Could You Stomach These Great Depression Meals?

Originally posted by openminded2011
Squirrel. Lots of people, especially in rural areas ate it along with rabbit. Probably tastes pretty good after some of the other stuff listed,

Squirrel is pretty tasty. It makes a good gravy too. SOS made with squirrel is pretty good eats. So is dove. If I was homeless around here, I would spend my last dollar for a wrist rocket slingshot so I could eat dove every day.

Sometimes when eating wild game, I mentally get a whiff of the smell you get when you field gut game. That tends to take the edge off of my appetite some.

This is a thread that i love, my grandparents were from that era, and i spent a lot of time with them, also since my grandma taught my mom how to cook, all of it got carried on.

Cornbread and milk: hell yeah! even better, cornbread and buttermilk!

SOS: anytime! love it!

squirrel: way better than it sounds! though i draw the line with possum

watercress and dandelion salad: yep, even better with some wild green onions!

there are so many frugal possibilities, 9 times out of 10, when i cook, there is nothing wasted, not even the grease, as that's what you make gravy with!

Thats not just depression food, hell some of that stuff I had as a kid when money was tight. We went days with just vegtable soup and bread, this was only in the 80's.

Could I go back to it now? yes sure might not like it but then again a bit of poaching will help suppliment my diet if it gets that bad.

oh and i forgot that my grandpa used to call jackrabbits "hoover hogs" lol, little depression humor for you.

This is so funny! I had no idea that these originated in the "depression era". The majority of these I eat already. I've just never thought anything about it! I guess it's a southern thing.

ETA: These recipes are not just for people who grew up poor. I had everything I needed and most of what I wanted growing up but ate these things (and continue to do so). I guess it's probably because my parents grew up in the depression although their families also made it through the depression relatively financially unscathed - they never were "poor".

Milk toast -
Chipped beef on toast -
Cucumber and mustard sandwiches -
Mayonnaise sandwiches - ugh, no sounds really fattening
Ketchup sandwiches - , you can also use ketchup with milk (or water) to make tomato soup
Hot milk and rice -
Turtle/tortoise - , although it's better in soup
Gopher - ewww, don't think so
Potato soup – water base, not milk -
Dandelion salad -
Lard sandwiches - ugh, same as mayo sandwiches
Bacon grease sandwiches - yummy
Sugar sandwiches - with peanut butter?
Hot dogs and baked beans -
Road kill - i don't see anything wrong with this as long as it's not old meat
One eyed Sam – piece of bread with an easy over egg in the center - I eat this ALL THE TIME... YUMMY!
Oatmeal mixed with lard - why mix oatmeal with lard?
Fried potatoes and hot dogs -
Onion sandwich – slices of onion between bread -
Tomato gravy and biscuits -
Deep fried chicken skin - , I love pork skins too!
Cornbread in milk - , although it's better with buttermilk
Gravy and bread – as a main dish -
Toast with mashed potatoes on top with gravy -
Creamed corn on toast - i would probably eat them separately, that sounds better to me
Corn mush with milk for breakfast, fried corn mush for dinner -
Squirrel -
Rice in milk with some sugar - sounds like rice pudding to me (which I LOVE)
Beans - um
Fried potato peel sandwiches - again.. why put them together? they sound better separate
Banana slices with powdered sugar and milk -
Boiled cabbage -
Hamburger mixed with oatmeal - , oatmeal in hamburger meat actually makes a nicer patty
American cheese sandwich, ‘American’ cheese was invented because it was cheap to make, and didn’t require refrigeration that may or may not exist back then. -

Originally posted by dreamingawake
Could You Stomach These Great Depression Meals?

With all the talk about food storage and growing our own food, I did a little digging around to find out what some people ate during America’s Great Depression of the 1930?s. ...
cont...here

# Milk toast
# Chipped beef on toast
# Cucumber and mustard sandwiches
# Mayonnaise sandwiches
# Ketchup sandwiches
...

Source

Article lists, some posted above, meals ate during the great Depression.

Tried any of these(the more uncommon for today foods)? Likes, dislikes?

Are you kidding me, princess? Is there some sense of self entitlement that makes you feel like any of us are above it? I apologize for sounding so obtuse, but when you are hungry it would work just fine. Any of it. I grew up with very poor and uneducated parents. They are good people despite their own poor upbringings. I have had to go stand in food lines with my mom and help carry our share of the commodities. We were given such classics as block cheese, canned pork (yummy*), rice, beans, powdered milk (the only way to drink milk*), and post shelf dated bread (sometimes it crunched like it was already toasted). My mom kept us close and took us to church in an attempt to make us the best we could be. She said to me more than once, "Myname, if you don't want to live like this when you grow up, then you better do the best in school that you can because it is your only way out. It really stuck with me and I did well in school and I do well enough now. I would have never thought at 8 yrs of age that I would become an engineer with enough to help my loved ones when they need it. (* = sarcasm)

Originally posted by dave_welch
oh and i forgot that my grandpa used to call jackrabbits "hoover hogs" lol, little depression humor for you.

"That their is funny, I don't care who you are" (quote: Larry the Cable Guy)

Originally posted by nenothtu

Originally posted by dreamingawake
Could You Stomach These Great Depression Meals?

You'd be amazed what you can find palatable when you're hungry enough.

Tried any of these(the more uncommon for today foods)? Likes, dislikes?

Fried bologna - Ate it, hate it. Once you start applying heat to bologna, it smells like arm pit frying to me. No thanks.

edit on 2011/12/31 by nenothtu because: (no reason given)

I have so many questions. How many armpits have you fried? How do they taste? I would guess pretty bad, but I have never been brave enough to try it.

Originally posted by Communicationwillfreeus
Is there some sense of self entitlement that makes you feel like any of us are above it? I apologize for sounding so obtuse, but when you are hungry it would work just fine. Any of it.

I eat most of these still! This has nothing to do with being poor. Just the way one was brought up I suppose.

When I first read this thread, I because I hadn't realized that most people don't eat these things on a regular basis today!!

Originally posted by Communicationwillfreeus

Originally posted by dreamingawake
Could You Stomach These Great Depression Meals?

With all the talk about food storage and growing our own food, I did a little digging around to find out what some people ate during America’s Great Depression of the 1930?s. ...
cont...here

# Milk toast
# Chipped beef on toast
# Cucumber and mustard sandwiches
# Mayonnaise sandwiches
# Ketchup sandwiches
...

Source

Article lists, some posted above, meals ate during the great Depression.

Tried any of these(the more uncommon for today foods)? Likes, dislikes?

Are you kidding me, princess?

Is there some sense of self entitlement that makes you feel like any of us are above it? I apologize for sounding so obtuse, but when you are hungry it would work just fine. Any of it. I grew up with very poor and uneducated parents. They are good people despite their own poor upbringings. I have had to go stand in food lines with my mom and help carry our share of the commodities. We were given such classics as block cheese, canned pork (yummy*), rice, beans, powdered milk (the only way to drink milk*), and post shelf dated bread (sometimes it crunched like it was already toasted). My mom kept us close and took us to church in an attempt to make us the best we could be. She said to me more than once, "Myname, if you don't want to live like this when you grow up, then you better do the best in school that you can because it is your only way out. It really stuck with me and I did well in school and I do well enough now. I would have never thought at 8 yrs of age that I would become an engineer with enough to help my loved ones when they need it. (* = sarcasm)

reply to post by Communicationwillfreeus

Wait? Are you kidding me 'PRINCE'?(sarcasm)
Why so biased? I did not write the list(title is name of list article). I never mentioned entitlement. Oh, and also if you read my replies you would see that I ENJOY some of the food listed. I ADVOCATE some of the food/s listed as well in these times.

When your starving, you will eat just about anything.....so no, won't have any problems eating any of the listed items the OP mentions.

reply to post by dreamingawake



I don't think there is anything on that list that I have not eaten other than.

Gopher (only because we don't have gophers in florida)
Lard sandwiches
Bacon grease sandwiches (although I have dipped toast in bacon grease out of the pan after cooking breakfast)
Oatmeal mixed with lard

So YES I could eat (and have) Great depression area cuisine.

Quirky stuff like mayo sanwiches etc will not fit-the-bill for long term survival.

We are used to variety and without it we will not survive.

There is no substitute for preparedness and that means storing a bountiful supply of nutritious freeze-dried foods.

Short cuts will leave you hungry and probably sick.

I grew up poor in the south and of course ate a lot of these things listed.

I now live in a northern city and I'll admit that I have a real craving for a big plate of fried rabbit or squirrel that just won't go away. I haven't had any in years and I actually prefer rabbit, squirrel, and deer to the meats that you can buy at your local grocery store. City slickers who have never had them are usually appalled when they are mentioned and barring a "have to" case refuse to try them but I can recall a few instances where people I know came down to visit and started eating them without knowing what it was and just loved them.

reply to post by AwakeAndAware


Yikes! I just realized that I need to update my signature. It seems that since I wrote it the USA military industrial complex has eliminated two more: sudan and libya. So there are now only 3 countries left without rothschild owned central banks: Iran, North Korea, and Cuba. No wonder they are going after Iran so hard. They are so close to controlling the money of EVERY country on earth.

reply to post by dreamingawake


I used to eat milk toast a lot when I was a kid- loved it but we had butter and sugar by then. Why didn't slum gellion make the list- or fried dough balls? In Korea "garbage soup" (Boodae Chigae) is still served in restaurants but it only looks like whats in the bottom of a dumpster nowadays.

reply to post by dreamingawake



You will do what you have to do in order to survive. I used to go to school with lard sandwiched and in case you don't know, pig fat on bread. When it was available, uncooked oatmeal, raw potatoes and not much else. This was just after ww 2.

reply to post by NowanKenubi


Well if they just added egg and some powdered sugar it would be French toast. The nutmeg is a nice touch. Did depression era people afford nutmeg?

Originally posted by AwakeAndAware
reply to post by AwakeAndAware

 

Yikes! I just realized that I need to update my signature. It seems that since I wrote it the USA military industrial complex has eliminated two more: sudan and libya. So there are now only 3 countries left without rothschild owned central banks: Iran, North Korea, and Cuba. No wonder they are going after Iran so hard. They are so close to controlling the money of EVERY country on earth.

Oh never mind that Cuba and N Korea are both Communist and have been for decades. Don't forget Michael Moore only showed the nice clinics for tourists, not the real ones for the people who live there.

Originally posted by dave_welch
oh and i forgot that my grandpa used to call jackrabbits "hoover hogs" lol, little depression humor for you.

My mom used to make what she called "hoover gravy". You make a regular gravy base with flour and butter. Then you add cocoa and sugar. Add in the milk or water to thickness desired. Pour it over buttered biscuits for breakfast. I still make it sometimes. We love it.

My husband still eats miracle whip sandwiches. I did as a kid but can't handle it now.

I remember when we used to go rabbit hunting. My brothers would set on the hood of the car while momma drove. When they saw a rabbit she would slam on the brakes and they would slide off the hood at run to get the rabbit. We stayed in the car singing with the radio. Loved it when the long version of Those Were the Days came on.