American culture is always changing and innovating. You can certainly see this reflected in the meals we eat. These funny foods from the 1940s were common then but might seem a little odd if you bring them to the family reunion in 2021.
Why Was Food Different in the 1940s?
Of course, the 1940s were a completely different time. Culturally, it was like another world. In addition to the cultural differences, technology was far from what it is today. There were no microwave meals or frozen entrées as we have today. Possibly an even bigger influence on the American diet of the 1940s was wartime rationing. This led to some creative dinners and desserts. Here are some of our favorites:
- Potato And Hot Dog Salad – Yes, that’s right. This is exactly what it sounds like, potato salad with diced hot dogs added to the mix.
- Plum Charlotte – This is the direct, and slightly disturbing result of rationing for the war effort. The recipe was a way to avoid waste by using old food (bread crumbs, apples, and plumbs) to create a kind of leftover cobbler.
- Waste Not Soup – Similar to the above, this was part of the effort to conserve resources during the war. Today, we would call it Vegetable Soup. This particular variety was made from leftover food scraps, hence the name.
- Molasses Cookies – Did you know that cooking oils and fats were rationed because of their use in making glycerin for bombs? This led to some creative baking choices like molasses cookies.
What did you think about this list of funny foods? Are you thinking about trying to whip some up yourself? If you liked this, you should check out some of our favorite 50s foods. If you want more nostalgia like this, follow The Greatest Generation on Twitter and Facebook.
