Worse, Much Worse, Than You Remember: Acquired Distastes

[Poffertjes]

I used to love Wheat Thins. Recently I bought a box for the first time in years. They were unbearably sweet and odd-tasting. On the other hand, I still love Triscuits.

I think they changed the recipe. Added more HFCS and other sweeteners. I agree with you. But I don't think they used to be that sweet.

Edited January 26, 2010 by Poffertjes (log)

[nakji]

Oddly enough for me, it's supermarket vegetables in Canada. I lost my taste for pretty much every pre-packaged food in the centre supermarket aisles after my first five years in Asia, when none of that was available to me. (Except for Skippy peanut butter; that's still ok.) But anyway, when I go back to Canada, what I find jarring is the really horrible, tasteless nature of vegetables like green onions or lettuce in the supermarket. It seems like Bunniculahas been at them. If I go to a farm stand or produce specialist like Pete's Frootique and get local products, I'm fine. But obviously, anything that's been trucked in from California or Mexico? I'd might as well be eating Styrofoam. I can really taste whether a vegetable is fresh or not now; I couldn't before.

[Lindacakes]

I would agree that there are two threads of distaste. One is that you've somehow changed, either physically or in your tastes and the other is that the food itself has changed. Most of the foods we are saying we no longer like are packaged foods.

The final chapter of Eric Schlosser's Fast Food Nation is about flavor factories in Elizabeth, New Jersey. (There's an interesting scent counterpart in Deluxe: How Luxury Lost Its Luster, and we know that smell and taste are closely related . . . ) The formulations change with tastes and economics. I don't believe that many, if not most, of the foods of our childhood bear any resemblance to what they were back then. Fig Newtons are a good case in point. I used to like Fig Newtons and I can't imagine swallowing a bite of one, let alone eating the whole thing. i don't think my rarefied taste in food accounts for that.

Children have more tastebuds than we do, our tastebuds die throughout our lifetime and we will have fewer as we age. Broccoli actually tastes bad to children. (I know that there are exceptions to this and that some children love sushi, etc.) Subtle tastes are lost on kids.

I think it's true that we have changed at the same time the food has changed.

[Katie Meadow]

I agree that most of the foods noted above are canned or heavily processed foods. Many of them, like canned soups, oreos, fig newtons and saltines were products our parents relied on and that we took for granted and had some nostalgia for when we first left the nest. Many of them were excessively sweet or excessively salty, and had little subtlety. Most of them used cheap ingredients and depended upon some measure of rehydration when eaten.

It doesn't strike me as strange in the least that a bunch of people on a food website who presumably enjoy food and cooking would find wanting many of the products of their childhood, which were in fact designed as fast food that you bought at a supermarket (rather than ordered at a restaurant.) If there is any group of people who have changed over time with respect to their attitudes about food, I would guess that's the definition of most people who are on eGullet.

What's true for Chris about sugar is true for me as well; I don't mind the chocolate cookie part of oreos, but the paste in the middle has entirely lost its appeal. But I'm the same about salt. Since reducing my salt intake, most processed foods and even most restaurant meals are way too salty. I still love salt, but less tastes just as salty as more used to.

I don't think many of the packaged processed foods have changed much, although some products now boast that they are low-salt or low-fat and come with other ridiculous claims for health benefits. They still contain plenty of poor quality ingredients, are too sweet and too salty. It is possible that some packaged foods used better ingredients in the past--more cane sugar, less refined flours, etc, but I would guess that since the mid-fifties, many of those products have not changed that much. Personally I think commercial Fig Newtons are about the same as they always were and that my standards have changed. A lot. When a Hershey bar with almonds is the only chocolate you know, it isn't much of a test, it just seems fine. If you are mass producing packaged foods, and selling it for prices that most people can swallow, you aren't going to use cane sugar, or Bob's Red Mill flour, or Valrhona chocolate, or freshly picked ears of heirloom corn. Not now, not then.

If you grew up with parents who were adventurous or really knew their way around a kitchen and who cooked from scratch, without relying on mixes or canned foods (and had the time and motivation to do so), you were lucky, from my perspective, even if the ingredients you had were limited and you didn't have the options for ethnic variety where you grew up. I felt like I pretty much had to reinvent the wheel after I left home; I'd been exposed to all sorts of cuisines, but I didn't have a clue how to put together anything except Knorr soup, lox and bagels, or spaghetti with canned clam sauce. And how to make a lemon coke.

[Shamanjoe]

Ever since I went to Europe, I can't stand Hershey's chocolate bars, or most other candy bars here in the States. I still use Nestle Toll House semi-sweet morsels for making cookies, but that's about it.

I still love Kraft Mac N Cheese though

[Chris Amirault]

Sometimes things are just as good as you remember. I have this thought whenever I eat a Filet o Fish or real popcorn with butter or a pea picked off the plant.

But sometimes the past is a lot more ugly in the here and now.

I had a real affection for Quaker Oats instant oatmeal growing up. It was a warm alternative to the usual cold cereal on a school day, and I'd improvise with raisins or cinnamon sugar and make it my own.

Tried some today because the school lunch isn't to my liking. Holy cow.

Every cliché about bad oatmeal applies. Pasty. Bland. Sticky. Pallid. So tender that it's almost... fecal.

Yes, I know, what did I expect? Well, I expected something that would fit my rosy nostalgia a bit more neatly. It doesn't. It flat-out sucks.

Any other food out there that turned out to be a blown tire on the road to yesteryear?

[Dianabanana]

A couple of years ago I thought I'd make a nice nostalgic meal of Campbell's cream of tomato soup and grilled cheese with Kraft slices on white bread. The soup was so unbelievably sweet and the cheese was like (sorry) melty, salty snot. But mostly it was the sweetness of the soup that I couldn't get over. I guess that must be why it appeals to kids.

[runwestierun]

... fecal.

Hahahahahhahhahhahhhahahhahahahahhhhaaah!!

I can never eat this again.

[Alex]

There's tons of stuff I absolutely loved as a kid that have gone by the wayside over the years due to taste, texture, nutritional choice, or simple change of preference -- La Sueur canned baby peas; Skippy peanut butter; Chef Boy-Ar-Dee ravioli; Mrs. Paul's fish sticks; Campbell's chicken noodle soup; etc., etc., etc.

Unlike Chris, I've had no recent revelations. However, I wouldn't mind trying some of those old super-favorite sweets, just to see:

Hostess Sno-Balls -- the white ones, not the girly pink ones (Are they still being made?)

Drake's Ring Dings (ditto)

Mallomars (I suspect I'd still love them.)

Chunky (ditto)

[Kouign Aman]

Coco's malts.

Thru my 20's they were the best malts anywhere to be found.

Had a several year hiatus, came back, and found them too sweet to drink.

[Porthos]

I liked brussel sprouts as a young adult. I tried them again in my fifties and gagged on them. Go figure.

[Shelby]

String cheese.

Loved it in my lunchbox.

Hate it in my fridge now.

[therippa]

I had Wendy's for the first time since high school last week at the airport. I used to love it, now I find it disgusting.

[Peter the eater]

Vachon cakes.

[Chris Amirault]

Too sweet seems to be a theme....

[andiesenji]

Velveeta.

There was a time when this was a staple in my kitchen because my kids loved it. Especially for grilled cheese sandwiches with pickles.

I didn't care a lot for it because I liked (and still like) sharp cheese in my sandwiches.

A few days ago I visited a neighbor who was making a dish with Velveeta and I ate a small cube.

Gah! This stuff is practically tasteless. a soft, plastic mass that is also oily and bland. What have they done to it. I'm sure my memory is not that bad that I can't recall how the stuff tasted back in the '70s.

[KitchenMom]

Spaghetti-Os. We weren't allowed to have this kind of food much as children, and I always thought of it as a super-special treat. Decided to give my kids a treat so I bought a can recently. It was completely disgusting - overly sweet, mushy, and just weird tasting. The kids liked it, though.

[Brianemone]

Taco Bell.

I spent a bit of time in the US as a kid and had very fond memories of Taco Bell.

Went back a few time in the last few years and was bitterly disappointed at how completely horrible it was. To think that I could have been eating some decent wholesome mexcal food. Blah.

[janeer]

A couple of years ago I thought I'd make a nice nostalgic meal of Campbell's cream of tomato soup ... The soup was so unbelievably sweet...

I did not grow up eating many prepared foods--my grandmother and mother were excellent cooks--but did eat Campbell's tomato soup occasionally and it is still the only prepared soup I buy, for a quick comfort food treat once in a while, topped with a slice of cheddar and ground pepper. I make it with water, though, so it doesn't have the added sweetness that comes from milk. I don't think it's too sweet; tomatoes are sweet.

One slightly different take on this is what I used to eat that is no longer available,and I am nostalgic for it: Thomas' Date Nut Bread (spread with cream cheese). This excellent product is considered by Thomas to be too expensive to make anymore. I have to bake a facsimile.

[Kerry Beal]

Vachon cakes.

A friend of the family worked for Vachon - we used to get boxes of the stuff occasionally. Can't bring myself to try them again - rather live with the memory of how good they were - cause I'm sure they suck now!

[David Ross]

Oreo cookies. I haven't had an Oreo cookie for years and so today I couldn't resist the end of the of aisle display at the Supermarket. I tore into the bag when I got home and started to scarf them down. According to the package, the only difference with the filling from an original Oreo is that the filling is orange and the cookies are stamped with special Halloween themes. Sure didn't taste the same as the Oreo cookies my Mother used to put in my school lunch box 45 years ago...

[Pierogi]

Taco Bell.

I spent a bit of time in the US as a kid and had very fond memories of Taco Bell.

Went back a few time in the last few years and was bitterly disappointed at how completely horrible it was. To think that I could have been eating some decent wholesome mexcal food. Blah.

Absolutely. To me, Taco Bell never recovered from their e.coli issue a few years back. They claimed initially that the e. coli was from scallions, later that was disproved.

But, in response, they pulled scallions from all their dishes, made a huge publicity campaign about it, and have never put them back. To the great, GREAT detriment of the taste of their stuff as far as I'm concerned. I used to really like an occasional "run for the border", even as an adult. I think I've been back twice since they pulled the scallions, and don't have plans to return.

Plus, they stopped offering the "super-hot" sauce packets....they were the best.

[JeanneCake]

Spaghetti-Os. We weren't allowed to have this kind of food much as children, and I always thought of it as a super-special treat. Decided to give my kids a treat so I bought a can recently. It was completely disgusting - overly sweet, mushy, and just weird tasting. The kids liked it, though.

As kids, my brother and I clamored for the pasta in a can - maybe it was the Chef Boyardee stuff, I don't remember. When my mother finally gave in and bought a can, my brother and I refused to eat it after one bite. I know it doesn't fit the loved it as a kid, don't like it as an adult theme we're on, but your story reminded me of that day. It was pretty funny!

[nakji]

Kraft Dinner. Plain or spiral. It's supposed to be comfort food, but I no longer find the gritty powder and limp pasta comfortable.

[LizD518]

Oreo cookies. I haven't had an Oreo cookie for years and so today I couldn't resist the end of the of aisle display at the Supermarket. I tore into the bag when I got home and started to scarf them down. According to the package, the only difference with the filling from an original Oreo is that the filling is orange and the cookies are stamped with special Halloween themes. Sure didn't taste the same as the Oreo cookies my Mother used to put in my school lunch box 45 years ago...

Have to disagree on this one. I too was craving Oreos for weeks recently. Since I don't buy cookies or things I can bake better myself, I found a recipe online that was supposed to be like homemade Oreos, and while they were good, they weren't quite the same. Finally bought a bag of classic Oreos and finished them within 3 days!! Sooo good. Now, hopefully my craving has been satisfied for another 10 years and I can leave them alone!