Green Eggs and Spam Trivia Quiz

Answer: 1954

Britain was an island nation that imported much of its food, so rationing was needed to ensure equitable distribution of what was available and to prevent hoarding/profiteering. Following a National Registration Day in September 1939, members of every household were issued with identity cards and ration books and had to register with a particular shop from which rationed goods could be bought. Bacon, butter and sugar were the first foods to be rationed, but other items were added as the war progressed. With much of Europe in ruins and a wrecked British economy, food shortages in some ways became worse after the end of the war.

The situation improved throughout the early 1950s, but it wasn't until July 1954 that people could throw their ration books away.

Answer: Expectant and nursing mothers

Women with green ration books were entitled to additional milk, the first choice of fruit and double the normal egg allowance. By brandishing her book the holder could also move to the front of the ubiquitous queues. Children under the age of five were also included in the scheme and could receive additional fruit. Older children had blue ration books which entitled them to half a pint of milk a day.

The rest of the population had buff coloured ration books.

Answer: One egg per person per week

Fresh eggs became a luxury in wartime. Some people kept chickens and others, living in the countryside, obtained them unofficially from farmers, but for most people the official allocation was very low and availability fluctuated. Powdered eggs, available from 1942, were favoured by the government because they were easily stored and would not go off before being used. One tin of dried egg powder was equivalent to a dozen eggs.

The dried egg was imported from the USA as part of the Lend-Lease programme, as were 12 ounce tins of spam.

Answer: Potatoes and root vegetables

Vegetables remained unrationed throughout the war and the Dig for Victory campaign encouraged householders to grow their own. Lord Woolton's pie, as it was originally known, was devised by Francis Latry, Maitre Chef de Cuisine at the Savoy Hotel, and promoted widely in local newspapers. Its pastry crust incorporated mashed potato. Lord Woolton, Minister for Food from 1940 to 1943, apparently could be seen at the Savoy tucking into the pie with gusto.

Inspired by wartime anniversaries the recipe has been revived in recent years, admittedly sometimes with additional ingredients unavailable during wartime. The general verdict seems to be that it's pretty good.

Answer: Mock Banana

Bananas were notoriously unavailable during World War II, inspiring a song called "When Can I Have A Banana Again?". Making Mock Banana entailed boiling a parsnip, mixing it with caster sugar and banana essence and mashing and using it as a sandwich filling. The modern consensus seems to be that if you like parsnips the result is surprisingly yummy, otherwise don't bother. The other possible answers are all genuine wartime recipes.

The first post-war consignment of bananas landed in Britain in December 1945 amidst great rejoicing and misguided hopes that this heralded an end to wartime shortages. The government instigated a national banana day in 1946, when every child was to receive a banana, often the first one they had ever seen.

Answer: British Restaurants

The term "British Restaurant" was suggested by Winston Churchill. Originally named "community feeding centres", the restaurants were started in 1940 with the aim of feeding people who had been bombed out of their homes or who needed to supplement their rations.

A three course meal could be obtained for nine old pence. Local premises such as church halls or social clubs were used and in London mobile canteens delivered food to air raid shelters. The restaurants were largely staffed by members of the Women's Voluntary Service.

The food served in them varied by region, but was supposed to provide one third of a customer's daily energy needs. The restaurants were disbanded in 1947.

Answer: 1946

The National Loaf of wholemeal bread fortified with calcium and vitamins was introduced in 1942 and, although unloved, remained unrationed throughout the war. When the war ended so did the Lend-Lease agreement. Britain needed to pay back the American war loan and the country entered a prolonged period of austerity. Food was no more plentiful than before with the sweet ration being reduced and even potatoes being rationed. Bread rationing was introduced in July 1946 and remained in force for two years. Most adults were allowed nine ounces of bread per day, part of which could be taken in flour or cakes. Sliced and wrapped loaves, forbidden during the war, were reintroduced in 1950 and the National Loaf was abolished in 1956.

The British public rushed to embrace white bread as soon as it became available again.

Answer: Canned mackerel-type fish

The name, pronounced "snook", could have had something to do with it, or there may have been a problem with the canning process, but nobody seems to have had a good word to say for it. Vast quantities of the stuff were imported from South Africa in 1946 and 1947, much of it eventually sold off cheap for catfood.

A sustainable species of snake mackerel, snoek apparently remains popular in South Africa, especially in the Northern Cape, being eaten smoked, barbecued or in pate, kedgeree or fishcakes, and can be found in the UK by homesick South Africans willing to search long and hard. I managed to track down a 1940s recipe for "snoek piquante", a suggested accompaniment for salad, but no modern attempts to reproduce it.

Answer: Meat

Meat rationing began in March 1940. Customers were allowed to buy meat up to a certain value, but availability was unpredictable and the system led to widespread queuing, goods being held under the counter for favoured customers and, particularly once the war was over, widespread belief that black market meat was being diverted to hotels and restaurants and away from ordinary people. After the war meat could once again be imported from Argentina, but much of this was exported by the government to prevent starvation in mainland Europe. As the 1950s progressed the situation improved and contemporary accounts suggest that butchers were widely ignoring rationing restrictions before the system officially ended.

Sugar continued to be rationed until September 1953, sweet rationing having ended a few months earlier. Tea rationing began in July 1940, but its end in October 1952 went practically unnoticed, as by then the ration had increased to match pre-war consumption. Cheese production during wartime was restricted to "Government Cheddar". The ban on production of other forms of cheese remained in force until the end of rationing and it took decades for British cheese production to recover.

Answer: People were healthier than before or since.

The British wartime diet was generally nutritious, being low in meat, fat and sugar and high in vegetables. The wartime years saw the introduction of food labelling laws and of nutritional standards for school meals as well as compulsory fortification with vitamins.

This resulted in a healthier, fitter population and a reduction in deaths from disease and other natural causes. However the diet was monotonous and flavourless, allowing little opportunity for eating for pleasure. As restrictions were gradually eased, the population grabbed the opportunity to enjoy the unhealthier foods they had been missing.