Eating in the 50's

[Norm W]

We used to make our own root beer. The Hires extract was added to 5 gallons of water with about 4 lbs of sugar and a cake of yeast. The bottles were all washed and the bottle-capper was clamped to the table. After filling and capping the bottles they were put down in the basement to ferment a bit. The fermentation provided the fizz. If they were left too long or too warm the pressure would sometimes burst a bottle. That one might take out a couple of others. Usually they didn't stay in the basement that long. It really tasted good after putting a load of hay away.

 

[mjarrels]

Use to make root beer too, a five cent pack of mix was added to two quarts of water. No fizz but still good.

mark

 

[Ken]

Going back to eating in 50,s so far have not read of eating catfish and the methods used to prepare them.
Remember the catching of large catfish in Ark. river and they were sliced like bread and fried in pan of grease. Good old lard from the rendering of a hog.
and most that were eating this way are still alive. in spite of the nay Sayers to use lard.
Of course today the frying of fish is to use peanut oil. but the little minnows flayed and cooked almost bite sized in restaurants.
the flavor is not of river cat but pond raised . and some have raised the question of where raised which country.

Also there is seldom a group of neighbors invited to a out door eating of fish just caught needing prepared and the family's getting together. No need of entertainment or program of events. Just come and enjoy.

 

[2LaneCruzer]

Aw, yes! Fresh caught catfish...there is nothing to compare. Just last Summer in Little Mound Texas, had a little family get together and feasted on fresh catfish! Don't care much for the tasteless pond raised stuff. Same with a cotton tail rabbit; nothing compares to the taste of a wild rabbit.

 

[scdeerslayer]

With the advent of Aluminum foil, though, my Mom used to make "Hobo Dinners" for us kids. She would take a hamburger patty, a couple carrots, a couple taters, maybe a chunk of celery, some butter and salt and pepper, wrap it up in Aluminum foil and pop it in the oven. Us kids thought they were great!

That was a staple when camping with the boy scouts, just wrap it up and stick it in the campfire.

 

[scdeerslayer]

Somewhere in the 1950's, so called "pigs in a blanket" showed up where I live and was news to us. Thist was a hot dog with a slit in it lengthwise and a piece of Velveeta cheese in it. Then a piece of bacon was wrapped around it, toothpics held it together and it was baked in the oven. It was a great treat but it might have been regional.

What I've heard called "pigs in a blanket" was taking canned biscuits, rolling them flat, wrapping them around a hot dog, and baking them. You could use any biscuit dough, I guess the canned ones are just easier. I ate that a lot when growing up.

 

[Bird]

Aw, yes! Fresh caught catfish...there is nothing to compare. Just last Summer in Little Mound Texas, had a little family get together and feasted on fresh catfish! Don't care much for the tasteless pond raised stuff. Same with a cotton tail rabbit; nothing compares to the taste of a wild rabbit.

Yep, we did like fresh catfish when I was growing up. And we ate every cottontail, swamp rabbit, and even jackrabbit that we could find. I never ate a domestic rabbit until the late '90s when I raised more than 300 New Zealand Whites myself.

 

[bigtiller]

What I've heard called "pigs in a blanket" was taking canned biscuits, rolling them flat, wrapping them around a hot dog, and baking them. You could use any biscuit dough, I guess the canned ones are just easier. I ate that a lot when growing up.

We couldn't afford canned biscuits, we wrapped them in a slice of bread and held them together with a toothpick.

 

[/pine]

I grew up in what was a commercial fishing community...every week the local VFW sponsored "fish fries"...all local fish, hush puppies and slaw...all you could eat was IIRC $1.25 for adults...I still use the unique and secret hush puppy recipe...they are special...!

 

[sixdogs]

Another introduction of the 1950's was the Hostess cupcake and the Hostess snowball. We didn't get them very often and when we did, it was a special event. The cupcake with the squiggle on top was the default choice but on an occasion when someone else might be buying, the snowball was the one to get.

Twinkies wee either late to the game or more expensive but I don't recall eating any or many kids having them. I don't think I've had two in my life.