The Homefront
The WWII American Homefront is full of inspiration for living with shortages, using thrift, and gardening. This page is dedicated to gathering original resources from WWII to study and glean information that we can still use today!
What is on this page:
Wartime Cookbooks from around the world
Victory Gardening COMING SOON!
VK Member-Exclusive content for paid subscribers: special posts, wartime menu plans, PDFs of original cookbooks from my collection. Please scroll towards the bottom to access this content. COMING SOON!
If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out: victorykitchenpodcast@gmail.com
Last updated: February 2025
COOKBOOKS
Here’s a fun article from the National Museum of American History: “A Taste of Wartime Rationing in 1940s Product Cookbooks”
American Cookbooks
120 Wartime Meat Recipes by American Meat Institute, 1942
Betty Crocker’s Your Share, 1943
Health for Victory Club, November 1942
Home Canning, Preserving, and Pickling, 1944 (only use for historical reference, not for actual canning)
The Cook Book of the United States Navy, 1944
Victory Cook Book by Lysol, 1943
Victory Meat Extenders by the National Livestock & Meat Board, 1942
Australian Cookbooks
Planning Meat Ration Meals, 1943
British Cookbooks
Self Help Wartime Cooking Suggestions by Self Help Co-op
Canadian Cookbooks
Economy Recipes for Canada’s “Housoldiers”
Navy League Chapter I.O.D.E. Victory Cook Book, 1941