Eating in the 50's

[downsizingnow48]

My Dad spent 25 years as a catskinner on subdivisions in southern California and had pretty much 100% say about what, when, and how we ate. He got home usually at 4 or 430 and dinner was on the table at 5. Not 501 either. Us kids were not allowed to sit at the table before dinner was served, but once it was there we had to be visibly moving toward the table. Steak or roast beef and potatoes was the main course, we sometimes got pork chops or roast pork and potatoes. Maybe chicken once every couple weeks. Anything else was a novelty except for Friday - as a Catholic family that had to be fish or pancakes. At no time was there a TV dinner or anything else prepared other than what my mother cooked in her kitchen. We always talked about what was going on with all of us. Sitting in front of the TV or reading a book or something like that was never even thought of.

 

[Bird]

Dinner at 5 p.m.? I loved Winter because we had supper earlier. Dad always said you could work outside until it got dark, so we got to eat earlier in the Winter and had to wait until later in the summer. And yep, all 7 of us sat down at the table together for breakfast and for supper until I was 16 and Dad bought a service station. From then on, one of us was at the station until 10 p.m. every night, so he and I never had supper together after that.

 

[buckeyefarmer]

I could tell fake potatoes instantly, it meant we were eating out. We grew a couple acres of potatoes, no fake ones at home.

 

[Will_C]

TV dinners? They were our "treat" on Saturday nights when my parents went out and we stayed with Grandma. Cant believe we thought they were wonderful-wouldn't eat one now if I was starving!
Our meals were regular too-lunch at noon and dinner at 5:00. My father was a diabetic, so regular meals were a medical necessity for him. I didn't eat separately until my brother and I played sports after school and we didn't get home until 6:00-and we ate what was left-No separate meal for us.

Will

 

[buckeyefarmer]

Rarely got tv dinners, so they were like a treat to us. I liked them.

 

[TomSeller]

To think people ate dinner at 5 pm. These days people work well past 5, let alone get home by 5.

It would have been the 60s but I recall my Dad taking us all out to dinner at Denny's. On the way home, one by one we all asked him to stop the car.... So we could get out and puke. We all threw up, we were not used to restaurant prepared food, we never had it before.

 

[Woodeye]

Real marshmallow, they were sold four in a cellophane pack. A rare treat but clearly remember them being far superior to what you see today.

 

[Looking4new]

Funny you mentioned mashed potatoes....

Yesterday, one of the kids wanted mashed potatoes to go with the ribs I was going to smoke/BBQ. We did not have enough time to make the potatoes from scratch, so I asked the wifey to looked for frozen mashed potatoes. She found some and we had them with dinner and they were REALLY good! :thumbsup::licking: Don't know the name though. :confused3: Took 3 minutes in the microwave with a bit of the lid off. Two minutes with the lid completely off and another few minutes to cool off a bit.

There must have been some push to sell instant mashed potatoes back in the day because my mom tried to sneak them into our dinner but my dad and I did not like them. Wifey mentioned using instant mashed potatoes yesterday and there was a resounding NO from the eaters to be. :laughing::laughing::laughing:

Later,
Dan

I'd find it hard to believe that anyone could tell the instant mashed potatoes (properly prepared) from the others. This reminds me of my maternal grandfather refusing to eat sweet potato pie, but he liked pumpkin pie. My grandmother fed him a lot of sweet potato pie, but called it pumpkin pie and he liked it just fine.

They taste like wall paper paste to me.
On the recommendation of a waitress in a restaurant I frequent I had some mashed potatoes 2 years ago. You guessed it, they came out of a bag and tasted like wall paper paste.

 

[George2615]

And don't forget about canned Spam. I liked fried Spam sandwiches but hated the gelatinous substance that formed in the can.

 

[Looking4new]

And don't forget about canned Spam. I liked fried Spam sandwiches but hated the gelatinous substance that formed in the can.

There is where we differ. I like Spam and scrape off the gelatinous stuff. It keeps easily in the truck in my cooler. It is better than nothing to eat.

 

[sixdogs]

Somewhere in the 1950's, so called "pigs in a blanket" showed up where I live and was news to us. Thist was a hot dog with a slit in it lengthwise and a piece of Velveeta cheese in it. Then a piece of bacon was wrapped around it, toothpics held it together and it was baked in the oven. It was a great treat but it might have been regional.

Also, canned goods became more widely available and it was not unusual to get to open a can of tuna or a can of beans when you were a 1950's kid.

And of course you brushed your teeth with Ipana toothpaste with the beaver on the package and I think packaged in a lead or lead-like tube. No problem there.

 

[George2615]

There is where we differ. I like Spam and scrape off the gelatinous stuff. It keeps easily in the truck in my cooler. It is better than nothing to eat.

We don't differ at all.
I said I like Spam and I scrape off the gelatinous stuff too. That gelatinous stuff makes me gag.
The gelatinous stuff is very similar to the stuff found in canned dog food. Even my dogs don't eat that when I feed them.

 

[Looking4new]

Smart dogs!

 

[Deere Dude]

We don't differ at all.
I said I like Spam and I scrape off the gelatinous stuff too. That gelatinous stuff makes me gag.
The gelatinous stuff is very similar to the stuff found in canned dog food. Even my dogs don't eat that when I feed them.

I have spam now and then or at least the generic stuff, but only fried and along with pancakes. Frying cooks the nasties off it.

 

[Bird]

I haven't eaten any spam in many years, but you guys talked me into buying a can of the generic (Great Value) spam today. I intend to slice and fry it and see if it's worth buying again. At least that was the only way I liked it in the past.

 

[mjarrels]

We all love spam in my family, it is a really big hit in the Philippines too. Jollybe fast food joint sells spam burgers in the Philippines and Pure Foods in the Philippines (like a cosco) carries more spam then I have ever seen in my life, pallets of spam. Must be entire shipping containers of nothing but spam, I some times wonder hogs can be raised and butchered to make that much spam.

mark

 

[hawkeye08]

for old candy I liked Jujubes and NECCO wafers...I still buy NECCO wafers at wally world...

I like the NECCO wafers, family usually gets me a couple for Christmas or birthday..

 

[sixdogs]

I haven't eaten any spam in many years, but you guys talked me into buying a can of the generic (Great Value) spam today. I intend to slice and fry it and see if it's worth buying again. At least that was the only way I liked it in the past.

We haven't had it in a while but liked it best overcooked a bit and made into a sandwich with lettuce, tomato, cheese, pickles and whatever on good bread or a good roll. Maybe add a little hot sauce or a fried egg and overcooking the Spam made it great. Have a salad, a glass of wine, maybe some grillin' beans and it all works.

 

[CCWKen]

Spam and canned hash were a primary meat source in our house when I was growing up. Chicken, pork chops or hamburger were a real a treat. Roasts were about as rare as turkey at Thanksgiving. Never knew what a candy bar was until I was in the second grade and saw a kid with one. There was only four kinds of milk--Condensed, Powdered, Whole or Skim. Whole milk was 49 cents a gallon at the Borden's dairy store and cheaper than any other. Gas was 19 cents a gallon. A pay-phone call cost a nickel and all us kids kept a nickel in our watch pocket or coin holder for emergencies. 911 didn't exist so you called home if you needed help or "O" to get the police/fire. It sure was hard not to spend that nickel on a candy bar or a big Nehi Hippo soda on the walk home from school. The Nehi Hippo soda bottles were nearly twice the size of a Coke and came in many flavors. An "ice House" was right next to the school. Ice House is what we called all convenience or quick-stop stores back then as most started as a true ice house. (Supplying blocks of ice for ice boxes/coolers.) But NONE of them sold gas and gas stations didn't sell anything else but oil products. There was no such thing as a credit card but some stores would run a "tab" or had "accounts". Cash or Layaway were about the only option. Checks were a rarity.

 

[2LaneCruzer]

I recall that most of Mom's tableware was stuff we got at the gas station, or in a box of Mother's Oats, or Army Surplus and our drinking glasses once held jelly. We didn't know stuff was supposed to match!