A. Geurts, Oorlogs-kookboek [War cookbook], Roermond: Romen, 1940.
The University of Amsterdam’s Gastronomic library (’Bibliotheca Gastronomica’) holds several examples of wartime household management cookery books. With titles such as Oorlogskookboek (’War Cookbook’ – see image), Onze voeding in Distributietijd (’Our Sustenance in Ration Time’), and Ons Dagelijksch Brood: goede maaltijden in oorlogstijd (’Our Daily Bread: good meals in during war time’) Most were first published during the first half of WWII, a couple of years before the Randstad was severly afflicated by the hunger winter of 1944-45.
The books — many moth eaten and filled with flecks and smudges from greasy fingers or lost oily crumbs — are replete with recipes for every season and even the odd feast-meal “as the attention for birthdays in war time should not diminish”. The recipes are simple, sober yet still quite lavish when it comes to the variety of ingredients, such as a game dish (jachtschotel); blood sausage and apple mash (gebakken bloedworst en stampot van appelen) stewed zander or eel (gestoofde snoekbaars or eel), baked river fish using ‘lesser’ freshwater fish such as roach and bream (gebakken riviervis); skinny pea soup (margere erwten soep); rice and rhubarb pudding (rijst met rabarber). The more destitute dishes use surrogate ingredients such as oats balls in place of meat balls, or dried apple peel as a tea substitute. The decree that runs through all recipes is the importance of becoming a totally patriotic localvore (eating only that which has grown in ‘eigen bodem’ — on own soil — or sourced from the local foodchains such as the the local river fish). These are a collection of handbooks on how to conserve, fuel and clean and cook meat and vegetables without letting any morsel go to waste. Every book provides an interesting glance into both the economics and morals of food in war time.
