EATING DURING THE FIFTIES
* Olive oil was kept in the medicine cabinet
* Spices came from the Middle East where we believed that they were used for embalming.
* Herbs were used to make rather dodgy medicine.
* Oranges only appeared at Christmas time in a stocking.
* The only vegetables known to us were spuds, peas, carrots and cabbage, anything else was regarded as being a bit suspicious.
* All crisps were plain; the only choice we had was whether to add the salt or not.
* Condiments consisted of salt, pepper, vinegar and brown sauce if we were lucky.
* Soft drinks were called pop.
* Coke was something that we mixed with coal to make it last longer.
* Rice was used in a milk pudding, and never ever part of our dinner.
* Brown bread was something only posh people ate.
* Oil was for lubricating your bike not for cooking, fat was for cooking
* Bread and jam was a punishment.
* Tea was made in a teapot using tea leaves, not bags.
* The tea cozy was the forerunner of all the energy saving devices that we hear so much about today.
* Tea had only one colour, black. Green tea was not British.
* Coffee was only drunk when we had no tea.
* Figs and dates appeared every Christmas, but few ever ate them.
* Sweets and confectionery were called toffees.
* Coconuts only appeared when the fair came to town.
* Jellied eels were peculiar to Londoners.
* Salad cream was the only dressing for salads.
* Hors d'oeuvre was a spelling mistake.
* The starter was our main meal.
* Soup was a main meal.
* The menu consisted of what we were given and was set in stone
* Leftovers went in the dog.
* Special food for dogs and cats was unheard of.
* Sauce was either brown or red.
* Fish was only eaten on Fridays and it was always cooked.
* Ready meals only came from the fish and chip shop and tasted better out of old newspapers.
* Frozen food was called ice cream and it came in one colour and one flavour.
* Nothing ever went off in the fridge because we never had one.
* Jelly and blancmange was only eaten at parties.
* Healthy food consisted of anything edible and had to have the ability to stick to your ribs.
* Calories were mentioned but they had nothing at all to do with food.
* The only criteria concerning the food that we ate were, did we like it and could we afford it.
* People who didn't peel potatoes were regarded as lazy.
* Cheese only came in a hard lump.
* Bacon lettuce and tomato on the same sandwich would have been insane.
* A bun was a small cake.
* A tart was a fruit filled pastry.
* Eating outside was called a picnic.
* Cooking outside was called camping.
* Offal was only eaten when we could afford it.
* Eggs only came fried or boiled.
* Hot cross buns were only eaten at Easter time.
* Pancakes were only eaten on Pancake Tuesday, in fact in those days it was compulsory.
* Hot dogs were a type of sausage that only the Americans ate.
* Cornflakes had arrived from America but it was quite obvious that they would never catch on.
* We bought milk and cream at the same time in the same bottle.
* Sugar enjoyed a good press in those days.
* Lettuce and tomatoes in winter were just a rumour.
* Most soft fruits were seasonal except perhaps at Christmas.
* Prunes were medicinal.
* Surprisingly muesli was readily available in those days, it was called cattle feed.
* Pineapples came in chunks in a tin.
* Garlic was used to ward off vampires, but never used to flavour bread.
* Water came out of the tap.
* Food hygiene was all about washing your hands before meals.
* Campylobacter, Salmonella, E.coli, Listeria, and botulism were all called "Food poisoning."
* The one thing that we never ever had on our table in the fifties, "Elbows" and 'Please may I leave the table' came at the end of every meal.
THE GOOD OLE DAYS?