As the rather self-explanatory title of today's post sums up, I recently decided to create a fun vintage food related tag, which I answered myself in the YouTube video below. :)
If you'd like to play along as well, and I really hope that you will, you can do so either via a blog post and/or a YouTube video, so it's totally open to folks in either (or both) spheres.
Here, more or less word for word :), are the fifteen questions that I created, as they appear in my video:
1. What are three of your favourite vintage foods that are still around (aka, on the market) nowadays?
2. What is one of the vintage (food) brand that you like the most and why (do you like it)?
3. Do you cook vintage recipes sometimes yourself?
4. Do you have a favourite vintage recipe?
5. What is one of your most treasured recipes that came down to you through your family or someone else dear to you?
6. Who/what is your favourite vintage food mascot?
7. What is your favourite vintage decade from a culinary standpoint?
8. One or more great vintage store bought foods that you wish they'd bring back?
9. Do you ever serve vintage dishes for parties, holidays, or other special occasions?
10. And if so, is there one (holiday, etc) in particular that you like to make vintage dishes for above all the others?
11. Do you collect vintage cookbooks/recipe booklets?
12. Do you have a favourite vintage cookbook?
13. One thing that you think was better about vintage food/recipes?
14. And one thing that you think is better about modern food/recipes?
15. What would your dream vintage meal be?
♥ ♥ ♥
Of course, if you don't want to answer all these questions, but would like to share your replies for one or more of them with me, please feel free to do so either here in the comment section of this post or over on YouTube.
Fall really does equal the return of comfort food season, which was also a big driving force behind the creation of this fun tag, and I'm absolutely thrilled about that fact! There are several delicious fall and winter vintage recipes that I've been tucking away throughout the year to share with all of you here once the mercury plummeted and I'll certainly be doing just that in coming months.
Many thanks to all those who play along - be sure to share links to your posts or videos if you do so that I can check out and enjoy reading/hearing your answers to the Vintage Food Tag as well!
How much fun! I would love to play along :)
ReplyDeleteAwesome, sweet dear!!! Whether via video or written post, I thoroughly look forward to seeing your answers, if you do try your hand at this fun tag.
DeleteTons of hugs & happy Sunday wishes,
♥ Jessica
I have to confess that I am using a Lenovo tablet/laptop and it is know (after I reserached it) to have awful sound, so I barely could listen to the tag, even at 100 on the speakers. But I liked the questions and I would have loved to listen to the last answer! Nevertheless, I am sure that the tag was nice and I always enjoy your posts, you know that! I hope you have a very good weekend, dear Jessica! Enjoy it a lot and maybe with some vintage meals? I would love to see some, here! Hugs and kisses, dear Jessica!
ReplyDeleteDenisesPlanet.com
Hello lovely Denise, I'm sorry to hear that the audio on your laptop is less than ideal. :( I have no problem with the volume on this video when viewing it on my computer or either of Tony. I'm not saying it's Hollywood quality of course and do hope to invest in some video making equipment that will make it better in general as time goes on, so hopefully once that's in place (down the road) even those who have computers with less-than-stellar audio will be able to hear what I'm saying.
DeleteWishing you a fun filled, beautiful weekend, too!
♥ Jessica
You know (I did leave the comment on your video) this post is one of those things that make me smile when I read/watch them.
ReplyDeleteI will join in.
Food is the most important part of my life and (even though I struggle with some of it) I love variety. Maybe you will get the chance to get to know some of the odds and ends of our cuisine.. and get to like it. :D
Marija
That would be marvelous! I've always been an adventurous eater and a passionate foodie, so even though some of my medical conditions greatly curtail what I can and cannot eat, I'm still game for trying new things whenever possible and sincerely look forward to your answers, lovely Marija. Thank you so much for wanting to play along!
DeleteTons of hugs & happy Sunday wishes,
♥ Jessica
This is a great idea when i get home i will have to check out the video! I used to come home with vintage cookbooks like no tomorrow. But lately i haven't cooked anything from one, my go to cookies recipes are all vintage. Never really tried meals, I should get on that!
ReplyDeleteVintage cookbooks are awesome for cookie recipes, I totally agree. Many of my go-to cookies (and desserts in general) either came from such or have been handed down through 2 - 4+ generations and are thus entirely vintage in their own right.
DeleteI wish you tons of success with whipping up vintage meals and am super stoaked to see your answers to these fun vintage food related questions, sweet Daphne.
Big hugs & happy wishes for a beautiful Sunday,
♥ Jessica
Part 1 of 2.
ReplyDeleteOoh I'll play!
1. What are three of your favourite vintage foods that are still around (aka, on the market) nowadays?
Probably Jello, Kellogg's Corn Flakes, and Arm and Hammer baking soda. All of them are workhorses! (And all have had weird ad campaigns over the years :-P)
2. What is one of the vintage (food) brand that you like the most and why (do you like it)?
I have a soft spot for jello. I like jello puddings (instant dessert!), I like jello fruit gelatin, ... and I think that's all I've ever used. It just makes me think of Grandma's house, how there was always a dessert with dinner even if it was just Jello or canned fruit cocktail, and about how the first recipe I ever learned (as a wee one) was Banana Cream Pie. Graham Cracker crust, sliced bananas on the bottom, and cover with banana pudding made with a little less milk. Serve with whipped cream. ... I want that now.
3. Do you cook vintage recipes sometimes yourself?
I do! I collect vintage and antique cookbooks, and I read them like novels, to be quite frank. There's often a lot going on! But one of the things that I am continually reminded of when reading them is this: food doesn't have to be complicated or have a lot of ingredients to be GOOD. I'm always inspired after reading a vintage cookbook to make something healthy, tasty, and simple.
4. Do you have a favourite vintage recipe?
Ooh, hm. If I ever had to pick a favorite recipe it would probably be one of the ones I've learned from my grandma. Whether cultural foods (we're Ukrainian, so pierogi and cabbage rolls are a staple), her rosettes (she's the BEST rosette maker!), or her blueberry muffins. I don't even eat blueberries, and I eat those muffins. And as I finally figured out this summer, she takes them out of the oven when they're barely barely sunkissed golden, and lets them finish cooking a few minutes in the pan. So they remain light and cakey, while still fully cooked. Amazing.
5. What is one of your most treasured recipes that came down to you through your family or someone else dear to you?
Oh! Looks like I answered that above. :-P I guess an ACTUAL vintage recipe I've loved is Vinegar Pie. It tastes like a citrus pie, it's kind of a custard-pie texture, and it's dead simple and uses pantry ingredients. What's not to love?
6. Who/what is your favourite vintage food mascot?
The Morton Salt girl. I think she's cute as a button. As a kid I always wanted to tell her that she was spilling salt!
7. What is your favourite vintage decade from a culinary standpoint?
Either the 1970s or the early 1900s-19teens. The 70s had a back-to-the-land movement as a backlash against the wonder convenience foods of the 50s and 60s, and some of the best cookbooks are published from then. (I have a "Pasta" cookbook from Time Life Books that is the best cookbook I own.) The early 20th Century used modern stoves and modern cookware, but still cooked healthy, solid, staples. I have learned more ways to use toast from that time than any other!
8. One or more great vintage store bought foods that you wish they'd bring back?
I'm firmly entrenched in my love of modern snack foods -- I think I'm ok as is!
Part 2 of 2:
ReplyDelete9. Do you ever serve vintage dishes for parties, holidays, or other special occasions?
I'll occasionally try something new when having friends over for casual dinners. I'll mention where I found it, and make some comment about how I couldn't resist trying it out! Or if I have an ingredient, like, a pumpkin or so, I'll check my recipe books to see if any new pumpkin recipes stand out, and I'll cook that for friends. But I wouldn't say that I cook strictly vintage for any particular date.
10. And if so, is there one (holiday, etc) in particular that you like to make vintage dishes for above all the others?
Not really. Traditional foods, but not inherently vintage.
11. Do you collect vintage cookbooks/recipe booklets?
I have 49 cookbooks on my shelf right now (I'm sure there are others!), 7 recipe booklets, and I'd classify 20 of the books and all of the booklets as vintage/antique. My oldest cookbook is 1899, the Menasha Cook Book put out by a church group in Wisconsin. But it keeps good company with 2 early Fannie Farmers (1916 and 1934), Marion Harland's Complete Cook Book (1906), Good Housekeeping Cook Book (1934) and many others. Including the cookbook my grandmother recieved as a wedding present: American Woman’s Cook Book, 1952 edition.
12. Do you have a favourite vintage cookbook?
I go between the Marion Harland and the Searchlight in terms of my "old" cookbooks, and DEFINITELY my Pasta cookbook is the best cookbook I own.
13. One thing that you think was better about vintage food/recipes?
No one was trying to impress people with a title. I can't go to any recipe without it being Blueberry-Basil Tartlettes with Balsalmic and Wild Honey Glaze and Fresh Basil Chiffonade. It would be listed in a vintage cookbook as a Blueberry Tart, and it would only be in reading the recipe you'd find out that there was anything OTHER than the blueberry in the title!
14. And one thing that you think is better about modern food/recipes?
Fewer convenience and "nufoods". I hardly see pie crust recipes calling for Crisco these days. :-P
15. What would your dream vintage meal be?
Something that I didn't cook. I'll eat almost anything if it's both free and not cooked by me!
-- Tegan
(I went over word count :P)
Hello lovely Tegan, you are awesome!!! Thank you so much for taking the time to answer in the comments here. I truly appreciate that and loved reading your own replies to these questions.
DeleteGood call on your fave foods that are still around. I second Corn Flakes for sure! I use a GF version often both as is and as an ingredient/coating in various foods. Crushed, they can even sub in for cookies or graham crackers in some recipes. So handy!
It's awesome that you're a big fan of Jell-O, too! Watch for a fun filled, history laden, imaged packed post all about Jell-O coming up in the first half of October.
Yum!!! All of the family recipes that you mentioned sound marvelous. My paternal grandpa is Russian and there's an annual family tradition of serving Russian/Ukrainian food each New Year's in our family, with things like cabbage rolls, vegetable tartlets, and pierogi being frequent players that the dinner table. I developed a love of such food early on through those nights and still enjoy cooking from that side of my heritage, when possible.
Terrific pick for your favourite mascot! She really is sweet and so iconic! I'm not sure if she was ever up here in Canada, but I definitely know about her from US sources.
Very cool picks for your favourite decades from a culinary standpoint. I like some 70s foods - especially casseroles and certain desserts - a lot as well. There's so much to be said for the elegance of the earliest years of the last century, too, and think that is a superb era to enjoy the food from. I have some canning recipes in particular from the 1900s - 1920s that I utterly adore and that work as well today as the moment they were first printed.
What an awesome sounding cookbook and booklet collection! Now you've got me curious as to my oldest? Likely a booklet from the 20s, but I'll have to double check on that one. :)
Sooo true about vintage recipe titles not listing every last ingredient in them and trying to sound like they're the be all to end all. Granted, the chef in me does that sometimes myself, but it's important to remember to keep food and our recipes humble, too. Thank you for raising the wise point.
And many, many heartfelt thanks again for playing alone. You rock and so do your answers!
Tons of hugs & happy autumn cooking!
♥ Jessica
I've wanted to make several of the vintage recipes you've posted, however I have not… yet.
ReplyDeleteOne of my fave dishes from the era is the pineapple turnover...
Giant yum, that sounds soooo good! Tony and I are both big pineapple fans, so I bet we'd love that classic dish from your country.
DeleteBig hugs & happy Sunday wishes,
♥ Jessica
I now feel that I am very ignorant about vintage foods! I think I've learned everything I know about old recipes etc through your blog in fact! Great idea for a tag though, hope lots of people join in :) x
ReplyDeleteThat's very sweet of you to say, dear CiCi. I'm delighted to know that I've helped expand your vintage culinary knowledge through my posts. What a touching thing to hear. I hope that any vintage recipes you may try from my blog turn out splendidly for you!
DeleteTons of hugs,
♥ Jessica
hey miss cutie!!! always love your videos! <3
ReplyDeleteas for vintage cooking - around here it means a completely different thing - beside of pudding powder we had almost zero industrial prepared food, very few tropical fruits and a much smaller range on veggies. and two wars and a very poor time between and afterwards made food a very serious thing. in the western part of germany this changed much earlier to a more "american" approach. not so here. so one can say that when i learned cooking in the 1980´s it was a vintage style cooking - but more 19.century vintage then middle of the 20.century vintage......
hugs&kisses!!!!!
What a cute idea. And of course you wear a dress with apples and red accessories. Very lovely.
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately, I hate cooking, and am happily married to the best chef in the world. DH is really a food nerd. He adores cooking, and I gladly eat it. I love baking and making desserts though, which he is not much into. What I think is funny about about food of the fifties is that we make fun of it, instead of paying some respect to the housewives back then, because they were indeed very creative. Many things were rationed up until 1959 in Denmark and most of Europe, so they had to make something out of what they could get. Therefore, they tried to make ordinary dishes look exciting and "funny". And that's quite a talent. Today, we can buy everything everywhere and have to be grateful for that.
PS: It is possible to bring vintage food products back. I have a fun story from Denmark: Some years ago a large ice cream company decided to retire a popsicle called Kung Fu. It was white limonade with a black liqorice band, everybody loved it and they got SO many e-mails and letters telling them NOT to retire the Kung Fu ice, so they didn't and it is still here today. :)
PPS: Nice cleavage. ;) XOXO
How awesome that you two compliment one another so well on that front (and countless others, too, I'm sure). Tony can and will cook, but it's not something that he has a burning passion for in general and aside from barbequing in summer, it's very rare for him to ever do so. I don't mind at all, as I adore cooking and baking - really, anything pertaining to food - so much. He's awesome griller though and I could live of his barbequed foods and little more (save for fresh produce) all summer long, if possible. :)
DeleteThat is an excellent and very insightful point. I completely agree and have tried always to hold vintage foods - and those who first cooked/baked them - up in (their rightful) high regard as a way to counterbalance the generally negative perceptions that surrounds so much of mid-century cookery. You have truly hit the nail on the head here and I'm so happy that you did. This is a point that needs to be raised more often, even, IMO, within today's vintage loving world.
That popsicle sounds soooo good! I love Tiger Tail ice cream (orange ice cream with ribbons of black licorice flavoured syrup running through it) and am sure I would enjoy that tasted ice lolly flavour, too. Way to go people of Denmark on having it revived!
Big hugs & happy (almost) start of autumn wishes,
♥ Jessica
Hi Jessica!
ReplyDeleteIt´s a wonderful idea (the vintage tag recipes).
As I´m from Spain the word vintage food doesn´t mean anything to me. I´ll directly call it "traditional". From lentils soup with "chorizo" and green peppers to our wonderful "paella" and all its variants. Each Spanish region has its own food & traditional recipes. I was born in Madrid and grew up in different places of my country. All this travelling was a wonderful experience when it comes to cooking. I can cook a lovely and heavy "cocido madrileño" (Madrid), a "paella" from Valencia, "migas extremeñas" (Extremadura), "pote" (from Asturias), "garlic soup" (from Castilla) and I can go on and on... these recipes and others I know are pretty old and have not changed since centuries (paella has been the most updated one).
Could these recipes been considered vintage?
About vintage books.I do not have any and know most recipes from heart.
Spain was a mix of cultures, Celts, Iberians, Romans, Phenicians, Visigots, Arabs and Jews left their prints on our way to cook and understand food. If you want to read books:
"Los doce libros de la agricultura" from the 1st Century(Columela)
«Originum sive etymologiarum libri viginti» from the 7th Century (Isidoro de Sevilla)
"Relieves de las mesas, acerca de las delicias de la comida y los diferentes platos" from the 13th Century ( Ibn Razin al-Tuyibi)
«Libro de los guiados, manjares y potajes» from the 15th Century (Ruperto de Nola)
«Arte cisoria o de cortar con el cuchillo» from the 15th Century editted for the very first time in 1766 (Enrique Villena).
Also remember we discovered America and brought to Europe, peppers, spices, potatoes, tomatoes, we were the first europeans to begin to plant and eat them back in the early 16th Century.
America added more flavour to our way of eating.
Saddly people are slowly loosing those traditions and now, for people younger than me, it is quite common to have a pizza for dinner, or something from the fast-food companies that can be ordered.
That way you are not bothered to cook anything at all... :-(
With love from Lux/Germany,
Eva
Hello dear Eva, thank you very much for your absolutely fantastic, informative post. I wholeheartedly appreciate the time and thought that you put into replying and playing along here.
DeleteThose recipes could most certainly be considered vintage. They're timeless classics and integral parts of the nation's cuisine.
If you ever start a blog, lovely lady, this comment would be a great post for it. I really enjoyed reading more about the culinary richness of your culture and sincerely appreciate everything that you shared here (and second your dismay that good home cooked meals are not nearly as common, or at least frequent, as they once were for many the world over).
Huge hugs & joyful autumn wishes!
♥ Jessica