Two questions I hope someone can help me out with maybe someone has some first hand knowledge. What fish was Snook and what did it taste like? Did British combat rations have tinned chicken in them and if so did they taste like the sort you by now? Four questions
Snook is more properly known as snoek - it's a South African fish. Here's a piece about Saffer foods which will explain: Snoek: scrumptious, sustainable and sold in Milton Keynes! | South Africa Rocks
There were other words for the fish Snoek - but not likely to be printed in family outlets ..... and no - there were no chickens in any form in tins in WW2 - as far as I recall we did however have chickens on the menu invariably volunteers who accepted a bullet to the head - see this extract.. from an interlude at Cattolica during the Gothic Line Battles ..... ''''We met again with our Inf. Platoon and MacDonald, the medic from Montreal, who always rode on my Tank at my side, invited us to dinner ! We then had a quick wash and brush up and duly presented ourselves at the Warship shaped Barracks they were in. MacDonald, on seeing us there slapped his forehead and gasped - "you guys are here for dinner - right ?", we agreed and so he borrowed my Webley, walked outside where we heard one shot ring out, a minute later MacDonald strides in with a dead chicken. After a cursory cleaning it ended up in a stew / soup whatever, which was delicious."" Cheers
Snoek is also the Dutch word for Pike. Not just a South African fish. Indeed. But the canned fish which was inflicted on Britons was the South African one.
Thanks for all the replies to the post very interesting, I was always was sceptical about tinned chicken. No one can ever seem to agree on what snook was (Is it like rock?) my Nan told me it was whale meat, others have said it was a cod type fish from south America. Very much appreciate the posts
When I was in the Army in the mid 1950 our ration packs were still stamped with dates from WW2 and I never saw any fish in them. Mind you they did a great Steak and Kidney Pud. The streaky Bacon was so fat we used to smear on our boots to help water proof them. The Bars of Milk Chocolate had turned white from age, but the thing we had more fun with than any thing was the tins of self heating soup there were only three flavours but they were good. The thing was that there was a small cap on the top of the tin which you flicked off and there was a hair like fuse that you lit with a cigarette and that ignited the heating element inside the can. The fun came if you had not punched a couple of hole in the top of the can with your bayonet, now if you had not made these holes then the can would explode covering you with boiling soup and doing you serious injuries. Now we would use these hand grenades and lob them into trench with a NCO you didn't like or towards some Rupert. They do say that there were more injuries from these cans on D Day than from enemy action
Wowtank - I forgot to mention a safari trip we made to Sth Africa a few years ago and on staying at a very well known Cape Town Hotel the main entree was a list of various what we would call wild animals such as Kudu - Springbok - Antelope etc and one of the "starter" offerings was smoked crocodile - we declined and stuck with the Lamb Chops ! Cheers
Thinking a bit deeper about fish! From '75 to '97 fish in the compo - Salmon -hardly ever saw it - whoever got to the compo first usually scoffed it! Pilchards in oil and Pilchards in tomato sauce - these were often left and were available to the drivers who were left behind to load their vehicles on the MOJOs transporters and bring them back to barracks. Ah, breath of a thousand Grimsby fishing trawlers!! Now compo sausages - that's a different kettle of fish?
Tab, nice one with the hot soup bomb (Chefs tip: dent can before immersing in boiling water - no boom). We used to do it with tins of sugar. Recipe: Place 1 x tin of sugar (or jam, preference is yours) in lit and well stoked wood fire (during "smoker"). Leave to simmer for 10 - 15 mins. Ask some unfortunate to put wood on fire. Boom - napalm! Ah the joys of been left in a wood with a load of drunken squaddies!
Wowtank - I forgot to mention a safari trip we made to Sth Africa a few years ago and on staying at a very well known Cape Town Hotel the main entree was a list of various what we would call wild animals such as Kudu - Springbok - Antelope etc and one of the "starter" offerings was smoked crocodile - we declined and stuck with the Lamb Chops ! Cheers you should have tried it. It's better than snoek
early 50s MALAYA ..I actually loved the tin streaky bacon ..plus dehydrated cabbage .and not forgetting the tinned soya sausage ..must admit i burned my fingers on one of those tins of soup .. also remember tins of cheese that use to blow with the heat .. .happy days .
Thanks for all the replies to the post very interesting, I was always was sceptical about tinned chicken. No one can ever seem to agree on what snook was (Is it like rock?) my Nan told me it was whale meat, others have said it was a cod type fish from south America. As has already been pointed out, the product was always spelt snoek, never snook, so it will only create confusion it you continue to write it as snook. As to exactly what kind of fish, there was never any official explanation. It was edible, but never popular. With regard to chicken, it must be remembered that at the time of WW2, chicken was a relative luxury, and was certainly never available in any tinned form.
Kevin I might have tried the crocodile starter but my wife thought the staff of the Mount Nelson Hotel might be a bit miffed if I threw up on their beautiful carpets do I setted for the soup - the fish down at Simonstown was an experience though as I had neverheard of most of them..! Cheers
