Rationing

My mother was a farmer's daughter and was married to a farmer during the war, she always says that they had enough to eat as her family shot rabbits and kept chickens. However she was frugal with food all her life until she died in 2010, she never wasted anything and the weekend joint lasted for days, with generous amounts of vegetables and potatoes.
I had a ration card when I was born (1952) though I don't think that my sister did (1954). I do remember the delicious super-concentrated orange juice that we used to get from the baby clinic to supplement our still-limited diet in the early 1950's. Many children had a teaspoon of Virol every day, though we didn't, I'm not sure what was in it but it was delicious and sweet.

Allira

MissAdventure

Ooh.. who killed the chickens?
Needs must, I know, but I'm squeamish (and hypocritical) about that kind of thing.

Uncle!

My Mum said she'd never seen anyone pluck and draw a chicken faster than her MIL (the grandmother I never met because she died before I was born).

One year in the 1980's my husband was given a goose for our Christmas meal. We didn't know until he brought it home that it was still intact, with innards and feathers. Fortunately my mother was staying and dealt with all the drawing and plucking - I think that she would have dealt with killing it too, had this been required!

Daffonanna

What lovely stories and memories , thank you. Can I ask , how were fruits such as blackberries preserved when sugar was rationed ? I’ve been telling my grandchildren that blackberry picking was a valuable way to prevent rickets .

Mum made jam. I believe she must have saved rationed sugar. I've no idea how much sugar was allowed, but I remember mum used sugar sparingly - apart from jam, jelly, and holiday treats.

Mum made bread as well, apparently flour wasn't on ration?

We'd plenty of healthy food, eating better than appears normal currently. Perhaps reverting to vegetables, fruit, nuts, quinoa, lentils, pasta, rice, potatoes filling out meals might be a healthy idea....

A few chickens were good because they will eat almost anything, the hens laid regular eggs and you eat the cockerels, so a very useful source of protein. There were also lots of wild rabbits, catching those was good money for those good at ferreting, pigeons and rooks also ended up in pies too.

Pigs were very controversial you couldn’t really hide them, the local constable was sure to find out, so not declaring it would get you into a lot of trouble in wartime.

I suppose you had to make sure the pigs didn't squeal on you.

"I suppose you had to make sure the pigs didn't squeal on you."
Ha ha, good one, MissAdventure

MissAdventure

Ooh.. who killed the chickens?
Needs must, I know, but I'm squeamish (and hypocritical) about that kind of thing.

My mother got a local odd job man in. He knew what he was doing. He wrung the chickens neck. It was dead within seconds and then plucked it and eviscerated it.

Years later DH's aunt showed me how to skin a rabbit so that I did nt damaage the bile duct. Improtant, as if it bursts the bile fluid makes the rabbit uneatable. Thankfully I have never had reason to exercise the skill.

Let's hope that remains an unused skill, M0nica.

I’m virtually 80 and remember ending of sweet rationing,
I dont remember anyone being overweight at all!!!!

I can’t really remember rationing as I was born in 1947, but I do remember the chickens we kept in the garden. We lived in Abbey Wood in London. We also kept rabbits for meat. My granny killed the chickens and rabbits but when my dad came home from the war, he had to do it. He skinned the rabbits and cured the skins. I had rabbit skin covers on my pram and a rabbit skin bonnet. My godmother worked for the then Ministry of Supply and brought home the concentrated orange juice and malt, which my brother and I loved - probably why I have such rotten teeth!

Tale of two different families. My mum and her family lived in south east London, no garden to grow fruit or veg just what you could get from the greengrocer who had his favourites or the black market. My future father in law was basically a spive and my mother in law said regarding food you wouldn’t know there was a war on she had plenty of everything.

You were allowed eggs on ration but sometimes they were impossible to get hold of. My gran told me she queued for an hour to get one egg for me as I was a sickly child and she thought it would do me good. She soft boiled it and persuaded me to eat it, I was instantly sick and she was so upset.