National english meals

Food in Wartime
Britain’s bad reputation for food has its origins in World War II. The island was invaded by Americans in the build-up to the invasion of Europe and they were exposed to English cuisine. The problem is that it was very poor at this time. Food was scarce in England without its trade with continental Europe. Anything that couldn’t be grown, had to be brought in from abroad. But Adolf Hitler send massive fleets to attack incoming shipping. Any food that made it through was a blessing. It’s said that there wasn’t a banana in Britain for years until after the war. Can you imagine not having a banana for years?
Rationing
When war was declared, rationing came into effect. Each citizen was entitled to a basic ration. They would have a ration book, where every food purchase was recorded. They had coupons they could use each week for certain foods. And this food wasn’t free - even though it was rationed, you still had to pay for it. As a result of rationing, Britain had to get creative with its dishes. They were often heavy in vegetables and light on meat. Britain suffered from a poor diet during the war, and it was this poor diet that American troops encountered while they amassed in England during the war. Americans didn’t have rationing for food back home, so the whole thing was foreign to them.
Victory Gardens
One way to supplement rationing was to grow your own fruit & veg in your own garden. Anywhere that was green open space was dug up and turned into a garden. It became a patriotic duty to grow as many vegetables and potatoes as the ground could support. It was less that would have to be imported and it also ensured a family could stay fed if there were shortages - which there often were.
Imported Foods from convoys
All food came in via convoys from North America. Massive flotillas of ships would bunch together to cross the Atlantic and hopefully avoid German attacks. Many ships didn’t make it. But foods that could be transported weeks at sea became necessary in Britain for life to exist - such as evaporated milk.
When the war was over, things took years to return to normal. Rationing didn’t end until well into the 1950’s and food security, to this day, is very important to Britain. They have to be self-sufficient because they’re an island and it doesn't take much to cut them off form the world!