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Would you eat a limpet stew, carrot jam, parsnip coffee or carrot tea?
These 'substitute foods' were sampled during the Occupation by islanders who were experiencing food shortages... and the surprisingly enjoyable recipes are shared below by a local historian...
In his latest column for Express, Occupation historian Colin Isherwood explores food shortages experienced during the German invasion and shares recipes that were eaten during the war....
Seventy-nine years ago this month, the first Red Cross supplies arrived in the islands, bringing much-needed food and provisions to the population.
Pictured: Occupation Jersey Ration Book.
The winter of 1944 had been a harsh one for Jersey. Supplies were no longer coming into the islands and as a result, schools had been closed for weeks because there were no fuels to heat them.
Shops were empty and food stocks had diminished. Meat-free weeks had been introduced by the authorities because of shortages. Many islanders became vegetarians, but not by choice.
Pictured: Colin's father David Isherwood and other islanders collecting their Red Cross parcels in 1945.
Today, an adult consumes around 2,500 calories per day on average. But in late 1944, an adult was consuming 1,000 calories, and sometimes less.
With most people at this time doing manual labour, very few were in offices, every calorie needed to count.
Substitute and additional protein foods were essential.
Beaches were opened on certain days and at specified times which meant having access to razorfish, winkles, cockles and limpets.
Limpets were plentiful, high in protein and could make an evening meal.
Ingredients:
Method:
To make the stew, place the limpets into boiling water for a few minutes, then remove and leave to cool.
Remove the shells and discard the intestines and soft black part. Mince or finely chop the hard part of the limpet.
Place the butter or lard in a saucepan and when melted add the flour to make a roux.
Add the salt, curry powder (if available), herbs and gently cook until it darkens in colour, then add a pint of water.
Peal and finely chop the potatoes and add these to the stew.
Once the potatoes are just cooked, add the peas and chopped limpets. Continue cooking for a few minutes, then serve with a slice of bread.
Pictured: Seventy-nine years ago this month, the first Red Cross supplies arrived in the islands, bringing much-needed food and provisions to the population.
Surprisingly curry powder was often used as a seasoning during the Occupation, especially when salt became difficult to obtain.
Although it could taste bland, limpet stew did provide some valuable protein and was inexpensive to make.
Not all substitute foods were bland however, some were quite flavoursome. Some preserves proved to be very popular and rich in flavour such as carrot jam. Some jams were often made using carrageen moss, which is sea-weed. Boiled it makes a gelatine and can be added to help thicken jams.
This Occupation jam recipe is made by using sugar, which would have been gathered by family, friends, or communally and then shared. This recipe tastes much nicer than its name suggests.
Carrot Jam
Ingredients:
Method:
Put the water in a large saucepan, then peel, trim and finely grate the carrots and add them to the saucepan of water.
Boil for an hour and then add the sugar.
Continue to boil for another hour and a half or until it takes on a jam-like consistency.
Turn off the heat and let it cool.
Once it has cooled, pour the jam into sterilised containers, and refrigerate.
Use spread over a piece of bread or toast.
Pictured: Communal cooking in Jersey just after the Liberation.
Hot drinks were also substituted.
Tea supplies ran out in the island as early as April 1941 and coffee supplies rarely came into the island; the coffee that did arrive was mainly acorn coffee which was largely consumed by the German troops.
There were various types of substitutes for tea and coffee, such as sugar beet, blackberry, or nettle leaves, but the most common types used were parsnips and carrot.
Ingredients:
Method:
To make the substitute tea, finely grate three carrots and leave to dry on a tea towel in a warm place, this can take a few hours.
Once dried, roast in the oven until dark, but not burnt.
Leave to cool then place in an airtight container and use as normal tea.
Parsnips were often used as coffee substitute as they were easily obtained and when roasted gave a sweet nutty taste.
Ingredients:
Method:
Finely grate the parsnips but do use the core as it can be coarse.
Once grated, leave to dry on a tea towel in a warm place, this can take a few hours.
Once dried, roast in the oven until dark, but not burnt.
Leave to cool then place in an airtight container and use as normal tea.
Substitute foods lasted late into the winter of 1944.
It was only the arrival of the Red Cross parcels that brought some much-needed supplies to the islands.
This first voyage of Red Cross supplies had brought to the islands over 119,792 standard food parcels, 4,200 invalid diet parcels, 4 tons of soap, 5 tons of salt and 96,000 cigarettes.
Mr Isherwood said: "I have made and tasted all these substitute food recipes and it did make me realise how difficult it must have been at that time and how resourceful the population had become to survive.
"To take a humble carrot or parsnip and put it to another use, is quite ingenious.
"These recipes are quite straightforward to make for those keen enough to try them.
"I would suggest trying them with the whole family, young and old and ideally with someone who has memories of the occupation which can be passed on.
"You may be surprised to learn about the foods that were eaten in those later years of the war!"
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