Old school grocery items you wish would make a comeback

[dragnlaw]

@In A Pickle
You could try just dehydrated (not freeze dried) orange slices, then reconstitute the flesh part, or the peel part or both and see what flavors you'd like to keep. I was pleasantly surprised how good the slices are thrown in a drink or tea, hot or cold. I dried them at about 95 deg F for a longer time, they kept their flavor and color. If they are dried hotter they lose their nice color and start browning a little.

From dry, I can leave them whole slices, or put them into my spice/coffee grinder and make a powder. I keep this on my spice cabinet in a jar, for frozen desserts, for a nice citrus 'zing'. (I do lemons, limes, and oranges.)
Once they are dry, they can be used for more than a year without refrigeration.

I noticed that frozen orange concentrated orange juice about doubled in price from less than $2 to almost $4. I use a tablespoon of it in whole wheat bread. It takes the bitterness off the wheat. This was recommended by the Baking Book by King Arthur. It works and I use it all the time.

I missed this post, Thanks @blissful, I'd often wondered about drying them and how to use them once dried. I'll have to try them.

 

[Linda0818]

Well that sent me down a rabbit hole. I grew up eating beef tongue and really liked it. My mum would cook it for supper and then the leftovers became cold cuts. I cooked a pig's tongue once, but I didn't know you had to peel it while it was hot. I peeled some of it and it was very uncomfortable. I left the rest to cool and my cat, Musmus snacked on it. What I could rescue, was virtually impossible to peel. I just had to cut off too much meat while cutting off the skin. Haven't tried cooking it since. It's not something you see at most grocery stores.

I found a recipe posted by someone who grew up in Finland eating tongue. Somehow that reminded me of something else that most people in North America don't really like, head cheese. I loved the "sylte" that my mum made. I have tried buying head cheese here a couple of times, but I didn't like it.

I actually tried tongue once, simply out of curiosity. Went to an 'authentic' Mexican eatery and ordered the tongue tacos. They weren't bad, but probably something I wouldn't get again.

This is just a random pic of the tongue tacos from that particular restaurant. It's beef tongue.

 

[Lee Vining]

I miss all the large variety of Swanson frozen dinners - especially the “ ethnic” dinners - the Mexican enchiladas, Bavarian (spatzle, red cabbage and Sauerbraten). Too many to list. I really miss the old meatloaf with tomato sauce. They had more variety of carbs like rice, noodles, rice, and tater tot’s, more desserts and veggies.

We used to have Van De Camps bakery and frozen meals here.
They had entire grocery isles and restaurants.
Fantastic products.

The quality nose dived and they went BK soon after.

 

[Kathleen]

Check out these pictures of retro TV dinner in my album. Some even have soup "Complete 3 course meals". LOL

Retro Dinners

www.discusscooking.com

I absolutely loved the Mexican-Styled Dinner. I would spread the pepper sauce in the dessert spot all over the rice and mix it well. Mmmm.

Hard pass. I grew up eating wayyy too many Salisbury Steak dinners and don't ever want to see one again.

On the other hand, I loved sliced cow tongue lunch meat that was encased in gelatin to fill out a uniform shape. After the mid-80s, that vanished from existence for some reason, except from a handful of local, old time butcher stores, where you can now only find it chopped and mixed as souse, which is just not the same.

I loved cow tongue deli meat. My grandmother made it from scratch. It had the gelatin and was so good.

Well that sent me down a rabbit hole. I grew up eating beef tongue and really liked it. My mum would cook it for supper and then the leftovers became cold cuts. I cooked a pig's tongue once, but I didn't know you had to peel it while it was hot. I peeled some of it and it was very uncomfortable. I left the rest to cool and my cat, Musmus snacked on it. What I could rescue, was virtually impossible to peel. I just had to cut off too much meat while cutting off the skin. Haven't tried cooking it since. It's not something you see at most grocery stores.

I found a recipe posted by someone who grew up in Finland eating tongue. Somehow that reminded me of something else that most people in North America don't really like, head cheese. I loved the "sylte" that my mum made. I have tried buying head cheese here a couple of times, but I didn't like it.

My grandmother also made head cheese. It was also delicious. She meticulously sorted the meat for it from the head and chopped it beautifully before mixing with seasonings and settling it in the loaf form. I would not eat it from a shop....same goes for scrapple.

 

[caseydog]

I absolutely loved the Mexican-Styled Dinner. I would spread the pepper sauce in the dessert spot all over the rice and mix it well. Mmmm.


I loved cow tongue deli meat. My grandmother made it from scratch. It had the gelatin and was so good.


My grandmother also made head cheese. It was also delicious. She meticulously sorted the meat for it from the head and chopped it beautifully before mixing with seasonings and settling it in the loaf form. I would not eat it from a shop....same goes for scrapple.

I don't eat head cheese or scrapple. The rest of my family loved scrapple, but I referred to it as "crapple."

CD

 

[Kathleen]

I don't eat head cheese or scrapple. The rest of my family loved scrapple, but referred to it as "crapple."

CD

If it was not made by family or me, I won't eat it! Cannot blame you here.

 

[dragnlaw]

nope, nope and nope

Although my parents and elder bro loved tongue and head cheese. Although I'd heard of scrapple not sure it was ever mentioned.

 

[caseydog]

nope, nope and nope

Although my parents and elder bro loved tongue and head cheese. Although I'd heard of scrapple not sure it was ever mentioned.

My dad was born and raised in Pennsylvania, just North of Pittsburgh, as were his parents. They were "Yinzers." My mom and her parents were born and raised in Northern New Jersey, on the NJ side of the Delaware river. They loved scrapple, and my sister liked it too. I just never got that taste for it that they had.

You can't buy it here, so I would have to make it, and that ain't gonna' happen.

CD

 

[taxlady]

I absolutely loved the Mexican-Styled Dinner. I would spread the pepper sauce in the dessert spot all over the rice and mix it well. Mmmm.


I loved cow tongue deli meat. My grandmother made it from scratch. It had the gelatin and was so good.


My grandmother also made head cheese. It was also delicious. She meticulously sorted the meat for it from the head and chopped it beautifully before mixing with seasonings and settling it in the loaf form. I would not eat it from a shop....same goes for scrapple.

I don't think my mum actually used meat from the head of any animal, except a bit of tongue in the head cheese. I know I never saw a hog's head or beef head in my mum's kitchen. She made a Scandinavian version called "sylte/sylta". I think the scraps of meat came from anywhere on the critter.

 

[dragnlaw]

Not forgetting of course, like Haggis, there could be and probably usually was, lung included in the ingredients. Which in North America is a no-no.

 

[forty_caliber]

Anyone remember Appian Way pizza kits? Mom kept these in the pantry. Made a great kid lunch. It's one of the first things I learned to "cook".

.40

 

[Lee Vining]

Anyone remember Appian Way pizza kits? Mom kept these in the pantry. Made a great kid lunch. It's one of the first things I learned to "cook".

View attachment 79511


.40

A weekly staple.

 

[Linda0818]

Anyone remember Appian Way pizza kits? Mom kept these in the pantry. Made a great kid lunch. It's one of the first things I learned to "cook".

View attachment 79511


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Don't remember that. I do, however, remember the Chef Boyardee pizza kits. We loved those as kids. I'll occasionally still pick one up, just for nostalgia's sake, but it's been a while.

 

[Kathleen]

I don't think my mum actually used meat from the head of any animal, except a bit of tongue in the head cheese. I know I never saw a hog's head or beef head in my mum's kitchen. She made a Scandinavian version called "sylte/sylta". I think the scraps of meat came from anywhere on the critter.

Well, you missed out. Nothing like a full pig's head bobbing in a humongous pot surrounded by onion, celery, peppers, herbs, vinegar, and spices. I don't remember ever being shocked by it, so I am guessing I grew up from an itty-bitty seeing it. My freak-out moment in the 80s of the bunny in a pot was from it being a family pet...not that it was a critter.