From a wartime edition of The American Woman's Cookbook, some delicious Great Depression food.
I believe these were a holdover from the Depression, maybe some developed a taste.
this post was submitted on 23 Aug 2026
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It's definitely the kind of food my 1920s grandparents came away from their childhood enjoying, but I haven't seen the recipe itself from that era. Usually butter sandwiches and toast sandwiches were the stereotypical anti-starvation sandwiches.
A cracker tastes good, when you're starving. This sandwich would be a feast.
Also, wartime economy wasn't great, either. But the soldiers were somewhat fed, although moldy bread and meager rations were often the meal.
Without the mayonnaise that's just fine. Peanut butter is versatile enough to mix with most savory things. PB and pickle is tasty too.
I think it's more historically interesting than disgusting. 1943 was the height of US WW2 civilian rationing, and it was being written for a generation raised on Great Depression cuisine and all the tinned meats from The Jungle. There's a neat materialist angle to a survival recipe like that making it into a premiere cookbook like this.
My great grandfather used to spread peanut butter on layers of white onions. Used to eat this kind of food a lot when I was a kid, plus radishes and salt from the garden.
Protein, carbs, fat, and a little bit of sharp onion flavor. Hell yeah
Peanut butter and pickle actually sounds really good right now. I’d gobble that up.
I really like them. Make a sandwich with PB and dill pickle planks, then fry the sandwich in a buttered pan. It's delicious.
It’s better in theory. I love both, and eat pb and pickle sandwiches once in a while. They’re not bad, but not amazing either.
sounds like sensory hell
Very similar to the dutch "frietje oorlog", war french fries. Still probably the most popular way to eat French fries is dipped in this exact kind of sauce
Big fan of onion + PB in ramen
I still eat the classic PB+vegan mayo+lettuce sandwich. Lot of really nice flavor and texture combinations 🤷
Give that shit some heat and that sounds pretty tasty
Sounds like the right amount of spiciness