40 WEIRDEST Meals People Ate During The Great Depression

40 WEIRDEST Meals People Ate During The Great Depression

From shocking revelations to unbelievable stories, prepare to be amazed by the dark truth behind these strange dishes. Watch now to discover the untold stories that will leave you speechless.

#GreatDepression #WeirdMeals #HistoricalFacts

during the Great Depression unemployment and poverty were widespread and today it’s widely assumed that resulted in a generally unclean population do you know during the Great Depression 1929 to 1933 food scarcity haunted Americans leaving many fearful of hunger imagine living with the constant fear of going to bed hungry today we’re exploring the 40 weirdest meals people ate during those tough times you won’t believe what they came up with number 40 cabbage and dumplings who knew cabbage and dumplings could be the ultimate Depression era comfort food the title explains it all just cabbage and dumplings how do you make them it’s not too difficult fry cabbage and onions in a cast iron pan and pair with egg and flour dumplings but to add extra flavor you can add onions and or egg as well it’s not pretty but it’s tasty and nutritious like most of these dishes it gets the job done well it doesn’t need to be perfect cabbage and dumplings together may not sound like the most Pleasant meal to eat but it was dirt simple and cheap to make number 39 coffee soup ever wondered how coffee and toast became a soup let’s explore the Amish Twist on breakfast during hard times even when times were tough there are two Staples for breakfast you can always count on C coffee and toast have you ever thought about pouring your coffee with a little bit of cream into a bowl and then breaking up the toast into smaller pieces in the bowl as well to make a soup you may wonder why not just have the toast and coffee separately but the Amish swore by it number 38 corned beef salad a salad with Jell-O discover how corn beef and gelatin made an unlikely pairing during the Great Depression so corn beef salad does doesn’t sound that bad until you learn that it’s made with mayonnaise and Jello-O well gelatin anyway it’s a mixture of corn beef eggs mayonnaise horseradish and some vegetables all held together in a loaf with plain gelatin yum beef Jell-O number 37 creamed chipped beef from military mes Halls to family tables why SOS was a Depression era staple with a memorable nickname cream chip beef looks about as appetizing as it sounds in a nutshell it’s dried beef that’s rehydrated a bit in a sauce made with flour milk and butter and then served on toast all you need is some milk butter flour dried beef and some pepper and parsley served on a piece of toast cream chip beef is also lovingly called on a shingle or save our stomachs SOS for short which sums up the thoughts of of those that had to eat it not everything sounded delicious but getting fed was the most important thing pinching pennies a definitely tough but it becomes easier with the right recipes number 36 cream beef fondue not your typical fondue party explore how creamy beef fondue brought decadence to Depression era dinners do you have beef bread milk and cream cheese in the fridge and pantry if so you can make a very filling creamy beef on do appetizer that doesn’t require much work to make either people struggling through the Great Depression didn’t always skip appetizers and often reserved this meal in particular for holidays and special events number 35 dandelion salad yep that’s right people would go out to their front Lawns and pick dandelion greens for dandelion salad honestly not a bad idea at all these days the food movement has just about everyone open to eating Foods forged from your yard but back then dandelion salad was just weird they did it because it was a way to get free food onto the table and a bit of added vitamins in an otherwise Bland depression diet and TBH it doesn’t look too bad still it’s a bit odd eating weeds dandelion are probably hard to pick out of your teeth number 34 egg drop soup forget takeout learn how Depression era egg drop soup turned humble ingredients into a hearty meal depression egg drop soup is nothing like the stuff you get at your favorite Chinese restaurant still it manages to be pretty delicious either way this soup started with fried potatoes and then added water the mixture was brought to a boil and then scrambled eggs were stirred in while the water was boiling the whole thing was served over toast I’m not sure why they didn’t just have eggs potatoes and toast but perhaps the spirit of creativity took hold other versions include browned potatoes onions a simple salted water broth and scrambled eggs as with the Asian style soup it emphasize the eggs just before serving in a top a piece of crusty toast work some Parmesan cheese into the soup easy enough right try it yourself number 33 Frozen fruit salad this particular dish was considered the ultimate treat for the holidays there are many variations of the salad but all have the same basic feel start with canned fruit and add whipped cream eggs flour and any manner of other things marshmallows nuts or whatever is available freeze the whole thing in trays and then serve number 32 garbage plate still found at various diners located in and around Rochester New York and other Upstate locations the garbage plate is the mashup to end all mashups mashups were what people ate when they had to put together whatever they had in the pantry the garbage mashup is one such example all you’ll need is a bit of round beef some baked beans home fries and macaroni salad then you can add onion chili mustard ketchup and or hot sauce for extra flavor the name may be off puding but the dish itself is anything but that this is another hodg Podge creation but it results in the Perfect Blend number 31 Great Depression casserole how did baloney and beans create a hearty casserole that Define frugal cooking during the Great Depression during the Great Depression many people couldn’t afford Meats like beef and chicken so instead baloney became a common staple this casserole takes advantage of that by us using baloney as the main ingredient it might not sound that great but by the time you add chili cheddar peppers garlic onions and pork and beans it becomes absolutely mouthwatering number 30 ketchup mayonnaise or onion sandwiches who knew basic could be so satisfying what do you do when you want a sandwich but don’t have any meat or cheese to put in it put some ketchup between slices of bread and call it good men a sandwiches were also common and honestly sound a lot better than the last option plain onion sandwiches number 39 craft mac and cheese this one isn’t very strange but we included it because it was invented during the Great Depression craft mac and cheese was advertised as an exercise in frugality craft mac and cheese traces its roots back to 1937 when a resourceful representative from Tenderoni macaroni company began selling noodles with packages of craft grated cheese this novel combination quickly gained popularity with consumers enthusiastically purchasing the product at the budget friendly price of 19 cents per box each package included dried macaroni and a package of processed cheese powder enabling consumers to effortlessly prepare an affordable and quick mac and cheese meal by simply adding milk and butter over time craft macaroni and cheese has cemented its place in a household staple throughout North America and the world becoming a beloved comfort food classic these days it’s common place and it’s still a cheap way to put calories on the table but back then a self-stable box with powdered cheese replaced a traditional homemade meal full of expensive ingredients like cheese and cream number 28 meatless meatloaf these days meatloaf is a simple and relatively cheap week night dinner but how do you make it without ground beef that’s how it became just Loaf and it was made out of just about anything put into a loaf pan cheap foods like liver peanuts and raisins found their way into this catchall food number 27 mil Corno in the early 1930 scientist at Cornell University came up with mil Corno when they were looking for any expensive ways to feed the Depression hit masses it’s a grul made from dried powdered milk and cornmeal other variations like milk wo using wheat instead of corn were also invented and were just as appetizing this had the idea to feed large audiences for small amounts of money it was during the time and incredible necessity to need the meat many starve during this time but dishes like this helped it’s a mixture of dried milk powder and cornmeal and could be eaten as a grul like oatmeal or worked into recipes like those kept at the Cornell University Library number six mulligan stew Mulligan Stew was reportedly first created by the homeless population during the Depression they would put a big pot over a campfire and everyone would contribute whatever food they had on hand meat potatoes bread onions rice tomatoes and so forth people would gather around a campfire and throw in whatever they had into a pot to make Mulligan Stew was it good depends on the day sometimes they would even add lint or sawdust to make it more filling today it’s more like a traditional vegetable stew with carrots potatoes Tomatoes ETC number 25 mock apple pie how did depression Arab Bakers turn crack ERS into a convincing substitute for apples in this surprising pie mock anything makes us skeptical as it should and this pie is definitely something to be skeptical about you see it didn’t use real apples how do you make an apple pie without apples it turns out there are a number of ways Depression era mock apple pie uses Ritz crackers as an apple filling alternative and then covers them with cinnamon butter and sugar syrup other recipes substitute fruits or vegetables like this mock apple pie made with zucchini or Austrian winter peas Make an excellent dried pea soup as well number 24 peanut butter stuffed onions peanut butter and onions uncover the Curious depression error recipe that push culinary boundaries an unusual and somewhat quirky recipe that organized from the Bureau of home economics featured peanut butter stuffed onions this concept was widely shared through advertisements at the time peanut butter stuffed baked onions found its way onto tables during the Great Depression the dish was straightforward onions were baked until tender their centers hollowed out and filled with creamy peanut butter this unique pairing showcased an inventive approach to combining available ingredients into novel culinary Creations during times when variety and resources were limited you won’t be surprised when I tell you it wasn’t very popular to make simply bacon onion remove the inner parts and stuff it with peanut butter it was bad but it did its job filling people’s stomachs number 23 Poor Man’s meal it’s a fried potato based meal served with diced hot dogs resembling lockas and salami it may not sound like much but it packs a mean punch potatoes were fried with onions until Brown and then chopped hot dogs were added my grandmother made this for me as a child and my mother had her own version substituting kalasa for the hot dogs which made it much tast year Clara said her mother would cook potatoes with everything and anything because they were hearty however at a dollar a stack they weren’t that cheap number 22 potato pancakes potatoes were one of the most widely available foods and they found their way into many dishes simple potato pancakes are some of the more appetizing ways they were eaten they were made either by frying mashed potatoes or by bining grated potatoes together with flour and eggs number 21 prune pudding why did prune pudding become a Depression era dessert favorite uncover the surprising appeal of this budget friendly treat we can thank or Roosevelt for this one she famously persuaded President Franklin D Roosevelt to serve prune pudding to White House Guest it was served at the White House as an act of solidarity with the people who are suffering in the streets prune pudding is a simple mix of boiled prunes sugar and corn starch sometimes seasoned sometimes not prune pudding had to fill in for dessert it was generally served in small dishes to prevent disastrous prune related consequences prunes stored for much longer than fresh fruits were less expensive than other fruits used for puddings and Pie fillings prune pudding on the other hand actually seemed to be a bit popular this may have been something to do with FDR’s love for the treat number 20 spaghetti with carrots and white sauce how did Depression era spaghetti with carrots redefine comfort food discover the history behind find this simple dish Eleanor Roosevelt herself recommended this dish for The Frugal cook according to culinary historians Jane zigelman and Andy Co co-authors of a square meal Depression era spaghetti involved a casserole made out of intentionally overcooked mushy spaghetti boiled for a good 25 minutes and boiled carrots then you make white sauce made from flour and butter Co told San Francisco’s local public radio K alw which was the sauce which is poured over everything for Budget meals during the Great Depression bland is really the operative word here Co continued it does not have much flavor and it wasn’t really supposed to have much flavor it was a vehicle for nutrition and nutrients number 19 vinegar pie Tangy and sweet explore the Depression era dessert phenomenon known as vinegar pie though mock Apple pie was one option another pie recipe tried to get a fruit pie F by substituting the tartin of fruit with vinegar the dessert was made with a pie crust filled with butter flour sugar and vinegar vinegar pie used apple cider vinegar in the filling sounds horrible to me Martha Stewart site claims it was first invented during the days of covered wagons and when fresh produce was scarce again in the early 1900s the vinegar pie made a comeback and actually hasn’t left it’s somewhat sad to think that people would eat a pie filled with a bunch of vinegar but this is about being creative and pinching the penny number 18 Jello-O ice cream desserts were ration during the Depression ice cream wasn’t plentiful if Homemakers had to choose between bread or meat and ice cream they would spend their money on nutritional food for mothers Jello-O ice cream was an easy no churn way to give their families a treat if a family lived in the country chances are the family owned their own milking cow leaving only a package of jello to be purchased at the store and some vanilla rifled from the cupboard raspberry Jello mixed with sugar milk vanilla extract and whipped heavy cream reportedly comes together to make no Churn ice cream although it can’t compared to Ben and Jerry’s he says that it would have been a real treat during the Depression this recipes beauty lies in its Origins number 17 dandelion green salad they say there is no free meals in life but sometimes with a little Ingenuity there are the French are famous for foraging wild fresh greens Depression era Homemakers took a page from French cuisine when they started keeping a close eye on their yards during a Long Winter one of the early Springtime weeds to sprout and pepper Lawns with their yellow flowers is the dandelion number 16 popcorn with milk popcorn was one of those affordable rare foods during the Great Depression instead of pouring melted butter over their popcorn some people poured milk over it and ate it as their main meal and we’re not talking about eating it as breakfast cereal no popcorn with milk was eaten as a dinnertime main course it turned into another form of grul but the dish offered nutrition and kept hunger pangs at Bay there were instances where sugar was sprinkled onto the milk coated popcorn number 15 corn beef luncheon salad how did depression air Cooks Elevate canned goods into a luncheon salad sensation nutrition over taste was the Golden Rule when food got scarce during the Depression and money was hard to come by food not only had to be cheap but it had to be filling corn beef lunch and salad was made by combining a can of corn beef a can of corn and a can of peas added to that were plain gelatin lemon juice and vinegar it was poured into a Jello mold or a large bowl and put in the refrigerator until the gelatin was set number 14 baloney casserole baloney is not something you’d want to see in a casserole however if you think of its relatively low price it was definitely super cheap to make made from the parts left over after processing other cuts it was a staple during the Great Depression it had enough preservatives to last without Refrigeration becoming a main part of the migrant diet while you might throw a few slices between two pieces of bread and call it a day back then it was often the main part of a meal bacon Peppers onion canned pork and beans canned chili and beans cheddar cheese and of course baloney this casserole recipe was hearty and flavorful number 13 rabbit stew rabbits might be a common pet today but they were once a major food source during the Great Depression hunting allowed people to get free food that they could stretch across multiple meals they could even dry and cure the meat to ensure they had enough food through the winter rabbit stew started in the South and spread across the country Hunters could also sell and reuse the pelts making the stew a double Duty dish this meal would be the final meal one could make from rabbit meat the first night one could bake the rabbit the second and third nights well that’s for rabbit stew rabbit stew would be prepared and lasts for however many days it could sit in the fridge it’s all about stretching with ingredients you have this stew is being about as resourceful as you can be number 12 peanut butter and pickle sandwich just like PB and Mayo sandwiches peanut butter and pickle sandwiches were also a depression Lunch Counter staple the focus of course is the peanut butter peanut butter and pickle sandwiches are so common today that Stephanie Plum the heroine of Janet ivanovic’s popular book series even ate them you may not know that their history goes back to the Great Depression though pickles were easy to make and a staple found in most households they could keep for years and provide families with some good vitamins and minerals peanut butter was another affordable staple people could make or buy again they were cheap to make and some may even say they’re pretty tasty that’s not a guarantee for us but hey give it a try you never know in fact the New York Times investigated the legend that is the PB and P and found that some enthusiasts still eat the Sammy and find it tasty number 11 milk bread while milk bread is the name of a popular bread that is light and fluffy it’s also the name of the completely different Great Depression recipe anyone with access to flour and a few other basic ingredients could whip up a loaf of bread it was rare for people during the era to buy bread from the store because of how easily they could make it milk bread or milk toast provided bakers with a way to use old and stale bread number 10 mushroom rly poly the first recipe for mushroom rolly poy appeared in 1936 but historians believe it existed before then in the same way that Hunters turned to Wild game to feed their families foraging for mushrooms became popular among those who couldn’t hunt mushrooms were a good substitute for ground meat and appeared in hundreds of recipes number nine vegetable loaf not everyone could afford ground meat during the Great Depression which is why some develop recipes for a veget able loaf though it looked similar it didn’t taste nearly the same often called meatless loaf because it contained no meat the dish even appeared in The Grapes of Wrath newspapers across the country ran economical cooking columns that featured cheap and delicious meals one of those shared a recipe for vegetable Loaf in 1936 number eight economy pudding desserts were a rare treat during the Great Depression simply because sugar and other sweet ingredients were expensive to save time home Bakers look for economical recipes like economy pudding unlike the thin puddings you see today this recipe was more akin to a cake or a figgy pudding we sing about during the holidays when baked properly it develops a slightly crusty crust on the outside and a rich moist interior economy pudding uses flour with a handful of other ingredients to give it a sweet flavor it us used a small amount of raisins with a little cinnamon but some Bakers also added nuts for more crunch the original also used SE it because so many people had it in their homes if you want to make it today and can’t find SE it you can replace it with vegetable shortening number seven eggless milkless and butterless Cake it’s hard to imagine a cake without butter eggs or milk but this cake was quite popular during the 1930s during World War I the American government rationed some of those ingredients the government released War economy in food in 1918 which was a pamphlet that included a recipe for war cake it called for molasses raisins and corn syrup rather than white sugar to give the cake a sweet taste later changes to this recipe led to the Great Depression cake the Great Depression cake used baking powder water and vegetable shortening instead of egg eggs milk and butter the finished product was a sweet and slightly dense cake that was the perfect dessert for a special occasion Betty Crocker’s cooking hour and Ladies Home Journal both included recipes for similar cakes through the 1930s for those craving sweet desserts during this era few recipes could compete with Great Depression cake number six potato soup nowadays potato soup can get quite fancy add creme fresh cauliflower or fresh herbs and blend in leaks to elevate the flavors but don’t forget that the humble potato Remains The Main Ingredient and that was crucial for those preparing food during the Great Depression potatoes were a staple of many meals at this time but adding them to soup was one of the most popular methods of preparation potatoes are Hardy and filling but they’re not precious they’re cheap to grow and don’t require as much attention as other crops you can pile a bunch of them in a basket and store them during the off seon all you needed to do back then to make your potato soup stretch was cook them in some water butter and milk depending on what other ingredients you had around the house maybe some onions you could add that as well number five pasta and peas early heirloom peas were cultivated for their dry seed similar to today’s split peas for soup is pasta and peas depress air food or something you can order at your local Italian restaurant both lots of immigrant populations were trying to find their footing in the US during the Great Depression and they relied on their home Traditions to keep the family fed you might have heard of one famous name Chef boardd an immigrant from Penza Italy who eventually settled in Pennsylvania at a boardd started the chef boy Rd food company in 1928 the company’s prepackaged spaghetti dinners helped lots of families through the depression number four potato candy even during times of scarcity it’s important to treat yourself potato candy was a way people during the Great Depression could have something sweet potato candy is said to have originated in Germany but Americans added the peanut butter the recipe was simple to make you could whip a batch up with one potato rusted potatoes are best since they are simple to mash and don’t taste overly robust a lot of powdered sugar milk vanilla salt and peanut butter those who have made batches report that the candy is creamy and soft and doesn’t really taste like potatoes probably due to all the sugar number three tomato soup cake a cake made with canned Campbell’s tomato soup this sweet treat is a kind of spice cake that was very popular during the Great Depression home Baker started adding tomato soup to cake batter in place of milk or buttermilk in the 1930s to make it moist in fact poet Sylvia pla who grew up during the latter part of the Great Depression namelessly made tomato soup cake and other baked goods number two cooked bread you made cooked bread when your existing loaf was too hard to do anything else with cut the hard bread into slices and then pour olive oil and salt on top doesn’t sound too bad everything’s working out so far right This Is Where It gets weird pour boiling water over the bread completely soaking all the slices then mash the bread up before eating number one hot water pie M looking for an easy dessert look no further than Depression era hot water pie hot water pie is made from simple ingredients basically taking an unbaked pie shell and put the following ingredients into it butter sugar and flour for the crust and butter sugar eggs and boiling water for the custard filling then shove it in the oven during a time when fresh fruit pies were not a reality for many people water pie was a reminder that even though times were difficult there could still be sweetness it’s simple sweet and easy you really just need hot water and some basic ingredients then boom you have yourself a yummy hot water pie thanks for watching our journey through the weirdest meals of the Great Depression if you found this fascinating be sure to check out our other historical deep Dives And subscribe for more intriguing stories from the past see you next time