It seems like a true contrast to talk about food in the occupation of 1940. However, this period is particularly indicative of where man can reach, to what level of misery, in order to look for his food anywhere, in order to survive. The tragic conditions of the war hindered not only the development and circulation of trade and in particular food but also its maintenance and preservation by the enemy.
At the illegal markets that developed during that time, people could usually find olive oil, corn, wheat, quite a bit of wine and maybe a few kinds of legumes. Depending on the region, the civilians where trying really hard to save some products in order to survive. As for meat and dairy, these seemed truly imaginary. Skin figures, just like skeletons, wandered the streets begging for crumbles of food and considered themselves blessed when finding any. You could see people daily looking through the trash to find anything to eat just to remain alive. Cats and dogs where the first ones to disappear from the streets when gradually every kind of animal such as horses, donkeys or even dears started being consumed. The Germans on the other side, destroyed everything. Even if some people have managed to store a little bit of food, the conquerors always found a way to steel it form them. There were now discriminations made in this area. They even used to torture people, so that they reveal where they hid their food.
Water-soups with scraps and leftovers, milled trash, every kind of green and stalks, could save a life for one more day.
In some luckier cases, wet bread together with some sugar or salt, was a popular snack. Bulgur and frumenty, that we all still have in our pantry and cook in so many ways, saved lives at the time. Trypsin, which comes from grapes (we still find it today in bio products or special pharmacies), we even use today when we want to boost our body, for elderly, sick or children. Raisins replaced sugar in deserts and also were a nutritious snack for both children and adults.
Bobota is one of the most popular recipes of that time, which was made from corn flour and water and baked in a fireplace oven. That’s what my father told me at least, since he was a child during that period. He considered himself lucky as he had really blond hair and for that Germans liked him and would give him a chocolate or piece of bread here and there. He always talks about the bobota his family was making though when talking about those years.
Since then, many recipes have been invented for this historic you could say type of bread, some of them with cheese or yoghurt and eggs, others sweet, with raisins. Most of the people who lived during that time though and remember that hunger and difficulties they went through don’t even want to hear about another variation of it. I have uploaded a quick and easy recipe though which you can make at home.
Bobota with cumin and turmeric. Try it and share it with your family this year on our national anniversary, the 28th of October.
Hurray Greece!
Hurray Freedom!
