​With the 100th Anniversary of World War One upon us, 100 years seems like an incredibly long time for some people to imagine. Most people can’t imagine anything 100 years old, much less anything that has existed since then. To give a sense of perspective on exactly how long 100 years is, here is a brief list of some things that had not existed in 1918:

• Sliced bread was first sold in stores in 1928. Otto Rohwedder of Davenport, Iowa, had developed a prototype bread slicer in 1912, but it was destroyed in a fire. Until then, people had to make do with slicing whole loaves of bread to make toast or sandwiches!  

All of these things that we take for granted had not existed when the United States was involved in World War One. 100 years may seem like an incredibly long time to think about, but in the grand scheme of history, it's only the blink of an eye.
​--Jordan

As mentioned in my previous blog post, I have begun to cook some recipes from a cookbook published by the U.S Food Administration during World War 1. Because of food rationing and shortages of ingredients that most Americans were used to cooking with, the organization found it appropriate to publish a helpful cookbook to instruct them on how to make the most of their limited culinary resources. The introduction reminded housewives that:

With that in mind, I decided to try out some of these recipes myself. I find that one of the best ways of learning about history is through experiencing it yourself--even if that means eating it! You can find the entire cookbook and even more delicious recipes at the link below:
​http://exhibitions.theworldwar.org/war-fare/#/in-the-kitchen/book

The first recipe I attempted to make was Poultry With Peas. It calls for:

• 1 cup cold chicken, duck or turkey, leftover from a roast (I used chicken)
• 1 cup canned peas, or frozen
• 2 tablespoons fat (bacon fat, butter or drippings from poultry roast) (I used bacon fat)
• 2 tablespoons rice flour
• 1 1/2 cups milk
• salt and pepper, to taste

Once you have all the ingredients gathered,

1. Melt fat in a saucepan, add the flour and whisk until brown.
2. Whisk in the milk gradually, cook until thick.
3. Add the chicken, peas and seasoning.
4. Serve over savory rice or biscuits. (I used frozen biscuits)

One thing that struck me as I was making the recipe was that housewives and cooks in 1918 didn't have the luxury of using nonstick pans and plastic utensils to aid with their cooking!

Overall, the recipe was very simple to cook and doesn't require a lot of advanced knowledge of cooking to make. It took no more than 30 minutes to complete.

After baking the biscuits and letting the gravy sit, the time came to sample the finished product. It was quite tasty and made for a simple, if hearty, dinner. You can definitely taste the peas in the meal, so adding salt and pepper to taste is highly recommended. Since my dad and I enjoyed it for dinner, there was plenty left over for, well, leftovers! 

If you're in the mood for a simple dinner to cook, I would highly recommend this recipe. Uncle Sam and Herbert Hoover would thank you!

​--Jordan

We may think of World War One as having been exclusively fought by the "doughboys," sailors, and airmen over in the trenches of France and Belgium. However, civilians in the home front--especially housewives--were encouraged to do their part to ensure their support for the American war effort. In no place was this more evident than in grocery stores and kitchens across the country. For the first time in American history, civilians were encouraged to drastically change their eating habits in order to aid the military.

Shortly after declaring war on Germany in April 1917, President Woodrow Wilson realized that food was just as vital as munitions and fuel in aiding the American war effort. He established the U.S Food Administration in order to set guidelines for food production and rationing among the American populace. In addition to feeding its own army, America also had to provide food for its allies and refugees in Europe. Americans could no longer afford to be wasteful in their eating and grocery shopping habits. 

Seeking the perfect man to lead this new task, Wilson recruited mining magnate and foreign aid worker Herbert Hoover to head the Food Administration. Having earned a reputation for effectively distributing food and humanitarian aid to the refugees of France and Belgium early in the war, Hoover was well suited to the task of managing the culinary needs of Americans. Hoover's Food Administration successfully convinced Americans from all walks of life to do with less: eat less, buy only what is needed, and conserve food products whenever possible. He also encouraged Americans to observe "Meatless Mondays" and "Wheatless Wednesdays" to further drive his point home. So pervasive was this sense of voluntary thriftiness that making do with less came to be known as "Hooverizing!" 
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For the remainder of the war, Americans tightened their belts and learned how to eat food that was not fancy by any means. Whether it was eating more chicken and fish instead of beef, substituting more vegetables in their diet, or using less wheat and sugar in baking, they did it with the satisfaction of knowing that their efforts made a difference to the men fighting "Over There."

For more information about the phenomenon of "Hooverizing" food during the war, I would highly recommend browsing the "War Fare: From The Home Front To The Frontlines" project published through the National WWI Museum's website. They have also reproduced some recipes from official U.S Food Administration cookbooks, with rationing and ingredient substitution in mind. From time to time, I will be cooking some of these recipes myself and sharing the results on this blog! I have included the link to the "War Fare" online project below:

 http://exhibitions.theworldwar.org/war-fare/#/

​-Jordan