I remember a jello dish that was very popular and could be found at most of the gatherings, picnics and parties we attended. It was lime green jello with lots of Hellmanns mayonnaise, chopped carrots, celery and tuna. Slimy and disgusting!
There is another thread for favorite foods from the 50’s and 60’s…I started both a good food thread and bad food thread because I remember both from the 60’s.
I like to refer back to some really old cook books, I find I learn more about cooking from these, you find out how different processes came about.
I have a set of Woman’s Day Encyclopedia of Cooking books that I purchased one at a time for 99 cents with a a $10 purchase from Dominick’s supermarket back in the 60’s. There are 12 volumes and have been invaluable to me when I first started to cook seriously. I still have them and use them for some of the old time recipes. I wouldn’t part with them for the world.
Let’s face it…back in those days we knew so little about nutrition.
I can actually remember my 5th grade teacher telling us how buying a bottle of vitamins for $2 was a waste…when we could of bought a steak and gotton twice the vitamins.
Drinking whole milk, tons of butter, beef & pork meats, eggs, etc., were all healthy choices.
And back then, transfat ladened oleo was a godsend. You could get butter flavor at an oleo price. Which of course, it was very important to use a half stick of for corn on the cob, and surely, a big hunk for the top of your mashed potatoes (even though your mom had used a whole stick when making them).
I guess its all about change. And not always for the good…I’d love to find a consistant source of tomatoes that aren’t genically altered into the flavorless spiky core things they sell us now.
And don’t even get me started on how chicken wings (which they had to give away back then), now sell for more than boneless chicken breasts.
Come visit me in Ireland and you can once again enjoy Cheddar Cheese slices that crumble when you fold them. Chicken wings that are sold separately or still attached to either the whole chicken or backs.
Our lamb is spring lamb young and tender for roasting and affordable. Locally raised, not aged like our beef so chops etc need special cooking.
Many of our vegetables are also locally grown. Most of our fruits comes from Spain. So 100,000 Welcomes if you decide to visit our shores.
I can remember the food labels and packages with no nutrition information…yet the dogfood bags listed ingredients as well as vitamins, minerals and other information. My mom could compare dog food brands to find the best available nutrition, but not the food we ate.
Remember how popular the convenience foods were when they started coming out in the 60’s? Two that I remember were Shake & Bake and Rice A Roni. Soon after the commercials began they started appearing on everyone’s dinner tables.
KW, County Tipperary is fairly central to everything. But, to add your Italian flair you would probably have to visit Dublin, Limerick, Cork or other large cities where the population is greater. We definitely have the castles and ruins but few good Italian restaurants.
We had to be in the house very soon after the street lights came on, no delay permitted. Homework had to be done and checked before the TV was allowed on and the programs were age appropriate then.
We didn’t know anything about kicking the pole! And yes, homework had to be done BEFORE you ventured out the door. When we got home from school it was change your uniform, have milk and cookies and start homework. Dad came in the door at 6 PM and we had dinner then it was back to hw. Yes, the good ol’ days. BTW, if you change your mind and decide to visit Ireland, just let me know.
Hiya’ KW,
Just read what ya’ wrote; “What I wouldn’t give for the taste of American cheese from those days - it was harder and it cracked and crumbled a bit when you tried to fold it in half - it was so good - not like the overprocessed junk they make today.”
Back in the early 80’s, coz of health, things were tight. Was so for a lot, coz the government release millions of pounds (ain’t really sure how much) of stored American cheese to food banks. I got a 5lb. block myself. It was wonderful. The best American cheese I ever tasted. It was aged and crumbly, with a wonderful taste of dryness.
Haven’t found anything as good since, but I’m certain the government is hiding some somewhere…LOL