A lot of the everyday breakfasts of the Great Depression seemed terribly low in protein by today's standards. Growing up, my nana would tell stories of what my mother's childhood was like, often speaking of the foods she served and the playthings she and my grandfather made for my mother and her brothers. Everyday breakfasts were mostly starches with a little bit of protein. She and my grandfather had 3 growing children in the 30s, and my grandfather's income dwindled over the course of the decade to nearly nothing.
They went from dining on breakfasts of thick slices of ham, a couple of eggs over easy, and slices of toast or some biscuits in the 1920s to a slice of bread or a biscuit in a bowl covered with warm milk by the mid to late-30s. Other starchy breakfasts included rice in warm milk, saltine crackers in warm milk, and oatmeal with milk.
They were fortunate that they could get some eggs most weeks. On weekends, my grandmother cooked more elaborate breakfasts using these eggs. A family favorite (and one that actually gave them all a good amount of protein without too much extra cost) was creamed eggs on toast.
Creamed eggs on toast were hard-cooked eggs, chopped or sliced, stirred into a milk-based white sauce, and ladled over slices of toast or split biscuits. When the garden was producing, she would boost the nutrition of this dish with the addition of some fresh peas and green onions mixed in with the cooked egg and white sauce.
My grandmother was queen of the white sauce. She covered meat, fish, eggs, vegetables, potatoes, macaroni, and rice in white sauce. She even made a sweetened version of white sauce to top baked apples or baked peaches. White sauce was an easy way to add the health benefits of milk to meals suitable for growing children. During the Depression, milk was one food she could get plenty of for her family. Even in her later years, she still used milk liberally in her cooking.
I was curious about the protein content of creamed eggs on toast, so I calculated the nutrients based on my grandmother's likely ingredients. I discovered that the basic version of creamed eggs on toast contains about 12 grams of protein per serving and the green pea version contained about 13 grams of protein per serving. This is based on 1 boiled egg and 1 slice of bread per person, plus 1/6 of a recipe of white sauce that uses 3 cups of milk. I estimated she would have added about 1 cup of fresh peas to the entire family-batch (adding about 8 grams of protein). Even by today's standards, that's a fair amount of protein for a child's breakfast, and markedly more than the weekday starch-in-warm-milk breakfast.
I have heard of creamed eggs on toast but never actually eaten it. My mom used to make chipped beef on toast for dinner once in a while, which I always liked as a kid.
ReplyDeleteHi Tina,
DeleteCreamed eggs on toast is actually pretty good. And it's a way to stretch an egg so it feels more filling and has more protein. I haven't had chipped beef on toast, but I think it would have a similar mouth feel as creamed eggs.
That's interesting and nice that you have these stories from you grandmother. My parents grew up about the same time as yours. I don't know much about what they ate except my father was on a farm and they were never hungry. He had eggs most mornings well into his life until he had cholesterol problems as an adult. My mother, on the other hand, did have to worry about where her next meal was coming from. I do remember her talking about biscuits and red eye gravy, made from pan drippings from ham. She said it was a real treat if you got a piece of meat in it. When you described all the things your grandmother served with milk, it made me think about the dish of cornbread crumbled in a bowl covered with buttermilk and onions. I ate this as a child and always associated it with my grandmother. That must of been something else that grew out of the Depression.
ReplyDeleteHi Live and Learn,
DeleteI can imagine cornbread in a bowl with milk would have also been a popular and very economical breakfast during the Depression. Cornmeal was a cheap food and readily available for most of the US. the way you had it with buttermilk and onions sounds savory and would do for supper, I would think, too.
I've read the same thing about folks who lived on farms -- for the most part, their lives didn't change as much as lives of city folks.
What is the white cream sauce you're mother made? That sounds interesting.
ReplyDeleteShelby
Hi Shelby,
DeleteMy mother and grandmother's white sauce was basically a béchamel. Butter and flour in a saucepan over medium heat to make a roux, then stirring while adding milk, continuing to stir until thickened. Then seasoned with salt and pepper to taste. Nutmeg is traditionally added to béchamel, but my mother skipped that. Plain white sauce is also the basis for cheese sauce for making Mac and cheese, just stir in a large handful of shredded cheddar. If you've made homemade Mac and cheese, you've likely made white sauce.