Most of us were lucky enough to have been born after the Wall Street Crash of 1929, which sent the USA into financial chaos – of which it didn’t fully recover until ten years later. During that time food became scarce and survival was challenging. These are the 18 foods that kept Americans alive during this difficult era.
No-Toppings Pizza
During this unfortunate decade when so many struggled to make ends meet, and people’s favorite pizzas with all the trimmings were unheard of (at least until the economy stabilized again after world war 2), one regular meal was simply a cooked pizza base smeared in butter – and nothing else.
Hoover Stew
Inspired by the president himself, the hoover stew consisted of chopped tomatoes, macaroni, diced hot dog sausages, and canned corn/beans and was a popular meal in households and soup kitchens alike.
The ‘Garbage’ Plate
Okay, don’t panic – this dish didn’t contain real trash. Instead, it was typically a pooling of resources from families to create a meal and it could be a plate consisting of (for example) macaroni, beef chili, hot dog sausages, baked beans, and mustard or ketchup.
Cabbage & Dumplings
Cabbage was one of the few types of fresh produce that was relatively inexpensive (and a lot of Americans grew them in their gardens), and this dish consisted of cabbage fried in butter and served with homemade flour and egg dumplings.
Anything Loaves
Anything loaves quite literally lived up to their name. When certain bread ingredients were rationed (such as flour, butter, salt, yeast, etc.), anything and everything became the substitute. A few examples included vegetable oil, lard, cornmeal, and anything else that was cheap and fairly easy to get hold of.
Dandelion Salad
While dandelions rarely find their way into modern era meal-prep, they were quite the staple back in the day (ask your granny what her favorite childhood drink was and there’s a strong chance she’ll say dandelion & burdock pop!).
For rural lower-class folks during the Depression, they had to live off the land more than ever, and that included fattening out basic salads with dandelions.
Peanut Butter & Pickle Sandwiches
Pickles. You either love ‘em or hate ‘em. We’d wager that even the most devout pickle enthusiast may have had a hard time getting used to this dish. However, given that so many people struggled to keep their tummies from rumbling, this cheap lunch option probably tasted like a gourmet meal.
Peanut Butter Stuffed Onions
This may sound like a crazy pregnancy craving, but it kept many people from nutrient deficiencies in the 1930s. Peanut butter is high in protein, iron, vitamin E, magnesium, selenium, and B6, and onions are rife with calcium, vitamin C, and vitamin D.
Desperations Pies
Desperation pies were a Depression-era knock-off of lemon meringue pies. Lemons were near-impossible to get hold of, so the replacement was the desperation pie, which consisted of apple cider vinegar, unsalted butter, flour, brown sugar, ground cinnamon, ground nutmeg, eggs, salt, and water.
Jell-O Ice Cream
Ice cream was non-existent for most folks after the crash, but that didn’t mean those with a sweet tooth went without a treat. Instead, raspberry jell-o would be mixed with milk, sugar, vanilla extract, and whipped cream to make a no-churn ice cream treat.
Prune Pudding
Fresh fruits were hard to come by and tinned prunes would suffice for many households. Many people relied on prunes to make pies or cakes, as well as ingesting them keeping potassium levels up (and constipation levels down!).
Amish Cold Milk Soup
Okay, so this wasn’t actually a soup. Instead it was chopped banana topped with sugar and served with milk – all together in a bowl. It gets its name from the Amish community – who still enjoy the dish to this day.
The “Poor Man’s Meal”
During the Depression, flavor, appeal, and presentation weren’t exactly a priority. Instead, people put meals together based on substance and the hopes of their nutritional levels up. The poor man’s meal was fried potatoes, diced hotdog sausages, and onions. Anyone lucky enough to have ketchup, mustard, or hot sauce lying around would add these condiments for a little extra flavor.
Cream Chip Beef On Toast
You probably wouldn’t find this on the menu in any Gordon Ramsey restaurant, but back in the day, it kept people from going hungry. It consisted of dried beef flaked into a sauce made from milk, flour, and butter – all served on a slice of toast.
Potato Soup
While potatoes are the base of most soups nowadays, they were often the key ingredient for Depression-era soup. Sometimes they were fleshed out with other root veggies, or topped with grated cheese or sour cream for a bit of substance and protein.
Wacky Cake
Otherwise known as ‘Depression cake’, wacky cake was similar to anything loaves insofar as it consisted of whatever items were available (which weren’t eggs, flour, butter, or anything else that was rationed), such as cocoa powder, chocolate chips, and whipping cream.
Stovetop Baked Beans
Look inside any student’s cupboard and you’ll likely see at least one tin of Heinz beans. While this product is still a popular addition to many plates, during the Depression it was often the only item on people’s plates. Those lucky enough to have some bread at hand could enjoy a meal of beans on toast, but more often than not, a can of beans was the meal.
Cornbread
Cornbread is still a key player in most southern households and restaurants, but it had its own Depression-era version, which consisted only of cornmeal, water, and salt – and no flour, sugar, or baking powder.
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