can you picture the types of meals families relying on during the tough times of the Great Depression with no item wasted Innovative and unexpected food combinations were formed see how necessity led to creative outcomes here we go Hoover Stew was one of those dishes that anyone could afford to make so it is no wonder that the stew was a common item in the Great Depression Hoover stew had two signature traits it could feed the whole family and you could have the dish without exceeding the monthly budget as for the recipe the dish involved using scraps
and leftovers to increase savings and recycling in a time when households could not afford a lot you did not need many spices and you could easily use leftover Meats in an America where Banks were going bankrupt and the job market was hopeless the stew was a welcome addition obviously it would be a popular choice among many households as our older viewers might still remember fortunately as economic stability came back Hoover stew went away from tables in favor of more flavorful and varied stews mock apple pie is another delicious dessert that clicked with masses across the
Nations during rough times as apples were getting expensive people were looking for cheaper alternatives that is when the mock apple pie entered resemblance is one thing but if the pie looks and tastes like it then it might as well be an apple pie created using cheap and the nation favorite Ritz crackers mixing those with some vanilla cereal Sy sprinkle some lemon and cinnamon to create a perfect homebaked pie fit to rival apple pie the Depression era onwards really saw an explosion in its popularity we cannot really blame people either fresh juicy apples were in hot
demand and short supply the pie was just as cheap as Hoover stew and easy to make nowadays of course you would not find this in houses you go to despite it being popular enough that Ritz had instructions on the back of the box on how to make it then came the cornmeal mush joining pies and stews on the list of economically sensible lunches when times are tough porridges become a very enticing meal as affording bacon strips or other meats for breakfast was out of the question even if you got cheap beef jerky you did not
know if it was good and clean meat and typical American breakfasts like grilled bacon and eggs were losing popularity due to price constraints people needed their 7 a.m. nutrition so cornmeal mush an incredibly healthy dish became popular topic the cornmeal with maple syrup or in some cases a thick sausage gravy elevated it in The Taste Department it was not much of a fan favorite though because the mush did not last long after the economy settled once people could afford better they definitely went back to their regulars dandelion salad might sound like a fairy tale like
name for an incredibly Frugal but delicious meal by now you might have noticed the scavenger vibe in terms of ingredients of the dishes so far people making anything out of whatever they had on hand economic downturns often feature lifestyle changes and the Great Depression was no other sending people on a scramble to find and eat anything dandelion salad took scramble seriously as the meal involved finding and foraging dandelions he would cut out all the roots flowers and waste to make the dressing for a very healthy salad for people especially those on a diet and a
budget this was a godsent for a G all people would usually put on it was lemon juice and olive oil a dash of salt and you were good to go at basically no cost vinegar pie is the rather odd dish on this list that proves that at times of desperation anyone will eat anything vinegar pie started spreading infectiously out of States like Pennsylvania in the start of the 1930s and tops even dandelion salad when it comes to being budget friendly all you would need is an open crust vinegar sugar and some eggs to create this
unique pie to cover the mediocre taste people would coat the crust with a mering it was an affectionate treat to bring in case of a celebration and was easy to make if you had a Sweet Craving the dish was also pretty delicious if you were able to get over the sour vinegar taste and focus on the merang people really wanted a sweet treat at the end of a hard week spent cutting corners and working long hours and small Joys like vinegar pies were what kept people sustained potato pan pancakes are one that we are very
sad to have seen fade away from the Arsenal of home chefs pancakes made with Mato or applesauce topped with garlic or fried onions made for such a mouthwatering meal low-income households back in those times were struggling to buy produce farmers markets were uniformly unaffordable for middle- inome households due to creeping inflation people needed a vegetable that was cost appropriate and easy to make in batches enter the potato pancake which Revolution iiz the breakfast scene in a struggling time as times improved people slowly started going to more fancier and creative breakfasts unfortunately leaving simpler dishes behind
potato pancakes took a backseat in the face of changing food and economic Trends but anyone from the era will Rave to you about the godsend these were boiled carrot sandwiches was created from the weird culinary Gap left by increasing prices and thinner savings accounts like said people wanted vegetables that ticked the cheaper and tastier most boxes for them however even that was getting tough some of the worst stretches of the Great Depression left people with frustrations and creativity alike whipping up dishes like this was common and the boiled carrot sandwich definitely stayed during the time
because of its Simplicity Americans love a good sandwich and they adore and easy to cook filling boiled carrot sandwiches definitely met most of the criteria as roasting cheese to create an open-face sandwich was a popular choice suffering the same fate as other dishes on this list the boiled carrot sandwich eventually died out as economic growth increased in America prune pudding was one of the more Niche dishes that were created during the Great Depression what really was surprising was that prune pudding extended to the upper royalty as well since even prominent VIPs would also be real
lowbudget with how they eat prune pudding became very popular as result of the efforts made by first lady Ellena Roosevelt who would serve prune pudding at White House functions it stained the White House's culinary track record sure but earned massive points with the struggling American people for being made of such a simple ingredient and some syrups of your choice it was definitely one of the tastiest and cheapest meals to come home to egg drop soup for some Royal courts was a show of a chef's skill in 1930 America the soup became a beloved soup of
the masses who were struggling to make an honest paycheck bread from last night and eggs beaten so thoroughly that the preparation itself doubled as a forearm workout resulted in an incredibly Rich soup sometimes if a home cook felt particularly fancy they would have chicken either boiled or shredded in the mix using the chicken stock was also a common way to not let anything go to waste since getting the most bang for your buck out of poultry became a habit of everyone most would just have this with eggs and throw in some ginger chai and olives
or anchovies we would definitely like to see this make a comeback with a less cost oriented version that really explores the dish cabbage and noodles typically just looked like a pound of cabbage in a medium serving of noodles more or less it was not the most expensive dish and you could enjoy a bowl by making it pretty quickly away from the pancake and Pie addled Fanatics are admirers of noodles across the states everyone needs their Cravings satisfied from time to time even if the soaring prices spared no one in some areas cabbage and noodles was
known as husy however in most places it was simply referred to as cabbage and noodles the most typical Depression era noodle recipe it's a must-have that needed to be in your repertoire if you were to survive the times and not forget every taste You Ever Loved Someone really needs to study How Times Like These bring out everyone's culinary creativity bean soup is different from from the other soups on our list because in contrast bean soup was pretty simple to make dried red kidney beans in a thick soup made for a favorite of States like Idaho
where the dish originated from you could find different ideas on the soup from house to house as some had their vegetables as toppings and others had Meats Fred Dubois who was Idaho's Senator at one point passed a bill that mandated the Senate Restaurant to have bean soup on the menu every day definitely one way to start a movement if you ask us us but the trend definitely stuck around after it gained steam it was an amazing way for low-income neighborhoods to eat healthy but nowadays you would not find it in households as beans are not
really the go to item for Soups milk toast is exactly what the name suggests toasted to Perfection bread dipped in milk with a generous slap of butter on days when any meal you loved was unaffordable and getting up to cook something proper was Dreadful milk toast came through for many families all you needed was some good fresh bread and a warm glass of milk to gorge on until you felt full milk toast quickly became one of the most popular breakfasts in the states catering specifically to people below the poverty line who could not make most
of the items on this list regularly nowadays this might be considered a very vintage meal the type to get kids asking you what century you might be from but back then it was something even working class 20-year-olds would eat Daily Times have changed and the breakfast of people in those socioeconomic classes is definitely different creamed chipped beef on toast however was a more happening kind of toast based breakfast particularly fancy and skillful homecooks would smoke the meat sometimes to add a better BBQ flavor thin slices of beef and glass jars were all you needed which
were not too expensive and the rest of the dish was completed with a creamy thick white sauce meat lovers would use cayenne pepper remembering days where they could spray it on their steaks instead of their toast comfort food was really lacking in the depression times because most could not make theirs creamed chipped beef on toast was a wonderful replacement that we are still sad to see fade away to history depending on where you were the dish was more rare because you would most often see it in Middle to upper middle class households beef really was
expensive back then but nowadays lots of other beef-based breakfasts took its spot oatmeal cakes are a warm fuzzy childhood dish that many might associate with visits to their grandparents failing economy on one side and Grandma spoiling her favorite niece and nephew on the other you just know they will always find a way and lucky enough for us that the people of the times did it so craftily in 35 minutes you had a wondrous dessert to yourself that was quick enough to make after long Panic filled days canned oatmeal on a soft cake glazed with a
almond or peanut topping really set Hearts on Fire despite the Cake's popularity back then especially in the fitness and health Community it still did not stand the test of the time of course it is a great way to spice up your oatmeal regardless of how other breakfasts prepared with more culinary Liberties taken would eventually replace it squirrel stew is also called Brunswick stew which might be a more familiar name since it is very well known in the South squirrel stew typically has much more positive associations than the ones it is tied to in the Great
Depression era in some areas that were struck exceptionally badly it was hard to get any kind of meat stews had already been made with tomatoes onions and other basic vegetables that were available but they were missing protein using squirrel in stews began to be widely incorporated into the daily meals of families following the onset of the depression the poor neighborhoods relied on variations of this stew that worked with what they had for regular nutrition you you have to consider that these were families used to eating meat before the brunt of the era hit America and
so squirrel meat was a welcome change depression cake has a name that catches your eye but it also suits the type of dish it was sugar butter and eggs were getting much harder to obtain and even milk would not remain an easily buyable item this cake was thus made with a recipe that had to use none of that which actually made it realistic enough to be applicable following the 1929 crash of the market all of the normal cake ingredients soared in prices bakeries quickly created an alternative recipe and aptly named it depression cake the recipe
used baking powder water and butter instead of the other ingredients typically necessary for any basic cake that people are used to eating today this was a cake that set a precedent in that era because it would Inspire things like the mock apple pie the trend of mock food is almost completely gone nowadays but for families that wanted to still have cake this came close enough corn beef hash was another famous dish similar to the ones we have been talking about on this list food analysts all over the world associate corn beef hash with Great Depression
cuisine as it was a way to get out of the patterns of mock foods and instead be a cheap and unique dish unfortunately the meal was not that great or beloved though it provided necessary Vegetables and protein so it gained popularity thick gravy in a cheap widely available can suddenly became the go to food for many households when you think of beef keep in mind that this meant anything from what was on hand whether that was a fresh can of beef or leftovers from the last soup you had corned beef hash was also on the
menus of diners around the states where you could get beef hash for as low as 75 cents though those restaurant prices are in the distant past potato soup was a dish that was much better to depending on the situation since sometimes you had a pretty hearty soup and other times a pretty basic one using ingredients that most would find in their homes any day of the year now such as butter and milk the recipe catered even to those families who often lacked these staples they took just salt pepper and water to make a soup out
of boiled potatoes that were sliced the full recipe was definitely a delicious soup when it was made potato soup was also reserved for mostly important days or special occasions back then nowadays you might make it because you saw it on YouTube Apple Brown betties were usually the grand desserts of the Great Depression before the depression this dessert was made with pie crusts that were usually packed with cinnamon and apples sprinkled with breadcrumbs on top using things like brown sugar you can definitely Imagine by now that the Apple Brown betties of the depression were vastly different
when ingredients were rare these even had oatmeal fillings and whatever else was in the cabinet this was a very weird moment in history because these takes on the brown Betty were not really popular but not unknown either existing in that weird middle gap between what you could expect to find out 610 households to a wildly different Betty in each block stereotypical variations of the desert as well as ones from the years following the stock market crash are now just memories and Grandma's recipes pomon was made from dried maze kernels and it was an often overlooked
one until the Great Depression hit people then began to realize that not only is homon a very affordable grain found in cans everywhere but it is also very healthy and tasty to eat stokeley's homon was a very popular and affordable brand that people might still have fond memories of The Taste can be best described as a cross between a dumplings and mashed potatoes homy typically cost 15 cents or more at most Us stores which in those times was definitely a steal hon meant you had something for either a soup or a roast or just a
meal on its own guess the things that might really help you out in times like these might be right under your nose or in this case on grocery shelves you usually pass by did any of the creative food combinations surprise you if so like this video click subscribe and stay tuned for more Nostalgia trips
