"Victory Spread" and "Cup of Joe"

 "The Victory Spread"

Walking through supermarkets and big box stores today it’s hard for me to imagine the dire food shortages of my youth.  I was really too young to comprehend the sacrifices my parents, neighbors, and other Patriotic Citizens of America were making.  They banded together to sacrifice everyday essentials in order to provided food and clothing for our troops who were  fighting in  bloody hand-to-hand combat in order to preserve  this countries freedom 

  The reality of that war insured the freedom this younger generation takes for granted today.

Since the bulk of food was being shipped overseas to the men and women fighting the war, the Federal Government initiated food rationing to American citizens in 1942.  Each family was issued books of stamps based on the number of people in the family and their specific needs.   These stamps were then redeemed for certain food commodities.  Red colored stamps could be redeemed for meat, fat, oil, cheese, and butter.  Blue colored stamps were used to purchase dry, packaged, frozen, and canned goods, such as baby food, beans etc.    Other stamps were issued for gasoline, tires and other commodities.

 Having the correct  number and color of stamps in one’s possession did not necessarily mean the items they  could purchase would be in stock on the grocers shelves.   Butter was one such item.  It was scarcely available and when it was, it expensive and required too many red stamps to make it feasible to purchase.   That is when Oleomargerine, also known as “The Victory Spread” gained popularity.  Oleo is short for the Latin word Olium meaning oil and margarine is taken from the Greek word  margarites meaning pearl. 

Although margarine had been invented by a French chemist  in 1869, as a cheap substitute for Butter and introduced to America in the early 1900’s most housewives turned up their noses at it.  It also sparked a deep seeded conflict between its manufacturers and the American dairymen.  The dairymen wanted the white margarine to be colored with something other than yellow, because it was often mistaken for real butter.  They suggested the color capsules  contain black, pink or green dye. This sparked "The Great Margarine War."

The white (pearl colored) Oleomargarine came in a plastic bag with a yellow food dye capsule tucked in the middle.  After letting the bag come up to room temperature, you had to squeeze the yellow capsule to release the coloring. Next came hours of kneading the bag to create a uniform yellow color.  As the youngest child, this was often my frustrating duty.  It seemed my hands always wore out before the margarine was well mixed.  My sister sometimes pitched in to help with the process and sometimes if we were in a great hurry the Oleo was squeezed out of the bag into a bowl where we kneaded it with our bare hands.  Oh how I remember the unpleasant feel of the greasy margarine squishing between my fingers.   I remember once out of frustration I set the bag on the floor and tried to kneed it with my feet.  The result was disastrous. The  oleo  spurted from the plastic bag all over the kitchen floor, and I got a swift swat on my bottom.   Oh the sacrifices we made for the war effort.

 "A Cup of Joe"

Coffee drinking has always been a way of life in America.  Today there is a coffee shop on most every corner of every city in the U.S. It's not unheard of to pay $5.00 or more for a cup of specialty coffee.

Not so during the early stages of the war.  Coffee joined the list of commodities being rationed so that the men and women of the military could have their coffee.  

The problem with ground coffee was that it wasn't always feasible  to brew on the battlefield. That's when the concept of instant and substitute coffee became popular.  Water could be boiled in a helmet if necessary and instant coffee added to it.

On the home front many  gave up the real dehydrated coffee and ground coffee for coffee substitutes such as Postum.  Postum was manufactured by the Postum Cereal Company and was made up of roasted grains such as wheat bran, wheat, and corn malt, with a little molasses added for flavor.  Other companies used chicory, roasted grains and even ground acorns to make their substitute coffee.

The term referring to a cup of coffee as a  "Cup of Joe" became popular during World War II however the origin of the term is a bit obscured.  Some say it was because the war ran on coffee consumed by  American Soldiers known as "G.I. Joes"  hence "Cup of Joe." There are other explanations, but that is the one I favor. 

I hope you have enjoyed this post with steaming hot "Cup of Joe"