Wednesday, 11 September 2019

Getting In A Pickle

Aren't these dahlias beautiful? I was visiting a friend who gave me a bunch from his garden, and I wanted to share their vibrant amber/orange/golden colours.
Dahlias always remind me of the  Flower and Produce Show in Hertfordshire, when I was a child. The local gardeners vied to win the coveted cups and shields for their  efforts.
There were also prizes for cakes, jams and chutneys.
Sue posted on Friday about her attempt to recreate Branston Pickle.
That set me thinking about Sunday tea at the Manse,  in Bishop's Stortford [usually ham salad] and PanYan Pickle. 
That was a favourite foodstuff of my childhood. It was first made in 1903 by Maconochie Brothers in Lowestoft, Suffolk. It's taste [using curry powder] was thought to be "Oriental" - and  workers at the factory were asked to provide a name - thus "Pan Yan" was chosen. By 1924, it was the world's top selling pickle- but discontinued in 2000. 
In 2008 Chris Evans made an appeal for its return on his radio show. Premier Foods, the multi-national company who had bought out the firm years before, admitted sheepishly that the 'secret recipe' had been lost in a warehouse fire a few years before! A number of people have sought to re-create the distinct taste of this tracklement [see here] and people who had old jars came forward to supply the ingredients list from the label.
Here are some of their wonderful adverts from the last century - and a picture of the jar I remember from my youth!
Did you have a favourite childhood treat,now discontinued?

6 comments:

  1. We were never a pickle household though my Mum may have made her own. I fondly remember two confectionery treats from ny childhood that are no longer with us- Tootie Minties, the sister of Tootie Fruities and also Pyramint which was possibly made by Terry's.

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    1. I remember Tootie Fruities, but not the others

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  2. I remember the name but we didn't have it in our family - my great gran made pickled onions and picalili in vast quantities and this would be brought out on a Sunday teatime to go with the ham salad.

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  3. Yes...Fry's chocolate spread! In a little waxy paper carton with absolutely no peanuts.

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    1. Oh yes! My neighbour used it to fill sponge cakes, and if I went round after school she'd make me a chocolate spread sandwich. It was nothing like Nutella spread!

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  4. I'm indulging in a Peter Wimsey binge this week, and you remind me of the short story where his son is accused of eating peaches designed for the local show! I suppose that wonderful BBC series of Strong Poison, aired when I must have been in big school and that I watched passionately with my mother, would be my lamented discontinued treat!

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