How we ate growing up

[gfweb]

A while ago I was making stock and after simmering the bones for hours I picked off some of the meat and ate it. It was dried out, overcooked, unseasoned...and very familiar. It was just like dinners I had growing up! For years I thought hamburgers were supposed to be hard pucks of dense, charred meat and steaks were supposed to be cooked till gray. Veg were best served limp. The only decent food was the mashed potato mix that was a good vehicle for the oleo, and pancakes.

[Deus Mortus]

What was your family food culture when you were growing up?

Both my parents came from quite poor families, but through hard work they managed to have an upper middle class income, they cooked like their parents, meaning food was fuel, nothing more. Yet we would often go to restaurants (especially during summer vacations in France) and they did enjoy good food, they just didn't have the skills or knowledge to make good food themselves, although my mother still heartily disagrees with me on that.

Was meal time important?

Dinner, we always had dinner at the dinner table and talked about our day. The only exception was the rare occasion where we ordered pizza, usually at the end of a very long day.

Was cooking important?

Not really.

What were the penalties for putting elbows on the table?

None, though my mother would get irritated if I read at the table, something I often did.

Who cooked in the family?

Usually my mother, but every once in a while my father, even though he only knew 3 recipe's, pancakes, potato and cauliflower mash and potato and kale mash.

Were restaurant meals common, or for special occassions?

We would go to restaurants on a regular basis, but it always felt special to my parents and me because of the better food, though my little brother would usually balk, because he didn't like many foods when he was younger.

Did children have a "kiddy table" when guests were over?

No, the few occasions this did happen at other people, I was heavily offended.

When did you get that first sip of wine?

Sip of beer actually, I was 5 or 6 and I kept asking for some, my father figured if I tasted it I would find it rancid, he was sorely mistaken and since then made the same mistake with coffee and whiskey. Only to find out I actually liked them, however I was 15 before I was really allowed to drink and then only on very special occasions, like my birthday, usually a small glass of whiskey and they slowly pulled back on how much control they kept over this until I was about 18 and allowed to drink whenever. This however really didn't stop me from doing this behind their backs and I drank and smoked (tobacco and pot) quite heavily between the ages 14 and 18 (I am now 22 years old).

Was there a pre-meal prayer?

Only when my grandmother came to visit.

Was there a rotating menu (e.g., meatloaf every Thursday)?

No.

[ScoopKW]

One thing I disliked about childhood food, is my family boiled all vegetables until they were a foul tasting mush.

Cabbage? Boil it.

Brussels Sprouts? Boil.

Turnips? Parsnips? Carrots? Boil 'em all.

Nowadays, the only thing I boil is pasta. Veg is roasted, sautéed, grilled, and sometimes steamed. But never boiled.

[Deus Mortus]

One thing I disliked about childhood food, is my family boiled all vegetables until they were a foul tasting mush.

Cabbage? Boil it.

Brussels Sprouts? Boil.

Turnips? Parsnips? Carrots? Boil 'em all.

Nowadays, the only thing I boil is pasta. Veg is roasted, sautéed, grilled, and sometimes steamed. But never boiled.

Same here, though I am slowly coming around to boiling in a flavored liquid and boiling it down with some sugar until the veggies are glazed and I have a lovely sauce, I know there is a french word for that method, but I really can't remember what it was.

[gfweb]

I forgot the real highlight. Swansons TV dinners. I liked even the foul metallic mashed potatoes.

[ChrisTaylor]

What was your family food culture when you were growing up?

White Australian. In the old sense. Pasta was spaghetti, spaghetti, spaghetti. Spaghetti bolognese. 'Asian', which my family adopted in the late 90s and early 00s, meant 'stir fries' made with satchets of sauces. In a fry pan. With the meat cooked for about 20 minutes (think of it as biltong stir fry and it's really not that bad, right?) Until quite recently my dearest mother had concerns about 'wog food'. Really.

Was meal time important?

If you meant dinner had to be consumed at the table and was a major source of drama/discipline/etc, then sure.

Was cooking important?

No.

What were the penalties for putting elbows on the table?

None.

Who cooked in the family?

99% of the time it was my mum. My dad took care of the BBQ and bolognese. The odd time my mum was away somewhere, he'd either get takeaway or cook frozen pies with frozen chips. And balls them up horribly.

Were restaurant meals common, or for special occassions?

Rare unless you count McDonald's and takeaway (fish and chips early on, at some point pizza came into the mix). If we did go out it'd be to 'family'-style Italian restaurants, Australianised Cantonese and maybe the odd 'all-you-can-eat' place.

Did children have a "kiddy table" when guests were over?

Sometimes.

When did you get that first sip of wine?

Merlot at 17 or 18. Hated it.

Was there a pre-meal prayer?

Only when our happy-clapper aunt and uncle came over.

Was there a rotating menu (e.g., meatloaf every Thursday)?

Takeaway every 2-4 weeks. Chicken almost every night.

How much of your family culture is being replicated in your present-day family life?

In my house? None of it.

[Panaderia Canadiense]

What was your family food culture when you were growing up?

A huge mix of everything, from British, Scots, and Canadian to Ukrainian, Russian, Polish, French, Portuguese, Italian, Thai, Viet, Lao, Tibetan, Nepali, Japanese. Rarely were these ever preserved purely, though - we tended to mix it up and there was a lot of fusion at the table.

Was meal time important?

Absolutely! Dinner, in particular, was a sit down around the table, eat, and discuss the day kind of affair, usually with friends over (in fact, I don't recall many dinners when we didn't have company of some sort.)

Was cooking important?

Hugely. We were too poor to go out, but we grew a lot of our own food and cooking it well was emphasized.

What were the penalties for putting elbows on the table?

None at home; Grandma would whack offenders with her soup spoon, though.

Who cooked in the family?

Everybody, including me as soon as I was able to use the stove safely.

Were restaurant meals common, or for special occassions?

Strictly special occasions, and always with friends.

Did children have a "kiddy table" when guests were over?

God no. Children were considered equal to adults at our table.

When did you get that first sip of wine?

I think I was 5 or 6; my uncle, who is a vintner, came by with some different bottles he'd found at the back of his cellar. I loved it, particularly one red that nobody could figure out (we narrowed it down to a Malbec blend around my 15th birthday, after extensive comparisons with his other wines of that vintage.)

Was there a pre-meal prayer?

Always; silent and personal except on special occasions, where we tended to just go around the table and say what we were all thankful for.

Was there a rotating menu (e.g., meatloaf every Thursday)?

Nope. What ended up on the plate was a function of what was in the fridge and what sounded tasty. Fridays were often homemade pizzas, but it wasn't a hard and fast rule.

How much of your family culture is being replicated in your present-day family life?

Almost all of it. I still live with my folks! The only major change is the amount of fresh veggies available in the fridge (more than it was when I grew up - but hey, I'm from northern Canada!) and that we've integrated Ecuadorian and pan-Andean influences into the fusions.

[bwv544]

What was your family food culture when you were growing up?

Taiwanese, with a bit of Southeast Texan/Cajun. Lots and lots of rice. Lots of vegetables---sometimes stir fried and still crisp, and sometimes boiled with ham hocks until limp. Cornbread and grits along with congee. Boudain along with thousand year old eggs. Awesome Tex-Mex chiles rellenos along with firepot with cellophane noodles. You get the idea.

Was meal time important?

YES. The only excuse to not eat together at the table were extracurriculars/studying at a friend's house. They preferred the friends to come over, though, so they could supervise the studying. If I had stuff after school all the way until 9:30 pm, Mom and Dad would eat some first, and then Dad would stay at the table working and Mom would read until I came home and they'd keep me company while I ate.

Was cooking important?

YES. Certain things were a family affair----gyoza, scallion pancakes with hot/sour soup, Taiwanese fish-ball soup, roasted duck, daikon cakes. My mother, grandmother, brother, and I are all decent cooks (mom and grandma are pretty awesome). Dad is an abysmal cook but he is useful for things like opening jars, dicing, measuring, carving birds, and rolling out dough.

What were the penalties for putting elbows on the table?

Like a previous poster, none----but woe to those who stood chopsticks upright in their rice!

Who cooked in the family?

Mostly mom. We helped sometimes and after I went to college I cooked when I came home to give her a break.

Were restaurant meals common, or for special occasions?

Special occasions, or when mom was on a business trip.

Did children have a "kiddy table" when guests were over?

We had a "kiddy room."

When did you get that first sip of wine?

According to them, I haven't.

Was there a pre-meal prayer?

Always. Depending on how the work day went Dad could go on for quite some time.

Was there a rotating menu (e.g., meatloaf every Thursday)?

No, except that Saturday lunch was "throw the leftovers into ramen" day.

How much of your family culture is being replicated in your present-day family life?

Not much. No prayers before meals. We go out to eat quite frequently. There's not a lot of great Cajun food or Tex Mex or even Taiwanese food in Cleveland (unless I'm wrong and missing out???) so we've shifted to other things---Eastern European, Thai, Italian, "American." Food is still really important but in very different ways.

[BeeZee]

My great grandmother served me noodles dressed with A-1. Not even sure where that falls in crimes against pasta (but as a little kid, I actually thought it was OK)!

[Duvel]

8 minutes ago, BeeZee said:

My great grandmother served me noodles dressed with A-1. Not even sure where that falls in crimes against pasta (but as a little kid, I actually thought it was OK)!

One of my childhood memories is boiled spaghetti with Maggi seasoning. Of course its supposed tobe wrong, but it is also starchy, umami and filling. No regrets …

[Anna N]

3 hours ago, Duvel said:

One of my childhood memories is boiled spaghetti with Maggi seasoning. Of course its supposed tobe wrong, but it is also starchy, umami and filling. No regrets …

It has got to beat SpaghettiOs. A

[blue_dolphin]

18 minutes ago, Anna N said:

It has got to beat SpaghettiOs. A

When I read pasta with ketchup in that article, SpaghettiOs is 100% what came first to mind.

 

3 hours ago, Duvel said:

boiled spaghetti with Maggi seasoning.

That, on the other hand sounds like the starting point to a quick, but not scandalous, Asian noodle dish.

[Kim Shook]

1).   Speaking as an expert, the sauce in SpaghettiOs is more like tomato soup, NOT catsup. 😁

 

2).  I'm betting that the Italians of 200 years ago would have the same sorts of opinions of 21st century "authentic" Italian cookery.  

[blue_dolphin]

13 minutes ago, Kim Shook said:

1).   Speaking as an expert, the sauce in SpaghettiOs is more like tomato soup, NOT catsup. 😁

 

2).  I'm betting that the Italians of 200 years ago would have the same sorts of opinions of 21st century "authentic" Italian cookery.  

 

Since the younger Italians differ so strongly in some points with the older groups in this poll, I'm sure you're right but 200 years ago?  That's prior to the unification of Italy as a country, not to mention a tough demographic to poll 🤣

 

And you may well be right on the SpaghettiOs sauce but I do not make my tomato soup that sweet so ketchup was what came to mind when I thought about that long-lost flavor memory!

[Anna N]

6 hours ago, Kim Shook said:

1).   Speaking as an expert, the sauce in SpaghettiOs is more like tomato soup, NOT catsup. 😁

All I can say is thank God SpaghettiOs had yet to be invented when I was a child. How would I have ever learned from my big brother how to properly and noisily slurp spaghetti so it left a sauce streak on my nose?

When he was feeling particularly civilized and fancy spaghetti was served on toast otherwise it was eaten directly from the can, cold.

[Kim Shook]

23 minutes ago, Anna N said:

All I can say is thank God SpaghettiOs had yet to be invented when I was a child. How would I have ever learned from my big brother how to properly and noisily slurp spaghetti so it left a sauce streak on my nose?

When he was feeling particularly civilized and fancy spaghetti was served on toast otherwise it was eaten directly from the can, cold.

LOLOLOL!  Oh, I learned that, too.  From my Italian great-grandfather (he was born about 2 weeks after his mother arrived in the US from Genoa) who made spaghetti with Chef Boyardee sauce from a can.  No one in that family could cook.  Apparently, his wife, my Irish-Italian great-grandmother was raised in a house with a cook in NOLA and never learned to cook.  His daughter, my grandmother was even worse - her pasta sauce was watered down tomato paste.  

[JoNorvelleWalker]

3 hours ago, Kim Shook said:

LOLOLOL!  Oh, I learned that, too.  From my Italian great-grandfather (he was born about 2 weeks after his mother arrived in the US from Genoa) who made spaghetti with Chef Boyardee sauce from a can.  No one in that family could cook.  Apparently, his wife, my Irish-Italian great-grandmother was raised in a house with a cook in NOLA and never learned to cook.  His daughter, my grandmother was even worse - her pasta sauce was watered down tomato paste.  

 

For years when I was a young cook yet to visit Italy my go to pasta sauce was tomato paste and V8 Juice.  Good it was too.  I thought I invented it.

 

[Kim Shook]

11 hours ago, JoNorvelleWalker said:

 

For years when I was a young cook yet to visit Italy my go to pasta sauce was tomato paste and V8 Juice.  Good it was too.  I thought I invented it.

 

My mom and I did Weight Watchers in the 1970s.  Their version of spaghetti with sauce in those days was boiled mung bean noodles with boiled down V8 juice.  That was in the "carbs are all evil" days.  We tried it once.  

[heidih]

11 hours ago, JoNorvelleWalker said:

 

For years when I was a young cook yet to visit Italy my go to pasta sauce was tomato paste and V8 Juice.  Good it was too.  I thought I invented it.

 

So did I as a younng teen. Faamily was not impressed I think I baked pork chops in it...

[Margaret Pilgrim]

My father's family all battled weight (although by today's standards they would have been considered average).   So we seldom ate pastas or potatoes.    Little fried food.   Broiled or braised.   "Boiled" veg.    Lots of salad.   Still no one was skinny since the concept of portion size was not foremost.  

 

Forward a generation, I confess to feeding our toddler "marble meatballs":   centimeter sized balls of ground round, sauteed and sauced with Campbell's tomato soup.    He loved them.    Also macaroni showered with (orange) Kraft "cheddar cheese food".    He loved that too.    Somehow and fortunately, both our tastes have evolved.

 

My DIL never cooked but brilliantly fed our toddler grand-kids from Whole Foods' prepared food and salad bar -> plain chicken breast, broccoli, cauliflower, etc.    Plain, wholesome food, no sauces or excess salt.   Raw vegetables and tons of fruit.    They are good eaters now, and she has begun to cook as they've grown into "children".

[kayb]

I guess basic pretty much covers it. My mother was diabetic, thus I still often serve meals without bread or dessert. However, the whole fam had good cholesterol, so fats, cheeses and red meat were all on the good list.

 

I’m from the south, so bacon grease seasoned everything. Fresh garden veggies, cornbread, you name it.

 

Things we didn’t have, growing up — lamb, farmed duck, asparagus, artichokes. Didn’t eat much broccoli or cauliflower or Brussels sprouts. Spaghetti was always with red sauce with ground beef. Mac and cheese was  always homemade. Beef was medium well, pork was WELL done.

 

Things we didn’t have at home much because Daddy hated them: pineapple, green peas, turkey.

 

Never ate Chinese food until I went to college. Never had grits until I went to college.

 

We ate a lot of game and sport fish.

[Kerala]

I grew up in many different places in different circumstances. But here's a story.

We were in Kerala at this time. When I was about 5, my grandparents lived with us. My father was a Brahmin, and his father allowed no meat in the house. Once in a while my parents would take the children out for a meal at a restaurant. Looking back it was probably a chance for my poor mother to get some meat down her throat just to stay alive. We would have chicken biriyani, served with eggs. I can remember gold leaf on at least one occasion.

I loved my grandfather and would always sit on his lap, his arms wrapped around me, listening to him telling me tales from the Ramayana or Mahabharata in the evening. When we came home after our meals out, I would circle him, afraid my breath would betray my sinful supper. Eventually I could bear it no longer and would jump into his arms.

 

"Did you have a nice time?"

Yes, Appuppa!

"What did you do? “

We went to a restaurant!

“What did you eat? “

We had rice.

“What did you have with the rice?"

There was onion.

"Anything else? “

Cashew nuts.

" Anything else? “

Raisins.

"Anything else? “

Cloves. There were definitely cloves.

" Anything else? "

There was yoghurt.

" Anything else? “

 

One day my father lost his temper and told him to stop tormenting me. Yes, we had gone out and had meat. Yes, we would do so again. Yes, the house would remain meat free.

 

Food culture was quite complicated in our household.

[BeeZee]

There are some Jewish people who follow Kosher dietary laws in the house, but it's a free for all outside. My husband's best friend married a woman who wanted to keep Kosher, he went along (and ate his cheeseburgers when traveling without his wife). My Uncle wanted to keep Kosher, my Aunt agreed (not raised with dietary restrictions) and a bit of black humor after his funeral when we took bets on how long until she ate some shellfish.