What Shall We Have Today?: Culinary Adaptation in World War I Paris

During the First World War, many foods vanished from the markets and shops of Paris. Disruptions along rail lines meant that food shipments from the provinces were often delayed. The continually rising cost of food was a significant hardship. This study of wartime cookbooks examines the kinds of practical knowledge food writers offered Frenchwomen to enable them to shift to a war footing and guide them as they shopped and cooked under these extraordinary conditions. I end the paper with a look at how wartime cooking trends influenced French cuisine in the post-war decade.