Blackberries could be made into pies; turned into jam, jelly, or vinegar; and their leaves could be dried, crushed and put into the tea caddy to eke out the tea ration. (The Wartime Kitchen and Garden, p. 165) War, it seems, is the human condition. And war almost always brings terrible hunger. To write of…
Tag: Rationing
Rationing and the Black Market in Nazi-Occupied France: Some Thoughts
“Life is hard (On vit mal). Everyone grows thinner. A kilo of butter costs one thousand francs. A kilo of peas forty-five francs. A kilo of potatoes forty francs. Still we must find them.” – Jean Guéhenno, August 1944 Speaking as the beneficiary of an immense system of food production in the twenty-first century, as…
France and the Food of War : I
Food offers us so much – nourishment, familial connections, status, comfort, security, and – above all – survival. Truth be told, food allows us to wake up each day and face the world again. With our bellies churning with adequate fodder, we trudge or dance along the path of life, free to create art or…
