Carrots History - The Role of the Carrot in World War Two

This page takes an in depth look of the role of carrots in World War Two, which revived their popularity.

History Page 1 - from early beginnings, Neolithic times to A.D. 200
History Page 2 - AD 200 to 1800 - From Medicine to Food
History Page 3 - 1800 to date - Evolution and Improvement

During the Second World War (1939-45) Carrots were one vegetable in plentiful supply and as a result were widely-utilised as a substitute for more scarce foodstuffs and used in several "mock" recipes. It was also a major ingredient of the Carrots help you see in the dark poster

"Dig For Victory" Campaign.

The Ministry of Agriculture promoted carrots heavily as a substitute for other more scarce vegetables, fruit and other commodities. To improve its image of blandness, people were encouraged to enjoy the healthy carrot in different ways by promoting various recipes such as curried carrot and carrot jam.

The Ministry of Food produced several informative cookery leaflets including one focussing on carrots (see official carrot cookery leaflet here) . People were encouraged to enjoy the healthy carrot in different ways by the introduction of Dr Carrot in a series of magazine articles and posters.

The slogan "Carrots keep you healthy and help you see in the blackout" was used extensively.

Some war time recipes promoted by the Ministry of Food are also detailed below - click here.

There was even a homemade drink called Carrolade, made up from the juices of carrots and Swede grated and squeezed through a piece of muslin, clearly no one thought of just plain carrot juice!.

Other culinary uses included carrot marmalade and toffee carrots. The humble carrot, previously thought to be only good for animal feed had been elevated to a new high and kick started its rightful return to one of the countries favourite vegetables.

Also during the war many thousands of tons of carrots were dehydrated and shipped overseas in sealed metal containers in an atmosphere of carbon dioxide or nitrogen to prevent loss of carotene.

The Ministry of Food campaign to encourage people to eat more vegetables, resulted in the promotion of Woolton Pie, composed entirely of vegetables. potato, carrot and swede provided the basic ingredients, with onion and cauliflower added when available. Lord Woolton, was the Minister of Food from April 1940.

The recipe was the creation of the chef of the Savoy hotel and named after Lord Woolton. Many people had their own interpretation of this recipe, but they always used carrots! Basically it is mixed vegetables, a sauce and a topping , which could be pastry or potatoes mashed or sliced. The Official recipe as reported in "The Times" on 26 April 1941 is shown here:

Take 1Ib each of diced potatoes, cauliflower, swedes and carrots;
Three or Four spring onions;
One teaspoonful of vegetable extract and
One teaspoonful of oatmeal.

METHOD

Cook all together for ten minutes with just enough water to cover.
Stir occasionally to prevent the mixture from sticking.
Allow to cool; put into a pie dish, sprinkle with chopped parsley and cover with a crust of potatoes or wholemeal pastry.
Bake in a moderate oven until the pastry is nicely brown and serve hot with brown gravy.

"Doctor Carrot" had arrived. The Ministry of Agriculture promoted carrots heavily as a substitute for other more scarce vegetables and as a sweetener in desserts in the absence of sugar, which was rationed to 8 ounces per adult per week.

In wartime Britain children would very often use the humble carrot as a substitute for the fruit they could no longer obtain. Similarly the Government also issued a poster with the slogan 'Carrots keep you healthy and help you see in the blackout' to promote the humble carrot.

Potato Pete was also introduced to encourage potato substitution for other commodities.

Sweets (candy) were scarce so children had to make do with whatever their inventive mums came up with. This wartime recipe for carrot fudge (below) sounds really weird. Why not print it out and give it a try? You'll need a bit of grown-up help with the cooking. See if your friends can guess what it's made of and let us know how it tastes.

In late 1941, Walt Disney offered to help the British Government promote carrots as a nutritious food source. England had already been at war with the Germans for two years and severe rationing measures were in effect. The January 11, 1942 issue of The New York Times Magazine announced: "England has a goodly store of carrots. But carrots are not the staple items of the average English Dr Carrot protects you

diet. The problem...is to sell the carrots to the English public."

Hank Porter, a leading Disney cartoonist designed a family of carrot characters on behalf of England's Food Minister (Lord Woolton).

The Disney Corporation created a carrot family including Carroty George, Clara Carrot, Pop Carrot and Dr. Carrot, for the British media to promote the eating of carrots. The vegetable characters were reproduced on a poster, recipe booklet, flyers and the images were used extensively in a newspaper campaign. Carroty George's motto was "I'll tell you what to do with me".!

As the British Ministry of Food had already used their own Dr Carrot in their promotions, this Disney character was never used, and is lost for posterity.

The cartoons shown below appeared in "The Times" in 1941/2. The associated flyers which were distributed to the public featuring six carrot-based recipes and also had illustrations of Carroty George, Clara Carrot and Pop Carrot.

Any one with further information about the Disney Carrot Characters or the whereabouts of the posters please contact the Museum.

The full list of recipes is shown here together with more information about the Disney characters.

Here is one of Carroty George's recipes, as part of a series of carrot based recipes designed to encourage healthy eating during rationing.

You can meet young Carroty George any day at the 'Hot Pot' if you’re a member. He belongs of course, to all the best clubs, and what’s more he has the entrée of all the best kitchens. That’s because a fellow of tact and resource and can so quickly adapt himself to any occasion, sweet or savoury. See how well he fits into:

Carrot Hot Pot

Wash and coarsely grate 6 carrots and 6 potatoes; mix with 2 tablespoons packet sage and onion. Make seasoning of 2 teaspoons salt, ½ teaspoon pepper, and, if possible, brown sugar. Put half the vegetables in a stewpot, cover with half the seasoning, add rest of vegetables and rest of seasoning. No water required, cover stewpot and bake very slowly for 2 hours. You’ll have a dish very much out of the ordinary, for 3 or 4.

"Three new characters made of carrots (Dr. Carrot, Carroty George, Clara Carrot) have been photo-wired to London, are advising the British that if they want to see better during blackouts, they had better munch carrots."

In fact there were four characters, Pop Carrot was not mentioned. As the British Ministry of Food had already used their own Dr Carrot in their promotions, this Disney character was never used, and is lost for posterity.

Carrot Fudge (Recipe from Colleen Moulding's "Frugal Recipes from Wartime Britain"). Dig for victory poster child

You will need:
4 tablespoons of finely grated carrot
1 gelatine leaf
orange essence or squash
a saucepan and a flat dish

Put the carrots in a pan and cook them gently in just enough water to keep them covered, for ten minutes. Add a little orange essence, or orange squash to flavour the carrot. Melt a leaf of gelatine and add it to the mixture. Cook the mixture again for a few minutes, stirring all the time. Spoon it into a flat dish and leave it to set in a cool place for several hours. When the "fudge" feels firm, cut it into chunks and get eating!

Let us hope that the country never faces such extremes again. However, it is now realised that the home population never ate so well as during and after the war. This was thanks to the strict rationing of shop-bought goods and the amount of fresh vegetables that people ate.

There is a simple message for the 21st Century's increasingly obese and under-exercised populations. Take up carrot growing and give up the car while you're at it!

Prior to World War II, Britain imported over 55 million tons of food a year - much of it from Canada and the USA. After the outbreak of war, merchant vessels carrying provisions into Britain, especially those coming across the Atlantic, became targets of the German navy and food imports were under threat. At the same time the British government recognised that the merchant ships were required for the transport of troops, munitions and even aeroplanes to the theatres of war.

In October 1939 Rob Hudson, Minister for Agriculture, announced "We want not only the big man with the plough but the little man with the spade to get busy this autumn... Let 'Dig for Victory' be the motto of everyone with a garden". It was a desperate request, for farmers could only produce 30% of the country's food. But if gardens could be turned over to growing food rather than flowers, up to 25% of the necessary vegetables could be provided.

The whole of Britain's home front was encouraged to transform private gardens into mini-allotments. Not only this, but parks, formal public gardens and various areas of unused land were dug up for planting fruit and vegetables. Kensington Gardens dug up its flowers and planted rows of cabbages and carrots. All over the country, lawns were dug and potatoes, cabbages, carrots and beans planted. Windsor Great Park was given over to wheat, and public parks, road verges, railway embankments, golf clubs, tennis courts, roofs and even window boxes were put to work.

A song was introduced to promote the Dig for Victory slogan.

Dig! Dig! Dig! And your muscles will grow big
Keep on pushing the spade
Don’t mind the worms
Just ignore their squirms
And when your back aches laugh with glee
And keep on diggin’
Till we give our foes a Wiggin’
Dig! Dig! Dig! to Victory"

Dig for Victory was very successful. From a total of 815,000 allotments in 1939 the number rose to 1,400,000 by 1943.

It was reported in the UK Times on 15 May 1941 that " Evidence of American determination to help Britain in every possible way is provided by the offer of vegetable seeds". These were accepted by Mr. R. S. Hudson, Minister of Agriculture. The first instalment of nine tons arrived through the agency of the British War Relief Society. Among the vegetables which have been specially asked for are onions, carrots, beans. cauliflower, broccoli, leeks, parsnips, and tomatoes.

Very soon allotment holders, members of the Army and Royal Air Force, and others were sowing American seeds on their plots.

The Ministry of Food encouraged so much extra production that, by January 1942, it was looking for a market for 100,000 tons of carrots that were surplus to consumers' requirements even at a time when green vegetables were not too plentiful and were expensive in the shops. The surplus tonnage, which was no more than a provident margin in wartime was offered to farmers for stock feeding at less than half the price guaranteed to the growers.

In an attempt to prevent malpractice the carrots sold for stock feeding were sprayed with a violet dye, before delivery (in the same way as the surplus potatoes sold for stock feeding at the end of 1940). Carrots made good food for dairy cows, horses. fattening bullocks, and pigs, and if there were more carrots in the country than human consumers could take, it was right that they should be used for stock-feeding.

This dye was harmless to animals, and therefore probably ok for humans, and no doubt many found their ways into the food chain via the black market economy, which was rife at the time.

The programme was mirrored in the USA with the formation of Victory Gardens. At the beginning of World War II, Secretary of Agriculture Wickard suggested that, since the farmers of America would be busy feeding the army, civilians should plant Victory Gardens to provide fresh vegetables for their own tables. Americans were quick to respond. By 1943, victory gardens were flourishing in many backyards, empty lots, parks, baseball fields, schoolyards - even parking lots, since not many cars were being driven due to the shortage of gasoline. These gardens came in every size and shape. Governments and corporations promoted the victory garden effort as a call for self-reliance.

People in both rural and urban areas tilled the soil to raise food for their families, friends and neighbours. Households used what they needed and preserved and canned for future use. Eventually more than 40 percent of the country's vegetables were grown in the nation's backyards. Victory gardening enabled more processed foods to be shipped to our troops around the world. Emphasis was placed on making gardening a family or community effort - not drudgery, but a pastime, and a national duty.

By 1944, 20 million Americans planted Victory Gardens, producing one million tons a year of vegetables -- about half the amount consumed in America.

Of course carrots figured highly in the campaigns, as evidenced by the various propaganda posters. Click here to see more posters. Dig for plenty poster

Brightly coloured posters produced for the government by artists from the Work Progress Administration (WPA) encouraged Americans to "Fight with Food." Vegetables grown in home gardens, the government reasoned, would not only lighten the burden of food rationing, but would free up supplies needed for troops fighting in Europe. The appealing combination of self-sufficiency and patriotism made the Victory Garden effort arguably the most successful civilian wartime program.

A Ministry of Agriculture food production poster using the slogan ‘Dig for Plenty'. Illustrated with a colourful box of winter vegetables, it is aimed at the amateur gardener, rather than industrial agriculturalists. ‘Dig for Victory' was a campaign that ran throughout much of the war. The famous ‘foot on the spade' illustration, , took on a life of its own early in the war.

The benefits of growing one's own food were stressed. Such over-heightened colour visions of abundant vegetables, rarely fruit or salad, but good nutritious food in a time of shortages, would have appealed to the public. ‘Dig for Plenty' indicates a recognition that victory was already assured and now a healthier future was possible. Previous campaigns had seen many gardens turned into allotments. Those who dug up half their lawn for vegetables had done it partly in response to the government campaign and partly because they feared rises in food prices. It was also a leisure interest. In 1944, the campaign no longer called for extra allotments and was directed almost entirely to greater efficiency in vegetable production.

The most common carrot varieties used by US citizens were Amsterdam Minicor and Autumn King

Also an extract of carrots was used in America to colour Oleos (margarine) during the fats rationing that took place during the second world war. (They were really reviving an early American folk custom in colouring foods.)

The carrot myth - World War Two pilots were fed excessive amounts of high carotene carrots to help them see in the dark and therefore spot Nazi airplanes quicker.

Facts:
• The First radar system was produced in 1935 by Sir Robert Watson-Watt

• By 1939, UK had radar stations all round the south coast of the UK

• In 1940, John Cunningham was the first pilot to down an enemy using radar

• To cover-up the use of radar from the Germans, pilots were praised for being able to see in the dark through a "secret" diet

• The government said it was because they ate carrots, rich in Vitamin A.

Read more:

In 1940 experiments with high carotene varieties were conducted to reduce night blindness in World War II pilots. These high carotene roots were very dry. With the advent of synthetically manufactured carotene, cultivation of these varieties ceased in 1947. In World War II, Britain's Air Ministry spread the word that a diet of carrots helped

pilots see Nazi bombers attacking at night. That was a lie intended to cover the real matter of what was underpinning the Royal Air Force's successes: the latest, highly efficient on board, Airborne Interception Radar, also known as AI. The secret new system pinpointed some enemy bombers before they reached the English Channel.

When the Luftwaffe's bombing assault switched to night raids after the unsuccessful daylight campaign, British Intelligence didn't want the Germans to find out about the superior new technology helping protect the nation, so they created a rumour to afford a somewhat plausible-sounding explanation for the sudden increase in bombers being shot down. British Intelligence instigated news in the British press about extraordinary personnel manning the defences, including Flight Lieutenant John Cunningham, an RAF fighter pilot dubbed "Cats Eyes" on the basis of his exceptional night vision that allowed him to spot his prey in the dark. In fact, in WW II, he was the RAF's top-scoring night fighter pilot, with a total of 20 kills. Cunningham's abilities were chalked up to his love of carrots. The Royal Air Force bragged that the great accuracy of British fighter pilots at night was a result of them being fed enormous quantities of carrots and the Germans bought it because their folk wisdom included the same myth.

But this story was only a myth invented by the RAF to hide their use of radar, which was what really located the Luftwaffe bombers at night - not human carrot-assisted super-vision.

The disinformation was so persuasive that the English public to the extent that they started growing and eating more carrots, so that they could find they way around easier at night during the blackouts that were compulsory during WW II.

These recipes were created by ordinary housewives using their ingenuity, over and above the "official" recipes promoted by the Ministry of Food.

Carrots were one vegetable in plentiful supply and as a result widely utilised as a substitute for the more scarce commodities. To improve its blandness, people were encouraged to 'enjoy' the healthy carrot in different ways by the introduction of such characters as 'Doctor Carrot'. Culinary delights in the form of curried carrot, carrot jam and a homemade drink called Carrolade (made up from the juices of carrots and Swede!) were suggested by the Ministry of Food. (See the official leaflet here)

Carrot Fudge (Recipe from Colleen Moulding's "Frugal Recipes from Wartime Britain").

You will need:
4 tablespoons of finely grated carrot

There was even a homemade drink called Carrolade, made up from the juices of carrots and Swede grated and squeezed through a piece of muslin, clearly no one thought of just plain carrot juice!.

Also during the war many thousands of tons of carrots were dehydrated and shipped overseas in sealed metal containers in an atmosphere of carbon dioxide or nitrogen to prevent loss of carotene.

1 gelatine leaf
orange essence or squash
a saucepan and a flat dish

Method: Put the carrots in a pan and cook them gently in just enough water to keep them covered, for ten minutes. Add a little orange essence, or orange squash to flavour the carrot. Melt a leaf of gelatine and add it to the mixture. Cook the mixture again for a few minutes, stirring all the time. Spoon it into a flat dish and leave it to set in a cool place for several hours. When the "fudge" feels firm, cut it into chunks and get eating!

(Serves 4 persons)
You will need
2 lbs Carrots
1 oz margarine or dripping
1 1/2 teaspoonfuls curry powder
1 onion
1/2 pint stock or water
3 teaspoonfuls flour
Salt and Pepper

Method: Trim carrots and boil in the usual way.

Prepare curry sauce as follows;
Melt fat in saucepan, add chopped onion and fry for a few minutes. Add curry powder and flour and fry, stirring from time to time, for a few minutes longer. Stir in stock or water, and when boiling, season to taste. Simmer gently for about 30 minutes.
Add cooked carrots to curry sauce in saucepan and cook for about 20-30 minutes. Serve with a garnish of cooked rice.

To make mock apricot tarts you will need:
1 lb young carrots, a few drops almond essence, 4 round tablespoons plum jam, about 6 tablespoons cold water, 1 lb shortcrust or potato pastry, 2 teaspoons jam more if it can be spared.

A 9 inch pie plate or flan dish, Flour dredger, Rolling pin, Greaseproof paper, Baking beans, Baking tray, Medium saucepan, Potato peeler, Grater, Tablespoon, Palette knife.

Oven set at 190 degrees C / gas mark 5,
Shelf near the top,
Time: 15-20 minutes.

1. Line plate or flan dish with pastry and neaten carefully,
2. Prick base with a fork,
3. Add crumpled greaseproof paper and backing beans,
4. Bake blind for 15 minutes,
5. Remove paper and dry out 5 minutes more,
6. Cool,
7. While cases are cooking, peel, wash and dry the carrots,
8. Grate into saucepan,
9. Add jam, essence and water and cook slowly until a pulp forms,
10. Stir regularly and check it's not drying up,
11. Spread over the pastry case and top with a little more jam if available,
12. Could be served with mock cream.

Carrots with Potato Soup (serves 4)

You will need - 2 carrots, 3 medium potatoes, 2 cups water, 4 tablespoons flour, 2 slices of onion, carrot or parsley greens, 1-1/2 cups of milk, 1-1/2 tablespoons of fat, Salt and pepper, stalk of celery

Wash and pare potatoes. Cook in boiling salted water until they are soft.
Rub through colander. Use water in which potatoes were cooked to make up the two cups of water for the soup. Cook carrots, cut in cubes in boiling water until soft; drain. Scald milk with onion, celery, and parsley. Add milk and water to potatoes. Melt fat in sauce pan, add flour, and cook for three minutes. Slowly add soup, stirring constantly. Boil for one minute, season with salt and pepper. Add cubes of carrots and serve.

Carrot Buns

You will need - 8 oz self-raising flour, 3 oz margarine or cooking fat, 3 oz sugar, 4 tablespoons finely grated raw carrot,2 tablespoons sultanas or chopped dates, 1 reconstituted dried or fresh egg, a little milk or water.

Method - Grease 2 baking trays. Sift the flour into a mixing bowl. Rub in the margarine or cooking fat. Add the sugar, carrot, sultanas and egg. Mix well, then add sufficient milk or water to make a sticky consistency. Divide mixture into 12 small heaps on baking tray and bake in a hot oven (gas mark7) for 12 to 15 minutes until firm and golden.

Carrot Cookies

You will need - 1 tablespoon margarine, 2 tablespoons sugar, 1 to 2 teaspoons of vanilla essence, 4 tablespoons grated raw carrot 6 tablespoons self- raising flour (or plain flour with 1/2 teaspoon baking powder added), 1 tablespoon of water.

Method - Cream the fat and the sugar together with the vanilla essence. Beat in the grated carrot. Fold in the flour. If mixture very dry then add a little water. Drop spoonfuls onto greased tray and press down just a little. Sprinkle tops with sugar and cook in an oven at 200 centigrade for about 20 minutes.

Carrot pudding (for 2 persons)

You will need - 1lb scraped carrots, 2 oz margarine, Breadcrumbs as required, 1 beaten egg, 1 tablespoon minced onion, salt and pepper.

Method - Rinse the carrots, then place them in a saucepan of boiling salted water to cover. Bring to a simmer. Cover and cook slowly till soft. Rub through a sieve. Measure and place puree in a basin. Add half as much breadcrumbs as carrot puree, then add onion and the margarine, melted till creamy. Season to taste, then add enough beaten egg to bind the mixture. Place in a greased pudding basin.

Cover with greased paper. Steam for 45 minutes. Turn out onto a hot dish. Serve with cheese or caper sauce or left over gravy.

Carrot Sandwich Fillings