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Have your taste buds changed over the years?.

Brains, soaked in brine, then cooked in milk and mashed up. Liked them in 1958. Not now, thank you.
Plus, from that time....pigs' feet, tripe, chitterlings, heart, liver, black pudding and kidneys. No, can't face them either nowadays.

In Hungary, I was given a plate of pigs' blood with mash. Like black pudding - but not in a sausage. Cooked, of course, but I could only manage a few clots before I came over a bit strange.............

Suddenly, plenty of beer was needed to wash it down.

Finally, over there, I was offered white sausage made from pigs' lungs. What next?
 
Striver, still get Pig Trotters, Chitterlings,Liver & Black Pudding when available. Can get the Liver and Plastic Black Pudding. The others when I see them.
I introduced them to all my lads when they were young, but the 27 and the 21 year old still like them.
 
It is a fact almost %100 of us eat whatever is availiable, and of course a variety of meats and fish along with vegetables are readily at hand these days. That is why most people do not eat the more repulsive (if repulsive is the right word) foodstuffs any longer. I watched a documentary years ago about a plane crash in The Andes in 1972. The survivors became so hungry they debated all the options, there were only two, die of starvation or eat the dead so they did start eating the flesh from dead bodies.
This is proof that one would only refuse offal whilst there is an option.
 
My dad would eat all of these thing's, and I not knowing exactly what they were would also have some. However, like you, Smethwick Striver I have become more fussy in my old age and I would never eat these thing's now. Having said that though, I wonder what would happen if there was nothing else to eat and I was starving to death...well let's hope it never happen's eh?
 
Up to about 5 years ago I loved a good curry. Then suddenly I cannot abide it.
I've tried my hardest to like :- Rice pudding, fruit cake, tea, bananas, coconut, hot milk drinks (I tried to be an "Ovaltiny" but could not stand it) all to no avail.
I recall primary school dinners in the 50's put me off cabbage I thought for ever, but I love the stuff now. (don't over cook it and sprinkle on a little vinegar).

Where we live now a favourite delicacy here is TURKEY BLOOD, I kid you not. It is dried and made into small blocks and pan fried in olive oil.
A festival dish here are whole roasted sheeps heads........ with a salad of course.
 
christopher short said:
Up to about 5 years ago I loved a good curry. Then suddenly I cannot abide it.
I've tried my hardest to like :- Rice pudding, fruit cake, tea, bananas, coconut, hot milk drinks (I tried to be an "Ovaltiny" but could not stand it) all to no avail.
I recall primary school dinners in the 50's put me off cabbage I thought for ever, but I love the stuff now. (don't over cook it and sprinkle on a little vinegar).

Where we live now a favourite delicacy here is TURKEY BLOOD, I kid you not. It is dried and made into small blocks and pan fried in olive oil.
A festival dish here are whole roasted sheeps heads........ with a salad of course.
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Yep, that sheep's head should see you through the week....
 
Although - I am a bit of a leg man too.....

A lot of my family were out in Aden for a time and the eyes of a sheep were considered a delicacy. They were offered them several times as the guest of honour at the table. It took a lot of stiff upper lip to consume them as it would have been an offence to refuse.
 
Aidan said:
Although - I am a bit of a leg man too.....

A lot of my family were out in Aden for a time and the eyes of a sheep were considered a delicacy. They were offered them several times as the guest of honour at the table. It took a lot of stiff upper lip to consume them as it would have been an offence to refuse.
Click to expand...
Careful, Aidan, that's a risky pic. - well, it was in 1910.
 
Send me a plate of whelks with salt and viegar from the market and I will let you know. Since it has been going on a half century now since I had this fvourite of mine it will be a good trial. Hmmm,,,you may have to send more...3 or four perhaps...or a few more...just to be certain.
 
Rupert said:
Send me a plate of whelks with salt and viegar from the market and I will let you know. Since it has been going on a half century now since I had this fvourite of mine it will be a good trial. Hmmm,,,you may have to send more...3 or four perhaps...or a few more...just to be certain.
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You can have mine. I've been chewing this muscular little b*gger for a week. Survival of the fittest, what?
 
This is perhaps more to do with how our expectations of food have changed. I attended the Diamond Jubilee of the Institute Ramblers in May 1954, which was held at the Black Horse Hotel, Bristol Road South, Birmingham. I was literally still wearing short trousers. What strikes me now is how the menu seems so very bland and unpretentious. The starter was cream of tomato soup, followed by chicken, potatoes and greens, with dessert being fruit salad and ice cream. I don't know whether this was typical for a celebration in 1954. I think rationing had ended or was about to end by then. It's noticeable that it was expected to toast the queen for a formal dinner at that time. I believe that the Black Horse Hotel is still going strong.

P1010938 (2).JPGP1010939 (2).JPGP1010941 (2).JPG
 
I use teabags to make cups of tea sometimes using a teapot and cosy. In a reasonably 'posh' supermarket I spotted some packets of loose tea and thought I'll buy one and have a cup of tea tasting just like I remembered from my younger days.

Got home opened the packet and found the tea in a cellophane bag which promptly split when I tried to open it and my worktop was covered in tea leaves. Eventually made a pot of tea, and after a hurried search for a tea strainer, I sat down to enjoy a real cup of tea but was disappointed because it seemed no different to 'teabag' tea.

Later, I experimented by making a 'teabag' cup and a 'tea-leaf' cup, but after tasting I did not notice any difference. Conclusion - it's not the tea, it's me !
 
I have noticed fruit doesn't seem to have the same textures as it used to, sometime it rots before it ripens. Peaches are more like apple sand we had some cucumber today and it was chewy!
I worked in a "fruit and veg" department many years ago as a stopgap job but I learned a lot about storage etc.
Also custard powder isn't as strongly vanilla flavoured?
rosie.
 
Article in the Daily Mail today: "Can't Cook, Won't Cook: Birmingham is Tinned Food Capital of Britain". "As accolades go it's not very sexy - but Birmingham has been crowned as the country's canned-food capital. Its 1.1 million residents eat 640,000 tins a day - that's 58 per hundred people, the highest proportion in the country. The average Briton eats four tins of food each week, a poll found, with baked beans, tuna and tinned tomatoes the favourites. Britain has also been revealed as a nation of hoarders, with six in ten households stashing up to ten cans in their kitchen cupboards at any given time". Dave.
 
Only ten cans stashed in the cupboard?!! Got much more than that. Well you never know if there'll be a nuclear attack do you? (Ha, ha - a throwback to my 1960s childhood). And remember the Gulf War, the power strikes etc ... or for times when you just can't be bothered to go to the shops, I say always 'be prepared'. But as a rule, though, day-to-day, I rarely use tinned food, only chopped tomatoes and baked beans. So seem to have stuck with the old ways of cooking from fresh rather than out of a tin. One thing we had as a 'luxury' from a tin in my childhood was pink or red salmon. Nothing like fresh salmon, but I loved it. Wouldn't dream of buying a tin these days. Viv.
 
Just counted that we have sixteen lots of tinned food in the cupboard: 5 baked beans; 3 anchovy fillets; 2 sweetcorn; 5 soups; and 1 custard. I remember reading somewhere that older pensioners always kept lots of tinned sardines/pilchards in their cupboards. Not sure how true this is but I guess that it is cheap and nutritious. I do remember, as well as Vivienne, having tinned salmon as a treat. Dave.
 
When l moved to texas in 1958, l knew things would be different but never ever thought food would be the top of the list...being raised in aston on what I would call bland food it was a shock to find there was very view bland tasting foods here...BBQ was the worst stuff l had ever eaten but love it now..and fried chicken was the best and still is but living so near to Mexico the influence is a favourite everywhere l like some of it but not the very hot stuff...l've learned to like tamales burritos and tacos etc but at least we are able to get them in a mild form...l still cook the English way can'nt beat a roast beef, roast potatoes greens and gravy that what we had for dinner yesterday .. don't know if my taste buds or not but if one eats some Mexican chilies believe me those buds will wake up in a hurry....Brenda
 
I have travelled the world a lot during my 85 years and have sampled the local dishes but still prefer English fare. One of my favourite meals is home made steak and kidney pie, Jersey 'mids' and sprouts, may sound bland but I loved it. Alas, since losing my Wife I have to buy ready made pies, not the same by a long chalk. I do like a curry though (not to hot) when my sister in law makes a curry from a recipe given by an Indian neighbour she always give me a portion and I just add the rice. Eric
 
We keep a good store cupboard of packaged and tinned foods. It is known as the 'war cupboard'.
None is pre cooked or ready meals type of food. Good, wholesome salads and cooked food a la Anglaise is the norm although haggis and some French recipes come into play from time to time.
As far as curry is concerned we are lucky in having many folks from SW India in the Parish so real Indian style food is available.
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oldMohawk said:
I use teabags to make cups of tea sometimes using a teapot and cosy. In a reasonably 'posh' supermarket I spotted some packets of loose tea and thought I'll buy one and have a cup of tea tasting just like I remembered from my younger days.

Got home opened the packet and found the tea in a cellophane bag which promptly split when I tried to open it and my worktop was covered in tea leaves. Eventually made a pot of tea, and after a hurried search for a tea strainer, I sat down to enjoy a real cup of tea but was disappointed because it seemed no different to 'teabag' tea.

Later, I experimented by making a 'teabag' cup and a 'tea-leaf' cup, but after tasting I did not notice any difference. Conclusion - it's not the tea, it's me !
Click to expand...
A lot of the time it is the same tea. Regular supermarkets will sell own brand Red Label tea in either bags or loose. The difference between bags and loose is in the strength of the brew. You get to decide how much goes in with greater precision.
 
I remember there being a lot more tinned food about when I was young. Then we got fridges and freezers and tinned gave way to frozen. All of it was pre processed in some way which probably changes the taste a lot but preserves the food so it remains edible longer. In more recent years food seems to have got blander and spices more available. It seems there are more fruit trees about in this part of Birmingham on public land. The fruit is left to rot on the tree or drop and not harvested. Pity. Maybe we need to learn what we can eat and how to preserve it.
 
Vivienne14 said:
Only ten cans stashed in the cupboard?!! Got much more than that. Well you never know if there'll be a nuclear attack do you? (Ha, ha - a throwback to my 1960s childhood). And remember the Gulf War, the power strikes etc ... or for times when you just can't be bothered to go to the shops, I say always 'be prepared'. But as a rule, though, day-to-day, I rarely use tinned food, only chopped tomatoes and baked beans. So seem to have stuck with the old ways of cooking from fresh rather than out of a tin. One thing we had as a 'luxury' from a tin in my childhood was pink or red salmon. Nothing like fresh salmon, but I loved it. Wouldn't dream of buying a tin these days. Viv.
Click to expand...


and if this is to be believed viv we will be stocking up again


https://www.express.co.uk/news/natu...t-Britain-cold-winter-2015-arctic-snow-freeze
 
I can remember during War time venturing into mom's pantry ( do you remember those dark places?) and finding a brown paper bag with strange contents. On asking ,my mother told me the contents were candied peel. I was not allowed to try a piece ,mother telling me that we had got to keep it in case we ran out of food. I can still feel the shudder down my spine that the person who fed me could see an impending food famine . As things improved I took the bag to mom and I was allowed to try the candied peel. I can still feel the delight of that new flavour and ultimately shared the whole package with my mother. Then in the 1970s when I worked as a ships chandler there were 28lb boxes of cut candied peel used on orders. Talk about a "child in a sweet shop" !!!!!
 
I used to love faggots & peas from our local chippy in the 50`s. Sadly, you can get all sorts of exotic grub now, but faggots seems to fallen out of favour. Spam fried in batter, corned beef used to be cheap but seems to be getting expensive. Come winter i`ll be stocking up with extra tins & coffee-mate & a well stocked freezer. And i always have a camping gas stove handy in case of power cuts, & about 20 bags of coal briquettes to burn on my multi fuel fire. I hope we don`t have a bad winter but i`m prepared if we do.
 
Smudger said:
I used to love faggots & peas from our local chippy in the 50`s. Sadly, you can get all sorts of exotic grub now, but faggots seems to fallen out of favour. Spam fried in batter, corned beef used to be cheap but seems to be getting expensive. Come winter i`ll be stocking up with extra tins & coffee-mate & a well stocked freezer. And i always have a camping gas stove handy in case of power cuts, & about 20 bags of coal briquettes to burn on my multi fuel fire. I hope we don`t have a bad winter but i`m prepared if we do.
Click to expand...

Our local Waitrose sells Brain's faggots in gravy, I love 'em but She Who Must Be Obeyed doesn't, so it's Stand Down on that one !
The army called Spam fried in batter "Spam Fritters"' I don't remember them being very popular though !
 
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