Food and Recipes while under Coronavirus quarantine #7

[whiterhino]

Our mom used to heat up stale crackers and cereal in the oven to “crisp them up.” To me and my brothers they still tasted stale. But no food in our house ever got thrown out, and she wouldn’t buy more crackers or cereal until we finished what we had.

The stale cereal was our fault anyway. We’d dig through the boxes of cereal to find the prizes at the bottom of the boxes, then lose interest in the cereal.

Once they're stale, I'm out lol! The broken bits are good as croutons but never stale ones.

I haven't seen prizes in a cereal box for ages. I'm not even sure if that's done anymore? The last time I bought a kids cereal was last year around this time. Lucky Charms bc it was $1.99 for St Pattys. I neer let that happen, the stale crackers, chips or cereal.

I honestly think it is mostly a food storage issue when it goes bad fast. Humidity, heat, packaging can all affect how well it keeps IMHO.

 

[whiterhino]

MSG has gotten a bad rap, and more recent research has a more balanced view of the ingredient:
Is MSG Actually Bad for You?

I have known people who were allergic to MSG and people who were sensitive to it as well.

That is why I say dangerous. Also bc it makes foods more delicious apparently which can be dangerous IMO for example Chinese food w added MSG which makes it such a sneaky, delicious thing hahaha!

 

[IceIce9]

Once they're stale, I'm out lol! The broken bits are good as croutons but never stale ones.

I haven't seen prizes in a cereal box for ages. I'm not even sure if that's done anymore? The last time I bought a kids cereal was last year around this time. Lucky Charms bc it was $1.99 for St Pattys. I neer let that happen, the stale crackers, chips or cereal.

I honestly think it is mostly a food storage issue when it goes bad fast. Humidity, heat, packaging can all affect how well it keeps IMHO.

It was most likely a humidity issue when I was growing up, we did not have air conditioning.

Besides “crisping” stale crackers in the oven, the other trick our mom used to do was mixing dry milk powder with regular milk to stretch it. She would make half a pitcher of dry milk powder and water then fill the rest of the pitcher with 2% milk. She would talk a drink herself and claim she couldn’t even taste the difference. But we definitely could.

 

[killarney rose]

I remember having that one pulled on me too. I could tell and wouldn’t drink it.

 

[neesaki]

They really ARE too salty! It reminds me of Kramer saying "These pretzels are making me thirsty"

@PayrollNerd I meant Frito Lay as a company bc they make Doritos. Surprised Fritos do not contain MSG as so many processed foods do

I noticed recently there is a lightly salted option of Fritos corn chips. I should probably try them as I need to cut down on salt.

 

[neesaki]

MSG has gotten a bad rap, and more recent research has a more balanced view of the ingredient:
Is MSG Actually Bad for You?

This is good to know. I’m wondering now, if I could reduce the amount of salt in some foods, if I add a little MSG. Have you cooked with it?

ETA: Several reviews are suggesting that it adds flavor , so can reduce salt. I think I might give it a try.

Amazon.com

 

[slowpoke]

This is good to know. I’m wondering now, if I could reduce the amount of salt in some foods, if I add a little MSG. Have you cooked with it?

ETA: Several reviews are suggesting that it adds flavor , so can reduce salt. I think I might give it a try.

Amazon.com

^ bolded by me

Growing up, it was ‘normal’ in my household for my mom to sprinkle a little in her food preparations: Salt..pepper..Ajinomoto (msg).

When everyone started saying it was bad for you, we stopped adding it, too.

I do have a bottle of it at home, but I rarely use it. I wouldn’t be adverse to adding a pinch in things here and there, but I think I don’t only because I’m a recipe-follower most of the time, and most recipes don’t include it, so it doesn’t occur to me to add it in for that extra umami!

 

[neesaki]

^ bolded by me

Growing up, it was ‘normal’ in my household for my mom to sprinkle a little in her food preparations: Salt..pepper..Ajinomoto (msg).

When everyone started saying it was bad for you, we stopped adding it, too.

I do have a bottle of it at home, but I rarely use it. I wouldn’t be adverse to adding a pinch in things here and there, but I think I don’t only because I’m a recipe-follower most of the time, and most recipes don’t include it, so it doesn’t occur to me to add it in for that extra umami!

How could I forget? We often used Accent , which is nothing but MSG. I can’t believe that just came to me, lol.

 

[iamshadow21]

I grew up not eating much salt in food, because my mother was of that era of home cooks told never to use it. Now I live with my partner, who has low blood pressure, for which the advice is to salt things, so we salt things! I love salty, so it's all good. My blood pressure is fine, she has a home monitor to check on herself, and mine comes up normal when I try it out.

 

[IceIce9]

How could I forget? We often used Accent , which is nothing but MSG. I can’t believe that just came to me, lol.

When I was growing up Accent commercials were very frequently on tv. They advised sprinkling Accent on everything from meat to vegetables. As I recall, the commercials were bright and cheerful, showing children smiling and enthusiastically eating their vegetables because their mom had sprinkled Accent on them.

Also full page ads in magazines for Accent.

 

[slowpoke]

It was most likely a humidity issue when I was growing up, we did not have air conditioning.

Besides “crisping” stale crackers in the oven, the other trick our mom used to do was mixing dry milk powder with regular milk to stretch it. She would make half a pitcher of dry milk powder and water then fill the rest of the pitcher with 2% milk. She would talk a drink herself and claim she couldn’t even taste the difference. But we definitely could.

Your mom makes me smile for being such a frugal yet loving mom.

 

[whiterhino]

I've never heard of Accent but I DO like Mrs. Dash which sounds like the total opposite of Accent as it is a salt/seasoning substitute

I like to sprinkle this stuff on devilled eggs or an egg salad sandwich. You can add it to almost anything and they have a ton of options I didn't know about until this thread!

Home

A DASH A DAY HELPS KEEP SALT AWAY From the first taste of flavor on your favorite meal, Dash™ brings your taste buds to life! Spice things up without

mrsdash.com

Original Blend

Say hello to the original blend that started the Dash™ sensation. Each spice is hand-picked for a full-bodied taste that will heighten the flavor of your

mrsdash.com

Ingredients:
Onion, Spices (Black Pepper, Parsley, Celery Seed, Basil, Bay Marjoram, Oregano, Savory, Thyme, Cayenne Pepper, Coriander, Cumin, Mustard, Rosemary), Garlic, Carrot, Orange Peel, Tomato, Lemon Juice Powder, Citric Acid, Oil of Lemon.

 

[Puzzles8]

It was most likely a humidity issue when I was growing up, we did not have air conditioning.

Besides “crisping” stale crackers in the oven, the other trick our mom used to do was mixing dry milk powder with regular milk to stretch it. She would make half a pitcher of dry milk powder and water then fill the rest of the pitcher with 2% milk. She would talk a drink herself and claim she couldn’t even taste the difference. But we definitely could.

My mom was frugal too. My parents were born in 1923 and 1925, definitely Depression kids.
I remember drinking powdered milk. I didn't love milk to begin with, but I really didn''t like powdered milk. We only ate what was on sale at the grocery store that week, meats or veggies.
We had a HUGE victory garden in our back yard and canned volumes of tomatoes that lasted us through the winter. I really miss those home canned tomatoes.
I do really miss those times when life was simple.

JMO

 

[iamshadow21]

My mom was frugal too. My parents were born in 1923 and 1925, definitely Depression kids.
I remember drinking powdered milk. I didn't love milk to begin with, but I really didn''t like powdered milk. We only ate what was on sale at the grocery store that week, meats or veggies.
We had a HUGE victory garden in our back yard and canned volumes of tomatoes that lasted us through the winter. I really miss those home canned tomatoes.
I do really miss those times when life was simple.

JMO

I don't miss powdered milk. That was all I had growing up. It was nasty.

 

[PayrollNerd]

I don't miss powdered milk. That was all I had growing up. It was nasty.

Same. I’d rather not have any milk at all if I had to have powdered milk. I buy a gallon of whole milk each week, just for me.

 

[ilovewings]

Do you ever watch the show on the history channel "The Food That Built America"
It is absolutely wonderful and amazing to learn how these genius men and women
basically invented a certain food- All the foods we take for granted weren't even here
100 years ago---- For example, they did a show on TV Dinners and how that came to be.
We were poor so we had Swanson TV Dinners quite often, or Chef Boy Ar Dee-- had that way too often but the story of Chef Boy Ar Dee was fascinating! He introduced Italian food to America!, Another example is Entenmann Baked goods- A woman started that company--

 

[killarney rose]

We love that series!

 

[BetteDavisEyes]

Do you ever watch the show on the history channel "The Food That Built America"
It is absolutely wonderful and amazing to learn how these genius men and women
basically invented a certain food- All the foods we take for granted weren't even here
100 years ago---- For example, they did a show on TV Dinners and how that came to be.
We were poor so we had Swanson TV Dinners quite often, or Chef Boy Ar Dee-- had that way too often but the story of Chef Boy Ar Dee was fascinating! He introduced Italian food to America!, Another example is Entenmann Baked goods- A woman started that company--

I've heard about the show but haven't ever watched it. If you are fascinated by the "history of food", you might enjoy this book: A History of Food by Maguelonne Toussant-Samat, Translated by Anthea Bell. At 800 pages, it's a hefty read and, at times, tedious and text bookish. I've never read the book from cover to cover, but I've read most of it by choosing a particular topic for focus.

A History of Food​

by Maguelonne Toussaint-Samat (Author)

A HISTORY OF FOOD
This classic work is an exploration and celebration of man’s relationship with food from earliest times to the present day. Maguelonne Toussaint-Samat tells the story of cuisine and the social history of food, taking in fascinating, little-known byways along the journey. For instance, we learn that Aztecs enjoyed chocolate as a drink with chilli and honey; we discover the Iroquois origins of popcorn; we hear about the potential culinary and farming uses of lupin seeds. Toussaint-Samat looks at the transition from a vegetable-based to an increasingly meat-based diet, as well as at the relationship between people and what they eat, between particular foods and social behavior, and between dietary habits and methods of cooking...

 

[slowpoke]

Do you ever watch the show on the history channel "The Food That Built America"
It is absolutely wonderful and amazing to learn how these genius men and women
basically invented a certain food- All the foods we take for granted weren't even here
100 years ago---- For example, they did a show on TV Dinners and how that came to be.
We were poor so we had Swanson TV Dinners quite often, or Chef Boy Ar Dee-- had that way too often but the story of Chef Boy Ar Dee was fascinating! He introduced Italian food to America!, Another example is Entenmann Baked goods- A woman started that company--

Darn, I wish I got the History Channel. That sounds interesting.

 

[killarney rose]

It’s available on streaming, that’s where we watch it. I can’t remember which service, thinking it’s Prime.