Meat is Scarce! Meat is Precious! How to Stretch Your Ration

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During World War II several nations fared a bit better with food than others. Nations where the Nazis invaded had some of the worst food shortages. For example, Greece and the Netherlands—as well as other European and Asian countries—suffered severe famines due to occupying troops. The invading armies took nearly all the food and left people to forage for things such as tulip bulbs. Millions died from starvation.

Other nations, such as Britain, endured strict rationing with just enough of some ingredients to keep the population healthy. Then, there were nations like the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand who were not occupied but were fighting invasion attempts. Besides having to feed their own troops around the world, these countries at times had to feed troops who were there to prevent invasion of their own territories. And, they were busy producing food to send to war-ravaged areas. For these reasons they needed rationing.

Help for the Homemaker

Wise cookbook authors of the time recognized the strain this put on homemakers. Not only were familiar ingredients limited or unavailable, many homemakers were busier than before the war. Millions of women entered the workforce to cover the jobs men had left when they went into the military. Various materials needed to be prepared for scrap drives—including paper, rubber, metal, rags, cooking fats and waste scraps. For metal cans alone, homemakers were expected to remove the tops and bottoms of each can, remove the labels and flatten the cans. Can you imagine adding a list of such extra duties to every day’s meal prep?

Besides being busier than ever before, homemakers needed new recipes that could still feed everyone on smaller amounts of meat. Shoppers were encouraged to purchase organ meats, increase vegetable dishes and use other filling foods such as potatoes. Finding recipes in an age well before the internet meant finding them in magazines, newspapers and cookbooks.

General Mills made the most of the situation with its fictional homemaker, Betty Crocker. Betty was created in the 1920s as a way for the company to give more personal responses to customer inquiries. By the 1940s Betty Crocker was a household name, offering thousands of recipes and meal ideas.

Making the Most of the (small bit of) Meat

One of Betty Crocker’s inventive recipes, shared in the 1943 Your Share cookery booklet, was for Meat Ball Pancakes. I couldn’t imagine folding stiffly beaten egg whites into what was essentially a meatloaf mixture—but this tactic was intended to stretch a mere half pound of beef to feed six people. I had to try it.

If you have texture issues with foods, as some people do with mushrooms or other foods that have a certain ‘bite,’ you may not be a fan of these pancakes. I found the egg texture to be slight and the flavor, when served with creamed potatoes and mushroom gravy, tasty. If I were in my grandmother’s shoes, dealing with rationing and tiny amounts of meat for a family, I would certainly keep this recipe on rotation. I would have much preferred it to organ meats! This recipe is a good example of the creativity shared during wartime. It makes me wonder what creative dishes my family might have shared during the war, that they left behind when rationing ended.

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Meat Ball Pancakes

Yield 6

Author Betty Crocker

This recipe was published during WWII when meat was scarce. It makes six servings from just 1/2 pound of ground beef! Served with mashed potatoes or mushroom gravy--or both--it makes a quick and tasty meal.

Ingredients

• 3 eggs
• 1/2 pound (500g) ground beef
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• Dash of pepper
• 1 teaspoon (5ml) lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon minced parsley
• 1 tablespoon (15g) grated onion
• Oil for frying

Instructions

1. Separate yolks and whites of eggs. Beat yolks until light.
2. Blend remaining ingredients, except egg whites, with yolks. Mix well.
3. Beat egg whites until stiff; then, fold into meat mixture.
4. Drop spoonfuls on hot greased griddle. When puffed and brown, turn and brown on other side.
5. Serve immediately with mushroom sauce, if desired. Or choose a creamed vegetable or creamed potatoes to go with the pancakes.

References

Betty Crocker. Your Share: How to prepare appetizing, healthful meals with foods available today. Minneapolis, MN: General Mills, Inc. 1943.

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