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Anyone else grew up being given perfectly adequate but utterly plain food? |
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#26 |
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Join Date: Aug 2006
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I feel your pain Parthy!
Growing up, all I can remember is frozen cod in parsley sauce, Findus pancakes, Birdseye cod balls in batter (we were from Grimsby in case you hadn't guessed! ), whatever my gran managed to nick from the chip shop she worked in, tinned peaches, Carnation milk and an occasional Vienetta (a real treat!). I will credit my Mum with the most amazing chocolate cake though, and still legendary amongst family members! She couldn't cook anything else for shit though...![]() Resign yourself to it and cook for yourself, they ain't gonna change. And actually why should they? They like the stuff they've always eaten and if they are happy with that then who are we to change them? The older generation don't like change in my experience, i've been cooking for my 76 year old MIL for about 5-6 years now, and although i've managed to alter her opinion marginally, i'm never going to change her tastes completely so i'm not going to try. Boiling mince in water for an hour? My God, you have my utmost sympathy! ![]()
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#27 |
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Join Date: Jul 2007
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They're only in their 50s though!
![]() And yeah, I never realised mince could be lovely if cooked properly 'til I started cooking for myself! |
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#28 |
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Join Date: Sep 2007
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When my mother does bacon and cabbage, it's boiled bacon, cabbage boiled in the same pot to the point of sogginess and boiled potatoes, and THAT'S IT. No flourishes.
Bacon and cabbage is a lush dish which I still often cook myself - yes, I cook the cabbage in the same water, but only after the bacon is cooked and resting - then I bring the water back to a fast boil and put in the cabbage, cooking it till just tender. I always make onion sauce to go with it, that's lovely with the boiled spuds. And have mustard and chutney on the table. Auntie M's method on the other hand - she would place the raw bacon joint AND the cabbage in cold water and cook both together right from the start. What an unappetising grey sludgy mess that used to turn out. They wouldn't have anything to do with sauce, either - if I offered to make some, I got it all to myself. ![]() The other thing was that by the time the food was dished up and on the table, it was practically stone cold (and served on cold plates, naturally!) |
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#29 |
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Oh my, I do know what you mean! I had Irish in-laws for years and the older generation of them cooked everything for hours until there was no flavour or texture left whatsoever.
Bacon and cabbage is a lush dish which I still often cook myself - yes, I cook the cabbage in the same water, but only after the bacon is cooked and resting - then I bring the water back to a fast boil and put in the cabbage, cooking it till just tender. I always make onion sauce to go with it, that's lovely with the boiled spuds. And have mustard and chutney on the table. Auntie M's method on the other hand - she would place the raw bacon joint AND the cabbage in cold water and cook both together right from the start. What an unappetising grey sludgy mess that used to turn out. They wouldn't have anything to do with sauce, either - if I offered to make some, I got it all to myself. ![]() The other thing was that by the time the food was dished up and on the table, it was practically stone cold (and served on cold plates, naturally!) |
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#30 |
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Parthy.... I admit I assumed your parent were lots and lots older than I am. My Mummy is in her 80's now and the way I see it that's how she was taught/told/showed to cooked mince (boil it for an hour at least) and make sure the veg were well cooked all the way through( name a veg and by the time my mammy has cooked it it is soft and has a certain taste) 'cos that's what my 80 something year old Mummy was taught how to cook. My Daddy was a different kettle of fish... he travelled all over the world (he was in the armed forces) and experienced different foods and really enjoyed the different methods of preparing and cooking food.
He got back on civvy street... mince was the dish of the day.... My Mummy done boiled for a few hours mince and tatties.... my Daddy would make a Keema Curry. My Mummy would make rice pudding.... My Daddy would make Nasi Goring(spelling people please) I still dream about butterscotch angel delight...... I've never seen it in years and I don't know if it can still be bought. The fish finger, frozen chips and spagg hoops in tomato sauce meal I had at a friends when I was about 9ish was crowned with angel delight butterscotch flavor. I'm a wee bit younger than your parents but I honestly thought they were LOTS older than me. I have to thank BOTH my parents for feeding me best they could with fresh from the garden veg and doing best they could on a very limited budget and choice. Not to mention the variety of food experiences they gave me. |
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#31 |
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Parthy.... I admit I assumed your parent were lots and lots older than I am. My Mummy is in her 80's now and the way I see it that's how she was taught/told/showed to cooked mince (boil it for an hour at least) and make sure the veg were well cooked all the way through( name a veg and by the time my mammy has cooked it it is soft and has a certain taste) 'cos that's what my 80 something year old Mummy was taught how to cook. My Daddy was a different kettle of fish... he travelled all over the world (he was in the armed forces) and experienced different foods and really enjoyed the different methods of preparing and cooking food.
He got back on civvy street... mince was the dish of the day.... My Mummy done boiled for a few hours mince and tatties.... my Daddy would make a Keema Curry. My Mummy would make rice pudding.... My Daddy would make Nasi Goring(spelling people please) I still dream about butterscotch angel delight...... I've never seen it in years and I don't know if it can still be bought. The fish finger, frozen chips and spagg hoops in tomato sauce meal I had at a friends when I was about 9ish was crowned with angel delight butterscotch flavor. I'm a wee bit younger than your parents but I honestly thought they were LOTS older than me. I have to thank BOTH my parents for feeding me best they could with fresh from the garden veg and doing best they could on a very limited budget and choice. Not to mention the variety of food experiences they gave me.
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#32 |
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You sound lovely! I think you should have called yourself Faerie Queen!
![]() I've been a lucky lucky child, girl and woman. I had two parents who loved me and all they wanted was me to be happy. The food I experienced from both as I grew up was mind blowing to many of my (then) peers.. top me it was normal I do remember the olives.... I said to my friends...they are olivies.... you wont like them.... they said ..OH Grapes THEY DIDN'T LIKE THEM The keema curry my Daddy cooked...sweet heaven if only I could get that exact spice mix <My Mummy still make the best soup this side of the moon as far as I'm concerned..... her cock-a-leekie ...paradise in a bowl I was and am a very lucky woman to have parents like mine. |
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#33 |
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Butterscotch Angel delight is still available, had some yesterday from tesco!
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#34 |
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Join Date: Jan 2006
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Chuckled at bol og nay se
![]() My mum was born in 1931. So taking account of the during and post WW2 availability she was a good plain, but uninspiring, cook. In that time the shortage of food meant dishes often went towards the 'filling' end of the spectrum rather than tasty. I was amused watching a Jamie Oliver programme when he observed that for many a salad was iceberg lettuce (yuk), tomato, cucumber, onion, pickled beetroot and salad cream (big yuk). The range of salads you consider now were beyond them. And the idea of mixing and oil and vinegar for a dressing ![]() I haven't had liver in years - although I must try sometime because I now know how to cook it - quickly - not to produce that horrid. grey, leathery thing I grew up with ![]() The most 'exotic' thing I ever saw cooked in the family home was Duck a l'orange. Don't know where that came from...... She actually did some roast beef last year that was properly cooked - a soft pink in the middle. I was shocked. I compared notes with a friend recently and we agreed the following: The only 'spices' we ever saw were (Saxa) salt and that horrid white pepper No idea what black peppercorns, paprika, tumeric, cardoman, fenugreek etc were The only herb you ever saw was mint, and that in a sauce with lamb Wouldn't have the first idea what to do with basil, coriander, dill, rosemary or the rest Potatoes were boiled, roast, fried, chipped or mashed - and as pointed out no waxy ones Other vegetables were boiled - end of Sauces? Do you want HP, tomato or mint? Oil was used for deep frying. What's olive oil when it's at home? You don't want French ot Italian cheese.......... Horrid smelly stuff. Flavoured bread????? Vinegar was Sarsons. Red wine vinegar , white wine vinegar , cider vinegar![]() ![]() ![]() Garlic was evil (biggest sin of all )What's pasta? Oh, that stuff you get in rings or letters swamped in tomato sauce......... Curry smells dreadful - well yes, if all you use is curry powder (and lots of it) that may be the caseWhat's a 'wok'? What's an aubergine/pepper/chilli/red onion/sweet potato? Rice - oh, you mean Uncle Ben's I started cooking when I moved out of the 'family home' and do things in the kitchen (when cooking you dirty minded people) that my mum couldn't contemplate. Thinking back to 20 years ago there is so much more in the shops now. |
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#35 |
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Join Date: Nov 2010
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I grew up eating my mum's delicious cooking, but boy was it plain and predictable!
Every main meal was served with potatoes. We had beef practically every Sunday for Sunday dinner, followed by cold beef sandwiches for tea. Monday was always cold beef and chips, or egg and chips if there wasn't enough beef left. Occasionally we had lamb on Sunday and I really enjoyed the change. Eating so much beef has put me off roast beef, oh and to be fair mum overcooked it for my tastes. If I have beef, I prefer it rare. We never, ever, had pasta or rice. I remember her cooking mushrooms once! She was brilliant at making cakes though. I never eat cake these days because my mum's cakes were so good and I don't want to eat anything that's not as good. |
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#36 |
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From a lot of your answers it looks like I was lucky, my Mum was a great cook when I was growing up in the seventies and eighties.
Some kind of roast every sunday, sometimes risoles with the leftovers, yummy egg and bacon pie (I now know its called quiche lol), spag bol, toad in the hole, shepards pie, home made chips, gammon and cauliflour cheese. I still love all this food but I also make different stuff too. I haven't had tinned fruit with evaporated milk since back then though lol. ![]() And she cooked for a family of six from scratch every day for years!!! Dunno how she did it. |
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#37 |
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I haven't had tinned fruit with evaporated milk since back then though lol.
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#38 |
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I was amused watching a Jamie Oliver programme when he observed that for many a salad was iceberg lettuce (yuk)
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Potatoes were boiled, roast, fried, chipped or mashed - and as pointed out no waxy ones
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#39 |
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I hate iceberg lettuce too. Bleurgh.
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#40 |
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If I was ever on Room 101 I would want iceberg lettuce sent down..........
I think basically what it is is that it's hard when a person who has lived away from home for a while, returns to the nest, for both that person and the parents. They're set in their ways, and in a way, I am too! The ways I've learned since moving out! |
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#41 |
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As a student that lives at home I get my own food. No, not Pot Noodles, Super Noodles. I actually really enjoy nice food. My brother makes lasagne and other dishes etc, but my mother sticks with the basics really.
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#42 |
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Sometimes it isn't just stuck in their ways though because some of us actually like bland foods, personally I hate spices (unless it's mixed spice in a cake or bread) only occasionally use herbs and cook potatoes almost everyday. Detest the idea veggies should have a crunch so yes they are cooked for at least 20 minutes. It's the sort of food we enjoy !
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#43 |
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I love good old round leaf lettuce. At least it's not flavourless, watery muck.
It drove me away from other leaves for many years. Rocket - absolutely sublime, such a long time wasted
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#44 |
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As a student that lives at home I get my own food. No, not Pot Noodles, Super Noodles. I actually really enjoy nice food. My brother makes lasagne and other dishes etc, but my mother sticks with the basics really.
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#45 |
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Sometimes it isn't just stuck in their ways though because some of us actually like bland foods, personally I hate spices (unless it's mixed spice in a cake or bread) only occasionally use herbs and cook potatoes almost everyday. Detest the idea veggies should have a crunch so yes they are cooked for at least 20 minutes. It's the sort of food we enjoy !
But with my parents, they just won't try things or will go into trying them deciding beforehand that they won't like them.
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#46 |
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...I started cooking when I moved out of the 'family home' and do things in the kitchen (when cooking you dirty minded people) that my mum couldn't contemplate. Thinking back to 20 years ago there is so much more in the shops now.
The UK was one of the first industrial societies so by the '70s we were generations away from our countryside ancestors who knew about native herbs etc. It was european travel becoming affordable that opened up the worlds cuisine to the British, along with telly cooks and Sunday supplements. So a big thanks to Grahame Kerr and Fanny Craddock
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#47 |
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At home growing up, an onion was as exotic as it got when it came to adding flavour to cooking.
I rememebr when pizza first arrived, and it was called pizza-pie, and it was deep fried from the chippy. |
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#48 |
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Fair enough.
But with my parents, they just won't try things or will go into trying them deciding beforehand that they won't like them. |
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#49 |
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At home growing up, an onion was as exotic as it got when it came to adding flavour to cooking.
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#50 |
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I rememebr when pizza first arrived, and it was called pizza-pie, and it was deep fried from the chippy.
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), whatever my gran managed to nick from the chip shop she worked in, tinned peaches, Carnation milk and an occasional Vienetta (a real treat!). I will credit my Mum with the most amazing chocolate cake though, and still legendary amongst family members! She couldn't cook anything else for shit though...


What an unappetising grey sludgy mess that used to turn out. They wouldn't have anything to do with sauce, either - if I offered to make some, I got it all to myself.

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