Our latest “Document of the Week”, chosen by our Editor, Nishah Malik, is a Christmas cooking guide titled “Food to Make You Forget”, written by Harriett Muir and published in Britannia and Eve magazine in December 1939. Appearing during the first Christmas of the Second World War, the piece opens with an encouraging message: “Come into the kitchen—and forget about the war”. Despite the increasing scarcity of many key ingredients, Muir reminded her readers that Christmas spirit could still be found on the home front, especially through enjoying traditional dishes carefully prepared.
The guide provides comforting recipes for Christmas celebrations, offering suggestions on how to prepare familiar dishes without extravagant ingredients. The article shares a full Christmas dinner menu, including spinach soup, roast turkey with sausages, chestnut stuffing, cranberry sauce, roast potatoes, and plum pudding with brandy butter, all accompanied by fruit and coffee.
Muir also included practical advice on choosing and preparing the turkey, even explaining how to test for freshness and how to roast efficiently to avoid waste. There is also a recipe for cranberry sauce that uses only half a pound of cranberries stretched with two apples to save on cranberries.
The document manages to blend practical, ration-era cooking with festiveness, encouraging readers to make the most of what they had while still creating something special.
Will any of these 1939 recipes make their way into your Christmas cooking this year?
Where to find this document
It is from our collection, Britannia and Eve, 1926–1957, which includes over 38,000 images from 350 issues. Owned by The Illustrated London News, Britannia and Eve targeted a wealthy, conservative, and largely female readership. Throughout its existence, it maintained a particular emphasis on fashion, beauty, and the home. Visit the collection page to learn more.