1950s Food & Drink

Rationing continued after the end of World War II: sugar, butter, cheese, margarine, cooking fat, bacon, meat and tea were all still rationed when the Queen came to the throne in 1952. Sugar rationing ending in 1953 and meat rationing in 1954. The meagre choice of ingredients and flavourings, whilst concentrating the cook’s mind on creating filling and satisfying meals, would preclude even the best of cooks from creating cordon bleu dishes. Food was seasonal (no tomatoes in winter for example); there were no supermarkets, no frozen food or freezers to store it in and the only takeaway was from the fish and chip shop.

Meat and two veg was the staple diet for most families in the 1950s. It was the age of spam fritters, salmon sandwiches, tinned fruit with evaporated milk and fish on Fridays. Sunday lunch was a roast, then ham salad for high tea, followed by trifle or fruit cake. The only way to add flavour to this bland cooking was with tomato ketchup or brown sauce. Salad in the summer consisted of lettuce, cucumber and tomatoes, and the only dressing available was Heinz Salad Cream. In the winter, this was replaced with a coleslaw of thinly sliced white cabbage, onions and carrots, coated in Salad Cream. The average family rarely if ever ate out. The closest most people came to eating out was in the pub. There you could get potato crisps (three flavours only – potato, plain or salted – until Golden Wonder launched ‘cheese and onion’ in 1962), a pickled egg to go on top, and perhaps a pasty or some cockles, winkles and whelks from the seafood man on a Friday, Saturday or Sunday evening. Things started to change when the UK’s answer to the burger bars in America arrived in the 1950s to cater for that new group of consumers, the teenagers. The first Wimpy Bars opened in 1954 selling hamburgers and milkshakes and proved extremely popular.

These are some popular dishes in the 50s:

1950: Pineapple Upside-Down Cake.
Because sweet treats were in short supply during the years after the war, this amazingly colourful bake was welcomed with open arms when it burst onto the foodie scene in 1950. Made with tinned goods, pineapple upside down cake was an easy thing to whip up with your butter and sugar rations, and could make its way round a big family if sliced thinly enough.
1951: SPAM.
While fresh meat was still being heavily rationed, SPAM provided an unlikely source of protein to thousands of British families during the 1950s. Love them or hate them, SPAM fritters were the dish of the year. These crispy morsels were coated in batter, deep-fried and served up for many a supper.
1952: Baked Alaska.
To be a true child of 1952 you've got to have had a baked Alaska or two in your time. This science-defying pud wowed the masses when it was introduced in the 1950s with its hot outside and freezing cold inside. Made with a sponge bottom, a thick layer of jam, a mound of ice cream and a baked meringue shell it really was an impressive party centrepiece.
1953: Devilled Eggs.
Liberated from egg and sugar rations but still firmly in the grips of cheese and meat rationing British cooks of 1953 were keen to make the most of their new found culinary freedom. The result? Devilled eggs! These curried canapés were a real favourite for serving up as part of a party spread.
1954: Burgers and milkshakes.
1954 saw the end of rationing altogether and the opening of the first Wimpy Bars, selling burgers and milkshakes to Britain's teenagers - and they loved it.

1955: Black Forest Gateau.
With its layers of chocolate sponge, whipped cream and cherry syrup, Black Forest Gateau was the dish of the moment in 1955, after being invented in Germany some years earlier (known by its German title, Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte). It appeared in recipe books everywhere following its inclusion on a list of best-known German cakes in 1949, and aren't we so glad of it? This classic cake is still a favourite for many today.
1956: Coronation Chicken.
Coronation chicken was invented for the coronation of Queen Elizabeth in 1953 and gathered popularity with every year that passed. In 1956 this exotic mix of cooked chicken, mayonnaise and curry powder and truly become one of Britain's favourite lunchtime sandwich fillers and could even be found on the shelves of grocery shops, pre-made.
1957: Rice Pudding.
Ah, Rice pudding, a deliciously creamy dessert that was traditionally made in a pot but somehow found its way into a tin during the first world war. Despite the tinned version coming years earlier it was 1957 that marked a huge step change for the most popular brand, Ambrosia, when it had to open up a whole new factory to cope with the demand for its famous tinned pud. 1958: Chop Suey.
A rise in immigration during the 1950s and 60s gave Brits a real taste for strong flavours from further afield. 1958 was the year Chop Suey was introduced to the menu of Butlins' holiday camps - making it officially a British favourite!
1959: Arctic Roll.
Birds Eye inherited Arctic Roll in 1959, when it bought an Eastbourne ice cream factory and went on to have great success with this freezer staple of the time. Much like a traditional Swiss roll, this ice cream filled alternative captured the hearts of those who couldn't face having to make a pudding every evening.

Shops: due to food storage limitations and tight budgets, most food shopping in the 1950s was done every day and from local shops. Not every household owned a car or a refrigerator, so food shopping was part of the housewife's daily routine. It was normal to visit separate shops for bread (bakers), meat (butchers), vegetables (greengrocers), fish (fishmongers) etc. Most shops were family-owned businesses and traditional in character. The butcher wore a straw hat and a striped apron, used a thick wooden chopping block and sprinkled sawdust on the floor. Fresh fruit and vegetables were mainly grown in Britain (not imported), so strawberries would be in the shops for just a few weeks in the summer, and there were no fresh peas, beans or salad vegetables during the winter months. As a result, canned food was extremely popular, stretching beyond just beans and soup to include vegetables and fruit – everything from asparagus to pineapple – to fish and meat.
It was quite common too, for tradesmen to deliver their goods direct to the housewife. Groceries and greengroceries were often delivered each week in a motorised van and milk was delivered every day.

A shopping basket in the 1950s would have included items such as: wild rabbits, mangles, corsets, candles, wireless licence and gramophone records.


Huge thanks to https://nostalgiacentral.com/pop-culture/food-drink/shopping-in-the-1950s/ for stacks of this info.