The end of sweet rationing

The end of "sweet" rationing came in February of 1952, just four months before the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth.

This image from Marguerite Patten's Victory Cookbook, (Chancellor Press, 2002) shows happy customers buying the candy that has been limited by their ration books for the past 13 years.

Patten reports that when this milestone was reached, she was "deluged" with recipes for real chocolate icing for cakes. This was a delicacy people had not been able to enjoy for more than a decade.

When "shell eggs" came off the ration, people no longer had to make souffles with powdered ones. Says Patten, fresh eggs were "infinitely better for this purpose." Lemon meringue pie and meringues also made a comeback.