The finished product

2014 marks the centenary of the First World War. This event combined with the damning results of a survey (http://news.sky.com/story/1290279/fifth-of-brits-think-we-fought-wwi-to-stop-nazis) revealing that nearly one in five Britons confuse the events of WW1 with WW2 prompted me to start my blog honouring this time in my own little way… by exploring life on the Home Front through what was traditionally eaten at the time.

Cue quick history lesson. Rationing was introduced in England in 1918 by the Defence of the Realm Act in response to food shortages caused by naval blockades and loss of agricultural labour to the war effort. Its purpose was to prevent starvation by ensuring equal food distribution. This affected everyone from the rich to the poor; from those on fighting on the front line as well as their families back home. However, although occasionally bland and boring, many (especially the poor) reported that it improved how they ate, their health and therefore their overall well-being.

Other countries didn’t fare as well. In Turkey starvation was common and in Germany food was produced from poor ingredients with low nutritional value which led to many becoming malnourished. By contrast, Britons coped extremely well under the rationing system and rationing was therefore thought to be a success. In fact, by WW2 no one in England was thought to have starved as a result of food shortages.

Diets were well-balanced, consisting of home-grown vegetables and plenty of stodge, with cookery books emerging aiming to teach women of the family how to make food last longer. One such book is May Byron’s ‘How to Save Cookery Book – A War Time Cookery Book’ which was thought to have been published in 1918. For this one I headed to the British Library near King’s Cross in central London. In its pages I found a recipe for ‘Hodge Podge’ soup which consists of ‘shelled’ green peas, onions, carrots, turnips, a bit of salt and pepper, and ‘a few mutton or lamb chops’.