Make It Do or Do Without: 1940s Ration Recipes - Retro Housewife Goes Green (2024)

FAQs

What were the rations in the 1940s? ›

A typical weekly ration per person, when at its lowest level, was butter 4oz; bacon and ham 4oz; loose tea 4oz; sugar 8oz; meat one shilling-worth; cheese 1oz; preserves 8oz a month. By 1942, most foods were rationed except vegetables, bread, and fish.

World War II put a heavy burden on US supplies of basic materials like food, shoes, metal, paper, and rubber. The Army and Navy were growing, as was the nation's effort to aid its allies overseas. Civilians still needed these materials for consumer goods as well.

Supplies such as gasoline, butter, sugar and canned milk were rationed because they needed to be diverted to the war effort. War also disrupted trade, limiting the availability of some goods.

Every American was issued a series of ration books during the war. The ration books contained removable stamps good for certain rationed items, like sugar, meat, cooking oil, and canned goods. A person could not buy a rationed item without also giving the grocer the right ration stamp.

The first C-ration consisted of a 16 ounces (450 g) 'meat' unit (M-unit) (reduced to 12 ounces (340 g) after being field tested during the 1940 Louisiana maneuvers). In the initial C-ration, there were only three variations of the main course: meat and beans, meat and potato hash, or meat and vegetable stew.

Rationed Foods. The categories of rationed foods during the war were sugar, coffee, processed foods (canned, frozen, etc.), meats and canned fish, and cheese, canned milk, and fats.

Complete ration books sell for between $4 and $8, partial books between $2 and $4. I have seen them priced higher, but no knowledgeable collector pays these higher prices. The real value of your book is personal.

By the end of the war, rationing limited consumption of almost every product with the exception of eggs and dairy foods. Most rationing restrictions ended in August of 1945 except for sugar rationing, which lasted until 1947 in some parts of the country.

Sugar was one of the first and longest items rationed, starting in 1942 and ending in 1947. Other foods rationed included coffee, cheese, and dried and processed foods.

Some important items escaped rationing, including fresh fruit and vegetables. And, much to the relief of millions, whiskey and cigarettes went unscathed by regulations, although shortages appeared from time to time.

What was the sweet rationing in WW2? ›

Sweet rationing began during the dark days of World War Two on 26 July 1942 when people had a weekly ration of just 2 ounces of sweets or chocolate. A month later the ration was doubled for eight weeks and then cut back to 3 ounces a week.

Yet, this was not the case during World War II. From early 1942 to the immediate postwar years, American military and civilians experienced coffee rationing.

The “B” sticker gave the driver enough gas to commute to work. “C” was for persons whose cars were essential to their livelihood, such salesmen. The “X” sticker was for key users such policemen, doctors and clergymen, and allowed them all the stamps they needed. “T” was for all commercial vehicles.

One week's ration for an adult:- 1/2d. worth of meat; 4ozs. bacon; 4ozs. cheese; 4ozs.

Though the war ended in 1945 rationing continued in Britain for a further nine years to sustain an economy ravaged by war. On 21 July 1946, the Labour government introduced the rationing of bread, flour and flour confectionery. It was a policy which would last two years until July 1948.

Also known as the 14-Man Ration, the 'compo' ration came in a wooden crate and contained tinned and packaged food. A typical crate might include tins of bully beef, spam, steak and kidney pudding, beans, cheese, jam, biscuits, soup, sausages, and margarine.

Even though thousands of items became scarce during the war, only those most critical to the war effort were rationed. Key goods such as sugar, tires, gasoline, meat, coffee, butter, canned goods and shoes came under rationing regulations. Some important items escaped rationing, including fresh fruit and vegetables.

1940s. In the 1940s, the Second World War was ongoing and food rationing was introduced. Meat, cheese, butter, cooking fats and sugar were heavily restricted, but potatoes, other root vegetables and bread were freely available. People ate a diet much higher in carbohydrates and lower in fats than we do today.

The 10-in-1 food parcel, commonly known as the 10-in-1 ration, was a United States military ration issued during World War II. As its name implies, the 10-in-1 provided the needs of ten soldiers in a single ration package.