Disappearing foodways.

[Shule]

Here are some things I remember from the 1980s and 1990s that seem rare these days:

- Cherry pie made with home-canned sour cherries (it's a lot different than anything from a store mix, and one of my favorite foods ever); FYI, they're supposed to be brown (not bright red)
- Homemade cookies that aren't super fancy/complicated
- Firm homemade cookies that can last weeks in the cookie jar
- Any pizza besides pepperoni (sure, they kind of still exist, in small numbers, but they're very conservative by comparison)
- Cod fish (not that it was common then, in Idaho, but I actually had some once)
- Fairly large red peppers that were hot, and you never knew it until you tasted them (not at the grocery store; I mean in people's gardens)
- Miracle Whip (I imagine it's still out there, but I haven't witnessed anybody eat it in since possibly something like 2003; maybe once or twice since then)
- Cheese popcorn with a whole bunch of yellow cheese seasoning (not the white cheese popcorn); I mostly ever had it around Christmas, but it was a favorite; the white stuff isn't bad, though
- Caramel apples
- Popcorn balls (Do people still make these all the time?)
- Big apples with high density/weight; you could buy a whole box at a time
- Super good deals on random stuff at random times (nowadays most deals are just marginally better than the going price)
- Slice (the beverage)
- Anyone who makes pie crust with shortening (while it's probably unhealthy, it is super easy, and the crust tastes good); nowadays, everyone seems to use butter or lard (which make a totally different crust; there are better alternatives that are closer, though, but I forgot what they were)
- Small, thin turkey franks that taste super awesome and cost about 99 cents or 1.99 a pack
- Dill relish (it still exists, fortunately, but it's hard to find compared with back in the day)
- Root beer flavored ice cream (that was one of my favorites in the late 1990s or so)
- The old kind of Cadbury eggs that tasted way different (they were so good)
- Any treat that involved white sugar (e.g. grapefruit halves dipped in it)
- Hamburger pizza
- Hamburger meat sauce with spaghetti (as opposed to sausage)
- 99 cent Whoppers (which were big and tasted really good, in the late 1990s; well, they weren't always 99 cents, but they often had 99 cent sales)
- Ruffles potato chips that weren't particularly more expensive than Lays; they were pretty common back in the day
- Those super good-tasting large chewable vitamin C tablets; do they still have those?
- Those fruit candy sticks that look like colorful gem-like candycanes, without the hook (I loved those)
- Watermelons that are over 20lbs
- Cantaloupe that looked and tasted pretty great (although garden-fresh was still better)
- Cereal that isn't sugary (last time I checked the store, it was almost all super sweet stuff; back in the not-so-distant past, things like corn flakes, plain Cheerios, Rice Chex, Corn Chex, Wheat Chex, plain Rice Crispies, shredded wheat [both sizes], Raisin Bran, and grapenuts were pretty common; yeah, they had Lucky Charms, Cornpops, Fruity Pebbles, Cocoa Pebbles, and a few other sugar things, but nothing like witnessed last time); considering the current culture stricter culture on sugar, I'm really surprised; I actually don't have a thing against sugar, by the way, but I kind of thought everyone else did (nowadays) . . .
- Popular store-bought salsa that was actually commonly labeled mild, medium and hot (and the hot salsa was pretty hot); the mild was still hot, though; it wasn't like Pace's picante sauce where there's just a touch of heat. Eating chips and salsa as a child was kind of painful, but I liked it. However, nowadays, we have hotter peppers (but the mainstream salsas mostly just have one heat level).
There's more, but that's what comes to mind.
- Mint chocolate (besides Andes mints, those little round ones, and peppermint patties)
- It seems like Swiss cheese used to be at least 40% more common
- Bulk prices that were a lot better than non-bulk prices
- Super expensive, small strawberries; nowadays, they're huge and inexpensive by comparison; when they first became huge, the taste suffered, but they fixed that

[Seven Bends]

I know it's not as long ago as you were thinking, but here are some things I remember from the 1980s and 1990s that seem rare these days:

- Cherry pie made with home-canned sour cherries (it's a lot different than anything from a store mix, and one of my favorite foods ever); FYI, they're supposed to be brown (not bright red)
- Homemade cookies that aren't super fancy
- Homemade cookies that aren't approaching gooey
- Any pizza besides pepperoni (sure, they kind of still exist, in small numbers, but they're very conservative by comparison)
- Miracle Whip (I imagine it's still out there, but I haven't witnessed anybody eat it in since possibly something like 2003; maybe once or twice since then)
- Caramel apples
- Anyone who makes pie crust with shortening (while it's probably unhealthy, it is super easy, and the crust tastes good); nowadays, everyone seems to use butter or lard (which make a totally different crust; there are better alternatives that are closer, though, but I forgot what they were)
- Cantaloupe that looked and tasted pretty great (although garden-fresh was still better)

Cherry pie: even better made from fresh-picked sour cherries! We did this one time and the pies were delicious, but it was an insane amount of work (picking and pitting the cherries, then making the filling), so I'll probably never have one again in my life.

Cookies: The Nestle "Toll House" chocolate chip cookies. Grandma's ice box oatmeal cookies. Chocolate cookies with peanut butter chips.

Pizza: I don't think we have this pepperoni-only problem here in the East. Do you mean at restaurants or in the grocery stores?

Miracle Whip: My mom, who is in her late eighties, is their most loyal customer. It doesn't have much grocery store shelf space any more and is down on the bottom where it's hard for her to reach.

Caramel apples: Oh, how I love these, but I haven't had one in probably fifteen years at least. The grocery stores used to put the bags of Kraft caramels next to the apple display in the produce department in the fall. We would make them once a year, and my mom would say "now don't pull your fillings out!" every time we ate them. I made them myself a few times as an adult and probably still would if they prompted me with the bags of caramels by the apple display. (None of my fillings ever came out.)

Pie crust: Crisco pie crust was the absolute best, before they changed the Crisco formula to eliminate (almost) trans fats. It still makes pretty good pie crust, better than the alternatives I've tried. Unfortunately, it's getting hard to find at a reasonable price.

Cantaloupes: The normal-looking round cantaloupes in the grocery store year-round now are pretty terrible around here. Luckily, for about a month in early summer, we get "Athena" cantaloupes from the Eastern Shore of Maryland, and they're fantastic.

[worth1]

One place in Austin I'm really surprised is still open with all the building going on.
The place is called the phoenicia bakery and deli on south Lamar.
It's tiny but you can find stuff in there you can't find any place else.
And for a lot less money.
It's out of the way for me and the parking is horrible.
But I stopped by there today and bought a little over 2 and a quarter pounds of black oil cured olives for 4.99 a pound.
I love oil cured black olives.

And got a beef and lamb shawarma for lunch as well.
One of the first middle eastern stores I know of in Austin.

https://www.phoeniciatx.com/index.htm

[worth1]

Here's the link again to the place just in case you missed my add on in the other post and you live around Austin.
https://www.phoeniciatx.com/index.htm

[worth1]

Not just any lard makes great pastries.
Leaf lard was the preferred lard for this and it comes from around the kidneys.
The same fat that real beef suet comes from on a t bone steak.
If you eat this fat it will solidify and coat your mouth if you drink something cold.
Crisco never stood a chance with this high quality fat.
It's a totally different fat than regular fat and nowadays they say it's good for you.

[worth1]

Maybe maybe not but I ran across something I haven't seen in years.
Griebenschmalz.
A flavorful homemade lard mixed with cracklings and onions and maybe apples.
Used as a spread on bread.
I used to see the older folks put this stuff on bread.
It wasn't store bought pork fat it was farm raised pork they used to make the lard.

[Tormato]

There is zero problem with a lack of assortment of pizzas, in the northeast.

[worth1]

There is zero problem with a lack of assortment of pizzas, in the northeast.

Too many assortments of pizza where I live and I'm not a fan of pizza by any stretch of the imagination.
But I will eat it if I'm starving.

[karstopography]

In my experience, the crust trips up more pizza joints than the toppings.

List of pizza sins:
1. Crust too bready and thick
2. Crust too thin and cracker like
3. Crust undercooked
4. Crust too adulterated with brushed on herbs, spices, stuffed with cheese, etc.
5. Crust too dense.

Other pizza sins:

1. Too much tomato/red sauce
2. Canned mushrooms

Ideally, pizza should come out of an oven that is hotter than hades and take just a few minutes to cook. Wood fired Brick ovens are great in the right hands, but not absolutely necessary.

Perfect pizzas have a little charring on the toppings and crust and the crust is airy and crisp on the edges, yet tender enough inside to chew. Generally, less is more with the toppings and the pizza should never be soggy because of all the sauce and toppings. Some grease from pepperoni or sausage or cheese is acceptable and even desirable up to a point.

[Seven Bends]

My pizza opinions:
No offense intended to those of you who enjoy it, but I can't stand "char." Even a little bit just gives me an overpowering burnt flavor; I have to pick it all off, burnt bubble by burnt bubble. Some of the trendy Neapolitan pizza places seem to make an art of serving burnt-crust pizza, and I can't choke it down no matter how carefully they adhere to the almighty Denominazione di Origine Controllata standards in other regards. Don't like charred anything -- Brussels sprouts, steaks, barbecue. Stop burning my food.

For me, most pizza today has too little sauce and way too much cheese and grease. Also, pizza doesn't need or benefit from having four different kinds of cheese on it. That's just complicating it to no benefit. Good chewy crust is essential but exceedingly rare. I wonder how many pizza places (outside the pizza Eden of the northeast, and the artisan high-dollar places) still make their dough from scratch?

[worth1]

There's a thousand options and opinions on making a proper pizza dough and crust.
I think the last one I made came out pretty good.
I know one guy said it was the best he'd ever had.
The outer edge needs to have big holes in it.
The Lady Eva on pasta grammar says to let the dough rest for hours.
For conventional oven a 75% Hydration it recommended.

I've actually followed several of her instructions on her YouTube videos and they've always turned out really well.

[CrazyAboutOrchids]

Being in the NorthEast... we get ALL sorts of pizza. There is New York style which varies depending on where in NY you are, CT has some GREAT pizza places - Frank Pepe's which is fairly well known and their fresh tomato pie in the summer is the bomb! We prefer Zippardi's to Frank Pepe's otherwise, but we also have 2 locals pizza joints that are awesome. One has wood fired and the most interesting combinations - we love a duck, arugula, grape, manchego and a spicy something or other drizzle; I agree some wood fired can be overdone. My son lives on the Jersey shore and the arguments over the best 'beach pizza' are crazy - a pleasure to sample all of them. Our daughter lives in Chicago - totally different pizza there. Love Lou Malnati's - lighter than Giardano's but would eat either in a pinch. Have heard of one that supposedly tops both, but haven't been. Many folks around us like simple pizza - single toppings which I am not a fan of.

We have a Big Green Egg and always talk about making pizza on it - see lots of good but ours hasn't turned out great - but you really need a good dough. Have read 000 flour is a must and hydration and resting. We've bought from pizza joints, but still haven't found that great crust to make our own.

[Tormato]

No char on a pizza, here, too. Brown is good, black is not.

A crust should be thin enough to still be chewy in the center, while a bit crisp on the bottom and edges, but no thicker than necessary. Loads of toppings, for me. Rare is the pizza place that has red bell peppers. Peppers, onions, mushrooms, sausage or meatball or both, is my typical pizza. It doesn't need a lot of meat. It must have good quality toppings. Poor quality toppings is what ruins a pizza, like many of the cheap frozen ones. I'll sometimes buy a frozen pizza, but only a cheese one, then add on my own quality toppings

I've stayed away from rectangular party pizzas for about 50 years. Back in the day, I think many places had big slightly warped pans for making party pizzas. I don't know if you can imagine the amount of oil that congregates in the center of those pizzas. Then when sliced, the oil runs under the bottom of the crust of the center slices.

[greenthumbomaha]

My kids, now adults, have much more exposure to international foods in restaurants and thru friends which aren't as meat oriented. My son enjoys a steak, but daughter despises hunks of meat as she calls it. Asian, Indian, any ethnic food which she refers to as more flavorful are her preferences. Neither one eats fast food unless on a car trip or other time imposed circumstances.

I still prefer comfort foods but I'm less dependent on meat now for medical reasons. It was tough at first especially in Nebraska!
- Lisa

[crunch1224]

Beings that I live close to Chicago... I have to say deep dish pizza is my favorite.

[bower]

Just spinning back to dumplings and whatever did they use before baking powder: grandmother had cream of tartar and baking soda, no baking powder in their house before 1949.

[worth1]

Just spinning back to dumplings and whatever did they use before baking powder: grandmother had cream of tartar and baking soda, no baking powder in their house before 1949.

Almost every household brewd some sort of weak beer to drink and I've read they used the natural yeast to bake with.
This beer wouldn't be anything like we know of today.

[karstopography]

Just spinning back to dumplings and whatever did they use before baking powder: grandmother had cream of tartar and baking soda, no baking powder in their house before 1949.

Almost every household brewd some sort of weak beer to drink and I've read they used the natural yeast to bake with.
This beer wouldn't be anything like we know of today.

Drinking beer and wine likely saved countless lives once upon a time since most water sources, especially in more urban areas, were often contaminated with deadly pathogens.

[Tormato]

Just spinning back to dumplings and whatever did they use before baking powder: grandmother had cream of tartar and baking soda, no baking powder in their house before 1949.

Almost every household brewd some sort of weak beer to drink and I've read they used the natural yeast to bake with.
This beer wouldn't be anything like we know of today.

Drinking beer and wine likely saved countless lives once upon a time since most water sources, especially in more urban areas, were often contaminated with deadly pathogens.

In the northeast, it was hard cider, which is supposed to be making a comeback. If I was younger, I likely would be making an attempt at breeding apple trees.

[karstopography]

Just spinning back to dumplings and whatever did they use before baking powder: grandmother had cream of tartar and baking soda, no baking powder in their house before 1949.

Almost every household brewd some sort of weak beer to drink and I've read they used the natural yeast to bake with.
This beer wouldn't be anything like we know of today.

Drinking beer and wine likely saved countless lives once upon a time since most water sources, especially in more urban areas, were often contaminated with deadly pathogens.

In the northeast, it was hard cider, which is supposed to be making a comeback. If I was younger, I likely would be making an attempt at breeding apple trees.

Absolutely, lots of cider and perry consumed in Northern Europe as well. Mead once upon a time as well.

Then palm wine, millet beers, fermented milk, and about anything that yeast could turn into ethanol in the rest of the world.

https://beer-studies.com/en/world-histo ... _beverages

There’s little doubt that much of the impetus for civilization was getting tipsy.