What was the meat that kept WWII troops fed?

UGHHH...spam...I used to have that every day in my School lunch I packed...there was nothing else...good God that stuff is nasty.

 

Reminds me of the old Scottish delicacy, a piece and dripping. Take one slice of bread and a knife, dip knife into fat in bottom of frying pan, spread on bread to taste.
That's what my brothers got sent to school with for lunch in the '50s!

 

Oh lets not go into scottish delacacies! They put everyone to shame with what they eat...even an amazonian tribesman would blanche at some of the scottish dishes...(hang on, don't piss a scot off!) - sorry!
I actaully like Spam (obviously havent had enough of it) - depends what sauce or spread one puts with it...hot mustard works a treat, or just plain dead horse.

 

If you believe Billy Connolly, his childhood meals were so sparse he decided one morning to "....recreate an old Scottish delicacy". He got the dried porridge fingers from the side of the saucepan, covered them in curry powder before throwing them into the pan for a few minutes to fry...."....and they tasted bloody awful!"

I am sure the British Army in WW2 had the most monotonous rations of any Allied country, including the Soviets, who at least were well supplied with vodka, even if there wasn't any food. It would have warmed them up, given them Dutch courage, and made them forget their belly for a while, as drunks are want to do.

I have often wondered whether we shouldn't commemorate the excellent Vodka distillery organisation that the Soviets put together for their war effort. I certainly have not seen it listed as a lend lease supplied item anywhere, so the level of supply and distribution must have been quite spectacular to behold. I'm pretty sure that the Nazi's lost their best chance to end the Great Patriotic war very quickly and victoriously by ignoring the lightning offensive designed to knock out Ivan's Vodka supply. A good supply of Vodka meant Victory for the Red Army.

Churchill may well have been giving the signal "V".....for Vodka!

 

I have some experience of Southern style food, and may I say that if the War Between The States had been fought as a cooking contest, the South would have won it hands down!

 

Spam is a good "hurricane ration" item here in Louisiana. It keeps for a long time, it can be eaten cold, or grilled on the pit. I haven't had it in years, but it's not bad thin cut and fried, served with eggs and toast. It is better than baloney though. When I was coming up we was sort of poor, and as a kid I ate many a baloney sammich. So with me, it's baloney that I don't prefer to eat as opposed to spam. But if it got that bad, I figure I could see fit to eat a baloney sammich, with lots of catchup and Tabasco sauce.

 

I had a...inauspicious start to my life too A-58...I used to eat wheat bix with vegemite spread on top....bit dry...needed plenty of margerine!
I think Volga might be on to something too...The equivalent (if there is one) to the vodka supply was ciggerettes. Ciggies came BEFORE ammo and food for the soldiers in the lines...there have been some documented signals with COs freaking out that the supply of ciggies are low and if more aren't requisitioned soon, he couldn't gauge the fighting spirit of his men! As pathetic as it sounds, if you did manage to halt the supply of vodka to the front, there is every likelyhood that it WOULD have affected their fighting in some way and to some extent.. A strange one, but one too ponder....(Russia STILL runs on Vodka, more than ever if anything.) - Someone prove me wrong.

 

I am the same way with grape jelly, watermelon and cantalope.........I would rather take a beating than eat any of those items. The presence of melon anywhere in a 50 foot radius of me illicits an immediate and violent urge to vomit. I do enjoy bologna though.

 

I guess everyone has their childhood things involving food that has scarred us for life. That could be a whole other thread.

 

interesting topic


so what about the other countries?

What were German rations like and Soviet? Anybody know?

 

A bit of info on German rations.

Tinned Meat in the German Army Iron Ration / der Erste Zug

 

Carrots History - The Role of the Carrot in World War Two The good old Carrot played it's part..

Examples of Original WW2 Posters​