BellaOnline Forums Family Senior Living Depression Era Recipes

I recently read that there is an interest in depression era recipes, when people had to be creative to save money and use ingredients that still gave a lot of nutrition, like peanut butter.

does anyone remember some creative, money saving recipes from that time?

My aunt sent me a chocolate vinegar cake recipe.
They had 10 children.

Cream together: 1/2 cup shortening
1 1/2 cup sugar

Stir in: 1 1/2 cups milk
1 tsp vanilla

Sift together and add: 3 cups flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp soda
1/4 cup cocoa
Beat well and stir in 3 tbsp vinegar. Pour into floured pans
and bake at 350 degrees 30 minutes.

Thanks a lot! Actually it sounds delicious.

My own mom still to this day has a fully stocked pantry and freezer even tho she only cooks for my dad and her because she grew up in lean times. I think lots of food stashed away equals security to her.

Recipe from my mother who grew up in a house with 14 aunts and uncles during the depression. This was their Sunday meal:

Chicken Soup for a small army

1 clean 3-4 lb chicken.
Place chicken in 2 gallon stockpot with an onion and 2 stalks celery.
Bring to boil and simmer an hour.
Lift out chicken, pull a part and remove bones.
Return chicken pieces to pot and add vegies from garden including at least carrots and potatoes.
Fill pot with water again and bring to boil then simmer till done.
I season with salt, pepper, garlic powder, parsely and chives.

Now, that is comfort food for pennies a serving and plenty to freeze if you don't have an army to feed.

My Mother had seven children and a husband to feed. Our pantry was always stocked with homemade preserves, jams, sauces, fruits, vegetables and all the basic needs for baking, etc. Dad made good money back then, but, food for nine people was not always easy. One of Mom's recipes that we all loved was chicken and noodles, served with fresh vegetables and salad greens from Dad's garden.

I do not have the recipe, (Mom is protective of her special recipes), but I often helped her or just watched. She would mix 18 eggs with a huge bowl of flour, turn it out on the kitchen table, which was floured, roll it out and cut the noodles into half inch wide strips and cut those into 12" noodles. She would boil them in the seasoned chicken stock that she had just cooked the chicken in. The noodles were awesome and we would eat them all. She often had to fix two batches to feed us all.

My mom always canned food too when I was young. She actually still made jams and jellies til recent years when the cost of fruit went up. She used to be able to buy crates of things like peaches and pears for pretty cheap.

Your noodle recipe sounds like what my mom used to make for us. They are delicious!

My mom gave me a 1929 Iowa Farm Bureau recipe book yesterday. It has terrific recipes in it and some by my grandmother and her inlaws. These depression era recipes are the real deal.

I posted one of the recipes my mom uses for pumpkin pie on my cooking blog

The cookbook is so funny. On the front it says cooks are "honored but unsung" "A good cook is not only a creature of beauty, but a joy to mankind, wielding a mighty influence on the destinies of her home, her community and her country" Kind of nice they were so well thought of-lol.

My mother made fried cornmeal. It was cornmeal and water and some salt poured in oil. The edges were lacy and browned. It was a wonderful treat.

I recently read that "comfort food" is popular right now in these uncertain times. People are going back to things in the past like TV and radio shows, toys and old recipes because these things offer a sense of security right now.

People in the depression sure did know how to save money. I'm not surprised there is an interest in those recipes now.