Snacking Through The Decades: 1930s and ’40s - Canteen (2024)

FAQs

What snacks did people eat in the 1940s? ›

Other favorites of the time were Bazooka Bubble Gum, Licorice candies, Turkish Taffy, DOTS Candy, Jolly Ranchers, Whoppers Malted Milk Balls, Mike & Ike, and Rain-Blo Bubble Gum. Snacks that emerged during the '40s include Cheerios, Raisin Bran, Chiquita Bananas, Junior Mints, Almond Joy, V8, and Cheetos.

Here are some snacks that were developed or popularized in the 1930s, according the The Food Timeline: cheese puffs, Fritos, Marshmallow Sandwich cookies, chocolate-covered pretzels (chocolate-covered potato chips date to the 1920s), Ritz crackers, SPAM, and Cho Cho ice cream treats.

: If you judged the 1930s by its snacks alone, you would have no idea that the economy was tanking. Twinkies, Snickers, Tootsie Pops, Fritos, 3 Musketeers, Ritz Crackers, Frito corn chips, 5th Avenues, and Lay's Potato Chips were all produced during the lean years of the Great Depression.

However, packaged snacks were not about to concede to the fast food trend. Peanut M&Ms, Atomic Fireballs, Certs Mints, Hot Tamales, PEZ candy, Pixy Stix, Smarties Candy Necklaces and Marshmallow Peeps were all candies developed during this decade.

Celery soup mixed with tuna fish and mashed potatoes. A salad of corned beef, gelatin and canned peas. Baked onion stuffed with peanut butter. Those are just some of the recipes Americans turned to during the Great Depression, when many families struggled to eat enough nutritious food.

In the 1940s, the number of food groups expanded to 7 through “The Basic 7” (green and yellow vegetables; oranges, tomatoes, and grapefruit; potatoes and other vegetables and fruit; milk and milk products; meat, poultry, fish, or eggs; bread, flour, and cereals; and butter and fortified margarine) (10).

A 1930s dinner party menu would probably also have included dishes that mirrored what Hollywood considered sophisticated European taste with items like scones, crumpets, cucumber or watercress sandwiches, salmon croquettes, trifles, tortes and meringues.

Oreo. Bite of History: This dunkable delight debuted in the spring of 1912 by the National Biscuit Company (now known as Nabisco and owned by Kraft). But it wasn't a stand-alone offer. The Oreo was packaged as part of the Trio: the Mother Goose, the Veronese, and the Oreo Biscuit.

Interestingly, the oldest snack food discovered was Popcorn. It is over 7000 years old and originated in Peru and Mexico. Archaeological research found the oldest maize husk that was said to be the evidence of popcorn preparation by ancient indigenous peoples.

So, what did people eat for lunch in the 1950s? In many cases, it was a pared-down version of dinner, consisting of meat, sides and veggies. Sandwiches were also popular, particularly bologna, as were soups packed in a thermos. And on a special day, you might have dined at a Department Store restaurant.

What did they eat in the 50s diner? ›

Items like pancakes, sausages, meatloaf, burgers, and sandwiches were standard on diner menus, and still are today. The meals were priced low, making diners popular even before their rise in the 1950s.

1940s: Austere Times

Rationing, introduced with the war to deal with extreme shortages, affected most foodstuffs, including the basics for the British breakfast table - bacon, butter, cheese, sugar, jam, breakfast cereals, eggs, milk, canned and dried fruit and tea.

1940s. In the 1940s, the Second World War was ongoing and food rationing was introduced. Meat, cheese, butter, cooking fats and sugar were heavily restricted, but potatoes, other root vegetables and bread were freely available. People ate a diet much higher in carbohydrates and lower in fats than we do today.

The Rise of Commercial Pet Food

During World War II, metal rationing halted all production of canned pet foods, and manufacturers began focusing on dry foods, selling them to customers by promoting the convenience factor. By the mid-1940s, there were two types of dry food: biscuits and kibble; and pellets.

A typical weekly ration per person, when at its lowest level, was butter 4oz; bacon and ham 4oz; loose tea 4oz; sugar 8oz; meat one shilling-worth; cheese 1oz; preserves 8oz a month. By 1942, most foods were rationed except vegetables, bread, and fish.