As a child of the sixties, I grew up in culinary starved era. Some of my memories include, Fray Bentos corned beef and steak and kidney pies in a tin. Has anyone ever had a Vesta curry or chow mein? Do sweet shops still sell gobstoppers or chewy milk bottles? Somoene used to come around in a van and we used to buy Vimto and Dandelion and Burdoch, then get money back when we returned the bottles. On a Friday, on the way back from primary school, we used to get scraps and a potato fritter from the chippy on Entwistle St for 2d.
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Which food do you miss from your youth?
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Cremola Foam?
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I’ve had a Vesta chicken curry. Cheap rice, funny flavour, indeterminate bits of ‘meat’ that looked like vermiculite insulation.
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Ozzy Apples (hard boiled sweets) and Gypsy creams (biscuits.)
I don't miss the following but I remember them...
Sliced beef in gravy in tins.
Smash mashed potato granules.
What I do miss... my mams home made carrot and potato pies and Sunday dinners.
I don't miss the following but I remember them...
Sliced beef in gravy in tins.
Smash mashed potato granules.
What I do miss... my mams home made carrot and potato pies and Sunday dinners.
boogie man
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Was just having a Facebook chat with some old college friends about Vesta meals. Apparently you can still get Vesta Chow Mein in Morrisons, maybe they sell it elsewhere too? I loved Vesta meals as a kid, mostly because my mum was an absolutely terrible cook and a Vesta meal was at least more edible than anything she made. The beef curry was chock full of sultanas though, no idea what dish they based it on!
I miss Cremola, it’s was a ground rice pudding type thing that you made up with hot milk.
I miss Cremola, it’s was a ground rice pudding type thing that you made up with hot milk.
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Whereas Creamola Foam were crystals you mixed with water to make a sort of fizzy drink! A real summer holiday treat in the sixties.
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Yup. And you could eat it from the tin with a spoon, or fingers. Getting a brightly coloured tongue in the process
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Cremola foam... oh yes now your talking, you used to be able to get an imitation version called krakatoa foam..not thd sane
john.margetts
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Tea treat buns. They still have them in Cornwall but not anywhere else.
Tea treat buns are large, sweet, yeasted bread rolls flavoured with saffron. The name comes from the tradition of the Methodist chapels rewarding children who attended Sunday school with a trip to the seaside each summer. Each child was fed with a tea treat bun.
Tea treat buns are large, sweet, yeasted bread rolls flavoured with saffron. The name comes from the tradition of the Methodist chapels rewarding children who attended Sunday school with a trip to the seaside each summer. Each child was fed with a tea treat bun.
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Saturday nights-4pts Watneys Red Barrel, chip shop Meat Pie, Mushy peas , chips and Curry sauce , then played Solo for 1p a point until 1.00 am.
Perhaps that had something to do with a heart attack at 60.
Perhaps that had something to do with a heart attack at 60.
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Corona Orangeade and Dandelion & Burdock - gran always had a bottle or two in the fridge - alongside Orange club biscuits that had a proper orangey cream bit with thick chocolate.
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While I wasn't around in the '50s so can't make a proper comparison, Mum always said that Quicke's cheddar was like she remembered cheddar when she was a kid. Unfortunately, the "proper" stuff is made using animal rennet so I rarely get it (Mrs Nod's veggie so we have veggie friendly [NOT vegan!!!] extra mature) other than as a special treat when I'm passing their gate - it's about 4 miles up the road! I used to take Mum and Dad a pound a week when they were around.
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Ah! my mum's bread pudding, nothing I could find or make has ever matched that
My aunt was the cake baker and her Honey Cake was supreme.
PS I have not had Potato Latkes in over 50 years.....they were an occasional treat as the deep fat frying was messy!
PPS Matzo Brei..... delicious
I have made this myself a few times over the years and is very much as I remember it.
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My late grandmothers Treacle Tart, lovely. Never had anything remotely as good since she passed on. Food on the farm was always tasty and wholesome.
Proper Indonesian satays with peanut sauce, that we got in the Stanley Club in Hong Kong; and whilst I'm there, the gorgeous Walnut Waffles I had from a waffle restaurant in HK in the 1960's.
Proper Indonesian satays with peanut sauce, that we got in the Stanley Club in Hong Kong; and whilst I'm there, the gorgeous Walnut Waffles I had from a waffle restaurant in HK in the 1960's.
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I believe I posted in here not that long ago about matzo brei. Mrs Marc liked it when I tried her on it last year but she went off it pretty quickly so I haven't had it since.Ah! my mum's bread pudding, nothing I could find or make has ever matched that
My aunt was the cake baker and her Honey Cake was supreme.
PS I have not had Potato Latkes in over 50 years.....they were an occasional treat as the deep fat frying was messy!
PPS Matzo Brei..... delicious
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The last time I bought any cheddar that resembled what I remember was from an Italian shop (Fratelli Camisa, in Berwick Street, W1) around 1970. Very unusual for them as (obviously) they only sold Italian foods in the tiny shop but I spotted it at the back and demanded some.
The likes of:
Pitchfork Cheddar – Paxton & Whitfield
Pitchfork is golden in colour with a mainly smooth, closed texture with the occasional blue vein. It has clean bright flavours, which range from savoury and mustardy to hints of honey with a long finish. Pitchfork Cheddar is made by brothers Todd and Maugan Trethowan, at Trethowan’s Dairy in...
www.paxtonandwhitfield.co.uk
… still sell stuff (vegetable rennet that one BTW but £40 a kilo) from big cloth bound truckles but visually it doesn’t look the same. The cheese we had (from David Greig’s so mainstream grocer) was much harder & drier and usual a bit cracked, with sometimes traces of blue or white mould in the cracks, not much, not like a real blue cheese. And a stronger flavour.
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When I was a kid the Co-op green grocer came around in a van every Saturday and the two drinks I really liked were Dandelion and Burdock, and Cream Soda.
I also liked licorice root, didn't get that from the Co-op, but from a local sweet shop.
Dave
I also liked licorice root, didn't get that from the Co-op, but from a local sweet shop.
Dave
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I miss the fish and chips we had years ago from the local place.
We have two F&C shops near us now but even though they're just minutes away by the time I get home the batter which did look lovely in the shop has melted and is just a soggy mess.
I googled this a while back and read that it's because in the old days they used to make their own batter but now it's usually out of a packet and it's rubbish. I don't know how true that is but I haven't had crispy batter on fish from a local take away for decades now.
We have two F&C shops near us now but even though they're just minutes away by the time I get home the batter which did look lovely in the shop has melted and is just a soggy mess.
I googled this a while back and read that it's because in the old days they used to make their own batter but now it's usually out of a packet and it's rubbish. I don't know how true that is but I haven't had crispy batter on fish from a local take away for decades now.
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I don’t miss queuing at the bakers early on Good Friday morning to buy the hot cross buns that were only available that day!
On the other hand I do miss the seasonality of foodstuffs to some extent — mostly mediocre quality all year round rather than great quality for a short time.
On the other hand I do miss the seasonality of foodstuffs to some extent — mostly mediocre quality all year round rather than great quality for a short time
.
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Tudor Crisps (Pickled onion flavour) subsumed into the Smiths-Walkers empire. The only thing that comes close are Taytos (but they have to be Irish as opposed to Northern Irish, which are essentially Golden Wonder)
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There's a few home-cooked things I miss:
Kidney pie, made by my gandmother because the 'steak' we could afford at the time was rank & I hated it, so she made steak & kidney pie without the steak.
Boiling-ring goulash, made by my mother. It contained small chunks of potato, a few bits of bacon, paprika, onion and Mattesons boiling ring sausage. we were poor as church mice, and it was a tasty very low cost meal, but unfortunately she never passed on the recipe and all my attempts to make it failed.
Potatoes baked in the embers of a fire. We'd do this occasionally, and ordinary baked potatoes never taste quite the same.
Sadly with age ones ability to taste changes, and many foods I enjoyed in childhood would not taste the same now.
Kidney pie, made by my gandmother because the 'steak' we could afford at the time was rank & I hated it, so she made steak & kidney pie without the steak.
Boiling-ring goulash, made by my mother. It contained small chunks of potato, a few bits of bacon, paprika, onion and Mattesons boiling ring sausage. we were poor as church mice, and it was a tasty very low cost meal, but unfortunately she never passed on the recipe and all my attempts to make it failed.
Potatoes baked in the embers of a fire. We'd do this occasionally, and ordinary baked potatoes never taste quite the same.
Sadly with age ones ability to taste changes, and many foods I enjoyed in childhood would not taste the same now.
When I first met my missus, she worked in a chippy and used to make the batter mix fresh every day (she is a scientist - very precise). Now, when we have homemade fish and chips the batter is lovely and crispy and the fish properly seasoned. We always do a beer batter, either Speckled Hen or Shep's Spitfire, really adds to the flavour.
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Fish and Chips also used to be wrapped in newspaper (later, unprinted newsprint) so steam could escape better than it can from today's styrofoam boxes. They've always been better eaten within a few minutes of leaving the chippy before the chips and batter go soggy.
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Dandelion & Burdock
Infusions of dandelion and burdock roots combined with natural flavours create the unmistakable taste and aroma of this definitive classic. Dandelion is a rich source of vitamins and minerals such as vitamin A, vitamin C, iron and zinc. It has used to treat anemia, skin problems, blood disorders...
www.fentimans.com
Also available in some Sainsbury's stores. Not seen cherryade for ages (but not looked for it, either!) Not seen cream soda for ages, either but there's a close equivalent I occasionally have on holiday - gasoza (in Crete).
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Too many chippies use plastic carrier bags when getting a larger order, I always refuse as the steam doesn’t escape and just makes everything soggy, noticed more chippies around me cook to order, I often have to ask them to leave food to ‘stand’ for a bit longer to ensure it has drained properly.
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I remember the Vesta chicken curry, there was a beef one too. Loved that stuff.
Chipmunk Oxo crisps, remember them?
Brain's faggots, or the butcher made ones, anomanomanom. Don't see them often in these parts.
Wild picked mushrooms, picked from a local quarry, get them home, my dad would check them, then he'd cook them for me with butter and bacon in the same pan.
Wimberries, picked from the local hills in Wales, made into wimberry tart.
School custard, I actually liked it.
There was a chippy in my hometown in Wales, Cavarna's, the best chippy ever. In my mid teens, a kebab shop opened up in the town and that was my introduction to doner kebabs. The chilli sauce they used was their own potion, and I do miss that.
I miss the newspaper wrapped chippies. If we couldn't get to the chippy, my mother would cook chips (she had it nailed) and wrap them in newspaper at home, soaked in vinegar.
My mother used to make corned beef pasties, corned beef pie and corned beef stew. Loved those too and I will occassionally attempt making them myself now.
It was tradition for my dad to make the Sunday roast, I miss them and despite many attempts, I have failed so far to make his gravy.
Chipmunk Oxo crisps, remember them?
Brain's faggots, or the butcher made ones, anomanomanom. Don't see them often in these parts.
Wild picked mushrooms, picked from a local quarry, get them home, my dad would check them, then he'd cook them for me with butter and bacon in the same pan.
Wimberries, picked from the local hills in Wales, made into wimberry tart.
School custard, I actually liked it.
There was a chippy in my hometown in Wales, Cavarna's, the best chippy ever. In my mid teens, a kebab shop opened up in the town and that was my introduction to doner kebabs. The chilli sauce they used was their own potion, and I do miss that.
I miss the newspaper wrapped chippies. If we couldn't get to the chippy, my mother would cook chips (she had it nailed) and wrap them in newspaper at home, soaked in vinegar.
My mother used to make corned beef pasties, corned beef pie and corned beef stew. Loved those too and I will occassionally attempt making them myself now.
It was tradition for my dad to make the Sunday roast, I miss them and despite many attempts, I have failed so far to make his gravy.
