Friday, September 28, 2007

Remember Tater Tots?

We were cleaning some junk out of the refrigerator. Old jars of forgotten condiments and stuff. Really old.
It was all interesting stuff, but it was really old and it was obvious we weren't going to eat it.
And then I started thinking about what I don't eat anymore.
So I made a list, brand-names only. You can probably guess what the products were (totally American, although some may be international). I honestly haven't eaten any of this stuff since I was a little kid.
Got any others to add?
Birdseye
Jolly Green Giant
Gorton's
Minute Maid
Swanson's
Wishbone
Chef Boyardee
Smucker's
Sunbeam
French's
Kellogg's
Log Cabin
Ore-Ida
Chung King
Wesson
Must add: None of the stuff we threw out came from this list. Today's scuttling was from our Mesofoodie Era, things like Chinese preserved vegetables, Portuguese chili sauce, cherries in infused vodka.
Now we are in our Locafoodie Era. A few jars of home-pickled local peppers went into the fridge, to take up the space we had cleared out.
Sigh.

22 comments:

Katie Zeller said...

Velveeta, Jeno's pizza (package mix), Dinty Moore, Mary Kitchen, ... I'm going to be dreaming about this list!

Ed Bruske said...

Ore-Ida Zesties--wouldn't be without 'em

Anonymous said...

I am glad to see that the name Skippy is not on that list. Because that would just be wrong.

Dagny said...

Oooo. Skippy. Now that used to be really good on some Kilpatrick's with a little Smuckers.

Anonymous said...

These are from my kids' childhoods and I have no idea of the brands behind them (the items are bad enough on their own):
Tang
Space food sticks
Pop-Tarts
Popsicles
Orange Juilius (okay, a brand)
Jiffy Pop (another)
Cheese Whiz (Cheez Whiz?)
Laughing Cow
Devil Dogs

Anita (Married... with dinner) said...

Oh man, your search-engine traffic is going to go bonkers.

cookiecrumb said...

Katie: Oh, I have to cop to the occasional Velveeta. I didn't get into Dinty Moore until post-college. We called it "earthquake supplies." And Mary Kitchen, is that corned beef hash in a can? Because, yes, I've had that too.

Ed: Jeepers. You must be younger than me, cuz I never got to taste Zesties. Ooh.

KathyF: Oops. Skippy should be on the list. Because, for one reason, the Skippy factory was right up the road from where I lived in Alameda!

Dagny: Kilpatrick's. I remember it, but I don't think we bought that brand. Wonder, sometimes.

Kudzu: I would have put Tang on my list but I was so embarrassed. I will also admit to Pop Tarts, but re-e-eally seldom, they were so gross. And Popsicles? Doesn't even count. A parent would be guilty of child abuse if you didn't allow Popsicles.

Anita: No, I still suck, ratings-wise. Or, well... actually, I don't even know how to check it out. Comfortably numb.

Anonymous said...

Cooks--I wasn't a meanie mom. I meant those flourescent colored popsicles full of obviously tainted dyes. Good ol' regular ones were fine (I was esp. fond of banana flavored ones when I was a kid.)......Oh: Vienna sausages, anyone??

Kalyn Denny said...

Van de Kamps! I remember when I loved their fish filets. (Years and years and years ago!)

Zoomie said...

I think I had an unAmerican childhood as my mother never allowed these items (well, maybe the occasional Swanson's when they were going out and we kids stayed home), much as we wanted them, so I never got in the habit of eating them. Even Stouffer's was too processed. I never even had KFC until MB, astonished by the gap in my education, took me there about five years ago. We didn't go back.

Anna Haight said...

Aunt Jemima!

If you want to check your ratings, Google Analytics really has some amazing cuts at the data!

Ms Brown Mouse said...

Kraft.

Moonbear said...

Gallo, anyone?
Olympia? Hamms?
O god, I'm out here alone. No, I can play this game:
Winston
Panama Red
Owslie purple
Wait! No, really.
Mother's
Lawry's
But Dancingmorganmouse nailed the thing closed with
Kraft. Really.

michael, claudia and sierra said...

hostess - as in twinkies, suzie q's, yodels, ding dongs........

cookiecrumb said...

Kudzu: I have to admit to having eaten Vienna sausages within the past decade. I have an odd fascination with them. (Then, too, Dagny turns them into a sophisticated canape!)

Kalyn: I don't think I enjoyed that particular feast, but you reminded me of Van Camp's pork and beans!

Zoomie: Yes, Swanson's little pies were for the nights our parents went out. And Stouffer's? Probably too expensive. (Your palate is largely untainted; stick with the plan!)

Anna: Aunt Jemima... I remember the name and the illustration of the bandana'ed Aunt. But was it pancake mix, or syrup? Or both?

Mouse: I couldn't put that on my list. I STILL have a few boxes of mac'n'cheese in the pantry. You never know, there might be an emergency!

Moonbear: You were very precocious as a child. Owsley indeed!!!! LOL. (Sunshine?)

Claudia: That should have been on my list. Those horrid little brown creme-filled cupcakes with the brittle icing.

Greg said...

Add Boones farm wine to the list. I couuld never resist an tater tot and still can't

Anonymous said...

We actually ate WonderBread, Smuckers, Jiffy, etc...as very young children until my mother, who could not afford the army of nannies it would have required to manage three Tasmanian devil whirling, tooth knashing sugar-rushing little girls, banished all items containing added sugar, HFCS, etc, from our meals and became a flag-wavin' whole wheat bakin', Halloween candy confiscatin' granola mom. I thank her for it - now. Ha ha...

Anna Haight said...

Re: Aunt Jemima - both pancake mix and syrup!

cookiecrumb said...

Greg: Sure, and Red Mountain, too. Apple Annie's. Gaw... such bad taste.
I do have a modern recipe for tater tots I intend to try some day... I'll let you know how it goes.

Elarael: As a sugar-deprived kid, I bet you were pissed. But, yes, you thank her for it now. Nice!

Anna: Hah! The old synapses are still firing. :)

Unknown said...

Hormel Chili.
Wonder Bread.
Oscar Meyer.

Actually, in days gone by, an oscar meyer hotdog on a toasted piece of wonder bread with some hormel chili on top would have been a great meal.

I admit, I still have the Chef, as in Boyardee on my shelf for the quick meal when I have no time. I love the spaghetti and meatball one. It is like nothing else on the planet.

cookiecrumb said...

Lannae: I, too, have a soft spot for canned chili, though I never managed to nail down a favorite brand (anyway, they seem to have changed over time). But I'm afraid, very afraid of your Chef spag.

Anonymous said...

Hamburger Helper. Still eat the cheeseburger one. Love the tots. Not ashamed. Pizza rolls, good stuff. And don't forget a tried and true fave -- SPAM. Bologna. Cheese slices that aren't cheese. Canned tamales. TOP RAMEN.