Imagine opening your cupboard to find nothing more than flour, water, and a jar of peanut butter. For millions of Americans during the 1930s, this wasn’t a nightmare scenario. It was Tuesday. By 1933, nearly 25% of Americans were out of work, and a third of Americans were living below the poverty line. Sugar, coffee, pork, fish, butter, eggs and cheese were all heavily rationed during this period.
Here’s the thing though. When you’re backed into a corner, the human spirit gets wildly creative. People weren’t just surviving on scraps during the Great Depression. They were inventing recipes that their grandchildren would actually crave decades later. Let’s be real, some of these dishes sound absolutely bonkers on paper. Water pie? A dessert made primarily from tap water? I know it sounds crazy, but stick with me here.
The Miracle of Water Pie
Water pie is a type of pie with a translucent custard filling made primarily from water, along with sugar, flour, butter and sometimes vanilla extract. The recipe originated in the late 1800s and was also made during the Great Depression. Think about that for a second. Water, the stuff we use to wash dishes, became the star ingredient in a dessert people actually wanted seconds of.
This Depression era water pie recipe belonged to Kay’s grandmother, who had eight children and made her family of 10 three meals from scratch every single day. During leaner times, she developed this recipe so that her family could still enjoy dessert from time to time, no matter how hard their days were. The beauty of water pie lies in its simplicity and kitchen chemistry magic. While traditional meringue or custard pies typically depended on eggs to set, the Water Pie did not. As the pie heated up, the melted sugar, emulsified butter, and leached starch formed the most unexpected binding agent. With a bit of ingenuity and thinking out of the box, Depression-era bakers managed to transform the most ordinary water into an extraordinarily tasty treat.
It has a creamy buttery taste, similar to a custard pie or warm vanilla cookie once it’s chilled and sliced. The texture is similar to the “gloopy” filling of a pecan pie, just without the nuts. You literally pour water into a pie crust, sprinkle in a mixture of flour and sugar without stirring, add vanilla and butter, then bake. The water, flour and butter melted together in the oven, transforming those humble ingredients into a sweet, buttery, custard-like dessert. The pie crust became almost candied, adding a caramelized flavor and sweet crunch to the overall experience.
Peanut Butter Bread Without the Fuss
Peanut butter bread was one of the most common staples during the Great Depression. Most bread requires yeast or at least eggs, but not this one. Every ingredient in the bread can last years on its own and is inexpensive, making it great for people living through the depression. Peanut butter bread was first notably showcased in 1932 after being published in the Five Roses Flour Cookbook.
Peanut butter bread is one of several yeast and egg-free breads commonly baked during the Great Depression. The recipe includes flour, sugar, baking powder, milk, and peanut butter, which, at just 10 cents per pound in the 1930s, was a popular protein option, as meat had become expensive. That’s roughly about what a loaf of regular bread cost back then, according to historical price data. Peanut butter wasn’t just affordable. It packed protein when actual meat was either too expensive or simply unavailable.
Depression Era Peanut Butter Bread harks back to a 1930’s Five Roses Flour cookbook published at the height of the Great Depression, and contains recipes for home cooks who may not have a large stock of fresh ingredients. The bread comes together fast. Mix your dry ingredients. Add milk and peanut butter. Pour into a loaf pan and bake. No kneading, no rising time, no waiting around for yeast to do its thing. You’re done in about an hour.
Foraging for Free Food
People would go out to their front lawns and pick dandelion greens for dandelion salad. Yes, you read that right. The same weed most people spray poison on today was dinner during the Depression. Rich in iron and vitamins, dandelions helped countless Depression-era families survive malnutrition when even basic groceries ran out.
During the Great Depression, foraging for nutritious foods was common and was the key to survival for many people. Dandelion leaves are one among several salad greens with the most nutritious value, packing a hearty dose of calcium, iron, potassium, and vitamins A, C, and K, among other essential nutrients. As a forageable food, dandelions were incredibly affordable and accessible, making them an optimal inclusion in Depression-era meals. Many homes even had dandelions growing in abundance in their yards, so people could harvest them and whip up a nutritious meal in a pinch.
The preparation was straightforward. Clara explains the process of cleaning the greens. She then dresses the salad with lemon juice, olive oil, and salt. Dandelion salads could be as simple as tossing the washed greens in salt and a simple lemon and olive oil dressing. Or, it could include other greens and fresh seasonal vegetables like lettuce, crisp cucumbers, asparagus, or radishes; dandelion flowers for a pop of color; sugar snap peas for a protein boost and added texture; and a simple salad dressing to bring it all together.
