s we all know; the second world war was a time with a lot of food shortages in Europe. The winter of 1944 to 1945 was called ” De hongerwinter” or “The hunger-winter” in the Netherlands. Also known as the Dutch famine of 1944-1945. 4.3 million people were affected and they estimated that more then 20.000 people died due to starvation.
A food you might heard of that people ate during that time were tulip bulbs. In parts of the country where tulips weren’t farmed, like the Belgian border where my family lived, they had to use other scraps like potato peels to make Potato peel soup with.
Aquiring food during wwII at the Belgian border (Noord-Brabant) in the Netherlands.
evere famine was not known by my family during the second world war. They were in luck that they were small farmers that were for a big part self-sufficient. They always already lived very frugal. They still did and do years after the war. They also had an extra income: illegal smuggling.
They live in the Dutch Baarle-Nassau, that together with the Belgian Baarle-Hertog is a manic patchwork of Dutch ground in Belgian ground in Dutch ground .. it is a very interesting place to visit; sometimes the country borders just go right through a house or store.
Although smuggling happened at every border; this confusing border-situation made it an ideal place to smuggle ofcourse. Salt, sugar, butter and ration coupons were very popular items to smuggle. To this day Baarle-Hertog is called “smokkelgat” or “smugglers hole” during the Dutch Carnaval period.
But alas, even with all this smuggling people still had to be really frugal and thus this Potato peel soup ended up on the dinner table.
My potato peel soup is not how it is supposed to be. I am too young to ever been to the ‘housewife school”. The nuns teaching at those schools are rolling in their graves when they see my way too thick potato peels. You are supposed to peel them super thin and this was also a test at the housewife school you could pass or fail. The collected potato peels would have been put through a bean slicer to prepare them for the soup.
The soup was made ore creamy and nutritious with milk or buttermilk and green dried or fresh herbs if available. Popular herbs used in this Potato peel soup were parsley, savory, leaf celery, chives, fennel and sorrel.
Some root vegetables that were not enough to make a full meal from could be added too. Like carrots, fodder beet and celeriac. Maybe some old onions too. And together with some salt (if you were lucky) this was the soup.
The taste of Potato peel soup.
astewise you don’t really notice the potato peels. But then again they are solely in this soup for their nutrients not for a succulent meal. It tastes like watery warm milk with too little salt. I don’t advice to eat this soup unless you really have too. I am also a little but worried if it is healthy. Many potato their skin is sprayed with pesticides. Until it is a terrible war again I would stick to peeled potatoes to make a nice potato soup from.
Potato peel soup wwII
4
servings15
minutes125
kcalIngredients
160 gram 5 2/3 oz Potato peels*
500 ml 17 fl oz Water or homemade broth
500 ml 17 fl oz Milk
Leftover root vegetables
Fresh or dried herbs
Salt and pepper to taste
Directions
- Cut the potato peels in tiny pieces with a bean slicer or a kife.
- Cook the potato peels in 500 ml water and salt. Add root vegetables and herbs if you have them.
- If the potato peels are done you can add the milk and let it warm up.
- Add salt and pepper to taste.
Notes
- * This is yielded from potatoes for 4 people.
Nutrition Facts
- Total number of serves: 1
- Calories: 125kcal
- Fat: 5.5g
- Carbohydrates: 14g
- Protein: 5.1g
