Frugal War Rations recipe Wednesday – Salad cream

Filed in Blog by on February 9, 2011 7 Comments
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How does a wartime salad cream taste?

How does a wartime salad cream taste?

One of our facebook fans shared the title of a recipe book with me, and after a successful second hand purchase on Amazon I’ve been delving into the quaint pages ever since.

Published in 1947, this politically correct book written by Dorothy Anne Adamson is ‘especially written for Brides and Bachelors’!

Ms Adamson was a domestic science Organiser to Gateshead Education Committee and I was intrigued by her simple-sounding recipe for ‘wartime salad cream’.

Salad cream is not something we buy, but Little Miss Green had been asking about it, so I thought I’d give the recipe a go.

Here’s the recipe for ‘Wartime salad cream’:

ingredients

2 tbsp dried milk
pinch salt and pepper
1/4 tsp mustard (she didn’t say powder, but I assumed that was probably all you could get, so that’s what I used)
1 tsp sugar
cold water
vinegar to taste

method

Mix together the dried milk, salt, pepper, mustard and sugar
Add sufficient water to mix all to a fairly stiff paste
Add drops of vinegar until the correct consistency and taste (usually about 2-3 tsp)

Well I can safely say this was our first disaster – we were expecting the ‘push to the side of the plate meal’ to be the austere Woolton Pie, but Little Miss Green wolfed that one down for tea – albeit with a tin of baked beans.

The salad cream however, was ‘funky’. It tasted like gone off vinegar. Mr Green gave it a 5-6 out of 10, but Little miss Green left hers on the side of the plate and when asked for her opinion said “It tastes strong, bitter and I can’t eat it.”

Oh dear, Ms Adamson, will try better next time …

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About the Author ()

I am a long time supporter of the Green and Sustainable lifestyle. After being caught in the Boscastle floods in 2004, our family begun a journey to respect and promote the importance of Earth's fragile ecosystem, that focussed on reducing waste. Inspired by the beauty and resourcefulness of this wonderful planet, I have published numerous magazine articles on green issues and the author of four books.

Comments (7)

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  1. Kelly says:

    Ewww…. now I feel bad XD

  2. perhaps the dressing should be allowed to sit for a couple of weeks in fridge in order to develop its flavors.
    did you use malt vinegar? i would omit the milk powder if so. sans appetit?

  3. Jo says:

    Dry mustard is much stronger than prepared mustard. Perhaps the recipe really did mean to use prepared mustard? It sounds like it should be good, just reading it through.

  4. Jane says:

    Salad cream is very strong and mayonnaise isn’t. Have you tried making mayonnaise – only I don’t think that will be frugal!?

  5. Mrs Green says:

    @Kelly: Hahahaa, don’t feel bad – there are plenty of other great sounding recipes in that little book 😉

    @nadine sellers: You could be right; we used it straight away. I used the only vinegar I had which was distilled white. Omitting the milk powder would mean it was basically flavoured vinegar, it wouldn’t thicken. I’ll try it again 😉

    @Jo: It does sound promising doesn’t it? I shall play again and see what I come up with.

    @Jane: Never made mayonnaise – as you said, it’s not exactly frugal! I will try it one day though…

  6. Except for the milk, that sounds almost like what I put on coleslaw (shredded cabbage). Try only 1/2 tsp of vinegar. Taste it. If you think it needs more vinegar, add it 1//2 tsp at a time until you get it right. Did you use full fat or nonfat dried/powdered milk. The lack of fat could make a difference. By the way, I have never heard of salad cream. Translated to “American,” is that “salad dressing?”

  7. Mrs Green says:

    @Ppzctical Parsimony: Thanks for your suggestions; I’m not about to give up just yet! I’m not sure if it’s salad dressing in the US; it probably is 🙂

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