Wartime in the Kitchen

Left:
Photo courtesy Simon Roberts at Growbag/Channel 4's 1940's House.

Food was a big problem for people in Britain during the war. Rationing meant that treats were very rare and even the basics were hard to come by.

Some people say that people had to barbecue rats to get enough to eat. Don't panic though, this isn't a ratty recipe, it's far yummier than that.

Sweets were scarce so children had to make do with whatever their inventive mums came up with. This wartime recipe for carrot fudge sounds really weird.

Why not print it out and give it a try? You'll need a bit of grown-up help with the cooking. See if your friends can guess what it's made of and let us know how it tastes.

Carrot Fudge

You will need:
4 tablespoons of finely grated carrot
1 gelatine leaf
orange essence or squash
a saucepan
a flat dish

• Put the carrots in a pan and cook them gently in just enough water to keep them covered, for ten minutes.
• Add a little orange essence, or orange squash to flavour the carrot.
• Melt a leaf of gelatine and add it to the mixture.
• Cook the mixture again for a few minutes, stirring all the time.
• Spoon it into a flat dish and leave it to set in a cool place for several hours.
• When the "fudge" feels firm, cut it into chunks and get eating!