Maconochie was a canned British stew of sliced turnips, carrots, potatoes, onions, haricot beans, and beef in a thin broth, named after the

Aberdeen Aberdeen ( ; ; ) is a port city in North East Scotland, and is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, third most populous Cities of Scotland, Scottish city. Historically, Aberdeen was within the historic county of Aberdeensh ...

-based Maconochie Company that produced it. It gained recognition as a widely-issued military ration for British soldiers during the

Boer War The Second Boer War (, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, Transvaal War, Anglo–Boer War, or South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer republics (the South African Republic an ...

and

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. There was also a French version called Maconóochie. Although the stew was tolerable, most soldiers detested it. As one soldier put it, "warmed in the tin, Maconochie was edible; cold, it was a man-killer." Others complained about how the potatoes appeared to be unidentifiable black lumps. The congelation of fat above indistinguishable chunks of meat and vegetables led one reporter to describe it as "an inferior grade of garbage". A soldier named Calcutt claimed "the Maconochie's stew ration gave the troops flatulence of a particularly offensive nature." Some product versions that contained turnips were said to possess an unpleasant smell when combined with beans. Barbara Buchan from the Fraserburgh Heritage Centre confirmed that their records contain only a single positive response to the product. An alternative view is voiced by Lance-Corporal Henry Buckle in his diary of April 1915: "Had a glorious meal today, got a Machonachie icration from some engineers in the wood, a round tin containing meat, spuds carrots, beans and gravy, enough for two in a tin. This is the first time we (the poor infantry) have seen one, had a real blow out, must try and get another. They are the goods, believe me!"

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Trench Food

Glossary of Australian military jargon of World War I

Replicas of World War I artifacts, including cans of Maconochie
Military food of the United Kingdom Military food Canned food Meat stews Scottish cuisine {{food-stub

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