0:00:02 > 0:00:07You know, we believe that Britain has the best food in the world.
0:00:07 > 0:00:11Not only can we boast fantastic ingredients...
0:00:11 > 0:00:13- Piece de resistance.- Ah, nice!
0:00:13 > 0:00:16- Which is which?- Lamb, mutton. - SHEEP BLEATS
0:00:16 > 0:00:20'..outstanding food producers...' It's weird.
0:00:20 > 0:00:23'..and innovative chefs...'
0:00:23 > 0:00:28- '..but we also have an amazing food history.'- Oh, brilliant!- Oh, wow!
0:00:28 > 0:00:31Don't eat them like that. You'll break your teeth.
0:00:32 > 0:00:38Now, during this series, we're going to be taking you on a journey into our culinary past.
0:00:38 > 0:00:45- Everything's ready, so let's get cracking.- 'We'll explore its revealing stories.'- Wow!
0:00:45 > 0:00:48'And meet the heroes who keep our culinary past alive.'
0:00:48 > 0:00:53Pontefract liquorice has been my life and I've loved every minute of it.
0:00:53 > 0:00:58'And, of course, be cooking up a load of dishes that reveal our foodie evolution.'
0:00:58 > 0:01:01Look at that. That's a proper British treat.
0:01:04 > 0:01:08We have a taste of history.
0:01:09 > 0:01:12- Quite simply... - BOTH: The best of British!
0:01:35 > 0:01:39Today, the Myers and I are going to war.
0:01:39 > 0:01:45Well, I say we're going to war. We're going to investigate how war has shaped our cuisine.
0:01:45 > 0:01:49And how us ingenious Brits responded to the challenge of rationing.
0:01:49 > 0:01:54Even when our backs were to the wall, we could always make something out of nowt.
0:01:56 > 0:02:00'We're going on a journey into our culinary past
0:02:00 > 0:02:04'and our first stop is back at the turn of the 19th century,
0:02:04 > 0:02:07'a tumultuous period in Britain's history.'
0:02:07 > 0:02:12'The town of Portsmouth was then as it is now, home to the Royal Navy,
0:02:12 > 0:02:14'which made it central to our military campaigns.'
0:02:16 > 0:02:21'Its historic dockyard is home to the pride of Admiral Nelson's navy,
0:02:21 > 0:02:24'HMS Victory.
0:02:26 > 0:02:31It was Napoleon who said, "An army marches on its stomach."
0:02:31 > 0:02:35Well, if the French were well-fed in Boney's day,
0:02:35 > 0:02:38what about our lads in the Royal Navy?
0:02:38 > 0:02:41See, naval food has always had a bad press.
0:02:41 > 0:02:44Ship's biscuits, weevils, grog and scurvy.
0:02:44 > 0:02:48But Britannia ruled the waves so they must have had some good grub
0:02:48 > 0:02:50and we're here to find out the truth.
0:02:54 > 0:02:59'Today it's Lieutenant Commander Oscar Wilde who keeps the Victory ship-shape.'
0:02:59 > 0:03:01- Hello, captain.- Welcome on board.
0:03:01 > 0:03:05'And he knows a thing or two about life on board in Nelson's day.'
0:03:09 > 0:03:12'HMS Victory was the flagship of Nelson's navy
0:03:12 > 0:03:14'and could've stored enough provisions,
0:03:14 > 0:03:18'or victuals as they're known, to stay at sea for a whole year.'
0:03:20 > 0:03:24Oscar, how many men were on board and were they well fed?
0:03:24 > 0:03:26There were 850 men on board.
0:03:26 > 0:03:30There's a lot of myths about the quality of the food that they were given.
0:03:30 > 0:03:34Hopefully, you'll dispel some of those. They were well fed, three square meals a day.
0:03:34 > 0:03:39Porridge in the morning usually, called burgoo, which is mixed with molasses or sugar.
0:03:39 > 0:03:43A stew for lunch with either dried or fresh meat and some pulses.
0:03:43 > 0:03:46Then the good old ship's biscuit in the evening with cheese or butter.
0:03:46 > 0:03:50What sort of quantity and quality of food would the Victory have carried?
0:03:50 > 0:03:52We had to carry a huge amount of food.
0:03:52 > 0:03:57One of my favourite statistics is that 15 tonnes of peas were kept on board.
0:03:57 > 0:04:00It's a magnificent amount. And if we go down to the hold,
0:04:00 > 0:04:04you can see the barrels that the food was kept in.
0:04:04 > 0:04:07Drink, they would've had, depending on where they were in the world,
0:04:07 > 0:04:10anything up to eight pints of beer per day,
0:04:10 > 0:04:13two pints of wine or half a pint of rum.
0:04:13 > 0:04:15And that's everybody over the age of 14.
0:04:15 > 0:04:18So being drunk was an issue.
0:04:19 > 0:04:21Thank you.
0:04:22 > 0:04:27'The stereotype of the drunken sailor with scurvy is one that's persisted.
0:04:27 > 0:04:32'In fact, they didn't really have any choice but to drink alcohol, as the water on board was unsafe.
0:04:32 > 0:04:36'As for their diet, we're about to find out what they had to endure for ourselves.'
0:04:36 > 0:04:43'With the help of Jean Spence, ship's cook for the Historical Maritime Society.'
0:04:45 > 0:04:52- Ohh. Rations.- There you are. That is one man's lunch
0:04:52 > 0:04:54on board this ship.
0:04:54 > 0:04:58So that's your stew. That's salt beef and some vegetables in there.
0:04:58 > 0:05:01The stew is lovely.
0:05:01 > 0:05:04It's tasty, nutritious.
0:05:04 > 0:05:06You could live on that. You might get bored.
0:05:06 > 0:05:12But there are original references of sailors actually getting a bit stroppy if the food was changed.
0:05:12 > 0:05:16- Really?- They liked it.- These are ship's biscuits.- Ship's biscuits
0:05:16 > 0:05:20and you would have a pound a day per man, so you've got eight between you.
0:05:20 > 0:05:23Don't eat them like that, you'll break your teeth.
0:05:23 > 0:05:25You would break them up,
0:05:25 > 0:05:30- put them in the bottom of your stew and it's padding.- It's your carbs. - It's your carbs.
0:05:30 > 0:05:33'The biscuits were baked three times to be as dry as possible.
0:05:33 > 0:05:37'This meant that they could be stored for years at a time without going off.
0:05:37 > 0:05:42'As a result, contrary to popular belief, most self-respecting pests, including weevils,
0:05:42 > 0:05:44'wouldn't have gone near them.'
0:05:44 > 0:05:48'It did, however, make them also nigh-on impossible to eat.'
0:05:48 > 0:05:51Crumble it up inside, it's fine.
0:05:51 > 0:05:57- I've got it going.- If you've got your stew, the longer to leave it in the liquid, the more it'll soften.
0:05:58 > 0:06:02- I'm having trouble with my ship's biscuit.- How long would you have to soak it for?
0:06:02 > 0:06:06- SHE LAUGHS - You are having trouble with your ship's biscuit.
0:06:06 > 0:06:09- I am. I nearly took my eye out. - The rats will get it.
0:06:09 > 0:06:12You get your three square meals a day on your square plate.
0:06:12 > 0:06:15- Is that why they called them square meals?- Yes.
0:06:15 > 0:06:17- Ah!- You get 3,500 to 4,000 calories a day.
0:06:17 > 0:06:22Cos on board this, nothing happens unless a man pulls on a rope
0:06:22 > 0:06:26and you've got to be fit and well fed and healthy in order to do that.
0:06:26 > 0:06:29- Right.- This is why Britannia ruled the waves.
0:06:29 > 0:06:33We got this right. Most of the other places, Spain, France,
0:06:33 > 0:06:36hadn't got the victualling right.
0:06:36 > 0:06:41I mean, they knew about it, clearly, because Napoleon was saying that the army marches on its stomach.
0:06:41 > 0:06:45But the Royal Navy, we got it right, which is why we ruled the waves.
0:06:45 > 0:06:48- There's no shops out there, is there?- No.
0:06:48 > 0:06:52And everybody has the same. What you ate here
0:06:52 > 0:06:55- was what you knew your officers were having.- And what Nelson would eat.
0:06:55 > 0:07:00- And what Nelson would eat. - I can't see Nelson working his way through one of these.
0:07:00 > 0:07:03- It might have taken him a bit of time.- Mm.
0:07:03 > 0:07:05It was his eye he lost, not his teeth.
0:07:05 > 0:07:09- THEY LAUGH - Oh, kiss me, Hardy.
0:07:09 > 0:07:12'For dessert, we're going up in the world.'
0:07:12 > 0:07:15'We've been invited to eat at the captain's table.'
0:07:15 > 0:07:19'The very place that Admiral Nelson's second in command,
0:07:19 > 0:07:24- 'Captain Hardy, would've tucked into his food.'- 'And we're having something he might well have eaten.'
0:07:24 > 0:07:28- What have we got, Jean? - I'm going to whip up a whim wham.
0:07:28 > 0:07:32Is this the type of dessert that they would've had in Nelson's time?
0:07:32 > 0:07:38Yes. Whim wham was a form of trifle that was very popular in the 18th century.
0:07:38 > 0:07:43We've got in my bowl some cream.
0:07:43 > 0:07:46I'm going to add the juice of half an orange.
0:07:46 > 0:07:50And because we are a trading nation, we have access to oranges from China.
0:07:50 > 0:07:55I'm going to put a little bit of orange rind in and whip it up and that's your topping.
0:07:55 > 0:07:59And here I've got some Naples biscuits, which are a bit like a sponge finger
0:07:59 > 0:08:03and flavoured with either rosewater or orange flower water.
0:08:03 > 0:08:07- And this would've been eaten on board?- It could've been.
0:08:07 > 0:08:10You would certainly have the wherewithal to get the cream
0:08:10 > 0:08:13- because you'd have the animals on board.- Ah!
0:08:13 > 0:08:21This tends to be officer food, not because they got better food, but they could buy better food.
0:08:21 > 0:08:25Everybody had the same ration and everybody could bring on board extras.
0:08:25 > 0:08:28In reality, it was generally only the officers who did that
0:08:28 > 0:08:32because sailors, if they got extra money, they spent it on other things.
0:08:32 > 0:08:36There's a little bit of marsala wine going in the bottom.
0:08:36 > 0:08:40A little bit of topping in there and a few toasted almonds on the top.
0:08:40 > 0:08:43- And there's your whim wham. - Ooh, lovely.
0:08:44 > 0:08:47So if I give one to you and...
0:08:47 > 0:08:51- Thank you. - There you are. Try some whim wham.
0:08:56 > 0:08:59- Ooh, delicious.- That is nice.
0:08:59 > 0:09:01- Ooh, yeah.- Good, isn't it?
0:09:01 > 0:09:04The biscuits are great.
0:09:04 > 0:09:07'But it wouldn't be a naval dinner without some grog.'
0:09:07 > 0:09:11- Now, Jean, what's grog? - Would you like some grog?- Yes!
0:09:11 > 0:09:14Grog is very particularly rum
0:09:14 > 0:09:18cut with water, one part rum, three parts waters,
0:09:18 > 0:09:22lemon juice to stop you getting scurvy and sugar.
0:09:22 > 0:09:25- So, cheers.- What's a naval toast?
0:09:25 > 0:09:31I think it would be traditional to toast the Queen before we have anything to drink on board a warship.
0:09:31 > 0:09:34- So, ladies and gentlemen, the Queen. - ALL: The Queen.
0:09:34 > 0:09:39GOD SAVE THE QUEEN PLAYS
0:09:39 > 0:09:41Good grog.
0:09:42 > 0:09:47Excellent. Jean, Oscar, thank you so very, very much.
0:09:47 > 0:09:52- You're welcome.- So life before the mast wasn't quite as grim on the culinary front as we thought.
0:09:52 > 0:09:54No, you were well fed.
0:09:54 > 0:09:58- And well watered.- And well watered. - THEY LAUGH
0:10:00 > 0:10:07'Good provisions obviously played an important role in keeping Nelson's navy fit and seaworthy.
0:10:07 > 0:10:14'But there can be no time in British history that food became of greater importance than in World War II.'
0:10:16 > 0:10:22'When the war began in 1939, the government was concerned that supplies would run out.
0:10:22 > 0:10:26'So in January 1940, food rationing was introduced.'
0:10:27 > 0:10:31'It began with bacon, sugar and butter,
0:10:31 > 0:10:36'but many other things would follow, including eggs, tea, cheese and meat.'
0:10:36 > 0:10:40# Everybody pinches my butter
0:10:40 > 0:10:44# They won't leave my butter alone
0:10:44 > 0:10:48'It was obvious the war couldn't be won on an empty stomach.'
0:10:48 > 0:10:52- 'So the authorities quickly stepped into action.' - PHONE RINGS
0:10:52 > 0:10:58The Ministry of Food asked the Board of Education to arrange a food campaign in the country.
0:10:58 > 0:11:02We'll need some experienced food person to help on the practical side.
0:11:02 > 0:11:04'To make sure the nation was fighting fit,
0:11:04 > 0:11:08'the Ministry of Food dispatched an army of food advisors
0:11:08 > 0:11:12'to educate people about how to make the most out of what they had.'
0:11:12 > 0:11:16In some places, food advisors will help you with your shopping
0:11:16 > 0:11:21so that you can buy the best cheaply. If you ask them, they'll come back to your kitchen
0:11:21 > 0:11:24and suggest new and appetising dishes.
0:11:24 > 0:11:29In this way, everyone can make sure that their wartime meals are as healthy and economical as possible.
0:11:36 > 0:11:41'Radio programmes and other forms of propaganda used every tactic to get the message across.'
0:11:44 > 0:11:46# Potato Pete, Potato Pete
0:11:46 > 0:11:48# See him coming down the street
0:11:48 > 0:11:53'The "Dig For Victory" campaign encouraged people to grow their own food
0:11:53 > 0:11:59'and the ration-free hunger-quashing potato was touted as the answer to everyone's prayers.'
0:11:59 > 0:12:02Any recipe that uses potatoes is bound to be a favourite.
0:12:02 > 0:12:07'This being the land of meat and two veg, we weren't about to let Jerry do us out of our protein.
0:12:07 > 0:12:10'So we quickly found alternatives.
0:12:12 > 0:12:18- 'There was whale meat.' - 'And if you didn't fancy that, well, you could always eat a horse.'
0:12:19 > 0:12:22Horse meat is rapidly becoming part of Britain's diet.
0:12:22 > 0:12:25Three million people buy it every week.
0:12:25 > 0:12:29'Us Brits refused to let the war put us off our dinner.'
0:12:29 > 0:12:35'Today, in the Best Of British kitchen, we're honouring some of that World War II resourcefulness
0:12:35 > 0:12:40'by cooking up a wonderful wartime-inspired recipe.'
0:12:40 > 0:12:43'But don't worry, there's not a pony in sight.'
0:12:43 > 0:12:46BOTH: # Run, rabbit, run, rabbit, run, run, run
0:12:46 > 0:12:51# He'll get by without your rabbit pie
0:12:51 > 0:12:56- That's just as well. We're doing stew, man!- I know. We can't have a pie because there's a war on,
0:12:56 > 0:12:58- we can't afford an egg for the crust.- That's true.
0:12:58 > 0:13:01And rabbit, very important during wartime, wasn't it?
0:13:01 > 0:13:04Rabbit is tasty, cheap and abundant.
0:13:04 > 0:13:11Indeedy-doo-doos. And, actually, it was a real staple of the wartime households.
0:13:11 > 0:13:16All those meat-starved families would use rabbit because it wasn't rationed.
0:13:16 > 0:13:21There were loads of them. They were left to do what rabbits do and then there was lots of them.
0:13:21 > 0:13:26- Not just wartime. I remember my childhood.- What happened?- I'll tell you later. It's not a good story.
0:13:26 > 0:13:30- Why?- Well, I couldn't... Let's get on.- I'll get on.
0:13:32 > 0:13:35'As an ode to those wartime cooks,
0:13:35 > 0:13:40'we're preparing this delicious and traditional rabbit stew with cider and thyme gravy.
0:13:40 > 0:13:44'The perfect comfort dish for a winter's day.'
0:13:44 > 0:13:48Right, now, you can get a nice, healthy bunny for about three quid.
0:13:48 > 0:13:55Sorts the family out, it's tasty, low in cholesterol and, do you know, it's all right.
0:13:55 > 0:13:58- That is a dismembered rabbit. - Yes.- Bugs Bunny in the nude.
0:13:58 > 0:14:02- But a rabbit is a creature of many parts.- You're not wrong. - The rabbit has a saddle.
0:14:02 > 0:14:06The saddle is like the fillet steak of the rabbit world. And like most meats,
0:14:06 > 0:14:09you don't want to overcook the fillet bit.
0:14:09 > 0:14:14Right, so, all I'm going to do, you see these bits here? Come here, have a look.
0:14:14 > 0:14:17That's a bit chewy, so we're going to take that off.
0:14:17 > 0:14:22Preparation of meat is important. Do the cooking in the kitchen, not on the plate.
0:14:22 > 0:14:24You want a meal, you don't want a mission.
0:14:24 > 0:14:27And I think that's what puts people off rabbit,
0:14:27 > 0:14:33because they often think it's going to be bony, chewy and nasty. Just get rid of the nastiness.
0:14:34 > 0:14:37'Once you've cleaned up the rabbit, make a shaker bag.
0:14:37 > 0:14:40'Get a freezer bag and fill it with three tablespoons of flour
0:14:40 > 0:14:45'and two tablespoons of freshly chopped thyme. If you're using dried,
0:14:45 > 0:14:48'you'll only need two teaspoons, but try to make it wild thyme if you can.
0:14:48 > 0:14:54'Next, add a pinch of salt and plenty of freshly-ground pepper and reminisce about bunnies past.'
0:14:55 > 0:15:00- No, Kingy, it was a sad day when I was five years old. - Why, what happened?
0:15:00 > 0:15:04My father came back from the paper mill with an albino rabbit for me.
0:15:04 > 0:15:09- Oh, nice.- Called Bugs. Pink eyes, white as a snowball.
0:15:09 > 0:15:14Anyway, that was Saturday. Played with him Saturday afternoon.
0:15:14 > 0:15:17Sunday, my mother had made a chicken pie.
0:15:17 > 0:15:20- Oh, good, nice. - No, it wasn't chicken.
0:15:20 > 0:15:23- And my mother looked down with guilt.- Yeah.- I burst into tears.
0:15:23 > 0:15:25It was Bugs in a crust.
0:15:25 > 0:15:30- No, it wasn't! - I couldn't eat it. And do you know, I didn't eat rabbit for 30 years.
0:15:30 > 0:15:33- Couldn't do it, man. - Oh, Dave, that's bad that, like.
0:15:34 > 0:15:38'Now dry your tears and stick the rabbit portions in the bag
0:15:38 > 0:15:41'a few at a time and give them a good shake.'
0:15:41 > 0:15:43# Shake, shake, shake, senora
0:15:43 > 0:15:45# Shake your body line
0:15:45 > 0:15:47# Shake, shake, shake, senora
0:15:47 > 0:15:53Give it a good coating, cos the flour is going to give us a lovely crispy coating on the rabbit
0:15:53 > 0:15:56and it's also going to thicken the eventual casserole.
0:15:56 > 0:15:59Dave, pass the butter, mate.
0:16:02 > 0:16:05'Now it's time to fry the rabbit.
0:16:05 > 0:16:11'Get a pan nice and hot and melt 15 grams of butter with one tablespoon of sunflower oil.'
0:16:11 > 0:16:16The good thing about putting oil and butter together, the oil prevents the butter from burning,
0:16:16 > 0:16:21thus putting a beautiful brown hue all over our rabbit.
0:16:21 > 0:16:26Meanwhile, I'm just going to chop some bacon up for stage two of the casserole.
0:16:26 > 0:16:32I'm trying to be strict to wartime traditions and pastry would require flour, maybe eggs if you feel posh.
0:16:32 > 0:16:37But at home, this is a really good rabbit casserole recipe.
0:16:37 > 0:16:42To make a rabbit pie, make this casserole then put a crust on the top.
0:16:42 > 0:16:48And what we're trying to achieve here is we just want some nice colour on that rabbit.
0:16:48 > 0:16:52And the reason we want that is it looks nicer in the casserole, you see?
0:16:52 > 0:16:56- A little bit of caramelisation across the nation. - There's not much fat in a rabbit,
0:16:56 > 0:16:59so the bacon is going to kind of give it flavour
0:16:59 > 0:17:01and make it more succulent.
0:17:03 > 0:17:07Right, mate, that's those portions ready. The only thing left to cook is the saddles.
0:17:07 > 0:17:12- Right, we can pop these into the casserole dish. That, my friend, is perfect.- Beautiful.
0:17:16 > 0:17:19'Pop the saddles into the pan and brown them off.'
0:17:21 > 0:17:25Right, that's the saddle.
0:17:25 > 0:17:31'They're more delicate than the rest of the meat, so put them on a plate and leave them till later.'
0:17:31 > 0:17:36'Fry the bacon lardons in the lovely oils and juices of the pan and pop them in the casserole dish.'
0:17:36 > 0:17:40'Now chop an onion, add a little more oil to the pan
0:17:40 > 0:17:44'and sweat them for a few minutes until they're nice and tender.'
0:17:44 > 0:17:49Now, I know we're living in frugal times, Si, but what I reckon that there's plenty of, it's cider.
0:17:49 > 0:17:53- So not only were you hungry, you were quite tiddly, as well. - And like most things,
0:17:53 > 0:17:58like apples go with pork, fruit goes with rabbit, so cider.
0:17:58 > 0:18:01We're going to use that cider to deglaze this pan, aren't we?
0:18:01 > 0:18:06Aye. Because you may have been thinking that this rabbit casserole is looking a bit dry.
0:18:06 > 0:18:09Now we're making the juice. Because you want gravy.
0:18:09 > 0:18:12And what is a casserole no good without?
0:18:12 > 0:18:14- Gravy.- He's not wrong.- No.
0:18:14 > 0:18:19- Right, that is our onions done. - Nice.
0:18:19 > 0:18:23'We're going to deglaze the pan with half the bottle of cider.'
0:18:23 > 0:18:28And all deglaze means is, you know the lovely, crunchy, caramelly bits off the bottom?
0:18:28 > 0:18:31You put a bit of moisture in, swill it around and get all those flavours.
0:18:31 > 0:18:35Cos flavour is important in wartime, because you need as much as you can get.
0:18:35 > 0:18:39Some stock. Now, we've got chicken stock,
0:18:39 > 0:18:46but in times of poverty, you could use vegetable stock or indeed water.
0:18:46 > 0:18:48And a couple of bay leaves.
0:18:48 > 0:18:52'Gently simmer for a few minutes, add the remaining cider,
0:18:52 > 0:18:55'then pour all over the rabbit.'
0:18:57 > 0:19:02Lovely! Now just pop this into a preheated oven, about 160 degrees, something like that,
0:19:02 > 0:19:06but leave the saddles out cos we don't want to overcook them.
0:19:06 > 0:19:08- Not in there.- No, not yet.
0:19:08 > 0:19:12- Ohh!- Now, rabbit takes a long time to cook.
0:19:12 > 0:19:16It can end up like an old dog chew, so be patient.
0:19:16 > 0:19:20Rabbits may be fleet of foot in the field and a devil to catch,
0:19:20 > 0:19:23but to cook, oh, so slow.
0:19:23 > 0:19:27- Slow.- Slow.- BOTH: Slow.
0:19:27 > 0:19:29- Let's go and have a cup of tea. - We may as well.
0:19:31 > 0:19:37'Three quarters of an hour later, take it out and add the saddles and some peeled Chantenay carrots.'
0:19:37 > 0:19:40'You'll then need to cook it for another one and a quarter to two hours,
0:19:40 > 0:19:47'depending on the type of rabbit you're using. Wild rabbits will take longer than farmed ones.'
0:19:47 > 0:19:51'You'll know when it's cooked because the meat should be starting to fall off the bone.'
0:19:51 > 0:19:54- Yes.- Yes, it is.
0:19:54 > 0:19:57'And finally, you'll need to tackle the gravy.'
0:19:57 > 0:20:02- Now, that's pretty thick, but I think we need that a bit thicker, don't you?- Yes.
0:20:02 > 0:20:08Now, this is a little top tip. What we're going to do is pour the juice out into this saucepan.
0:20:08 > 0:20:12Don't worry if you get a few bits in. It's a rabbit stew, it's rustic.
0:20:12 > 0:20:15Yeah. Oh, look at that.
0:20:15 > 0:20:18Now, what we're going to do is we're going to reduce this down
0:20:18 > 0:20:23and what we're doing, basically, when you reduce anything, you're intensifying the flavours
0:20:23 > 0:20:27and reducing the amount of liquid by boiling it off.
0:20:27 > 0:20:31- We just want to make the most out of the rabbit we possibly can.- Yeah.
0:20:32 > 0:20:36- Actually, mate... - It is nice and syrupy, isn't it? - Yeah, we're nearly there.
0:20:36 > 0:20:40Now, the final flourish, we're going to chuck in
0:20:40 > 0:20:43a nice big handful of frozen peas.
0:20:43 > 0:20:48Give us a bit of vitamin C and a bit of colour. Doesn't that look lovely?
0:20:48 > 0:20:52'Once it's reduced, pour the demi-glace back into the casserole.'
0:20:55 > 0:21:02- Lovely.- Just make sure that rabbit's coated. Look at the carrots, the peas. Looks great.- Doesn't it?
0:21:02 > 0:21:08Now, remember, we had loads of salt and pepper that we mixed with the flour and the thyme,
0:21:08 > 0:21:11so we're going to just wait and adjust the seasoning.
0:21:13 > 0:21:17- I think that needs nothing, actually.- Oh, that's perfect.
0:21:17 > 0:21:21- You can always put more on your plate, can't you?- Exactly that.
0:21:21 > 0:21:27And there it is, the Hairy Bikers' not quite so frugal wartime rabbit stew.
0:21:31 > 0:21:35'So, that's a great dish inspired by the war.
0:21:35 > 0:21:40'But in reality, rationing made serving up a half-decent meal extraordinarily difficult.'
0:21:40 > 0:21:46'In 1993, a classic television series took us back in time
0:21:46 > 0:21:52'to the kitchen of a house in the country during the Second World War to highlight just how tough it was.'
0:21:52 > 0:21:57'We're taking a break to learn from someone who experienced it first-hand.'
0:21:57 > 0:22:02Now, Wartime Kitchen And Garden. This should be interesting.
0:22:02 > 0:22:05- I might learn a bit. - It's a bit of reminiscence.- It is.
0:22:06 > 0:22:10- # Oh, the memories - Wartime Kitchen And Garden.
0:22:12 > 0:22:14- Ah, Ruth.- Ah.
0:22:14 > 0:22:18'Ruth Mott began work as a scullery maid in the 1930s
0:22:18 > 0:22:22'and went on to work in the kitchens of some of Britain's greatest houses.'
0:22:22 > 0:22:27'Her telly career took off in her 70s with her Victorian Kitchen Garden
0:22:27 > 0:22:31'and her straightforward and common-sense approach to cookery
0:22:31 > 0:22:35- 'quickly won over the hearts of the nation.'- It's not going to be difficult, it is?- No.
0:22:35 > 0:22:38Difficult as you like to make it.
0:22:38 > 0:22:42'In this series, Ruth used her own wartime experience to demonstrate the tricks of the trade
0:22:42 > 0:22:44'when making do with nowt.'
0:22:44 > 0:22:50'Ruth now faces the challenge of turning breast of lamb into a tasty dish.'
0:22:50 > 0:22:52Oh, it was very valuable during the war.
0:22:52 > 0:22:56It was something that you purchased cheaply,
0:22:56 > 0:22:58much cheaper than anything else,
0:22:58 > 0:23:01and it was cheap meat you were looking for
0:23:01 > 0:23:04because you were rationed by money.
0:23:04 > 0:23:08- We don't eat much breast of lamb these days, do we?- No.
0:23:08 > 0:23:10I'm just going to take these little bones out here
0:23:10 > 0:23:14because we're going to put this in the saucepan today.
0:23:14 > 0:23:18Keep very tight to the bone so that you get it out
0:23:18 > 0:23:22with practically nothing left on it at all.
0:23:22 > 0:23:26You've got to use everything, you see? You mustn't throw anything away.
0:23:26 > 0:23:30I bet she makes good food. She's like your favourite granny, isn't she?
0:23:30 > 0:23:34- She's got that face of making good cake.- Yeah, and pastry hands.- Yeah.
0:23:34 > 0:23:38- She needs to clean her nails. Crikey!- She's digging for victory, isn't she?
0:23:38 > 0:23:41That's it. Fit the lamb to the saucepan.
0:23:41 > 0:23:45- Oh, that's rough.- We've got a few bones in there at the moment
0:23:45 > 0:23:48and then we put the meat in on top of this,
0:23:48 > 0:23:51we've got some more carrot and onion to go in.
0:23:51 > 0:23:56A bit of parsley for flavour. And if you've got a bay leaf or a little bit of thyme
0:23:56 > 0:23:59- or anything like that, you can have that in, as well.- Old faithfuls.
0:23:59 > 0:24:04Pepper and salt. Anything that will give it a bit of taste.
0:24:04 > 0:24:06A drop of water, not too much.
0:24:09 > 0:24:14And that'll want to cook for about an hour and a half on a very low heat.
0:24:14 > 0:24:19Er, leek pudding with potato and suet crust.
0:24:19 > 0:24:24- Oh, leek pudding!- Help fill you up in no time, suet crust.
0:24:24 > 0:24:27My mam used to make that for us. It was leek and onion pudding.
0:24:27 > 0:24:31But it was in a cloth, you know, boiled.
0:24:31 > 0:24:34- That's just a leek pudding, isn't it?- That's it. Leeks and suet.
0:24:36 > 0:24:43- And then if we had a nice leg of lamb, it'd be nice, but we haven't. - Aw, Ruth!
0:24:43 > 0:24:47'The breast of lamb has been cooked for an hour and a half and allowed to cool.
0:24:47 > 0:24:50'Ruth now starts on the last stage.'
0:24:50 > 0:24:54And pop it into the egg, which will stick on.
0:24:55 > 0:25:01You'll probably have to push it a little bit because they don't always dry out quite straight.
0:25:01 > 0:25:09And into the breadcrumbs. Cover it up nicely. That should make us a nice little crust when we've fried it.
0:25:11 > 0:25:16The fat we're using today is some little bits of fat that I've collected up over the week
0:25:16 > 0:25:21because we want to save as much of our fat ration as possible to do other things with.
0:25:21 > 0:25:28- You can tell that food was really in short supply, can't you?- Yeah, you wasted nothing.- Absolutely nothing.
0:25:28 > 0:25:30- What a lovely idea.- It is, isn't it?
0:25:30 > 0:25:34Because your meat is going to be tender from the poaching, isn't it?
0:25:34 > 0:25:39- Yeah.- She's poached it down with the usual suspects. So it's breast of lamb with a leek suet pudding.
0:25:39 > 0:25:46- That's a proper 30s and 40s kitchen, isn't it?- Yes.- Fabulous.
0:25:46 > 0:25:51- Plenty for me, please.- Oh, I don't know about there being plenty.
0:25:51 > 0:25:55You'll have to have what you're given, like the children.
0:25:59 > 0:26:02- That doesn't look too shabby, does it?- It doesn't.
0:26:02 > 0:26:06I rather like the leek pudding because I think it's something you could use today, really.
0:26:08 > 0:26:13Brown. Mind you, with a face like hers, anything she fed you is going to taste good, isn't it?
0:26:13 > 0:26:15It is. Exactly.
0:26:17 > 0:26:22'Making sure people ate well on the home front during the Second World War was only part of the battle.'
0:26:23 > 0:26:28'For soldiers on the front line, food was crucial and the Ministry of Defence
0:26:28 > 0:26:33'was determined to make sure British troops were fighting fit.'
0:26:33 > 0:26:39'Special field rations were devised to provide optimum nutritional value.
0:26:39 > 0:26:43'These pre-packed meal ingredients, known as composite rations, were certainly adequate,
0:26:43 > 0:26:47'and formed the diet of soldiers for years to come.'
0:26:47 > 0:26:53'But after months of eating them, the troops must have found them a little hard to swallow.'
0:26:53 > 0:26:57'The memory of surviving on army rations still leaves a bit of a bad taste
0:26:57 > 0:27:00'in the mouths of these Chelsea pensioners,
0:27:00 > 0:27:03'Wayne Campbell, Skippy Teesdale and Ken Chapman.'
0:27:03 > 0:27:09'Between them, they served for nearly 40 years in over a dozen countries from Korea to Borneo.'
0:27:10 > 0:27:14My recollection of all our foodstuffs and things like that,
0:27:14 > 0:27:18we ate all the compo-rations, we called them,
0:27:18 > 0:27:24the ten-man packs or the one-man packs, and it was so monotonous it was unbelievable.
0:27:24 > 0:27:29- The spam, spam, spam...- Corned beef. - Corned beef.- Oh, the corned beef.
0:27:29 > 0:27:36- Who wants to have yet another tin of spam?- You learned to live with it, you know?
0:27:39 > 0:27:44'A version of the ship's biscuit from Admiral Nelson's day was still doing the rounds.'
0:27:44 > 0:27:49'Talk about long-life! They were probably leftovers from HMS Victory.'
0:27:49 > 0:27:53Biscuits were... I don't think many people liked the biscuits.
0:27:53 > 0:27:56They were so hard, you couldn't even bite them.
0:27:56 > 0:28:00You'd have to use a hammer to make the biscuits go soft
0:28:00 > 0:28:04so you could put them in with some soup or some stew or something like that.
0:28:05 > 0:28:08'But luckily, soldiers didn't require a hammer for every meal.'
0:28:08 > 0:28:13- Powdered eggs. - Powdered eggs, powdered milk, everything was powdered.- Yeah.
0:28:13 > 0:28:20And with the powdered egg, when you did have a unit cook from the army catering corps,
0:28:20 > 0:28:23he would say, "Oh, these are real eggs!"
0:28:23 > 0:28:28What he'd done, he'd used the powdered eggs, taken two real eggs,
0:28:28 > 0:28:33smashed them all up, got all the egg shells, smashed them all into little pieces
0:28:33 > 0:28:37so when you're eating the powdered egg, it was just the normal stuff you had.
0:28:37 > 0:28:41You'd say, "Oh, this was real because there was egg shells in here." THEY LAUGH
0:28:41 > 0:28:44'Hardly haute cuisine.'
0:28:44 > 0:28:47'Back then, the emphasis was purely on nutrition
0:28:47 > 0:28:52- 'and taste didn't really come into it.'- 'But in the modern army, things are very different.
0:28:52 > 0:28:57'Although surprisingly, some of those original rations are still proving their worth.'
0:28:57 > 0:29:01'Captain Rob Burns is head instructor of the army's Food Services wing,
0:29:01 > 0:29:08'here at Worthy Down barracks in Hampshire, where they're training up the next generation of army chefs.'
0:29:08 > 0:29:11'British food heroes in the true sense of the word.'
0:29:11 > 0:29:15The idea is that, with their own skills they have already learnt,
0:29:15 > 0:29:20they need to transfer those skills and push the boundaries in using different types of rations
0:29:20 > 0:29:23and turn them into something more interesting and exciting
0:29:23 > 0:29:27than what we remember to be the corned beef and the spam.
0:29:27 > 0:29:31'Corned beef and spam, not every chef's dream ingredients.'
0:29:31 > 0:29:35'But for Sergeant Lee Pierce, they offer endless possibilities.'
0:29:35 > 0:29:39Right guys, five minutes till service! Let's start getting the remaining things up!
0:29:39 > 0:29:43'Every ingredient is chosen because it offers good nutrition,
0:29:43 > 0:29:48'has a long shelf-life, and can be easily transported and prepared in the field.'
0:29:48 > 0:29:53What I want you to do now is add your curry powder to the water, ready for your noodles to go in.
0:29:53 > 0:29:56- OK? We are serving in ten minutes. - OK.
0:29:56 > 0:30:03When we are dealing with the ration packs, it's using our imagination. We could do sweet and sour chicken.
0:30:03 > 0:30:06For example, corned beef we could make into lasagne or spaghetti bolognese.
0:30:06 > 0:30:10We can do all those sorts of things. You have to use your imagination.
0:30:10 > 0:30:14Yes, those things have been from World War II, but we still get them now.
0:30:14 > 0:30:20We're just using what we've learnt over the years from other people and trying to come up with new things.
0:30:20 > 0:30:25# I've got my eyes on you
0:30:25 > 0:30:31# So best beware where you roam
0:30:31 > 0:30:36'We brought our Chelsea pensioners, Skippy, Ken and Wayne, along to Worthy Down
0:30:36 > 0:30:39'to sample some 21st century army food.'
0:30:39 > 0:30:45'What they don't know is it will still be cooked using the ration pack ingredients they know so well.'
0:30:45 > 0:30:48'But the choices on offer to our forces today
0:30:48 > 0:30:51'reflect the cosmopolitan nature of modern army food,
0:30:51 > 0:30:55'and would look right at home on the menu of any gastropub.'
0:30:55 > 0:31:01'Sergeant Chris Bonner is giving the cadets a lesson in making the most of field rations.'
0:31:01 > 0:31:06'Will the trainee chefs be able to disguise the fact that the key ingredient is still corned beef?'
0:31:06 > 0:31:10'Aw, I was hoping it would be spam.'
0:31:10 > 0:31:15We're using corned beef and we'll make corned beef meatballs with spaghetti in tomato sauce.
0:31:15 > 0:31:18We have the dried onions that come in the ration pack.
0:31:18 > 0:31:21And about a handful into two blocks of corned beef.
0:31:21 > 0:31:24And you get messy.
0:31:24 > 0:31:28Very important that a chef has diversity and shows innovation.
0:31:28 > 0:31:32There was a story recently where a chef on operations
0:31:32 > 0:31:35only got delivered spam for quite a long period of time.
0:31:35 > 0:31:39And he disguised that into in excess of 20 different dishes.
0:31:39 > 0:31:43That's why it's important that our chefs continue to develop food in the ration packs,
0:31:43 > 0:31:48and make it as innovative as they can and interesting for the soldiers to eat.
0:31:48 > 0:31:52'So today's emphasis is on variety, as well as taste and nutrition.
0:31:52 > 0:31:58'But it remains to be seen whether a dish of corned beef meatballs in a sauce made of beans
0:31:58 > 0:32:02'can convince our old-timers they're tucking into a gourmet meal.'
0:32:02 > 0:32:06Get that pan nice and hot. We're going to put our meatballs in, get a good colour,
0:32:06 > 0:32:09then put that straight in the oven to finish them off.
0:32:12 > 0:32:17'Well, the recruits have done their bit, but will they get a commendation?'
0:32:17 > 0:32:20'Or will they be peeling spuds all night?'
0:32:20 > 0:32:26- Italian meatballs with spaghetti, tomato sauce and a bean fritter. - Ah, beautiful. Thank you for that.
0:32:26 > 0:32:31'While Skippy has gone for the meatballs, the other two have opted for another ration box creation,
0:32:31 > 0:32:33'Thai fishcakes.'
0:32:37 > 0:32:43- This has all turned out beautiful, hasn't it?- They must be well-trained to do that.- Yeah. Excellent.
0:32:43 > 0:32:45- It's presented well, isn't it? - Yeah.- Mm.
0:32:48 > 0:32:51Mm. That's tasty.
0:32:52 > 0:32:54Very nice.
0:32:55 > 0:33:01- You can always tell when the food's good because everyone goes quiet. Too busy...- Eating.
0:33:02 > 0:33:05They do magic, don't they?
0:33:06 > 0:33:08Come on in. Hi, gentlemen.
0:33:08 > 0:33:13I'd just like to introduce you to Sergeant Chris Bonner who is our catering instructor here.
0:33:13 > 0:33:16And the recruits here who have prepared the meal for you today.
0:33:16 > 0:33:19If you keep this up, you've a hell of a career in the army.
0:33:19 > 0:33:22Yeah, it's lovely.
0:33:22 > 0:33:27- What about the meatballs, Skippy? - Ah, brilliant. It's the nicest I've tasted for ages.
0:33:27 > 0:33:32- And the meat, would it surprise you to learn that's corned beef? - Is it?- Yes.
0:33:32 > 0:33:36No wonder I like it. It's one of my blooming favourites!
0:33:36 > 0:33:42- Out of corned beef?- That's the corned beef.- I give in. I give in.
0:33:42 > 0:33:45The only trouble is we were born too early.
0:33:45 > 0:33:48- I've good mind to join up. - THEY LAUGH
0:33:50 > 0:33:56'Just as the army chefs in today's war zones have to be inventive to keep the soldiers' morale up...'
0:33:56 > 0:34:02'..back in World War II the battle was on to maintain people's spirits despite rationing.'
0:34:02 > 0:34:05'If he's fed up with his food, she gets the blame.
0:34:05 > 0:34:08'But there are always new ideas about.'
0:34:08 > 0:34:14'This brought about not only remarkable resolve but also an incredible ingenuity.'
0:34:14 > 0:34:20'People came up with all sorts of recipes designed to tickle the tastebuds and deceive the brain.'
0:34:22 > 0:34:26'The British housewife became adept at faking it.
0:34:26 > 0:34:30'There was mock goose, mock fried egg, mock duck,
0:34:30 > 0:34:34'mock suet pudding, mock apricot flan, mock cream.'
0:34:34 > 0:34:39'And with sugar under lock and key, people turned to other ingredients to satisfy our sweet tooth.'
0:34:39 > 0:34:45'But whilst many of these new dishes disappeared from the British repertoire when rationing ended...'
0:34:45 > 0:34:51'..others found a permanent place in our hearts, including the treat we're about to cook.'
0:34:51 > 0:34:53In times of war and economic hardship,
0:34:53 > 0:34:58one still needs to find a way of celebrating one's birthday, anniversary or Christmas.
0:34:58 > 0:35:01And we always do that, then as now, with a cake.
0:35:01 > 0:35:05Yeah. And we're making a cake out of vegetables.
0:35:06 > 0:35:09Ah, this one is a belting, banging carrot cake.
0:35:09 > 0:35:14It is. Now, it's our take on a classic wartime recipe.
0:35:14 > 0:35:16And we've just moderned it up a bit.
0:35:16 > 0:35:20We've improved it, perfected it, and dragged the carrot cake into the 21st century.
0:35:20 > 0:35:24- Where it belongs! - Oh, bring on the carrot!
0:35:26 > 0:35:29'Oh, this one's a luxurious, indulgent carrot cake.
0:35:29 > 0:35:33'One people could only have dreamt of in the days of rationing.'
0:35:34 > 0:35:37It has a very interesting history the carrot cake,
0:35:37 > 0:35:43and medieval people, when sugar was scarce would use carrot, caramelise the carrots as a sweetmeat.
0:35:43 > 0:35:47And we used to make carrot puddings in the 17th and 18th centuries.
0:35:47 > 0:35:53It fell out of fashion, but in World War II, because we were all skint, and we needed something else,
0:35:53 > 0:35:57we kind of rediscovered carrots. And we made carrot cake.
0:35:57 > 0:36:00And since then, it's never been out of fashion.
0:36:01 > 0:36:08'First, in a bowl, mix 200 grams of self-raising flour with pecan nuts and sultanas.'
0:36:08 > 0:36:11'And get to work peeling and grating the stars of the show.'
0:36:13 > 0:36:20- But didn't carrots used to be purple?- They did. But these ones and the ones we know today are orange.
0:36:20 > 0:36:22And for a very good reason.
0:36:22 > 0:36:28In the 17th century, Dutch growers grew this breed of carrot
0:36:28 > 0:36:33as a homage to William of Orange. You know orange, carrots, carrots, orange.
0:36:33 > 0:36:38- I'm not sure what William of Orange would have thought of it. - He probably thought it was "grate".
0:36:38 > 0:36:41THEY LAUGH
0:36:41 > 0:36:46'To the flour, fruit and nut mix, add half a teaspoon of bicarb, one teaspoon of baking powder,
0:36:46 > 0:36:52'a teaspoon of ground cinnamon, a pinch of salt, and half a grated nutmeg.'
0:36:52 > 0:36:56And to this, something that would have been rare in the war,
0:36:56 > 0:37:02- the grated zest of half an orange. - Do you not know there's a war on? - Shut up!
0:37:02 > 0:37:07No. Uncle Jack has just come back from Burma with an orange in his sock.
0:37:07 > 0:37:09God love him.
0:37:09 > 0:37:12Lastly, with clean hands, combine.
0:37:12 > 0:37:14It's a lovely smell, isn't it?
0:37:14 > 0:37:17Smell that, Kingy.
0:37:17 > 0:37:20- Oh, yes! Lovely! Really nice. - Lush, isn't it? Nutmeg, zest.
0:37:20 > 0:37:24Every day is a party when you're making carrot cake.
0:37:25 > 0:37:31I know it's times of austerity, but there's a lot to be said for a food processor.
0:37:36 > 0:37:41'When you've finally grated your carrots, beat three eggs in a bowl with some demerara sugar.'
0:37:43 > 0:37:48This isn't a wartime recipe for carrot cake. It's a modern recipe.
0:37:48 > 0:37:51Like a lot of modern cakes, we're using vegetable oil as the fat in the cake.
0:37:51 > 0:37:54There's no butter or margarine. It's vegetable oil.
0:37:54 > 0:37:58And vegetable oil does give you a lovely, lovely moist cake.
0:37:58 > 0:38:05'Mix the oil in well, and add the 200 grams of carrot. Whisk until well combined.'
0:38:06 > 0:38:12- Are you ready?- Ready!- Bit at a time? - Oh, steady stream. See how we get on.
0:38:14 > 0:38:17- It smells fantastic.- Yep.
0:38:17 > 0:38:22It's a lovely, lovely consistency.
0:38:26 > 0:38:31'Pour the mixture into a greased square cake tin, lined with baking parchment to stop it sticking.'
0:38:31 > 0:38:36Did you ever think that such a humble vegetable could actually be so attractive?
0:38:36 > 0:38:39You wait till you taste this.
0:38:39 > 0:38:45And that, once you've patted it down and evened it out, is your carrot cake ready for the oven.
0:38:48 > 0:38:55Now just pop that into a preheated oven, about 180 degrees Celsius, for about 30 to 35 minutes.
0:38:55 > 0:39:01- Time for a cup of tea. - And a lick of your spoon. Ooh! - Ooh, where's the bowl?
0:39:07 > 0:39:11- Look! Oh! Colour's good. - Isn't it?- But is it cooked?
0:39:11 > 0:39:18- Take one skewer.- Yes. - Insert into cake.- Yes. - Skewer comes out clean.- Clean.
0:39:18 > 0:39:22We're safe, the cake's cooked. Now we need that to cool.
0:39:22 > 0:39:25But we have got a little job to do while that cools.
0:39:25 > 0:39:31We're not just going to leave it like that. Now that's a wartime cake and we're in a time of plenty.
0:39:31 > 0:39:37- We're going to do this most wonderful cheesecake, butter cream, pecan top.- With a little zest to it.
0:39:37 > 0:39:41Oh, it's everything. It's nutty, it's cheesy.
0:39:41 > 0:39:46- A bit like us. - Nutty, cheesy and a little bit greasy.- Yes.- Yes, it's just great.
0:39:47 > 0:39:52'Whack 100 grams of icing sugar and 100 grams of softened unsalted butter into your bowl
0:39:52 > 0:39:58'and mash them together. Then squeeze an orange so the juice is ready to add to the mix.'
0:39:58 > 0:40:03When you make a butter cream icing, you always add some kind of liquid cos it stops it floating off.
0:40:03 > 0:40:06Oh, look, you can smell it already, can't you?
0:40:08 > 0:40:12That's blooming lovely.
0:40:12 > 0:40:16I know it's cheating, but Auntie's got a friend who's a farmer so they've sent us cream cheese.
0:40:18 > 0:40:20That goes in, too.
0:40:21 > 0:40:27Now, you can tell we are cooking a modern twist on a wartime classic
0:40:27 > 0:40:32because the amount of butter we've just put in would be equivalent to a fortnight's ration.
0:40:32 > 0:40:38Well, to make up for that, we'll use the zest of the orange we've just squeezed. We won't waste anything.
0:40:39 > 0:40:44- Orange goes with carrot. Carrot and orange soup.- Oh, yeah!
0:40:47 > 0:40:50That'll be hard to keep your fingers out of.
0:40:50 > 0:40:55That's quite sloppy. In an ideal world, we'd put that in the fridge for half an hour before we used it.
0:40:55 > 0:41:00- But it's not ideal and we're greedy. So we're going to go for it.- We are.
0:41:02 > 0:41:06- Mm. Sorry, I couldn't resist. - HE LAUGHS
0:41:06 > 0:41:08Right.
0:41:08 > 0:41:11Put the licked fork to one side.
0:41:14 > 0:41:19'Once your cake has cooled down, spread the luscious butter cream icing all over the top.'
0:41:20 > 0:41:24Now, the key to a good carrot cake is not to be frugal with the topping.
0:41:24 > 0:41:26- Shall we go rustic and ruck it up?- Oh, yeah!
0:41:36 > 0:41:38Oh, yes! Lovely!
0:41:38 > 0:41:43Now that...looks great.
0:41:45 > 0:41:51'Decorate the top with pecan nuts or whatever type you fancy and job done!'
0:41:52 > 0:41:57Do you know, it's hard to believe that carrot cake fell out of fashion for nearly 200 years.
0:41:57 > 0:42:03It may be only a small positive, but I'm very pleased that the war brought this back into our psyche.
0:42:03 > 0:42:08Well, I think our carrot cake, it's a victory on all fronts.
0:42:20 > 0:42:25'We've always known that good food is fundamental in keeping up morale.
0:42:25 > 0:42:30'As we've seen, it played a key role in our military successes of the past,
0:42:30 > 0:42:32'and it's just as vital on the front line today.'
0:42:32 > 0:42:38'We Brits are so passionate about our food, that no matter how hard the circumstances,
0:42:38 > 0:42:42'we'll go to any lengths to create a tasty, nutritious meal.'
0:42:43 > 0:42:47'And we all owe a major debt to the wartime cooks,
0:42:47 > 0:42:53'whose fortitude kept the home front ovens blazing and ensured Britain stayed well fed.'
0:42:53 > 0:42:57'Even if we did develop an unhealthy appetite for spam.'
0:42:59 > 0:43:06If you want to find out more about the series, visit...
0:43:06 > 0:43:10..to discover some amazing facts about the history of food.
0:43:10 > 0:43:14'And to find out how to cook up the recipes in today's show.'
0:43:16 > 0:43:21Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd
0:43:21 > 0:43:25E-mail subtitling@bbc.co.uk