Depression Era Cooking

[chefkathleen]

I live in a suburb of two major cities and the lady 2 doors down keeps chickens. Well for a little while. Then she starts over.
My mom always had a garden. I live in a very sandy place and it costs more to try to grow fresh than buy local. But oh how I miss the taste of a ripe, right off the vine Ohio tomato and fresh sweet corn. I can still tastes my mom's canned tomatoes. It's a shame we've become in such a hurry for things that we can't wait for them to grow so we "force" ripen them. Not only to sell fast but to ship "green" so they can be ripened at their destination.
Remember when something wasn't in season, you just didn't eat or get it? Now with chemical ripening we can have citrus and produce anytime of the year. I sometimes think the farther we've come the worse we are.

 

[CWS4322]

Remember when something wasn't in season, you just didn't eat or get it? Now with chemical ripening we can have citrus and produce anytime of the year. I sometimes think the farther we've come the worse we are.

+1 I try to only eat what is in season and freeze/preserve during the season, but I do buy lemons and limes year around...isn't it almost Meyer Lemon season? I hope my little supermarket carries them again this year--they were sooooooo good.

 

[chefkathleen]

I don't know if it is or not. Even tho I live in the land of citrus, I don't know dates, I go by smell of the plants processing them.
I swear when the groves are in bloom the whole state smells good. Citrus blossoms smell so good. But, when they are picked and taken to the plant to be graded, washed, packed for shipment and some made into juices, it's the worse smell ever.
Tomatoes seem to be in season all the time in Florida but they've bread(sp?) out the flavor gene and they taste bland. They look pretty but taste like crap.

 

[GotGarlic]

Remember when something wasn't in season, you just didn't eat or get it? Now with chemical ripening we can have citrus and produce anytime of the year. I sometimes think the farther we've come the worse we are.

It isn't always due to chemical ripening. The berries and citrus in our grocery stores often come from South America, where they are in season

 

[chefkathleen]

Yes, but they don't ship them ripe. Just like they don't ship bananas ripe. They have to ripen somehow and being loaded into boxes doesn't help that process very much. I've taken tours of several vendors around Central Florida. As a exec chef I wanted to know about the product I was about to buy, cook and serve. As well as what I buy in my local grocery to serve my family. I think I was most taken aback by the banana "garage" or room that they spray the gas into to ripen them. And then we put that into our families mouths. yuck.

 

[GotGarlic]

That gas is ethylene gas - the same substance exuded by apples when they ripen. It's the same process as when home cooks put fruits in a paper bag with an apple to speed ripening. It's just done on an industrial scale. Not that I'm advocating this instead of eating locally and seasonally as much as possible; just putting the facts out there

 

[Addie]

My mom was a kid in the depression and told me so many things about how things were back then. Some of the kids ate lard sandwiches because there was nothing else to eat. Baked bean sandwiches, etc. And hobo's would sleep in the coal bin at night to keep warm. They'd usually shovel in some coal in the morning as a thank-you and my grandma would give them a sandwich to take on their travels for the day.

My mom up until the day she died "saved" things that probably came from living though that time. Lots and lots of Pepsi or toilet paper. Anything on sale that wouldn't spoil she would buy. Flour, sugar etc. and she'd wrap it good to keep anything out that didn't belong in it.

As a teen in the fifties, I always took a cold been sandwich to school on Monday. What else would a proper Bostonian kid take? Leftover baked beans from Saturday night.

 

[chefkathleen]

Yea GG I know what it is. I also know that it shortens the life of the product and has some side effects that are dangerous. In our haste to fulfill the demand of must have we've lost the ability to be told no. Or to have to wait for something. What a shame. On the other hand it can be good for people that don't have the advantage of the vitamins in foods that we have here.

 

[Addie]

I must be shopping at the wrong store. I find it hard to find bananas that are even partially ripe. They are always green and I have to wait for them to ripen at home. As a result I only buy two or three at a time. No matter what day I buy them, they are all green. We do have a large and increasing Spanish population in this part of the state and bananas sell very fast. It is one produce you will never find on the 'reduced to sell fast' cart.

 

[Claire]

I don't know if it is or not. Even tho I live in the land of citrus, I don't know dates, I go by smell of the plants processing them.
I swear when the groves are in bloom the whole state smells good. Citrus blossoms smell so good. But, when they are picked and taken to the plant to be graded, washed, packed for shipment and some made into juices, it's the worse smell ever.
Tomatoes seem to be in season all the time in Florida but they've bread(sp?) out the flavor gene and they taste bland. They look pretty but taste like crap.

It's "bred", by the way. But yes, part of it is breeding, but part of it is that the soil just isn't very rich in Florida. Aside from in the panhandle, the soil is very sandy. So the tomatoes tend to be rather flavorlous, although you can get them year-round

Good smell towns? Ever been to Gilmore, CA? Really, when I was there, the entire town smelled of garlic. And I know Dole has shut down their pineapple operations outside of Honolulu, but I used to love driving through when they were in operations and the entire part of town had the aroma of pineapple upside down cake!

 

[Addie]

Good smell towns? Ever been to Gilmore, CA? Really, when I was there, the entire town smelled of garlic. And I know Dole has shut down their pineapple operations outside of Honolulu, but I used to love driving through when they were in operations and the entire part of town had the aroma of pineapple upside down cake!

And if you happen to be walking in that part of town when it would start to sun shower, you would get pineapple juice rain on you. Left you sticky all over. Also, the acid in that juice would land on your car and if you didn't keep the car washed off regulary, the acid would do a number on your paint job.

 

[jharris]

Thank you toots!

What a sweet lady and I love the storytelling.

Mom is 85 now and still makes a version of the poor mans meal.

Potatoes, onions, kielbasa, red peppers and sauerkraut with caraway seeds, salt and black pepper.

I squirt a bit of good mustard on the edge of the plate and dip each bite.

I just ate! Why am I hungry all of a sudden?

 

[jharris]

Good smell towns? Ever been to Gilmore, CA?

I lived in San Jose for several years. When the wind and time of year were right we could smell the garlic.

It made me hungry every time.

Went to the Gilroy Garlic Festival.

http://gilroygarlicfestival.com/

What a treat! Garlic peanut brittle? You bet!

 

[LPBeier]

My Mom used to make what she called depression cookies. I don't know the recipe, all I know is that they were based on a package of butterscotch pudding mix which was used when there wasn't enough sugar. They were really delicious. Apparently my Grandma used to make them as a treat whenever she could buy a pudding mix. I wish I had the recipe. I saw one once a few years ago but it called for instant pudding...they didn't have any in the depression era and I tried using cooked pudding but it didn't turn out.

 

[mmyap]

And if you happen to be walking in that part of town when it would start to sun shower, you would get pineapple juice rain on you. Left you sticky all over. Also, the acid in that juice would land on your car and if you didn't keep the car washed off regulary, the acid would do a number on your paint job.

Oh how funny. My husband worked at the Dole cannery for a summer job when he was young. He says he still gets nauseous when he smells cooking pineapple. I've had to delete it from my holiday ham. I think it might smell delicious for about a week or two.

 

[buckytom]

i've just read through the entire thread and i can't believe people have actually mentioned bad knife skills and too much oil or salt. gimme a break.

when you've survived a depression, a few wars, some police actions, and a few recessions and have made it to 93 years old to be on youtube by your grandkids, you can complain about her knife skills or way of cooking.

i'm going to make a poor man's dinner this week in her honour.

i'll have to ask my parents if they've eaten something similar since they were born in the mid 1920's.

 

[Aunt Bea]

This is a simple little cake recipe that got its start during the great depression.

It is great to mix up during a blizzard or day before payday when you are low on milk and eggs. [FONT=&quot]
[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Depression Chocolate Cake[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]1 cup white sugar[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]1/2 teaspoon salt (optional)[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]1 teaspoon baking soda[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]1/4 cup cocoa powder[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]6 tablespoons vegetable oil[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]1 tablespoon white vinegar[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]1 cup water[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]DIRECTIONS:[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a medium mixing bowl, mix all the dry ingredients together by hand. Add all the wet ingredients and mix until well combined. Pour into an 8×8 pan that has been greased and dusted with cocoa powder.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Bake for 30 minutes until done. Allow to completely cool and sprinkle with powdered sugar or frost as desired.
[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]
[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]I've been told that this cake is even better if eaten the next day but, I will probably never know! [/FONT]

 

[letscook]

Aunt bea - your cake is what I grew up with only it was called Wacky cake. It was a very moist cake.

The lady in the videos Clara lives in Skaneatles, NY - which is approx 6 mi from where I live, She is a doll and made news all over our area.

 

[Aunt Bea]

Aunt bea - your cake is what I grew up with only it was called Wacky cake. It was a very moist cake.

The lady in the videos Clara lives in Skaneatles, NY - which is approx 6 mi from where I live, She is a doll and made news all over our area.

This cake has many names. It is so good that each generation seems to rediscover it.

I am a big fan of Clara! I really enjoy her cookbook. It is a collection of stories and recipes that are covered in the videos.

I have collected recipes from the great depression as a hobby and it is interesting how some of the inexpensive meals they enjoyed have become prohibitively expensive.

I sometimes wonder what our own depression style meals might look like.

Ramen noodles and Cap'n Crunch!

 

[CraigC]

I remember a cake my grandmother used to make called a hot milk cake. Don't know if it was a "Depression Era" thing or not as she was born in 1893. My mom was 39 when I was born. I really liked that cake, but since my mom was not a good cook, she didn't keep the recipe after granny passed.