During the Second World War, sugar was rationed with information showing the ration was 1 cup of sugar per adult per week.
The recipes in the book, Wartime Recipes and Food Rules, are designed to “stretch your sugar ration; each recipe calls for only a moderate amount of sugar,” authors said.
The book, published by Woodland Dairy in Edmonton, also offered homemakers some tips on how to save sugar: serve fresh, canned or dried fruits often for dessert; add sugar to stewed fruit after cooking and while still warm as less sugar will be required; make cakes without frosting; use a plain sugar syrup or one from canned fruit to sweeten cold drinks; or cut the sugar required in half by adding raisins to cooked cereal.
This week’s recipes come from Wartime Recipes and Food Rules, a book shared by local reader Dan MacAulay.
• • •
Blanc Mange
4 tbsps. cornstarch
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup cold milk
2 1/2 cups hot milk
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla
Mix cornstarch, sugar and salt and blend with cold milk. Add slowly to hot milk in the top of a double boiler and stir constantly until mixture thickens. Cook for 20-30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Add well-beaten egg and cook another 3 minutes. Remove from heat and add flavouring. Chill and serve with Whipped Jelly Sauce (see next recipe.)
(To make a chocolate cream, use the Blanc Mange recipe, using 1/3 cup sugar and 4 tbsps. cocoa and preparing as directed.
• • •
Whipped Jelly Sauce
1/2 cup pure jelly (grape, crabapple or red currant)
1 egg white, unbeaten
pinch of salt
Melt jelly in a bowl over hot water. Add egg white and salt and beat with rotary egg beater until stiff. Cool, then serve with chilled Blanc Mange.
• • •
Oatmeal Prune Pudding
1 cup quick cooking rolled oats
1/2 tsp. soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
1/3 lb. prunes, cut finely
2 eggs, well-beaten
1/3 cup light molasses
2/3 cup water
1 1/2 tbsps. lemon juice
Mix rolled oats with soda, salt, cinnamon and prunes. Combine the eggs, molasses, water and lemon juice and add to the dry ingredients. Pour into a buttered pudding mould, cover and steam for three hours. Makes 8 servings.
• • •
Apple Souffle
6 tbsps. flour
1/8 tsp. salt
1 cup milk
3 egg yolks
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 cup grated apple
3 egg whites
1 tsp. lemon extract
1/4 tsp. almond extract
Mix flour with a small portion of milk. Heat remaining milk and stir in flour mixture. Add salt and cook over hot water, stirring until thick and well cooked. Add sugar and cool. Add well-beaten egg yolks, flavouring and apple pulp.
Lastly fold in stiffly beaten egg whites. Pour into a buttered baking dish or individual custard cups. Place in a pan of hot water and bake until firm, about one hour.
Joyce Walter can be reached at ronjoy@sasktel.net
