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- Jul 21, 2019
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What are your experiences? Here are some of mine.
Lipton chicken noodle soup (instant). I just had my first servings of the stuff in decades, and everything about it was as I remembered, from the bright yellow color, and the pine needle-sized noodles. And the flavor was instant nostalgia! But um, I suppose my palate has evolved, so taking a cue from suggestions on the package, I added onions, carrots and celery, and for want of any chicken leftovers, a half-can of canned white chicken meat. It sure fleshed out the dish, though it also made me aware that the broth mostly tasted of salt and MSG.
Campbell's and Progresso canned soups: The ones I've tried in recent years have seemed nearly flavorless, but I felt that the addition of a bit of Better Than Bouillon sometimes helped greatly.
M&Ms, Mars, Snicker's, Milky Way candies: Seem pretty much the same. I don't recall Milky Way Dark from my younger days, but IMO, it's the one to get.
Flick's chocolate drops. Oh the brightly-colored foil rolls! But I think this is a case where the product has remained the same, but I haven't: My adult self thought they were waxy. Fortunately, Droste still delivers the good stuff, though I think the packages used to contain more chocolate and less air.
Horlick's malted milk tablets: I think it was either in the 1990s or even the early aughties when I received a batch, many years after they had vanished from USA stores. These were made, not in the USA, but in Malaysia, and the glass bottles had been replaced by a simple paper sachet. But the taste was just as I remembered. Would buy today if readily available.
McDonalds: Seems much the same, but did the fries once taste meatier? Dunno if it was McD, but I distinctly recall kind of a musky funk to the earlier fries which I didn't much care for. OTOH, they seem to revive the deep-fried fruit pies periodically, and IMO, it's worth the wait. Positioning their chocolate shake as a more upscale item with a dab of whipped topping is a nice touch, though Shake Shack's has a more intensely chocolatey taste with just the right amount of bitterness, and more complex flavor in general. McD chicken gets most of it's flavor from the batter coating and sauces: Was it Mark Bittman who observed that the first couple of bites of McNuggets have the perfect crisp bite, before you start to notice the deficiencies?
Tombstone Original Thin Crust Supreme frozen pizza. Dunno now that they've started packing them in cardboard boxes, versus simply shrink-wrapping them, but I felt the ones I had circa 2024 were decently scarf-worthy. A family member tried to upscale us with frozen pizzas by Rao's and CPK, but I thought the latter was mediocre, and the former was not one of Rao's stronger offerings.
B&M original baked beans: Never cared for the slab of pork fat back in the day, but don't recall seeing one in the most recent can. Otherwise, pretty much the same as I recalled. But I prefer the flavor of Bush's Homestyle, which is tangier and more tomato-y. Both are best when excess liquid is drained, IMO.
Totino's Pizza Rolls: Admittedly, not a flavor from my youth, and I don't anticipate buying again as they didn't seem to taste much like a pizza IMO.
Tapioca pudding: The stuff from my youth was probably a Kraft product. Tried Jello tapioca and didn't care for it. Then I bought a bag of Bob's Red Mill small pearl tapioca and followed the recipe on the package and thought it was wonderful, though costlier, what with it's use of whole milk, cream, eggs, and lengthy cooking time.
Oscar Meyer hot dogs: Haven't revisited in some time, but recall thinking they were rubbery and rather bland. My current choice is Nathan's Famous.
Lipton chicken noodle soup (instant). I just had my first servings of the stuff in decades, and everything about it was as I remembered, from the bright yellow color, and the pine needle-sized noodles. And the flavor was instant nostalgia! But um, I suppose my palate has evolved, so taking a cue from suggestions on the package, I added onions, carrots and celery, and for want of any chicken leftovers, a half-can of canned white chicken meat. It sure fleshed out the dish, though it also made me aware that the broth mostly tasted of salt and MSG.
Campbell's and Progresso canned soups: The ones I've tried in recent years have seemed nearly flavorless, but I felt that the addition of a bit of Better Than Bouillon sometimes helped greatly.
M&Ms, Mars, Snicker's, Milky Way candies: Seem pretty much the same. I don't recall Milky Way Dark from my younger days, but IMO, it's the one to get.
Flick's chocolate drops. Oh the brightly-colored foil rolls! But I think this is a case where the product has remained the same, but I haven't: My adult self thought they were waxy. Fortunately, Droste still delivers the good stuff, though I think the packages used to contain more chocolate and less air.
Horlick's malted milk tablets: I think it was either in the 1990s or even the early aughties when I received a batch, many years after they had vanished from USA stores. These were made, not in the USA, but in Malaysia, and the glass bottles had been replaced by a simple paper sachet. But the taste was just as I remembered. Would buy today if readily available.
McDonalds: Seems much the same, but did the fries once taste meatier? Dunno if it was McD, but I distinctly recall kind of a musky funk to the earlier fries which I didn't much care for. OTOH, they seem to revive the deep-fried fruit pies periodically, and IMO, it's worth the wait. Positioning their chocolate shake as a more upscale item with a dab of whipped topping is a nice touch, though Shake Shack's has a more intensely chocolatey taste with just the right amount of bitterness, and more complex flavor in general. McD chicken gets most of it's flavor from the batter coating and sauces: Was it Mark Bittman who observed that the first couple of bites of McNuggets have the perfect crisp bite, before you start to notice the deficiencies?
Tombstone Original Thin Crust Supreme frozen pizza. Dunno now that they've started packing them in cardboard boxes, versus simply shrink-wrapping them, but I felt the ones I had circa 2024 were decently scarf-worthy. A family member tried to upscale us with frozen pizzas by Rao's and CPK, but I thought the latter was mediocre, and the former was not one of Rao's stronger offerings.
B&M original baked beans: Never cared for the slab of pork fat back in the day, but don't recall seeing one in the most recent can. Otherwise, pretty much the same as I recalled. But I prefer the flavor of Bush's Homestyle, which is tangier and more tomato-y. Both are best when excess liquid is drained, IMO.
Totino's Pizza Rolls: Admittedly, not a flavor from my youth, and I don't anticipate buying again as they didn't seem to taste much like a pizza IMO.
Tapioca pudding: The stuff from my youth was probably a Kraft product. Tried Jello tapioca and didn't care for it. Then I bought a bag of Bob's Red Mill small pearl tapioca and followed the recipe on the package and thought it was wonderful, though costlier, what with it's use of whole milk, cream, eggs, and lengthy cooking time.
Oscar Meyer hot dogs: Haven't revisited in some time, but recall thinking they were rubbery and rather bland. My current choice is Nathan's Famous.
