The Secret Fudge

One of my favourite things about this Christmas were some gifts from my mum. Social history is fascinating and none more so than when it relates to your own family! My sister and I both got DVDs of all the old Super 8 cine films my dad made when we were growing up with notes to go with them with all with the details of locations, people, dates etc. Alongside this mum had also written down some memories of growing up as a kid in Salford living through WW2. It's hard to truly imagine what it must have been like to live through all of those years of rationing. Sweet and sugar rationing didn't actually end until 1953! Check out this BBC report from the time. The kids in this picture aren't eating lollies, look closely and it's actually a carrot on a stick!

I thought I'd share with you the story of the secret fudge.

"We had a very large bottle of malt at home and were supposed to have one spoonful per day but I sometimes sneaked another one because it was SWEET. Food was rationed and the worst for children was the shortage of sweets and sugar. You could get some sweets but we wanted more. Mother went to work each day and we were all latchkey kids and looked after ourselves. My sister had a recipe for fudge and we would use small amounts of sugar and margarine, too little for mother to notice and we made fudge. I remember it being put to set in the larder which was a small space inset in the kitchen wall above the coal hole. There were no fridges but things kept cool there. We had to remember to remove the fudge when it was set and wash all the tins before mother came home - removing the incriminating evidence!"

Kids eh! Needless to say my sister and I grew up to be good fudge makers too.