Old Fashioned Potato Soup

Recipe No. 529 from the U.S. Army’s WWII cookbook — Soups. Quantities are exactly as printed, for 100 servings; a scaled-down 8-serving version is in the notes.

Ingredients

• Potatoes, cubed — 10 pounds (6¼ No. 56 dippers)
• Water, boiling — 3¼ gallons (13 No. 56 dippers)
• Salt — 4 ounces (8 mess kit spoons)
• Bacon or salt pork, diced — 2½ pounds
• Onions, chopped — 1¼ pounds (1¼ No. 56 dippers)
• Pepper — (⅙ mess kit spoon)
• Paprika — ¼ ounce (1 mess kit spoon)
• Milk, evaporated — 19—14½-ounce cans

Directions

Key ingredients

Evaporated Milk

1. Combine potatoes, boiling water and salt.
2. Cover and heat to boiling point; reduce heat and simmer about 45 minutes or until potatoes are very soft.
3. Fry bacon until crisp. Remove from pan and drain.
4. Fry onions in bacon fat about 10 minutes; drain.
5. Combine potatoes, onions, pepper, paprika and milk; mix well.
6. Cover and heat to boiling point; reduce heat and simmer about 30 minutes.
7. Add crisp bacon just before serving.

Notes

SCALED TO 8 SERVINGS (the original is ÷12.5): Potatoes, cubed — 12¾ oz Water, boiling — 1 qt Salt — about 2 tsp Bacon or salt pork, diced — 3¼ oz Onions, chopped — 1⅔ oz Pepper — scale to taste ((⅙ mess kit spoon)) Paprika — a pinch Milk, evaporated — 1½ can(s) (14½ oz)

— TM 10-412, Army Recipes (War Department, 15 August 1944), recipe No. 529, Soups. Army measures: 1 No. 56 dipper = 1 qt; 1 No. 55 dipper = 1¾ qt; 1 mess kit cup = 1½ pints.