精东传媒

March 20, 2020

Getting creative with less. Recipe lessons from the Australian Women's Weekly during wartime

With some ingredients in short supply due to panic buying, the pages of the Australian Women’s Weekly can impart tips and tricks for how to be creative with less.

Over the past few weeks, Australians have become used to seeing empty shelves in their local supermarkets. Coronavirus-induced panic buying has quickly depleted stocks of products like pasta, rice and flour.

Major supermarket chains have introduced restrictions on the purchase of these staple ingredients. Coles has also introduced 鈥渞ationing鈥� of .

While this is not a genuine food crisis, these limitations will lead Australians to ponder the culinary possibilities of their pantries.

Looking at Australia鈥檚 most widely read women鈥檚 magazine, the , shows us how Australians have dealt with food shortages in the past: with creativity, ingenuity and good humour.

Creativity and sharing ideas

The foremost disruption to Australian food supplies in the past century occurred during the .

 

Starting in 1943, the federal government mandated rationing of foodstuffs such as meat, butter, sugar and tea. Australia鈥檚 role as the 鈥溾�� also led to local shortages of potatoes, eggs, bacon, tinned goods and fresh milk.

Australian women (then largely the cooks at home) mobilised in the face of these shortages. Rather than go without, they found ways to substitute for inaccessible ingredients.

They shared their culinary creativity through the food pages of the Weekly, winning prizes for their efforts.

 

Just like the 鈥榬eal thing鈥�

One of the ways in which they dealt with scarcity was through creating mock foods with the appearance or taste of 鈥渢he real thing鈥�.

In , the Weekly published six recipes sent in by readers. Four were for mock foods: mock pineapple, mock apple, mock ham and meatless sausage. In her recipe for Mock Apples, Mrs L. Archer from Bundaberg in Queensland advised her fellow home cooks that 鈥渃ustard squashes make a good substitute for apples鈥�. They could be prepared by slicing and simmering in water with lemon juice and sugar. Mrs Archer guaranteed that her mock apples made 鈥済ood pies鈥�.

Finding meat substitutes was also important during wartime. From January 1944, meat was rationed to an average of approximately 1 kilogram per adult per week. . This was a challenge for Australians who relied on a meat-heavy diet.

 

Alternative meats such as rabbit, sausages and offal were unrationed and reasonably affordable. So, housewives made do. Recipes such as , sent in by reader Mrs L. Armstrong from Bankstown in New South Wales suggested using rabbit in place of exorbitantly priced chicken. Her rabbit jelly could be served with salads.

Vegetarian options like (a mixture of breadcrumbs soaked in milk, cheese and herbs) and (made with rolled oats) also became a part of the everyday menu. This was a vast change from the meat-and-three-veg that usually graced the dinner table.

 

For afters

Cakes and other baked goods were extremely important to the Australian diet, but standard recipes were drastically impacted by butter and sugar rationing as well as the scarcity of eggs and milk. This led housewives to create recipes such as which was made without butter. were eggless and butterless.

 

M. E. Grew from Chatswood in New South Wales took substitutions seriously, sharing a recipe for in 1943. The home baker replaced butter with dripping and used soaked fruit to create their 鈥渕oist, fair-sized cake鈥�.

Australians responded to rationing with remarkable creativity and a positive attitude. As the Weekly鈥檚 food editor commented, 鈥淩ationing doesn鈥檛 daunt them!鈥�

Coronavirus cuisine

Around the world, from China to Italy, people have turned to cooking to help them deal with isolation and quarantine during the coronavirus outbreak.

In , food became a major topic on social media. In Italy, as well as , people have been spending time in the kitchen. With restaurants closed and with time on their hands, many people have started learning to cook as a result of both necessity and boredom.

Due to the nature of lockdown and issues with supply chains, sought-after ingredients have been unavailable to many.

have had to be with the limited ingredients and have become more aware of food waste. In a wartime echo, they are approaching their pantry stores in innovative ways.

Australian food websites are already sharing recipes for dishes such as , anticipating that those in lockdown with ample time on their hands will turn to the stove for entertainment as well as nourishment. London chefs have recommended their favourite recipes that use long-lasting ingredients to 鈥溾��. on Instagram and similarly beloved US recipe maven .

 

With some ingredients in short supply due to , it is worthwhile for budding and experienced home cooks alike to look to our culinary heritage. The pages of the can impart some tips and tricks for how to be creative with less.

, PhD Candidate,

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