Is anybody else watching this latest offering from the BBC Historical Food Department? The Robshaw family progress through a decade each episode eating the foods of the time- whilst wearing appropriate clothing and in a suitably equipped kitchen.
Having been born in the fifties, I’ve lived through these times – and feel Very Old! That dear lady, totally unable to cope with an old style lever-type can opener - or a rotary can opener, for that matter. I am not surprised that back in 2015, her husband does the majority of the cooking! She does seem to overcook, or undercook many of the meals.
Sometimes Giles Coren has really irritated me, announcing that ‘in the 1960’s everybody was eating…’ Bob and I look at each other and agree that our families weren’t. We also got annoyed with the pronouncement that before 1975 everything in the UK tasted bland. Can we just mention Colman’s Mustard, Horseradish and HP Sauce?
And this assumption that men never entered the kitchen or helped around the house. Lots of men helped - Bob’s father cleaned the cooker every Sunday, and mine changed his ‘best’ clothes straight after church, and helped Mum with lunch.[and they were supportive during the week too]
But this week’s programme had us both ranting like crazy! We became students in the 70’s, lived in our own flats, and then got married and set up home together. This was in the days of Timothy Whites Homewares, and much orange and brown decor. We looked at the Robshaw’s 1970’s home and declared “We had that!” and “We still use that!” as items popped up on screen. I zipped round the house and photographed these things…
- M&S melamine tray [I’ve got three of these]
- Russell Hobbs percolator [used now for wassail at Christmas]
- Le Creuset Casserole [still in use every week]
- Brown Hornsea ware. I love this jug!
- Oneida cutlery [full set in regular use at Cornerstones]
- Electric carving knife [brilliant for French sticks at church BBQs & also wedding cakes]
- Delia’s “How to cheat at cooking” [there are some fun recipes in there]
- The Celery Jar [see below]
- I still have the dress patterns for some of the clothes worn by the girls on the programme on Tuesday night!
We couldn’t believe it when The Celery Jar appeared. We don’t actually use ours, but we keep it because it is the only engagement present we received, and it makes us all laugh. And it appears to be unbreakable – in 9 house moves we’ve just dropped it into a box, no tissue, no bubble wrap, nothing – yet it always emerges unscathed, no cracks or chips. Maybe one day it will be ‘collectible’?
I do hope Mrs Robshaw gets happier once she gets nearer the end of the 20th century. Maybe she is just longing for her husband to start doing the cooking again. 1970s food holds many memories for us – the first meal I ever served Bob involved a melted Arctic Roll!
Do you have a favourite food memory from the 1970’s ?? [older readers only!!]
Tip top tinned cream on sliced tinned peaches, mother's pride bread in waxed paper wrapping and the introduction of peanut butter
ReplyDeleteMy Mum used to whip up some 'evap' for the peaches
DeleteTinned peaches and evap were on the tea table every Sunday afternoon!
DeleteI was born in the '40s so like you I remember much of what they show but also like you I think often "we didn't have/do/eat that"! I was reminded of not having a fridge until the early 60's and in a bedsit I used an Osocool to keep my milk and butter cool. I love reminiscing along with the programme and was as shocked as you were that the poor lady couldn't open a tin with the old fashioned tin opener and feared she might cut herself badly on that tin of pilchards!!
ReplyDeleteWe kept saying the same. I think your celery jar IS collectable. X
ReplyDeleteIt makes me rant too. For all the reasons you have stated. And for the record, my parents - both of them - put nice, tasty food on the table - even during the 50's! How much more interesting the programme would be if it featured a family who actually knew how to cook from scratch.
ReplyDelete*Our* celery jar went to the CS some time ago :-)
Maybe they selected a less competent cook to add to the 'entertainment value'!
DeleteI wore that red dress! I think it was one from Laura Ashley. For special occasions I cooked meals from the Cordon Bleu magazines that came out every week and although I did make up a few dried food desserts, I often found fresh food cheaper and nicer!
ReplyDeleteThere certainly wasn't the huge choice of flown in foods in the 70s!
ReplyDeleteI remember cooking interesting Greek and French dishes having found a good cookery book with recipes from other countries.
But I also remember just cooking simple dishes from my Grandma's recipe book, such as apple pie, sponge pudding etc.
I remember my carpenter father doing a job at Dairy Crest and coming home with trays of yogurts; I'm not sure if they fell off the back of the lorry or were a legitimate perk; they were an exotic treat anyway. I was born mid-sixties and my parents were born in 1925 and 1928. Mum, especially, was very old fashioned and we only had an automatic washing machine (of which she was terrified) in the 80's, and a tiny fridge in 1973 when Dad's mother died and we had her's. So when the Robshaws got a fridge in the 60's and a freezer in the 70's, I was saying how middle class they were!
ReplyDeleteWe said that too! - my parents 2nd hand fridge arrived in 1972. My father on law always regarded yogurt as suspect!
DeleteI haven't seen this series, wish I had!
ReplyDeleteI had my first dinner party as a recently married "housewife/student" and served warm grilled grapefruit halves, complete with half a glacé cherry on top of each one as a starter - and in the right dishes bought on Leeds market!
Our guests were very impressed and we thought we were very sophisticated!
I did 'hot spiced grapefruit' as my first dinner party started too!
DeleteDave and I have been loving this series! It was the sight of Vesta curries last week that brought memories flooding back, that was as exotic as food got in our house! As my Mum was a working Mum we did have a lot of frozen stuff and things like tinned stewed steak (delicious!) but without fail we had a proper Sunday roast with millions of vegetables that had been grown by my Dad. The Fondue still lives as far as we're concerned, and in fact my son has a fondue set in regular use in his student house!!
ReplyDeleteArctic roll! It had absolutely no taste whatsoever,but it was given the title of 'treat'.
ReplyDeleteJane x
I've watched this series too and was also born mid 50's and agree with your observation of the lady of the house - I find her extremely annoying and so pathetic - it does make you wonder just how poor her culinary skills are and what a whinger she is - people who lived the 70's with the 3 day weeks, bread strikes etc., didn't whinge we just got on with it and got organised - sorry for such a long comment but can't stand pathetic women like that
ReplyDeleteI think there are many of us in agreement with you, Trudie!
DeleteVesta curries served with sliced banana and raisins! My dad had How to Cheat... & used it to cook a meal for us on Wednesdays (his half day off work as a GP). Our "treat" was butterscotch Angel Delight with crumbled chocolate flake sprinkled over. Yum!
ReplyDeleteI haven't seen the programme but your photos took me back in time!! I can remember having all those things and still have a celery jar somewhere! 70's food, would that be the era of prawn cocktail, steak and Black forest gateau at the Berni Inn?
ReplyDeleteI like how they found her a job in an office and not a shop or a factory as a lot of women had to do. That last meal that she produced from Delia's cookbook looked disgusting. I really can't stand Giles Coren's patronising ways.
ReplyDeletewish we could see this programme in Canada
ReplyDeleteWe were still eating traditional foods in the 70s - lots of stews because of the power cuts, pies, shepherd's pies, roast dinners, toad in the hole, sausage, egg and chips etc. Everything was cooked from scratch, chips were actually potatoes which had been peeled and then chopped with the crinkly cutter. I haven't watched the 70s episode yet, but I suspect that we'll be shouting 'we've got one of those' quite a lot. Agree with you about the ' everyone was eating' comment - me and J most definitely weren't eating the things featured on the 60s episode, and my Mum didn't eat things featured on the 50s episode - cold liver?????
ReplyDelete