In this post we'll take a look at more recipes from the German trenches of WWI: rice, vegetables, sauces, and more potatoes. But first I thought it might be helpful for those unfamiliar with equipment of that era to give a brief overview of individual German mess gear in the First World War.
The German Kochgeschirr M.1887 was rather massive for an individual mess kit. With a 2.5 liter capacity, it had nearly 1.5 times the volume of the later M.31 Kochgeschirr. Some M.1887s were still in use at the outbreak of the First World War.
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| Kochgeschirr M.1887 |
It was replaced by the Kochgeschirr M.1910 model, with a reduced capacity of 2 liters. An interesting development at that time was a folding spoon and fork eating utensil (the Essbesteck ,German for cutlery) and perhaps the first mass-produced spork. The M.1910 Kochgeschirr had a small metal lug on the inside the body to hold the Essbesteck neatly for transport (see illustration below).
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| Kochgeschirr M.1910 |
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| Reichswehr soldiers in 1932 chowing down. This photo gives one a good idea of the size of the M.1910-type mess kit. |
Here are a few more recipes from Kochbuch
für den Schützengraben (Cookbook for
the Trenches). If you are striving for authenticity, when a recipe calls for
bread crumbs it would normally have been a coarse 100% rye bread.
Potatoes
As mentioned in an earlier post, the potato daily ration was
1,500 grams, which of course could vary greatly due to disruptions in the
supply chain. As with most of the recipes in Kochbuch für den Schützengraben,
no amounts were given for potato recipes.
Mashed Potatoes
Force
boiled potatoes through a sieve. Add a little milk and salt.
Mashed
Potatoes (Baked)
Mix plenty
of fat and grated cheese into mashed potatoes.
If eggs
are available, separate the eggs and beat the egg whites until they form soft
peaks.
Mix the egg
yolks, fat and grated cheese into the warm mashed potatoes, then fold in the
egg whites.
Sprinkle
cheese and butter on top.
If baking
in an oven, bake uncovered like a casserole in a 350°F/205°C oven.
If
cooking on an open fire, use a heavy lidded container such as a Dutch oven.
Cook over hot coals with more coals on top.
Cook
until heated through and lightly browned on top.
Instead
of the cheese add sugar to taste to about half a pound of potatoes per serving.
Add fruit
sauce, apple sauce, stewed fruit or other cooked fruits.
Bake as
for the baked mashed potatoes.
Mashed Potatoes (Croquettes)
Form
cooled mashed potatoes in balls the size of an egg, roll in beaten egg then in
bread crumbs. Fry in hot fat.
Apple
Potatoes:
Peel and
cut up or grate the potatoes.
Cooked until
the potatoes are slightly undercooked.
Add an
apple that has been peeled and cut into small pieces.
Add some
fried bacon bits.
Cook
until the apple and potatoes are soft.
Sauces
Sauces
were an accompaniment to many of the recipes in Kochbuch für den
Schützengraben. Roux was
made with a tablespoon of butter or other fat, such as lard, oil, or bacon
grease. The fat was heated until melted, a spoonful of flour added, mixed into
a smooth paste, and then the other ingredients were added to it. If flour was
not available, a handful of crumbled bread was substituted.
Béchamel
Sauce:
Ingredients
fat
sliced
ham, pepper, onion.
broth or
water
cream or
milk.
bread
crumbs
salt (if
needed)
grated
cheese, if available.
Procedure
Chop the
ham, peppers and onion into small pieces.
Heat the
fat and add the sliced ham, pepper and onion.
Cook over
low to medium heat until softened.
Add a
little broth or water and cream or milk.
Add bread
crumbs, salt (if needed), and a little grated cheese, if available.
Tomato Sauce
Ingredients
fresh
tomatoes
butter or
water
Procedure
Cut up the
tomatoes into large pieces.
Place
tomatoes in a pan with a little butter or water.
Cook over
low to medium heat,
Once the
tomatoes have softened, force them through a sieve to remove the seeds and
skin.
Boil the
tomatoes (stirring constantly) until they have thickened into a paste.
To the cooked
tomato paste add a little water or broth, butter and bread crumbs.
This
tomato paste (or canned tomato paste) is excellent with eggs, beef, mutton,
meatballs, or the like. It also makes a very tasty addition to rice, pasta or
macaroni.
Tomato
soup can be made by adding broth to the tomato paste.
Mustard sauce:
Ingredients
butter or
other fat
meat
stock (use fish broth if serving sauce with fish)
2-3 tbsp mustard
bread
crumbs
egg yolk
Procedure
Bring the
stock or broth to a boil.
Remove from
heat and add a little bit at a time to the egg yolk while stirring (to temper
the egg yolk and prevent it from curdling).
Place
butter, stock, mustard and bread crumbs in the pan.
Over low
heat, bring the sauce to a simmer while stirring constantly.
Remove
from heat, allow sauce to cool slightly; add the egg yolk while stirring
vigorously.
Optional:
add a little sugar and vinegar, to taste.
Rice
The rice recipes are scaled for one portion.
According to WWI German Army daily ration tables, 125 grams or rice or 250
grams of pulses (peas, beans, or lentils) could be substituted for 1500 grams
of potatoes. Buckwheat, oat groats, or other grains can be used in the
same way as rice in any of the following recipes.
Risotto
Of course this is not the “proper” method
of cooking risotto, but classic risotto made with Arborio rice could hardly
have been expected to be prepared in a trench under combat conditions. Any type
of rice may be used, but preferably it should be a short-grained, starchy variety.
You will need to use a sufficient amount of meat stock so that the cooked rice
is a bit more wet and sticky than steamed rice.
US Metric Ingredients
4.4 oz/5
fl oz 125 g/150 ml short-grained rice
10-12 fl
oz 300-360 ml meat stock (amount depends on the type of
rice)
to taste to taste grated cheese
to taste to taste salt
Optional
½ fl oz/1
tbsp 15 ml tomato paste
to taste to taste meat scraps, chicken
liver or mushrooms (canned or
cooked)
Procedure
Heat fat
in a saucepan and add the dry rice.
Stir
until the rice grains are coated with fat.
Add the
meat broth, bring to a boil, lower heat and cook for twenty minutes.
When it
is nearly cooked, add plenty of grated cheese.
At this
point, also add the tomato paste, meat scraps, chicken liver or mushrooms.
Variations
Rice can
also be baked in a covered pan that has been greased with butter or other fat,
as in the potato dishes.
Apple Rice
Ingredients
4.4 oz/5
fl oz 125 g/150 ml rice
8-10 fl
oz 120-300 ml meat stock (amount depends on the type of
rice)
½ - 1
tbsp 15-30 ml butter
Procedure
Put the
rice, water and butter in a covered pan.
Boil or
steam the rice until soft, about 20-25 minutes.
While the
rice is cooking, chop the apples into 3/8 inch (1 cm) pieces.
Add the
chopped apples to the cooked rice.
Vegetables
Brassicas
(cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts) can
be cooked until soft in boiling water, drained, and then simmered with a little
meat broth or water, fat, and salt to taste.
Young
green beans, peppers, cabbage, carrots, asparagus, chicory, Brussels sprouts, etc.
can be cooked until soft with a little water and salt. Drain, serve, dot with pieces
of butter.
Asparagus:
serve with melted butter.
Chicory:
pour over with melted
butter, sprinkle with grated cheese.
Spinach:
bring one or two spoonfuls of water to boil, add the spinach and heat until
boiling. Remove from heat and add a little butter or anchovy paste.
Kale: boil, drain, then chop up and cook in a little fat until soft.
Red or white cabbage: Cut into thin strips. Bring a little
water to a boil and steam the cabbage until soft. Add a little fat and some
finely chopped apples. Cook until the apples are soft.
Cauliflower: boil until soft and serve with
Hollandaise sauce.
Beets (all varieties): boil until soft, broth with fat and
bread crumbs made creamy.
Dried peas, beans, and lentils: boil until tender. Add tangy sweet bacon gravy
(refer to my earlier post for the recipe).
Sources
Kochbuch für den Schützengraben, Hans Werder, Otto Janke Publisher, Berlin, 1915
Kochbuch für den Schützengraben, Hans Werder, Otto Janke Publisher, Berlin, 1915
http://fi.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kentt%C3%A4keittoastia
http://www.ir63.org/index.php?page=33
http://www.wehrmachtlexikon.de/heer/waffen/ausruestung/allgemeine/essbesteck.php
