. Hoover's unusual memoir recalls the rough edges as well as the happy moments of rural life. It is an honest re-creation of a world that was vanishing.
My Grandmothers' Depression Era Cooking
My other grandmother would make a mixture of elbow macaroni, stewed tomatoes and cottage cheese. I never liked it but my brother did. Mom says they would also make "hamburger" patties out of eggs and oatmeal. She doesn't remember what else was in them but she says they were pretty good. Meals were made with ingredients that were inexpensive and far from fancy. Grandma lived on a farm and kept chickens. She made the most wonderful strawberry rhubarb jam. I wish I had that recipe!
Grandma Kirby's Applesauce Cookies
GRANDMA KIRBY'S APPLESAUCE COOKIES
3/4 cup soft shortening
1 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1/2 cup applesauce
2 1/4 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon cloves
1 cup raisins
1/2 cup nuts
Mix thoroughly, shortening,brown sugar and egg. Stir in applesauce. Sift together four, salt, soda, and spices and stir in. Mix in raisins and nuts. Drop by spoonfuls onto greased cookie sheets. Bake at 375 degrees F or 10 to 12 minutes.
Yield: 4 dozen
Depression Era Meatless Recipe
WELSH RAREBIT
1 cup of cheese
1 cup of milk
¼ teaspoon of mustard
1/8 teaspoon of pepper
2 tablespoons of flour
1 teaspoon of fat
1 teaspoon of salt
1 egg
Put milk and cheese in top of double boiler over hot water. Heat until cheese is melted. Mix other ingredients. Add to cheese and milk. Cook five minutes, stirring constantly, and serve at once on toast.
Depression Era Breakfast
Cornmeal Mush
POLENTA
1 cup cooked cornmeal mush
½ teaspoon salt
½ cup cheese
1/8 teaspoon pepper
While mush is hot, place ingredients in layers in baking dish. Bake 20 minutes.
My mom used to make cornmeal mush for breakfast. She would slice the cornmeal mush, fry it and serve it with butter and syrup. She was born in 1929 and grew up during the Great Depression so I'm sure this was a hold over from that time.
Stories And Recipes of the Great Depression of the 1930's, Volume IV
Stories And Recipes of the Great Depression of the 1930's, Volume IV (Stories & Recipes of the Great Depression)
Amazon Price: $17.95 (as of 12/14/2009)
A continuing historical documentation of the impact the Depression Era had in the homes of those who struggled to keep their families together, body and soul. Candid previously untold personal stories in the unique dialect of that time. A must read. Also includes more of the original comfort-food recipes that sustained them.
Putting Food By
Putting Food By (Plume)
Amazon Price: $11.05 (as of 12/14/2009)
The fourth edition of this classic guide to freezing, canning, and preserving food includes new information on freezing for the microwave, making Christmas presents, canning convenience food, and kitchen equipment.
Depression Era Techniques for Cutting Down on Sugar
Dried fruits, raisins, dates, prunes and figs, which contain large amounts of natural sugar, may be added to desserts and cereals instead of white sugar. Maple sugar and maple syrup were used when available.
Crumb Spice Pudding
Depression Era Sugarless Dessert
CRUMB SPICE PUDDING
1 cup dry bread crumbs
1 pint hot milk
Let stand until milk is absorbed.
¼ teaspoon salt
½ cup molasses
¼ teaspoon cinnamon
1 egg
½ teaspoon mixed spices, cloves, nutmeg, allspice, mace and ginger
2/3 cup raisins, dates and prunes (steamed 5 minutes)
Mix and bake 45 minutes.
Wheatless, Eggless, Butterless, Milkless, Sugarless Cake
One wonders if it was tasteless too
WHEATLESS, EGGLESS, BUTTERLESS, MILKLESS, SUGARLESS CAKE
1 cup corn syrup
2 cups water
2 cups raisins
2 tablespoons fat
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1½ cups fine cornmeal, 2 cups rye flour; or, 3½ cups whole wheat flour
1½ teaspoons baking powder, or, ½ teaspoon soda
Cook corn syrup, water, raisins, fat, salt and spices slowly 15 minutes. When cool, add flour, soda or baking powder, thoroughly blended. Bake in slow oven 1 hour. The longer this cake is kept, the better the texture and flavor. This recipe is sufficient to fill one medium-sized bread pan.
Nabisco-Ritz Crackers
For Depression Era Mock Apple Pie
Nabisco-Ritz Crackers, 4/12oz Packs
Amazon Price: $20.49 (as of 12/14/2009)
Great for a snack or at a party. Good with cheese or a spread. Ritz Crackers are what you need to make Mock Apple Pie. 3 pounds
Mock Apple Pie
Mock Apple Pie
A Depression Era Recipe
I learned that Ritz Crackers were introduced by the National Biscuit Company in 1934. In 1935 they introduced Mock Apple Pie using Ritz Crackers. This was not a totally original invention. Housewives were using soda crackers to make pies as early as the 1800s. Using Ritz Crackers was new. Mock Apple Pie really was a recipe from the Great Depression and it still enjoys some popularity today.
This recipe was created by Nabisco and was found on the back of Ritz Cracker boxes. Now it can be found at: The Kraft Foods Website
MOCK APPLE PIE~DEPRESSION ERA RECIPE
What you will need:
pastry for 2-crust 9-inch pie
36 RITZ Crackers, coarsely broken (about 1-3/4 cups crumbs)
2 cups sugar
2 tsp. cream of tartar
Grated peel of 1 lemon
2 Tbsp. lemon juice
2 Tbsp. butter or margarine
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
HOW TO MAKE IT
PREHEAT oven to 425°F. Roll out half of the pastry and place in 9-inch pie plate. Place cracker crumbs in crust; set aside.
MIX sugar and cream of tartar in medium saucepan. Gradually stir in 1-3/4 cups water until well blended. Bring to boil on high heat. Reduce heat to low; simmer 15 minutes. Add lemon peel and juice; cool. Pour syrup over cracker crumbs. Dot with butter; sprinkle with cinnamon. Roll out remaining pastry; place over pie. Trim; seal and flute edges. Slit top crust to allow steam to escape.
BAKE 30 to 35 minutes or until crust is crisp and golden. Cool completely.
Stories and Recipes of the Great Depression of the 1930's, Volume V
Stories and Recipes of the Great Depression of the 1930's, Volume V
Amazon Price: $17.95 (as of 12/14/2009)
The 5th in a series of 5 "cookbook-journals" depicting candid personal experiences of those who survived the most challenging years in the history of our Nation, along with the foods that sustained them. This final addition also includes a composite recipe index for all 5 volumes and a tribute to the Veterans of WW II who were the children of the Great Depression, and the personal life experiences that led to the author's self-publishing of this series.
Depression Era Mentality
Make do with what you have.
Also tucked away in drawers and in the pockets of coats, and hidden here and there, they found money. A twenty dollar bill here, a fifty there until they had several thousand dollars. That was my Granddad, distrustful of banks and wanting to make sure his girls got his money. My grandparents lived extremely frugally even when they no longer had to.
The Busy Person's Guide to Preserving Food: Easy Step-by-Step Instructions for Freezing, Drying, and Canning
The Busy Person's Guide to Preserving Food: Easy Step-by-Step Instructions for Freezing, Drying, and Canning
Amazon Price: (as of 12/14/2009)
With this indispensable guide readers will discover the fastest, easiest way to stockpile and preserve the season's best fruits, vegetables, and herbs. Included are step-by-step instructions for storing today's most popular produce quickly and easily. Food-by-food suggestions for the best preservation methods (including microwave) save the reader lots of time.
Hobos and the Depression Era
During the Great Depression hobos would ride the trains. Some were looking for work, some were running away from something and some were looking for a new start where things might be better. Sometimes they would come up to houses and ask for a handout. If they got a handout they would mark the house to let other hobos know that this was a house where they could get something to eat.
We lived near a railroad track in rural Iowa and I remember my mom talking about the hobos but I don't remember a hobo ever stopping at our house.
Wikipedia on Hobos:
To cope with the difficulty of hobo life, hobos developed a system of symbols, or a code. Hobos would write this code with chalk or coal to provide directions, information, and warnings to other hobos. Some signs included "turn right here", "beware of hostile railroad police", "dangerous dog", "food available here", and so on. For instance:
* A cross signifies "angel food," that is, food served to the hobos after a party.
* A triangle with hands signifies that the homeowner has a gun.
* Sharp teeth signify a mean dog.
* A square missing its top line signifies it is safe to camp in that location.
* A top hat and a triangle signify wealth.
* A spearhead signifies a warning to defend oneself.
* A circle with two parallel arrows means to get out fast, as hobos are not welcome in the area.
* Two interlocked humans signify handcuffs. (i.e. hobos are hauled off to jail).
* A Caduceus symbol signifies the house has a medical doctor living in it.
* A cat signifies that a kind lady lives here.
* A wavy line (signifying water) above an X means fresh water and a campsite.
* Three diagonal lines mean it's not a safe place.
* A square with a slanted roof (signifying a house) with an X through it means that the house has already been "burned" or "tricked" by another hobo and is not a trusting house.
* Two shovels, signifying work was available (Shovels, because most hobos did manual labor).
Even in Hard Times it is Good to have Treats!
The Blogs are talking about Depression Era Recipes
- Learn To Make Depression Era Recipes With 93-Year-Old Clara - The ...
- Clara was born in 1915 and grew up in Chicago during the Great Depression. Now she's on YouTube teaching a new generation how to make the simple, inexpensive food that her family used to eat during those hard times. Clara is so awesome! ...
- Eat The Blog: Depression Era Baking
- Depression Era Baking. This is one of my vintage booklets I managed to save after the tornado by drying it out on my wooden drying rack. I'm so glad I went to the effort-now it can hang around for another 70+ years. ... The recipe for the cake comes from a booklet published by Calumet baking powder in 1934. I get the sense, looking at recipes from that time that eggs were quite expensive as most recipes will note how many were required, and sometimes offer more economical ...
- Experimental Theology: Tex-Mex, Poor Man's Cake and Other ...
- I was thinking about how the Depression affected family meals. The creation of Tex-Mex was driven by people mixing the food they had on hand. In that case, chili and yellow cheese. This made me think about other Depression-Era recipes ...
- Someone's In The Kitchen: The Recipe of a Relationship
- The Sugar Cream Pie is also known as a Depression Pie because it was traditionally made with very simple ingredients that were almost always on hand and I'm sure aesthetics was not an important factor. Convinced that the Sugar Cream Pie ...
Do you think we are headed for another Great Depression?
There is truly nothing new under the sun and history seems to move in cycles. Maybe we can learn from our grandparents how to weather unsettling economic times
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- ChapelHillFiddler ChapelHillFiddler Dec 1, 2009 @ 7:16 am
- I love your lens, and the images are so great. I've featured this on my fan-club thank-you lens so - thank you!
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- Demaw Demaw Nov 5, 2009 @ 6:39 pm
- Great frugal recipes, I definitely will be trying them. 5*
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- purplelady purplelady May 9, 2009 @ 5:37 pm
- Great lens--I also enjoyed the link between food and history; very interesting. 5recipes, l fave and a couple of lens rolls.
I am working on my own lens on frugality and want to have a featured lenses module on i; this lens will definitely be one of them.
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- JaguarJulie JaguarJulie Apr 24, 2009 @ 9:52 am
- My oh my! Visiting your delicious lens made me reflect this morning on my grandma Julia Nagy and realize for a moment JUST how IMPORTANT she was to our lives -- how I wish I could go back to those magical times in her kitchen to give her a hug and kiss and to thank her and tell her how much I love her and how much she has meant to my life!!!
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- stargazer00 stargazer00 Apr 13, 2009 @ 8:03 pm | in reply to ottoblotto
- I find this really interesting about how they made sausage in your dad's time. People did what they had to do and they survived.
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- ottoblotto ottoblotto Apr 13, 2009 @ 6:56 pm
- My father grew up in a log cabin during the depression. He remembered that they would "can" sausage by cooking it, packing it into jars, and pouring the fat over top to seal out any air that might make it spoil.
An excellent and timely lens; I am lensrolling it to my Chile Pepper Growing lens.
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- Swisstoons Swisstoons Apr 9, 2009 @ 10:20 am
- Also rolling it to my Best Buds lens!
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- Swisstoons Swisstoons Apr 9, 2009 @ 10:19 am
- I love the connection between food and history....so I found this lens particularly interesting. (This interest I have in the two subject may be one of the reasons I love sampling foods from diverse cultures.) I am happy to 5-star this great lens, favorite it and roll it to my Laftovers lens.
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- KarateKatGraphics KarateKatGraphics Apr 4, 2009 @ 1:04 pm
- I love this lens! Great topic, great mix of content and images. I read the other day that home gardens are making a *huge* comeback in the U.S., due to the recession. Hope people with stick with it. 5*****
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- mulberry mulberry Mar 17, 2009 @ 2:30 pm
- My 82 year old mother was a child during the depression. Some of these recipes sound familiar. There were 10 children at home at Grandma's; I think meat was not a given, in fact my aunt says that the 5 boys ate meat when available but the girls often didn't get any. Explains why my mom is sooo tiny!
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