History in the Kitchen - WWII: Day 8

For our eighth class of History in the Kitchen - WWII, we learned about the emphasis during the war on canning all the produce from your garden and how canned foods were rationed and more expensive due to the high demand for tin.

I wanted to focus on a fruit recipe this time, so we tried this recipe for Peach Griddle Cakes along with experimenting with two Mapleine Pancake Syrups and one Molasses Spread. The Peach Griddle Cakes were easy and straight-forward. I used canned peaches, which worked very well.

I  made two different Mapleine syrups - one using sugar and the other using corn syrup. The one using sugar was okay, but as soon as we tried the one using corn syrup, we were amazed. It tasted exactly like store bought pancake syrup! Surprisingly with just corn syrup, water, a bit of salt, and Mapleine, the syrup produced even had a bit of a nutty flavor. It was really good and used the most.

A few brave souls tried the Molasses Spread which is more of a watery syrup, but it wasn't liked. You have to really like molasses to enjoy that spread.

I have to say, that this class was one of the most fun. The kids enjoyed flipping the pancakes, and I really enjoyed them trying out the different spreads and giving their serious opinions. Not one griddle cake was left behind, they were that good! In fact, I totally forgot to take pictures because the food was inhaled so quickly!

Here are the recipes though, and you can see for yourself!

Peach Griddle Cakes
1 Tbsp. shortening                  1 ¼ c. milk
¼ c. sugar                                ½ tsp. lemon juice
2 eggs                                      ½ tsp. vanilla
2 c. sifted all-purpose flour     1 ½ c. chopped peaches (fresh or canned)
3 tsp. baking powder               Powdered Sugar
½ tsp. salt
Cream the shortening and sugar, add the eggs and beat thoroughly. Sift the dry ingredients together and add alternately with the milk. Fold in the lemon juice, vanilla and peaches. Drop by spoonfuls on hot greased griddle and fry until golden brown on each side. Sprinkle with powdered sugar. Serve hot.
(From Health-for-Victory Meal Planning Guide , August 1944)

Mapleine Cook Book, approx. early 1930s

Mapleine Cook Book, approx. early 1930s

Health-for-Victory Meal Planning Guide, Aug. 1944