Memory appears to be a dusty shelf of peeling labels.
At least it is for me.
Some of the labels easing off my tins are:
Peak Freens: not sure what this was. I know it was brand name. Did they make biscuits?
PIFCO: I adored their plastic stuff. They even made a ray-gun, the Zeta Ray. Our house was brimming with PIFCO hairdryers and hot curlers when I was a kid. Our house may have been made by PIFCO!
Fray Bentos: this firm made the best tinned pies around. More of a flat meat pudding with a flakey top than a classic pastry pie. I adored these steamed steak caps and flanked with buttery mash and garden peas Mum had a winner every time!
Moon Pie: I think this is American. I don't know what it is.
Summit: I have a vague taste memory of a super raisin-stuffed chocolate bar and that it was called Summit. Who knows.
Birds Dream Topping: I loved this stuff. Made from a packet with milk added, it formed peaks as charming as the Swiss Alps. It made simple bowls of fruit cocktail the dessert of champs.
Biscuits: these were often mentioned in American films but weren't like British ones. They weren't American cookies either. They appeared alongside big meals of meat and gravy i think but not sure of the biscuit physics.
Tree Tops: in the mists of cordial time I recall a lava-lamp shaped bottle of Tree Tops on the kitchen counter. Am I swinging through the canopy with this one?
Kenoli: often eaten in US movies, these delicacies never made it to the UK really in any great way so its hard to say what they are - but I would like to try one.
Nimble: a light bread made of air and advertised with balloons and maidens. For some reason I hear a siren's song when I think of Nimble that went something like She's flies through the sky or maybe Now I know I can't let Maggie go.
Butterfinger: a US chocolate, which I've seen but never eaten. is it buttery?
Dripping: animal lard with bits of flesh in it. My Dad ate it like jam on bread. I didn't. I bet its now on the menu of the Ritz?
Space Dust: must never be eaten with Coke. Or?
Egg Bread: is this the same as French Toast?
Eggies: never hreard of these until I watched Stranger Things. Are they a made up food?
Schweppes: makers of soda water that my Mum drank with charming colourful drinks. I think the name was the sound of the gas erupting from the bottle or elsewhere.
Wonder Hem: glue strip for clothes. It could be ironed on. Did it work?
Can you shed any light on any of these readers?
This was fun to read and I think I have some solutions for you.MOON PIE:Marshmallow center dipped in chocolate or Banana flavored coating.SUMMIT:In the U.S. Summit was a stack of sugar wafers dipped in chocolate with peanuts.BISCUITS:Comparable to your Yorkshire Pudding or Popovers,they are made with flour and buttermilk and baked.In the southern U.S. they go well with fried chicken.KENOLI:You have mentioned this to me several times.There is a bakery not far from me that makes these pastries,but we spell it Cannoli here.It is a tube of flaky pastry filled with vanilla or chocolate flavored whipped cream,or sometimes a fruit flavored filling.They are considered elegant and are often served at weddings or holidays. Butterfinger:a bar of buttery toffee coated with chocolate.Bart Simpson was a well known spokesperson on Butterfinger commercials.SPACE DUST:A different brand name for Pop Rocks,that fizzy candy that,yes, should not be eaten with Coke.SCHWEPPES:Here in the U.S. Schweppes is known for Ginger Ale,a non alcoholic ginger flavored soda.They also make "mixers" for coctails such as Club Soda,Tonic Water,and Bitter Lemon.My friends father was a Schweppes delivery man and my friends refridgerator was always full of ginger ale and Tonic Water,which we drank constantly.Hope all this was helpful!
ReplyDeleteFab response Brian! So much to chew over! ha ha. Moon Pie and Cannoli sound deelicious! Of course, Ginger Ale, I loved it as a kid. So damn fizzy! I now understand biscuits! Yay!
DeleteI remember Pifco, Woodsy. In the seventies, my mate Clanger had a Pifco horn on the handle bars of his blue MK1 Raleigh Chopper. Push button, battery operated, it looked like a small chrome box which made an intense metallic buzz, which is difficult to describe or forget :)
ReplyDeleteWhat a great name, Clanger! Did he whistle a lot? ha ha. A PIFco horn eh, now that rings a bell! hee hee. Seriously, I don't remember it or the sound it made. I shall look it up. Ta Tone.
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