Recipes

Victory Cook Book

This collection of recipes was released by the Navy League Chapter of the I.O.E.D. to raise money towards war work. Find out what women on the homefront cooked for their families.

"Brightening up the drabbest corners of your home"

Wartime restrictions meant making do with what was available - and this booklet provided many ways to breathe new life into old products by using Tintex tints and dyes.

Fighting the war by feeding the family

Everything was militarized during the Second World War, including the household economy. Women became "housoldiers" whose job was to prepare "appetizing and nourishing meals that protect and preserve the health of their families."

Housoldiers.pdf (4.63 MB)

Recipe ideas from BC Electric

Wartime rationing made it difficult to prepare tasty and varied meals, but in these pamphlets British Columbia Electric had some suggestions for Christmas dinners, entertaining on special occasions, and quick meals for "the business woman and war workers, for housewives who give much of their time to patriotic work."

Turning ration stamps into healthy meals

Dedicated to "the Canadian Homemaker Whose Time is so Generously Devoted to the War Effort," this book offered hints on keeping the family fit, how to stretch the meat ration, wartime ingredient substitutions, "colourful salads in wartime menus," and desserts under rationing.

"The first line of defense lies in the kitchen"

Originally intended to commemorate the Royal Visit of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth to Canada in 1939, the book was not published until after the Second World War began. Among the contributors were Lady Tweedsmuir and Eleanor Roosevelt.

Stretching your rations with oats

This small recipe book provided suggestions for reducing the consumption of meat, butter, and sugar by using rolled oats in food preparation.

Robin Hood.pdf (1.87 MB)

Using less sugar

Civilians were encouraged to be conservative with rationed food items. This document offers recipes for desserts, taking into account the strict rationing of sugar.

Sugar Savers.pdf (9.56 MB)

Cooking for a crowd

This book sought to provide meal solutions for larger institutions, rather than homemakers. During the Second World War it was consulted by a Guelph, Ontario, food distribution company.

Wartime Jams and Jellies

A Second World War pamphlet on making creative use of peaches, apples, and other late summer fruits.