In the Gender, Sexuality, Feminist, and Social Justice Studies (GSFS) 401 Winter 2022 semester class on Food, Gender, and Environment taught by Dr. Alex Ketchum, students are analyzing the ways that food accessibility and environmental threats are gendered, raced, and classed within the global context. As part of the course, students visited McGill’s archives and special collections to have a hands on experience with historical cookbooks (more on that here: http://www.historicalcookingproject.com/2022/02/class-visit-2022.html). The Special Series of Student Posts is a collection of student reflections on what information we can glean from cookbooks.
Cooking without Meat: A Supplemental Kitchen Guide for War-time Cookery
Scarcity, Resilience and Vegetarianism
by Catarina Bandeira Trapp
I was mesmerized when I first visited the McGill Rare Books and Special Collections. There is something magical that connects you to the past. When you touch a book that has been touched by unknown figures of the past that lived in a different reality that you will never know, it feels like you are falling through a wormhole in history. Their happiness and sorrows are forever imprinted on paper, like a portable time machine.
A book that caught my interest during a second visit was written by Barbara Rae in Rhode Island, USA. It was published in 1943. The book cover is made of leather, which I have rarely seen before. It is perhaps the reason why this book is in an almost new condition and pages are very well preserved. At first, I couldn’t see the title. Turns out, the title was on the side of the book all along.
Figure 1: Image by Catarina Bandeira Trapp, taken in the McGill Rare Books and Special Collections room on the 22nd of February 2022. Picture of the book cover and title.
Barbara was a woman who worked at home and cooking for her family was part of her activities (Rae, 1943, p. vi). She claims that she created this book to help others eat complete meals without meat while using limited rations. Many people had little access to meat due to the second world war’s scarcity (Rae, 1943, p. vi). Curiously, the Glossary shows more than recipes. The book contains information on seasoning, nutritional and meal planning advice, uses of rice, spaghetti, cheese, legumes, eggs, vegetables and how to concoct gravies and other sauces without the use of meat (Rae, 1943, p.vii).
In 2022, being vegetarian is viewed as a choice. Cultural, traditional, and ethical debates surround vegetarianism and to be vegetarian or vegan can be a privilege. For example, there are broad accessibility issues surrounding meat and dairy alternatives. These alternatives can be pricy and hard to access. In addition, having time to prepare meals that use those substitutes can be an obstacle. However, this book shows that there was a time where vegetarianism was not a privilege or a choice: it was a necessity.
This book illustrates the reality of scarcity during World War II. While cooking without meat is not such a wild subject now, I imagine that many households suffered from the scarcity of rationing and were forced into vegetarianism. The cooks (often women that worked at home) had to play the role of nutritionists, food scientists and creative chefs to meet their families needs.
An especially poignant quote can be found in the foreword section: “And when the world has finally rejected violence for the kindly state of cooperation and peace, you may wish to take some of these recipes with you into the new era of plenty which lies ahead somewhere” (Rae, 1943, p. x). The poetic nature of that quote is heartwarming; it shows that Barbara had a lot of hope for the future. It is true, Barbara, though very big disparities exist, we do have a lot more access to food in North America 60 years later. However, humanity is far from rejecting violence. It feels like cruel joke to read this in February of 2022 when there are mounting tensions between Russia and Ukraine and climate change is ravaging our world. It begs the question: What will my generation need to learn to live without?
Figure 2: by Catarina Bandeira Trapp, taken in the McGill Rare Books and Special Collections room on the 22nd of February 2022. Picture of page 25.
My pessimism aside, I would like to comment on the illustrations within the book. They were drawn by Alice Blodgett, who is praised by Barbara for her enthusiasm and encouragement (Rae, 1943, p. v). The images depict beautiful, perfectly coiffed, skinny, young-looking women in the kitchen, cooking with enthusiasm. I imagine that because it is an illustration, it probably reveals the artist’s idealized image of the homemakers who would use this book: perfect “housewives”. Regardless, I believe the illustrations are well done and depict the author’s intentions clearly.
While reading the different recipes within the book, I found one that really made me laugh (out loud, in the library). It is called “Brazilian Rice” (Rae, 1943, p. 44). It is basically cooked rice with tomatoes and chili powder. An emphasis is placed on the use of Chili powder as a “warm reminder after each mouthful” (Rae, 1943, p. 44) As a Brazilian myself, I have never heard of this. I even doubted my own knowledge and googled it ! I cannot find it anywhere, even if Brazil has a very broad culture and different traditional dishes in ever state. I think that this is a product of stereotypes of South Americans enjoying spicy food. There are other nationalities covered in the book, too: Mexican rice, Spanish Rice, East Indian Rice, Chinese Rice, Creole Rice… etc. This book may be filled with rather interesting western interpretations and stereotypes of what other nations eat. Apparently, Mexican rice is made of leftover tomato sauce with rice.
Overall, Rae was a very optimistic woman who viewed cooking during scarce times as a challenge, a game, “a battle of wits” (Rae, 1943, p. 12). I believe that it is okay to be sad and live through your emotions during dark times. However, it is refreshing to watch Barbara enthusiastically do her best to help others thrive through adversity. While there are racial stereotypes and idealized images of the “housewife” within the book, I would still recommend looking at the book’s content and finding out a little bit more about cooking during war times. If you ever have some time, I encourage you to visit Barbara Rae’s book at McGill’s Rare Books and Special Collections on the 4th floor of the McLennan Library. It is sure to cheer you up!