Looking for Depression-era recipes

[Haimia]

Has anyone here ever heard of goldenrod toast? It was toast (again) covered with a creamy mixture made with hard boiled eggs. I loved it, but I never knew how it was made. I wasn't much of a cook!

 

[luisov]

I don't have any Depression era recipes myself, but I'll bet there are some real gems out there. Maybe try asking older family members or checking out community cookbooks from that time?

 

[AnnaS]

I do remember some stories - lot's of soup dishes as mentioned here. Nothing went to waste to make some sort of broth. The one item that was always mentioned - potatoes! Soup, with pasta, fried with eggs, etc. My parents growing up - there were cows around so milk and cheese was always available.

Many meals also consisted of vegetables grown in the garden - my dad did this until he passed. So did my DH (seasonal/not to save but to eat healthy).

Growing up we had no "cereal" - we broke up Italian bread (usually a day or two old) and poured coffee (espresso w/milk) over it.

 

[DizneyGal33]

I loved mayo and black pepper sandwiches as a kid!

 

[Pooh2]

Interesting that this thread floated back up at this time when grocery prices are through the roof.

When we were traveling through Maine this weekend, I picked up a little cookbook called "All-Maine Cooking", by Ruth Wiggin and Louna Shibles.

The intro page from the author states that some recipes were given to her as a bride in 1915 so I assume the ladies are no longer with us. It has some interesting penny pinching recipes along with some great Maine staples!

Never thought of a cookbook as a historical document but it is definitely a fun way to preserve history.

 

[jo-jo]

No recipes, but as a kid we kept the bacon fat. When we had bacon, to make a sandwhich, we first lightly dipped the bread in the frying pan and then add the three strips of bacon. That was all we were allowed to have. Having bacon was a treat.

Another thing mom did. Take thin sliced steak like you'd use for a cheesestake, dip in egg and breadcrumbs. That one pound of meat now looks like three with all the breadcrumbs.....probably fried in bacon fat. After all the steak is used up, then mix up the breadcrumbs and eggs, fry that up too. This is why my brain goes crazy when I read threads of people throwing away leftovers the next day.

Now we save the bacon fat for the birds. Well mostly for the birds....hmmmm croutons

 

[QueenIsabella]

You might have some luck, looking in thrift stores or old bookstores. Churches used to do fundraisers where women would contribute recipes, then they'd bind them and sell the books. I also have some older Amish cookbooks--I know that being thrifty is part of their creed.

 

[Simba's Mom]

Have you heard of the famous "Depression Cake"? It's a chocolate cake with no eggs or milk. When I was growing up, my mother called it "Idiot Cake" and I loved it. It was only as an adult, when I saw the recipe in a cook book that I learned it was called "Depression Cake".

 

[fla4fun]

What is it about stuff over bread? My grandpa loved creamed corn over a piece of white bread. I tried it once when I was little and wasn't very impressed.

I think bread was one thing people were able to make at home and they combined it with whatever they had to make it more filling. The “over bread” dish my dad grew up on was called creamed tomatoes. It was like putting bread in cream of tomato soup. They had a farm, so they would have had milk and tomatoes easily.

 

[40ariel]

Have you heard of the famous "Depression Cake"? It's a chocolate cake with no eggs or milk. When I was growing up, my mother called it "Idiot Cake" and I loved it. It was only as an adult, when I saw the recipe in a cook book that I learned it was called "Depression Cake".

Also known as Wacky cake. So good!

 

[kanerf]

Vinegar Pie is something they made during the depression when you could not afford fruit or other fillings.

https://www.lifeloveandsugar.com/vinegar-pie/