Food and Rationing
YAC Attack 134! Bake an Eggless Christmas Cake
- Discover when and why rationing food was introduced
- Find out how people responded by coming up with new ways of using what they had.
Before the Second World War, Britain imported lots of foods by ship, including meat, cheese, sugar, and cereals (used to make bread). The Germans, who were fighting against Britain, decided to target the ships bringing food into the country. They thought that by sinking the food ships, the people of Britain would not have enough to eat and would have to surrender. Rationing was Britain’s answer. How did people respond to food rationing? What new receipes did people create?
In 1940, the Ministry of Food banned icing on wedding cakes because it used too much sugar. People getting married would hire cardboard ‘fake’ cakes with pretend icing.
There was a shortage of eggs during the Second World War. Many people used powdered eggs or used recipes that did not need eggs at all. Now it is your turn to try and ration your food by baking a cake without any eggs.
