Memories

[katyjay 4,997]

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.

* 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 we should leave any in the packet.

* Condiments consisted of salt, pepper, vinegar and Worcestershire sauce if we were lucky.

* Soft drinks were called cordial.

* Coke was something that was used by blacksmiths.

* 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.

* 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, lard and fat was for cooking

* Bread and jam was a punishment .

* Tea was made in a teapot using tea leaves, not bags.

* Tea had only one colour, black. Green tea etc. was not Kosher.

* Coffee was only drunk when we had no tea.

* Cubed sugar was regarded as a bit of an over kill.

* Hors d'oeuvre was a spelling mistake and totally foreign.

* The starter was our main meal.

* Soup was a main meal.

* The menu consisted of what we were given and was set in stone for the whole family

* 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.

* Special 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 there was no such thing.

None of us had ever heard of yogurt.

* If we said that we were on a diet, we simply got less.

* 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 was could we afford it.

* People who didn't peel potatoes were regarded as lazy buggers.

* 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 or in silver paper.

* 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.

* Eggs came fried or boiled. Scrambled if there were not enough eggs to go around.

* 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 3 minute Noodles, Instant Mashed potatoes and Pop Tarts.

* We bought milk and cream at the same time in the same container.

* Sugar enjoyed a good press in those days, and was regarded as being white gold.

* Lettuce and tomatoes in winter were just a rumour.

* Prunes were medicinal.

* Surprisingly muesli was readily available in those days, it was called cattle feed.

* Pineapples came in chunks in a tin; we had only ever seen a picture of a real one.

* We didn't eat Croissants because we couldn't pronounce them, we couldn't spell it and 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 anything.

* Water came out of the tap, if someone had suggested bottling it and charging treble for it they would have been 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 fifties, "Elbows"

[Fynger 841]

nice one.....lol....but true

[hippo girl 1,995]

Enjoyed that Kath

[Ayupmeducks 1,728]

We kept our milk in the fridge in summer Kath....... The bottles had a towel thrown over them in the sink and the one and only tap left open, worked to some degree....

How on earth did we manage without a fridge???

[.... 23]

The main thing I was eating in the 1950s was Farleys Rusks!

We didn't have a fridge either in my mum and dad's house. We did have a pantry though with a stone slab that kept things a bit cooler.

I think that people shopped more often alleviating the need for keeping things fresh so long. We also had the milkman who delivered two pints of pasteurised and a pint of stera every day to the front door! Co-op butchery van was used for meat and some groceries. I was sent to the shops most days for other groceries, bread etc.

Our main 'fridge' was an outside window ledge in deep midwinter for making ice lollies!

[Cliff Ton 10,004]

The way food was actually bought was different then. Everything connected with it was done on a short-term basis.

My mum went to the shops every day to buy what we were eating that day; the idea of "the weekly shop" or "the big trip to Asda/Morrisons/Tesco" didn't exist.

[.... 23]

Agree CT, it's sometimed difficult to remember that shopping was a daily chore - usually on foot - and not the weekly trip to the supermarket in the car with an odd stop off for bread and milk here and there through the week. Wonder if that fresh food was another factor in people being generally healthier?

There were a lot of things that came to you at home as well, I already mentioned the Co-op butchery van and the daily milkman but also delivered to our house, like many others were:

Pop (Jones)

Tea

Cleaning products (Betterwear etc)

Newspapers

Rent collection!

Fish

Bread (sometimes)

Ice cream (well near enough!)

There are probably other items and services which I'm forgetting...

[StephenFord 866]

Yes, I never fancied eating 'orse's doofers! Bread and milk were delivered daily - separate Co-op battery floats. And food shopping was invariably done at the local shops, usually no farther than 10 minutes walk. We didn't have a fridge either - but we did have a meat safe (I don't know exactly what it was or did). I hated the "top of the milk" in tea - especially when it produced floaters. As for Katy's last entry, my mum's rubric was "Keep all uncooked joints off the table" !

[Paulus 541]

"all joints on this table will be carved!!".......................me dad

[katyjay 4,997]

Delivered to our door, was pop, milk, bread, meat, groceries, veg, newspapers, laundry. We also had a meat safe, it was built into the narrow pantry, wood framed with mesh on the front of it to keep the flies out, I'm guessing. The pantry floor was those red tiles that kept things cold too. Mum shopped just about everyday, despite all this stuff coming to the door!

[mick2me 3,029]

I still have a pantry with that stone slab in.

It has a large air brick right next to it.

[Paulus 541]

Remember the 'coal 'ole', ours was in the kitchen next to the pantry, it would be filled from a 'trap door' about 5ft up the outside wall, when the coal man delivered you had to keep the internal 'coal 'ole' door shut or the coal dust would billow into the kitchen...............

[jackson 301]

Remembering the sweet and lovely Orange Juice and Cod Liver Oil, both at 5d a bottle; and how our mums would go to the 'Welfare Clinic' to purchase this - I believe tokens were used (rationing).

[Ayupmeducks 1,728]

I remember cod liver oil and malt extract...

[katyjay 4,997]

Paulus, you must have lived in an end house? Our coal 'ole was the storage place outside that ran parallel to the pantry. The coal man [ikey Marshall from Basford] would have had to traipse through the kitchen to put the coal under the stairs. Consequently our under stairs was a 'glory 'ole' for the mangle, dirty washing etc.

[Ayupmeducks 1,728]

Our "coil house" was outside next to the bog in terraced housing.

[jackson 301]

Looking through Katyjay's 'spot on' posting at #1 and singling out: 'bread and jam was a punishment', now that brings back memories!!

[mgread1200 140]

Remember this stuff

[jackson 301]

Mgread, you're an Ace for putting the above on.

I can taste the stuff now: "let's see now, one for the baby and then one for me." Lovely stuff. Used to get it from the Baby Clinic; I believe we used tokens and paid about five shillings for a tin.

My babies could only stomach this milk, other brands such as: 'Cow and Gate' were too rich for their tiny tums.

Believe it or not, 'National Dried' was supposed to have been the best quality milk that you could give your baby; it was a mixture of all the dried milks donated to the Government.

PS: mgread, you've made my day seeing this.

[Cliff Ton 10,004]

Not the greatest picture ever, but definitely from the correct era

[Ayupmeducks 1,728]

There really wasn't a lot going for us in the 50's, I do recall my Mother had this thing for Crunchies when they first came out, and she'd march me miles around the shops trying to find them...That would be around 1955ish..

Sunday afternoons was usually spent listening to the radio with soft drinks and one of those large blocks of Cadbury's chocolate, then tea time and yucky banana sandwiches.....

[Trevor S 2,002]

Mustn't forget the Ostermilk No 2 with the little plastic measuring spoon inside. The powder tasted good but the milk, when mixed, was yuck!

Cow and Gate products as mentioned by Jackson, as well as Dinnafords Gripe Water when it all became a bit too rich.

[jackson 301]

National Dried Milk Cans, recycled as Storage Containers:

I bet there's many a grandad out there who can take a look around his shed - at the bottom of the garden - and spot some National Dried Milk Tins, great for storing: nuts, bolts, screws etc.

[mick2me 3,029]

Serious

I have noticed this in old photographs of some people though they are young the look old?

Maybe its a hard life, or looks have changed over the years?

Does anyone else know what I mean?

[Cliff Ton 10,004]

I have noticed this in old photographs of some people though they are young the look old?

Maybe its a hard life, or looks have changed over the years?

Does anyone else know what I mean?

Totally agree. People in the past (eg before WW2) always seemed to look older, earlier in their lives. Look at photos of someone 20 yrs old from the Victorian era, and they look middle-aged to us. Teenagers from the early 20th century look old compared to any teenagers today.

And also, people are getting older now but not looking old. When I was a lad, anyone over the age of around 60 looked old - i.e they looked and behaved like your grandparents. Today people can be well into their mid-60s or older, but don't look like old dodderers; eg Paul McCartney, Dustin Hoffman, Cliff Richards.

50 years ago, people of that age would've been sitting around in old peoples' homes with grey hair and walking frames. Now they go to the gym twice a week.