Bitish Rationing in WW2, the rest of the story

InRange TV continues this interesting bit of history with 6 more videos

2:  What food one gets in a week

3:  Cooking to deal with the rations

4: the National Loaf; that is how bread was rationed

5: More nuts and bolts of the rationing system

6: Where Cafeterias and Restaurants fit in with the system

7:  Black Markets and booze

8: Conclusions

What's interesting is to see that for such a system to work certain levels of competence, fairness, and acceptance are needed on the level of the goverment at a minimum.

First the state has to make sure the system actually runs and that there is food available.  That is if a product is being rationed then having it available in some level is vital.  As is ensuring that people can actually live on the rations provided.

Second the system has to at least attempt to minimize the whole "shut up prole know your place" sentiment that is pretty eternal. Where the connected and well to do, especially if those people are the ones running the system,  can still gorge themselves on whatever they want.  (That said given game one harvested was not rationed, and hunting in the UK is very much a well-to-do pursuit...)

Third is acceptance.   Teetotalers and prohibitionists pushed for Lord Woolton, the man running the system, to ban alcohol in England. (Their argument was that grains used in booze could be better used in food) Woolton pointed out that asking workers who where already increasing their hours and lessening the variety of their food, to also give up all booze would cause riots.


One can see that  in today's world of  state governments that can't even keep a lottery self-funding,  goverment health organizations that enact polities that increase obesity,  where well to do bolivators and goverment mandarins take private jets to exotic locations to lecture on how the proles should have less electricity, and demand policies that seem to be driven out of spitefully denying people simple joys....

Well,  competence, fairness, and acceptance are in short supply. 

British Rationing in WWII

Ian on Inrange TV has a new series coming up

So far there's an overview of some of the nuts and bolts of the British WW2 (and beyond) domestic rationing system.

Not just linking for a historical interest, but as this was a massive state regulation of food with rationing (obviously), price controls, wholesale purchase, attempts to influence supply and demand, and social engineering.

And this is a scheme that seems to have functioned fairly well, resulted in improved health, and had less black market activity than many other rationing programs.

My natural libertarian leanings recoil at such at thing, but in the points of intellectual honesty I am curious to learn more.

Rain.

After the nice sunny day of yesterday (where I made a great porkloin on the grill).

The grey and rain of today feels a bit muted.

But hey, I've still got meat!

Great con!

Had a great time at the NRAcon!

Things got... busy this week, but I'll have a writeup and some pictures when I get the time.

Thanks to everyone who came to the BBQ on Friday!

And thanks to Erin, Wenthe, Odd and Mad Saint Jack!

"Hi, I'm a blogger!".

That's what people may be saying in a couple hundred years at the future equivalent of Renaissance Fests.

Or as Brigid recounts on her blogmeet post:

And finally,  what people would wear, if a hundred years from now folks went to some futuristic version of a Renaissance Fest type activity and the attendees were dressed up like us. (Picture it, someone in the future finds all the really awful tactical gear you somehow got and didn't use and will wear it because it LOOKS authentic.)
Future attendee:  "What are you?"
The Jack - "Hi, I'm a blogger!".

Why yes. I did quote myself, in a report on a blogmeet that I attended...  on Sunday.

Roberta also wrote a good post on it.

And now I may lay down.  It's too hot.

That was a nice warm day...

Not sure how many more we'll get, but it was handy while it lasted.

Used the chance to get in some running.  Much better than last year when my stamina was 50% less and I stopped in early November.

And now some Italian Sausages from the Freshmarket, cooked up in bacon fat with fresh garlic, and a red and white pearl onion, crushed bay leaf,  cumin, cayenne pepper, and black pepper.

Brown on the stovetop in the fat/oil/butter/ect.  Then put in the oven to finish cooking.   Cast iron pans help but anything with an ovensafe handle works too

Accompanied with some spinach and fresh Italian bread and Irish butter.

It's all about the portions.

Thanksgiving... ham? Sure. Ham. Ham!

As I mentioned a few days ago. I did not have any turkey on thanksgiving.

Instead I had ham.

 I started off with a concentrate that was lime juice, lime zest,  pressed garlic,  ground up fresh shallot,  black pepper, white pepper, cumin, soy sauce, cayenne pepper, and green onion.   Every twenty minutes I would cycle the broth in the pan over the ham. And that would ensure that the ham stayed moist.

He's Joe admiring the meal.  Thanksgiving was small this year, just the immediate family.

 And also a nice early Christmas gift of a walnut half-bent billiard pipe from Italy.  The wine is Uppercut which is amazingly complementary for steak.  An excellent red for red meat.

Yeah.... that feels about right.

Okay... I technically didn't have any pie today.  Or turkey.  I cooked a spiral ham for the family that was delicious. The key is to let the ham render its own broth that you can baste it in, even if it needs some help getting started.

Pictures will follow, a bit too dizzy just right now to pull off the camera.

But I'd like to wish a Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours.

And speaking of the importance of Pie Dave in Texas has a mediation on our men and women in uniform and  Thanksgiving.

And on the broader subject of Ponies and Thanksgiving here's Erin's thoughts.  Erin you're good people, and your actions have a notable group on this creaky and cranky tribe that we find ourselves in.   In our own way we can all make a difference.  And even if we are going to that special kind of hell in a high speed wicker conveyance then what we do on the way still matters.

Character counts.  And on a related note the various Tam raffles and direct donations are still going on.  Some are ending today, but others are still going on.

Hope you had a Happy day and a satiating meal, and if you did have to be far from home or alone, I hope you had a moment to call back to those that love and care for you.

Apricot Totals

Well from my one tree  I got: 8 pints of nectar (a 50% juice concentrate half stored in the fridge for immediate drinking half jarred for later),  8 cups of dried apricots, and many loads of fresh apricots that were eaten and given away.

Since the fruit drops from the tree in a short period (under ten days for me) and the fruit does not keep well, I had to process and process.

But that got done.

And tonight I decided to make something with my dried apricots.

3 cups of honey, 3 cups of dried apricots, 1/4 cup lemon juice,  a bit of pectin, will eventually yeild 4 little jars of apricot jam.  A bit of advice, keep an eye on it while simmering the mix,  you do not want the honey to boil over.   Also be careful with the recipe you use,  some of the older ones call for a lot of hone, for example the one I used originally called for 7 cups.

So that's good.   Tastes rather good and seems to seal just fine.  If it all works out I'll make the rest of the dried up this way.

I do have half a mind to try my hand at fermenting some of the nectar I've got stored, but baby steps.

I got nothin'

Had an early day. The plumber came and found out that the problems with my half-bath are because when the room was converted from a laundry room into a bathroom in the remodeling, the pipes weren't actually expanded.

And that's just special. Thank goodness I rent. Having to get that mess up to code would be a problem. That said the leaks were fixed and the bathroom is back to functionality.


On the upside a co-worker did get some extra peppers from his garden and I've decided to use the extra time today to cook chili.

Also I have a bit of spew from Mr. A (semi-apologia for Putin re Pussy Riot justified by his open, nay proud, hatred of Christianity). I suppose I could note how he's one shade off from an Anti-Semite or an Islamaphobe, or how he's happy to hate people that believe in a different cosmology than him, while simultaneously patting himself on the back on his enlightenment but... meh. That much should all be obvious enough.

AH well, the weather's nice enough, ahd this should be a good batch of chili.

Well that was refreshing II

After a month of what was basically a drought, we had two days of rain.

That made for a cool day today, and a nice early evening with a slight breeze.

Ideal to go out onto the patio and enjoy a nice whiskey, a good cigar and some steak.

I'm not bad at grilling, but my father can still out do me. Even with leftover steak.

Cast Iron.

So Unc had a link to "The Art of Manliness" where they gave a shotgun primer.

Pretty good stuff. Especially for a beginner or someone unfamiliar with shotguns.

They also had a pretty good piece on how to clean a revolver. Some minor goofs (like dunking your wire brush in the solvent bottle), but all in all not bad.

But what struck me was this article on the front page about Cast Iron Cooking.

I switched to cast iron a few years ago and haven't looked back. Superior cooking for just about everything much better control and even cooking.

I use three pieces of cast iron cookwear: a big pan, a big pot, and a smaller pan with raised "grill-lines" on the inside.

Some good hints on how to clean 'em.


And this article has some good advice on the mentality of learning to cook for yourself. Even if you're alone.

Range Trip and Smoked Pork

Went to the range today and and tried some 230 grain Rainier bullets with 6.0 grains of Unique and some Federal Hydra-Shocks... err Federal Premium Personal Defense Reduced Recoil Ammunition.

The Hydra's worked fine in my S&W 1911. They were correct, very low felt recoil, speed of about 1030ft/s and quite good accuracy. Though a sample size of 20 isn't enough for me to feel comfortable with them.

The uniques worked well enough. I think the chronograph data shows a larger spread. Which I'll have to think about and do some more testing. Each of these rounds were individually measured so I'll know the grainage is good.

Also the smoked pork came off around midnight last night and worked out rather well.




Again thin slice a top pork loin into butterfly chops, removing the backstrap of fat.
Then put in a brine for 30 hours. The brine should be 1.5 tablespoons of salt to 1 cup of water. Can add cumin, ground pepper, cayenne, paprika, and such to it for flavor.

Then after the brining, take out and have drip dry for an hour. Then put on a smoker for a good 15 hours or until dried. I used applewood on mine.

Smoker Status: On

The smoker is on and the pork is loaded.

Now we play the waiting game.

Soon, the smoked pork, soon.

Ahh, got a top pork loin cut into thin butterfly chops and in a brine of 1 cup water to 1.5 tablespoons salt. With some cumen, white pepper, and cayane pepper. brine for 30 hours and put on the smoker.

I also finished double-checking a derivation used in yesterday's powder simulation post. I might put it up.

Also did some brass sorting today. At least I've got the inventory pretty well sorted of virgin, once-fired, and range scrounging.

I used to keep +p in the later two categories separate, but on reflection that seems like its asking for trouble so have folded those in. Now anything I load to +p ratings will be in virgin brass (and of course individually measured to spec).

Rainy Saturday Project: Ham and Bullets.

I was planning to hit the range this afternoon and test a bunch of my second batch of cast bullets, but was not to be.

So instead I started the ham early. I'm in the habit of buying hams in the aftermath of holidays because you can get them on great sales.


The ham was done at 20min per pound (total of 3 hours cook time), at 325F. Had the ham make its own sauce as I cooked it. So have the bottom of the pan filled with 1/2 in of water adn all the juice from the bag, added some white pepper, black pepper, cumin, Lee & Perins sauce, dash of rosmary, and some Lousiana Hot Sauce.

Put a bit of aluminum foil over the ham in a loose "tent" to keep most of the moisture. Every half hour or so remove the ham and baste in its own juices.

An hour out remove the foil cover. Half hour out make the glaze and put on. Then done.
Also a trick I found to help the spiral ham retain it's shape (important for staying moist) is to use toothpicks and the big cooking "pins" to nail the ham into shape.

Also in the picture you can see my other project. Once the ham was up and running, I started up my lead melter. This time I stood it up on a wooden crate in the edge of the garage so I had ventilation, security from rain and I could work from standing up.

Last week I had cast my spare lead into 1 lb and 1/2 lb ingots. Found the 1/2 lb melted much faster (go figure SA/Vol). So when I was done I recast the leftover lead in the pot into 1/2 ingots.

This was the first time casting 255 grain roundnose flat top, and it went rather well. I cast 25 of those and a further 55 of the 230 grain. Quality control was done much better. Took a bit of time for the lead to get to the right temperature, and had interesting fun seeing what happened if you tried to cast with too hot of a lead, but was good learning and productive.

Also care should be taken to wash your hands between handling lead and making food.

Spring?

Well it's still February but dang if it ain't warm enough to fire up the grill and enjoy the afternoon outside.

Good Time Blogmeet.

Despite not going to the Indy 1500 show this weekend.
(I didn't have any pressing gunnie needs and it seemed a bit crowed this time around)

I did however go to the Blogmeet today at the BrewPub. Food was so good it managed to serve as late lunch and early dinner.

Good times was had, talking about old time technical books, radios, guns, and the like.

Here's Brigid's report and Roberta's

Can add a new blog to the "blogger's I've met" list: Mr. Engineering Johnson at his first attendance.

I also managed to snag Tam's old 4th ed Mauser Military Rifles of the World. And got an impromptu lesson in volley-fire.

Nannystatish Food-Control Neo-Puritanism backfires?

So San Francisco tried to ban the Happy Meal.
Because clearly parents were helpless and happless at raising children and the State had to come in to keep that eeeevvvviiil Clown from bribing kids with those nefarious toys.

Turns out... their law didn't quite work the way they intended it to.

It turns out San Francisco has not entirely vanquished the Happy Meal as we know it. Come Dec. 1, you can still buy the Happy Meal. But it doesn't come with a toy. For that, you'll have to pay an extra 10 cents.

Huh. That hardly seems to have solved the problem (though adults and children purchasing unhealthy food can at least take solace that the 10 cents is going to Ronald McDonald House charities). But it actually gets worse from here. Thanks to Supervisor Eric Mar's much-ballyhooed new law, parents browbeaten into supplementing their preteens' Happy Meal toy collections are now mandated to buy the Happy Meals.

Today and tomorrow mark the last days that put-upon parents can satiate their youngsters by simply throwing down $2.18 for a Happy Meal toy. But, thanks to the new law taking effect on Dec. 1, this is no longer permitted. Now, in order to have the privilege of making a 10-cent charitable donation in exchange for the toy, you must buy the Happy Meal. Hilariously, it appears Mar et al., in their desire to keep McDonald's from selling grease and fat to kids with the lure of a toy have now actually incentivized the purchase of that grease and fat -- when, beforehand, a put-upon parent could get out cheaper and healthier with just the damn toy.

That's right.

What did this smugly touted and bragged about law accomplish? It made happy meal toys a bit more expensive and it made the happy meal itself (the very part they were worried about) mandatory.

That prettymuch sums up the nanny state in a nutshell, condescending, expensive, and counter productive. Remember these same Statists thought they knew how to better feed children than their own parents, and yet they couldn't get this law right.

But at least they had good intentions!

Via Top Headlines on Ace

Lunch and a Book

Today's errands took me to Broadripple and I stopped by Boogie Burger for lunch.

The place is a bit twee (I can only imagine what it was like at it's old location), but the food is quite, quite good. Worth the price (which is quite modest) and the wait (which was short).

Tam is right, the place was full and the burgers are that good.

If you want some burgers, fries, or shakes, that's the place.

While there I read some more of Larry Correia's Hard Magic. I wasn't too keen on Monster Hunter, mostly because I found the characters a bit flat and the villains motivations meh. There was also the tacked on romance that required some headbangingly questionable moves on the part of a woman who just had her soft-of-but-not-yet exboyfriend kidnapped.

However, Hard Magic has deeper characterization overall, and enough gun-porn and historical fanboy squee to make it quite fun to read.