Author Topic: Eating in the fifties.  (Read 19857 times)

Vony

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Eating in the fifties.
« on: July 22, 2012, 06:39:00 »
EATING IN THE FIFTIES

* Pasta had not been invented.
* Curry was an unknown entity.
* Olive oil was kept in the medicine cabinet
* Spices came from the Middle East where we believed that they were used for embalming
* Herbs were used to make rather dodgy medicine.
* A Takeaway was a mathematical problem.
* A Pizza was something to do with a leaning tower.
* Bananas and oranges only appeared at Christmas time.
* The only vegetables known to us were spuds, peas, carrots and cabbage,
anything else was regarded as being a bit suspicious.
* All crisps were plain; the only choice we had was whether to put the salt on or not.
* Condiments consisted of salt, pepper, vinegar and brown sauce if we were lucky.
* Soft drinks were called pop.
* Coke was something that we mixed with coal to make it last longer.
* A Chinese chippy was a foreign carpenter.
* Rice was a milk pudding, and never ever part of our dinner.
* A Big Mac was what we wore when it was raining.
* A Pizza Hut was an Italian shed.
* Spaghetti was a small town in Bolognese.
* A microwave was something out of a science fiction movie.
* Brown bread was something only posh people ate.
* Oil was for lubricating your bike not for cooking, fat was for cooking
* Bread and jam was a punishment.
* Tea was made in a teapot using tea leaves, not bags.
* The tea cosy was the forerunner of all the energy saving devices that we hear so much about today.
* Tea had only one colour, black. Green tea etc. was not British.
* Coffee was only drunk when we had no tea.
* Cubed sugar was regarded as a bit of an over kill.
* Figs and dates appeared every Christmas, but no one ever ate them.
* Sweets and confectionery were called toffees.
* Coconuts only appeared when the fair came to town.
* Black puddings were mined in Bolton Lancashire.
* Jellied eels were peculiar to Londoners.
* Salad cream was a dressing for salads, mayonnaise did not exist
* Hors d'oeuvre was a spelling mistake.
* The starter was our main meal.
* Soup was a main meal.
* The menu consisted of what we were given and was set in stone
* Only Heinz made beans, any others were impostors
* Leftovers went in the dog.
* Special food for dogs and cats was unheard of.
* Sauce was either brown or red.
* Fish was only eaten on Fridays.
* Fish didn't have fingers in those days.
* Eating raw fish was called poverty, not sushi.
* Ready meals only came from the fish and chip shop.
* For the best taste fish and chips had to be eaten out of old newspapers.
* Frozen food was called ice cream.
* Nothing ever went off in the fridge because we never had one.
* Ice cream only came in one colour and one flavour.
* None of us had ever heard of yogurt.
* Jelly and blancmange was only eaten at parties.
* If we said that we were on a diet, we simply got less (more for us).
* Healthy food consisted of anything edible.
* Healthy food had to have the ability to stick to your ribs.
* Calories were mentioned but they had nothing at all to do with food.
* The only criteria concerning the food that we ate were, did we like it and could we afford it.
* People who didn't peel potatoes were regarded as lazy b*****ds.
* Indian restaurants were only found in India .
* A seven course meal had to last a week.
* Brunch was not a meal.
* Cheese only came in a hard lump.
* If we had eaten bacon lettuce and tomato on the same sandwich we would have been certified
* A bun was a small cake back then.
* A tart was a fruit filled pastry, not a lady of horizontal pleasure.
* The word" Barbie" was not associated with anything to do with food
* Eating outside was called a picnic.
* Cooking outside was called camping.
* Seaweed was not a recognised source of food.
* Offal was only eaten when we could afford it.
* Eggs only came fried or boiled.
* Hot cross buns were only eaten at Easter time.
* Pancakes were only eaten on Pancake Tuesday, in fact in those days it was compulsory.
* "Kebab" was not even a word never mind a food.
* Hot dogs were a type of sausage that only the Americans ate.
* Cornflakes had arrived from America but it was obvious that they would never catch on.
* The phrase "boil in the bag" would have been beyond our realms of comprehension.
* The idea of "oven chips" would not have made any sense at all to us.
* The world had not yet benefited from weird and wonderful things
like Pot Noodles, Instant Mash and Pop Tarts.
* We bought milk and cream at the same time in the same bottle.
* Sugar enjoyed a good press in those days, and was regarded as being white gold.
* Lettuce and tomatoes in winter were just a rumour.
* Most soft fruits were seasonal except perhaps at Christmas.
* Prunes were medicinal.
* Surprisingly muesli was readily available in those days, it was called cattle feed.
* Turkeys were definitely seasonal.
* Pineapples came in chunks in a tin; we had only ever seen a picture of a real one.
* We didn't eat Croissants in those days because we couldn't pronounce them,
we couldn't spell them and we didn't know what they were.
* We thought that Baguettes were a serious problem the French needed to deal with.
* Garlic was used to ward off vampires, but never used to flavour bread.
* Water came out of the tap, if someone had suggested bottling it and charging treble for it
they would have become a laughing stock.
* Food hygiene was all about washing your hands before meals.
* Campylobacter, Salmonella, E.coli, Listeria, and botulism were all called "Food poisoning."
* The one thing that we never ever had on our table in the forties, "Elbows"
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pumkinlover

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Re: Eating in the fifties.
« Reply #1 on: July 22, 2012, 08:25:55 »
Got to clean the lap top screen now LOL ;D ;D ;D

ACE

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Re: Eating in the fifties.
« Reply #2 on: July 22, 2012, 09:05:47 »
All I was ever offered was  bread and pullet.

Melbourne12

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Re: Eating in the fifties.
« Reply #3 on: July 22, 2012, 09:21:32 »
All I was ever offered was  bread and pullet.

I remember my mum telling us children that was what there was for tea.   ;D

Aden Roller

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Re: Eating in the fifties.
« Reply #4 on: July 22, 2012, 09:34:42 »
All I was ever offered was  bread and pullet.

        Bread and dripping was a treat.
                       
Early morning breakfasts (5am) when Dad was in-charge and getting ready for work = a tin of condensed milk and a spoon! Despite that my teeth have coped well.  ;D

ACE

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Re: Eating in the fifties.
« Reply #5 on: July 22, 2012, 12:12:43 »


        Bread and dripping was a treat.
                       

Partial to a bit of mucky fat myself. Now I have to stay away from the larder as there has been a tin of condensed milk in there  for a few years and I have just remembered it. I like a cup of tea made with it and a spoonful in my gob when no one is looking.

We used to get food pacels sent from abroad through the naafi when I was a nipper, the one thing that alway sticks in my mind was large  tins of Barlett pears. They were put away for xmas and I still get a tin every year for the occasion. Nothing like the old ones which were in a heavy syrup which was a treat in itself.

Aden Roller

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Re: Eating in the fifties.
« Reply #6 on: July 22, 2012, 15:33:37 »


        Bread and dripping was a treat.
                       

Partial to a bit of mucky fat myself. Now I have to stay away from the larder as there has been a tin of condensed milk in there  for a few years and I have just remembered it. I like a cup of tea made with it and a spoonful in my gob when no one is looking.

We used to get food pacels sent from abroad through the naafi when I was a nipper, the one thing that alway sticks in my mind was large  tins of Barlett pears. They were put away for xmas and I still get a tin every year for the occasion. Nothing like the old ones which were in a heavy syrup which was a treat in itself.

My dad is 97 and brought up (much earlier than the 50s) on a good old fashioned diet. As a kid a once a week treat was meat but between the 6 kids it didn't go far. To supplement the family diet he and his nearest-aged brother would raid the local pond for moorhen eggs their own chicken eggs were sold to pay the rent.  ;)

Aden Roller

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Re: Eating in the fifties.
« Reply #7 on: July 22, 2012, 15:36:43 »
By the way Ace... do you remember making two holes in a tin of condensed milk, standing it in a pan of water and heating it until you had "caramel"?

These days you can buy it ready caramelised. The wonders of modern cuisine.  :)

Digeroo

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Re: Eating in the fifties.
« Reply #8 on: July 22, 2012, 16:00:27 »
 ;D ;D ;D
Those were the days.

Not clear how we managed to eat spotted dick and rhubarb crumble and condensed milk and not put on weight.

What about Blancmange - pink.
Tomato Ketchup one of heinz 47 varieties, never did know what the other 46 were.
The milkman had a one horse power vehicle it was called Alfred and liked carrots.
Mousse was made with whisked evaporated milk mixed with jelly and left to set.
A microwave was what the Queen Mum did at the coronation to prevent repetative strain injury.
We had the same menu every week
Sunday roast
Monday remains of roast
Tues stew or mince
Wednesday remains of Stew or mince
Thursday Liver
Friday Fish
Saturday Beans or sardines.

Not come across bread and pullet, explanation please.

We did not have bread and jam as a punishment it was bread and water.

.



Aden Roller

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Re: Eating in the fifties.
« Reply #9 on: July 22, 2012, 16:36:22 »
I loved your list Digeroo!!  ;)

I remember the milkman and the baker had horse drawn vans. I can't remember whose horse used to eat nextdoor's hedge but it was very entertaining watching all the fuss.  ;D

Bread and pullit must be a London thing as both my mother and her father used to say it if ever I dared ask what was for dinner.

Bread and then pull it... into lumps and eat it bit at a time to make it last.

Only difference when I was a kid was we kept a couple of hundred chickens so we often had pullets so loads of eggs and the occasional chicken for dinner too. (Boiled mostly)
« Last Edit: July 22, 2012, 16:38:08 by Aden Roller »

Emagggie

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Re: Eating in the fifties.
« Reply #10 on: July 22, 2012, 19:42:52 »
Ha ha! I remember being told dinner was 'bread and pullit', and looking forward to a nice piece of chicken that never materialised :( ;D
Smile, it confuses people.

tricia

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Re: Eating in the fifties.
« Reply #11 on: July 22, 2012, 19:58:17 »
My mother would say ' bread and pullet and you can sit on the stairs to eat it - lord knows why! It remains a mystery to this day because we all sat at the dining table to eat our meals.

Tricia

Aden Roller

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Re: Eating in the fifties.
« Reply #12 on: July 23, 2012, 01:56:23 »
My mother would say ' bread and pullet and you can sit on the stairs to eat it - lord knows why! It remains a mystery to this day because we all sat at the dining table to eat our meals.

Tricia

You were posh... we always sat at the kitchen table unless it was a special occasion.

tricia

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Re: Eating in the fifties.
« Reply #13 on: July 23, 2012, 14:08:37 »
Not at all - we lived in a council house which had a smallish kitchen (no room to seat a family of four) and a decent sized living room - which was used as dining/living room. (This was in the days before the living room became 'the lounge' ;D).

Tricia

Aden Roller

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Re: Eating in the fifties.
« Reply #14 on: July 23, 2012, 17:19:14 »
Not at all - we lived in a council house which had a smallish kitchen (no room to seat a family of four) and a decent sized living room - which was used as dining/living room. (This was in the days before the living room became 'the lounge' ;D).

Tricia

"Posh".. sorry Tricia - I meant nothing by it. I was a London lad - we had a small flat and a small family. Aunts & uncles upstairs and downstairs. The chickens had more room than we did but it didn't stop my dad bringing day old ones indoors if it was very cold outside.  ::)

Food in those days may not have been quite so exotic but you usually knew where it had come from.  ;)

Lishka

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Re: Eating in the fifties.
« Reply #15 on: July 23, 2012, 18:24:52 »
I loved your list Digeroo!!  ;)

I remember the milkman and the baker had horse drawn vans. I can't remember whose horse used to eat nextdoor's hedge but it was very entertaining watching all the fuss.  ;D


I remember that our milk was delivered by the Co-op (remember your divi number?) on a cart pulled by really splendid Shire horses.

Scandal in the Lane was the over-cropped grass verge  outside the house of No.100 .............. ::) :o ;D

gwynnethmary

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Re: Eating in the fifties.
« Reply #16 on: July 23, 2012, 21:39:24 »
Lovely list-really brought a chuckle and lots of memories!  Thank you!

tricia

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Re: Eating in the fifties.
« Reply #17 on: July 23, 2012, 22:43:25 »
No offense taken AR - just a clarification! Growing up during the war years, and as a young married girl in the 50's the list reminded me too, of how simple life was then!

Tricia

Aden Roller

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Re: Eating in the fifties.
« Reply #18 on: July 23, 2012, 23:01:13 »
The thing I loved about the 50s is (if my memory serves me right  :-\ ) it was quieter.

I was just a kid when we moved down south out of the smog to where my grandmother lived by the sea.

The roads were so quiet after living in London where my dad was a bus driver and my mum a clippie. For the first time I could now cross the road without a fuss. If a car came by people stopped to look at it and you heard it coming way before it arrived.

I missed the bus transport cafes and the doughnuts and fry-ups after we moved but we still had a string of local food shops the sort that have mostly vanished in all but a few places.

String-bags, potatoes at the bottom with newspaper on the top then the sugar in blue paper and the tea in brown. Broken biscuits seemed to be a London thing but I loved them especially all the chips from the tops of the iced ones.

Jellied eels or tripe anyone?

saddad

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Re: Eating in the fifties.
« Reply #19 on: July 23, 2012, 23:43:20 »
I'm sorry... but
Black puddings were mined in Bury...  :P

 

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