What is "maconochie"

n. (alt form Maconochie English)

Maconochie was a stew of sliced turnips, carrots and potatoes in a thin soup, named for the Aberdeen Maconochie Company that produced it. It was a widely used food ration for British soldiers in the field during the Boer War and in front-line trenches during World War I. There was also a French version called Maconóochie.

Though the stew was tolerable, many soldiers detested it. As one soldier put it, "warmed in the tin, Maconochie was edible; cold it was a mankiller." Others complained about how the potatoes appeared to be black lumps.