The Old Foodie

Blood Bread may not have appealed to you yesterday, but there is no doubt it would be more nutritious than ‘Sawdust Bread’. The epithet of ...

In 1946, President Truman’s Famine Emergency Committee issued a list of 39 ways in which American’s could save food, thus enabling resources...

In ‘the good old days’, nothing was wasted. It can be difficult today - when we throw away one-fifth of the food we buy - to appreciate just...

Sometimes I give you an ‘on this day’ story which has a food angle, but the problem with giving you the story on the actual day is that it g...

When the Prussian military strategist Carl von Clausewitz said that "there are generals who win battles and there are generals who dine...

Meat rationing in World War II was a trial and a chore for most Britons, and it might be assumed, it not being an issue for them, that veget...

The amazing work of the British Food Ministry during World War II continues to provide much food for thought over half a century later. Week...

I thought that in the remaining few posts before Christmas day we would look at some historic menus for the season. There is no doubt that ...

Promoting the idea of going without wheat bread at breakfast, was, as we saw yesterday, quite a challenge for the food authorities in Britai...

Breakfast has been the subject of the last two posts, and as it is an intriguing (and inexhaustible) topic, I am of a mind to continue with ...

The packed lunch theme continues for today, with advice from the wartime Ministry of Food in Britain. Rationing remained in force in Britai...

The Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps was created in Britain in 1917. Young women with a taste for adventure and a strong sense of patriotism wer...

A spokesman at the Ministry of Food made an announcement in late October 1944 in which he disclosed that ‘food arrangements’ had been made i...

The food reference for the new hard times should without doubt be the Food Facts leaflets put out by the British Ministry of Food during Wor...

I have been considering the history of bouillon cubes recently, to determine what role they will play in my forthcoming book Soup: A Global ...

Sugar was in short supply and rationed during both world wars in Britain , and the Ministry of Food continually churned out advice on how t...

This day in 1904 was the birthday of the English writer Nancy Mitford. I admit to knowing next to nothing about Miss Mitford, save that she ...

June 5 ... Saving every scrap and drip of fat rendered in the kitchen was a patriotic act for housewives in the Allied countries during ...

December 11 … The man who invented ‘American Cheese’ was born on this day in 1874 on a farm near Stevensville, Ontario . Why did this Canadi...

December 7 …. The English smallgoods company T.Wall and Sons introduced their new product ‘ macon ’ – at a brunch (which the newspape...