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A sustainable, historical three-course feast: WW2 crumb fudge

• Rachel Dinning

Published: March 24, 2024 at 9:29 PM

Serves 4 - 7

Difficulty 1/10

Total time: 10 mins

In this three-part series, Eleanor Barnett shows how leftovers can be used to make a starter, main course and dessert inspired by different periods in British history. Here she tries her hand at a fudge recipe from the Second World War

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The growth of the modern capitalist food system continued to steam ahead in the early 20th century, but following the outbreak of the Second World War in 1939, food waste suddenly became an issue of national survival. With supplies at risk, the British state intervened by introducing rationing and making the wilful wasting of food fit for human consumption illegal. Housewives were urged to grow their own food, and home cooks came up with creative ways of substi- tuting missing items with whatever was available, like mock turkey (or ‘murkey’), made from mutton and sausage meat. Any leftovers were not to be wasted, but refash- ioned into thrifty meals instead.

Our dessert is a dish from the period called crumb fudge, which was put forward by the British Ministry of Food as a means of reusing stale breadcrumbs. Crunchy, choco- latey and surprisingly indulgent, the recipe was a special treat that people would have saved up their sugar and butter rations to make. It’s an incredibly easy dish to put together, and great fun for kids to get in- volved with, too.

More in this series:

• Budget broccoli soup
• Victorian beef fritters

Ingredients

• 2tbsp Golden syrup

• Margarine

• Sugar

• 30g Cocoa powder

• 2 Vanilla or orange extract

  Optional

• 100g Breadcrumbs

  stale or dried

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Method

• step 1

  Using a low heat, stir the syrup, sugar, margarine and cocoa powder together on the hob until melted.

• step 2

  Add the vanilla or orange extract if using.

• step 3

  Stir in the breadcrumbs.

• step 4

  Turn the mixture into a well-greased sandwich tin and cut into fingers.

• step 5

  Leave to set before serving – ideally for 24 hours.

Eleanor Barnett is a food historian at Cardiff University and @Historyeats on Instagram. Her new book, Leftovers: A History of Food Waste and Preservation (Apollo) is out now

Authors

Rachel DinningDigital editor (engagement and video)

Rachel Dinning is digital editor (engagement and video) at HistoryExtra

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