Retro food

[Stokey Sue Profile]

Yes, our 1956 tv was only BBC
After we moved, so 1960 ish I used to go next door to watch the Hanna Barbera cartoons on ITV with my friend

Herbi, I think some kind of a tv was pretty normal by the mid 60s, though the quality varied a lot, rental tv was a big thing for families that couldn’t afford the outlay to own outright

[Pampy Profile]

My parents got a tv in 1951. My brother was born in 1950 and my Mum wanted to have another baby - but my Dad wanted a tv. The tv won - I was born a year after its arrival!

[miss mouse Profile]

Herbi, I think some kind of a tv was pretty normal by the mid 60s, though the quality varied a lot, rental tv was a big thing for families that couldn’t afford the outlay to own outright

Didn't it have more to do with the shocking unreliability of them and no consumer rights?

[Stokey Sue Profile]

Herbi, I think some kind of a tv was pretty normal by the mid 60s, though the quality varied a lot, rental tv was a big thing for families that couldn’t afford the outlay to own outright

Didn't it have more to do with the shocking unreliability of them and no consumer rights?

Both I think

Initially I think people turned to Radio Rentals because it was the lowest weekly or monthly outlay, but people soon appreciated that you could upgrade more often and didn’t need to pay extra for repairs if you rented. Even my dad, a great believer in owning considered it briefly in the 60s when the technology was changing, but in the end I think he just asked a technician at work for advice

Then there was a huge market in ex rental TVs, I’m sure every shared house or flat I lived in during the 70s had one, battle scarred, running hot, but more or less functional

[miss mouse Profile]

Then there was a huge market in ex rental TVs, I’m sure every shared house or flat I lived in during the 70s had one, battle scarred, running hot, but more or less functional

So there was, I had forgotten, then the Japanese ones hit the market, reliable and affordable which caused the bottom to fall out of that market.

[Binky Profile]

Re. the mention of tinned soups earlier, I have inherited a cookbook which relies heavily on tinned soups, tinned vegetables and processed cheese. Here's a recipe taken at random.



I covered over the top part of the page as it shows the title of the book. I wonder if anyone knows or can guess it? It was hugely popular at the time (1961) and was originally published in the US but was equally popular here (it was my late mother-in-law's book).

[herbidacious Profile]

My mum had a rental tv until about ten years ago and we had an ex-rental in the early 2000s. (Great big fat thing.) My parents' reason was unreliablity. My mother had the same washing machine for about 40 years. Could have bought several new ones with that (or just bought that and saved a heap of money). I rented a washing machine in Oxford. I didn't know how long I would be there and thus if it was worth stretching my overdraft (assuming I could) to buy a second hand one. Ended up in the same college flat for 4 years. 'Tis always the way.

Marguerite puts mayo in some of her soups...

[Pepper Pig Profile]

That’s hilarious Binky. Was it the Radiation Cookbook?

[Stokey Sue Profile]

I remember my mother making a fish dish
I pack Birds Eye cod fillets thawed and placed in a buttered dish
1 can undiluted Campbell’s condensed mushroom soup poured over
Topped with breadcrumbs and grated cheese then baked

[Uschi Profile]

We had tinned soups, but using them as sauces didn't really catch on.
For semi-processed canned food there were lentils with a few soup greens in jars or cans.
If you fried a few lardons, added the lentils and veg, some stock granules or a splash of Maggi-sauce and some cut up Frankfurters and cubed leftover potatoes you had a decent lentil stew.

[mistakened Profile]

Binky, was it the I hate to cook book ?

[Binky Profile]

Binky, was it the I hate to cook book ?

Yes!!!

Well done you

[miss mouse Profile]

Binky, was it the I hate to cook book ?

Goodness, who wouldn't hate it with that sort of end product after the effort.

[Binky Profile]

It's written by a woman called Peg Bracken. I don't think she had any culinary qualifications.

It's definitely written in a jokey way but the 'recipes' are vile.

One is for fillet of beef covered in dried onion soup mix.

[Earthmaiden Profile]

That recipe is the absolute limit, Binky! What a waste of ingredients.

Whilst I wouldn't put onion soup on a fillet of beef it does remind me that my mother marinaded slabs of chuck steak with lemon juice, dried onions and a couple of tablespoons of water and cooked it on a slow oven in a casserole and it was delicious.

In certain circles, TV was considered a bit common initially. My parents continued with this and we never had one, the radio was considered entertainment enough (Home Service of course). My father and I avidly watched the trashiest programmes at other people's houses. My grandmothers both got TV in the mid to late 60s. I didn't live in a house with one until I married in 1974. My mother didn't have TV until she went into a home in 1998 and she loved it. I started school in 1958 and never in all my schooldays had any friends without one.

[Pepper Pig Profile]

My mother still has to apologise if she’s caught watching daytime TV. Tipping Point is her guilty secret!

[Stokey Sue Profile]

It's written by a woman called Peg Bracken. I don't think she had any culinary qualifications.

It's definitely written in a jokey way but the 'recipes' are vile.

One is for fillet of beef covered in dried onion soup mix.

Peg Bracken also wrote the I Hate to Housekeep book, which I had, which was quite entertaining and did actually contain one or two good tips

https://www.theguardian.com/news/2007/d ... ainsection

[miss mouse Profile]

Interesting obit Stokey.

[Wic Profile]

I think I still have the I hate To Cook book, I’ve had several culls, but I think I kept it for the entertainment value. I loved the bit where she had to take dessert somewhere and actually took boxes of chocolate marshmallow tea cakes. Everybody loved them! I like them too, maybe it was fellow feeling.

[Amber Profile]

When we bought our first house, we inherited a gas fridge - it was very good.

Using tinned food was also a ‘thing’ here too…

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