Food Will Win The War

When most people think of food rationing, they think of WWII. But Americans were first urged to conserve during the First World War and many of the programs were pioneered in Wisconsin. Historian Erika Janik tells us how Wisconsinites learned to cut back on wheat, meat, fat, and sugar.

This story is part of the Wisconsin Life series, “Wisconsin in the First World War.”

RECIPE: The Women Students’ War Work Council, together with the University of Wisconsin’s Home Economics Department, produced a booklet of recipes using alternative ingredients to show how everyone could do their part to support the troops. Find more wartime recipes here.

Scalloped Cheese

• 3 cups milk
• 2 eggs
• 1 tablespoon fat
• 5 slices of bread
• 2 cups grated cheese
• 1/4 teaspoon paprika

1. Spread bread with fat and cut into 1-3 inch cubes.
2. Beat eggs, add milk, salt and a sprinkling of paprika.
3. Arrange bread cubes and grated cheese in alternate layers in greased baking dish. 
4. Pour over egg and milk mixture.
5. Bake in a moderate oven from 1/2 to 3/4 hour or until set.
6. Serve hot. 

Erika Janik

Erika Janik is the co-creator and former executive director of Wisconsin Life. She is the author of six books, including Pistols and Petticoats: 175 Years of Lady Detectives in Fact and Fiction, Apple: A Global History, and  Marketplace of the Marvelous: The Strange Origins of Modern Medicine. She’s currently the executive...