Self sufficiency wasn’t a fad during the war. It was a necessity. People had to make do, to use whatever they had to hand, and to battle waste wherever they could.
During World War Two, the Ministry of Food made sure the nation was fed, keeping the distribution lines open and showing people how to make best use of the limited ingredients at their disposal. Its most famous employee, whose influence has lasted longer than the ministry itself, is Marguerite Patten, latterly TV cook, author and brains behind Victory Cookbook: Nostalgic Food and Facts from 1940-1954
This is an excellent guide to low-cost meals that use very few ingredients, perfect for less ambitious or truly penny-pinching chefs.
There are plenty of old favourites, like currant buns, egg custard and apple turnovers, plus a lot of dishes we don’t generally cook any more, such as sheep’s head roll, black pudding hot pot and piquant tripe.
But it’s more than just recipes. This is a fascinating history book that explores wartime conditions, the points system that ensured everyone received the same amount of food, and the way that some of the dishes came about. For example, Patten explains as follows how (and why) she came up with a recipe for stuffed pigeons:
In the early 1950s when grain was so very precious there was a plague of pigeons, who were eating it.
Farmers asked me to demonstrate pigeon dishes to persuade the public to make use of this very edible but, at the same time, tiresome bird.
Halve young pigeons lengthways; remove as many bones as possible; spread sausagemeat against the cut side, then coat in beaten egg and crisp breadcrumbs.
Fry in hot fat until crisp and brown all over; lower the heat and continue cooking for 10 – 15 minutes. Serve with creamed potatoes and a green vegetable.
It sounds like a heart attack on a plate, doesn’t it. I like the way that all the fat and meat is balanced out by ‘a green vegetable’. Fortunately not all of the recipes are quite so old fashioned, and there’s plenty here that you’d happily cook and serve up for visitors today.
This book is a bit of an anomaly. Amazon has a copy under this cover for £13 (or used for just under £3), but it’s also available as ‘Feeding the Nation
You’ll probably also find it in second hand bookshops as We’ll Eat Again (1985), The Victory Kitchen (1995) or Post-War Kitchen (1998). So, it’s got staying power, which is testament to the value of its content.
Rating 
Price £6.22 under the title Feeding the Nation at Amazon UK
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