Here’s What People Ate to Get Through the Great Depression!
Step back in time and relive the good old days of vintage America. Picture yourself at grandma’s kitchen table, where forgotten foods, classic sandwiches, and beloved BBQ dishes brought the family together. We take you through retro recipes, vintage family meals, and the simple joys of the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s.
We’re here to rekindle memories of holidays spent eating grandma’s famous desserts and the warmth that filled every room. Let’s revive the lost magic of our childhood and share stories that shaped our past.
Don’t forget to like, subscribe, and share your own memories in the comments. Let’s take this nostalgic journey down memory lane together!
21 Comments
Is that a garbage plate on the thumbnail???
That is sooooo good!
But not from depression era
Invented in Roch NY!
I want to try bread tea
And cracker “mtballs”
WOW
As long as u have sugar or honey to give the hot water a flavor, it wouldn’t be too bad to sit down and catch ur breath for awhile either some neighbors while the children ran around yelling outside
And if u had meat drippings to add to the cracker balls they would taste great smothered in gravy made from broth from carcasses or tomato sauce or in a soup
Rations, taught us alot ❤
This is fascinating! I’ve heard of my grandparents foraging for food to feed their young family. I was told of it but never shown.
My parents got married duri g the depression. She told us the first year they lived on potatoes and sauerkraut. She also told about when she was younger, she and her brother would catch and toast crawdads from a nearby creek, or go to the farmer's market and get barbecued goat.
I still use pine needles tea and sassafras root tea is good for whooping cough and the bark put into fireplace fragrant your house, smells lively
The fiddle fern is tender to eat young
My parents grew up in the Depression. MOM born in 1925, Dad in 1919. I'm 60 now. We ate lots of beans, rice, black eyed peasand cornbread. We were comfortable but itwas what they were used to eating .We ate greens as well.My Dad taught me to never waste food. They had known hard times & food rationing during the war. We didn't take food for granted.They knew times when food just wasn't there.
A pound of dried beans can feed a family for a week. Rice & beans to😂gether make all the amino acids your body needs .you can cook beans easily in a Crock pot. Water, a half onion, and ham hocks or a bit bit of leftover ham. It's cheap eats. I like pintos or navy beans. You can do lima, great northern or black beans if you like . Cornbread is awesome with beans. Just make the recipe on the cornmeal bag. Its an lot better than Jiffy. My Dad loved cornbread with milk on it like cereal
Slaves knew these recipes long before people of the Depression.
Native Indians were the original foragers.
Dock leaves are yummy with garlic
SURVIVE, NOT SERVIVE!!!
I have milk weed in my yard. I’ll remember what was said in this video and try some next year’
First off, I am a working professional chef, and I have knowledge in food history. Most of these things on this video were part of the human diet before the "Great Depression". I laughed at the indication that "Mrs. Miller" invented the meatloaf out of necessity. When in fact it is difficult to attribute the invention of meatloaf to a single person because the dish has evolved over and has many different versions across cultures. The earliest version of meatloaf may have originated in ancient Rome. A lot of these dishes and drinks were eaten and drank before the "Great depression" and were introduced to colonist by Indigenous Peoples or were recipes passed down culturally. One notable dish that was invented during the American Great Depression was Tomato Soup Cake. It used canned tomato soup as a key ingredient. This cake was promoted through a Campbel's recipe in 1922. The canned soup was incorporated into the cake recipe to eliminate the need of eggs or milk being added to cake. As with any financial hard times, times of war, or even oppression of certain classes of people food insecurity has affected the human species globally. My advice here is limit the junk videos that are made by AI that anyone can type in parameters for clicks. Prepare a meal for a sick or elderly neighbor or invite someone to enjoy a dinner that you cooked with. Donate food or if you have it some money to a local food bank or homeless shelter. America has an abundance of food so find the kindness in your hearts and share. Sorry for the rant.
Dandelions are one of the most nutritious plants in the world and they are a wonderful medicine for the heart. There's a reason that the same company that makes Roundup also makes heart ""medications"". They don't want you to use the natural stuff that costs nothing and works better. They want you to use their product that costs a lot!
The pictured plants when speaking of Nettles do not match the actual planys, those were nopales, which also have refreshing cactus pears. All delicious foods, if you know how to gather and prepare these nutrient rich plants. Look them up, each one. I am sure there are videos for each item.😊❤
📚 This video is definitely worth sharing with others, and keeping for reference. I am getting a notebook and writing things down, because I have a feeling that these economical recipe ideas will soon come in handy ,as times only get harder and more difficult.
NETTLE SOUP 🥣 🍲
Wear gloves while gathering the leafes, a few from each plant. Never destroy the plants, always do leave some behind to keep thriving when gathering. Once cooked, the leafes no longer irritate the skin. Awesome.
INGREDIENTS
A whole bunch of fresh clean leafes, when gathering you made sure there's no insects, looking under each leaf. Rinse well.
1 large washed whole potato, grated including the skin
1 small minced onion
1 clove of garlic, minced
Salt and pepper to taste
A little bit of oil, or butter, or bacon grease, or lard, for sautéing the onion and garlic.
Water, or any flavor soup stock, or 1 – 2 flavor cubes
COOKING
Sauté said onion & garlic in a little fat
Add all the remaining ingredients at once, and simmer for a few minutes, until done.
Turn the heat off, cover and let it stand in it's own heat a bit longer, a way to save on cooking fuel, be it electricity or gas.
SUBSTITUTION
If you have no potato, dissolve a tbsp of cornstarch
in COLD water addinģ it once everything is boiling.
If you have no cornstarch, use flour instead.
ENJOY
Serve with a side of toast, if bread is available.
❤😊 People back then saved every bit of lard or bacon grease, to cook with. Awesome to flavor garden vegetables, or foraged greens that you are cooking. Or a pot of beans, or peas, or lentils…
Or root vegetables, or mushrooms. When no meat is available on a regular basis, that flavor is of great value.🥓🥓🥓
Great video