Discover American Homefront History
What is this podcast about?
This podcast is an exploration of American food rationing during World War II. We explore the nitty gritty of how rationing worked and affected American civilian's lives by studying wartime books, newspapers, propaganda, photographs, cookbooks, recipes, magazines, and much more.
About My Mission
My mission is to help others build a deeper relationship with history. With my podcast and 10+ years studying WWII food rationing, I aim to expand the knowledge about American rationing and hopefully dispel some myths and misunderstandings along the way. There is so much wisdom and many delicious recipes to be gleaned from this unique time period in American history!
The Victory Kitchen Podcast Experience
Episode 2: The Great Sugar Shuffle
With a lot of the world's stores of sugar tied up by wartime, America had to figure out how to satisfy its major sweet tooth. Sarah dives into all the details behind sugar rationing and discovers why corn syrup should best be left for making candy.
Episode 12: Eat a Lunch that Packs a Punch!
If there was anything Uncle Sam wanted the American people to know, from war plant worker to school child, it was that eating a good, healthy lunch was their patriotic duty. In this episode, Sarah talks about the Victory lunch box - why it was a thing, what it looked like, and what went inside it to keep Americans in top form. She tries out three tasty ration recipes from a Victory lunch box cookbook and we learn how one Michigan community came together to make sure their kids ate a lunch that packed a punch.
Episode 17: War & Spice
Americans faced scarcities of their favorite spices and flavorings during WWII while shipping was threatened by U-boats and enemy aircraft around the globe. In this last episode of Season 2, Sarah digs into newspapers to piece together a timeline of spices' disappearance from American pantries and discovers how science saved the day. She finds some toast recipes that have changed her breakfasts forever and tells the homefront story of one family dairy in Houston, TX.
Episode 22: Americans All/Americanos Todos
Early in WWII, with much of the field labor being sucked into the military, defense or factory jobs, the farmers were in a really tough position for getting their crops harvested. In this episode, Sarah looks at the pros and cons of one of the most impactful agricultural programs ever implemented in the United States to help struggling farmers, the Bracero Program, which brought thousands of Mexican laborers to American fields. She tries a unique Aztec style casserole from 1944, and we hear about one Mexican-American woman's memories growing up as a teenager during the war.
Episode 25: By Rod, Gun & Steel
Season 4 is kicking off its first episode in honor of this year's National Wildlife Week (April 5th - 9th) talking about hunting, fishing, and trapping in wartime! Sarah answers some pressing questions about ammunition rationing, goes over saltwater fishing rules, and discusses some hot wildlife conservation topics of the day fresh from WWII. She also highlights the hilarious, but very irresponsible, wartime cookbook by Lawrence A. Keating where ration-mindedness is thrown out the window.
Episode 32: Frozen Assets
Canning wasn't the only way to preserve food in the 1940s! In this final episode of Season 4, Sarah highlights the old community staple of freezer locker plants, how they served their community and why freezing was maybe more patriotic than canning. She tries out a meatloaf recipe enshrined in bacon and shares an amusing freezer story back when frozen food was still a novelty!