Revisiting food from your youth.

Fray Bentos pies are much loved in our family - still. They were the standard evening meal on wet miserable days on holiday. We have a holiday home in France and always keep one in stock for emergencies. They are never served at home in England, that would lose them their special status.

Heinz tomato soup meant family picnics, usually on hillsides in the pouring rain. My father had a big wide necked staff, souvenir of army service and sitting in the car, buffeted by rain and wind, Heinz tomato soup was the welcome warmer.

DF used to send a lot of food parcels home from India, where he was stationed until Independence and partition. They were sewn into white cotton wrappings. A staple were tins of Vienna sausages, like frankfurters, but milder and with flat end. I l loved them, usually served with baked beans or tinned spaghetti.

I always preferred the Fray Bentos steak and kidney puddings to the pies, but maybe I won't try them again just in case! Still like Heinz tomato soup though.

My lovely great-aunt used to have my cousin and me to tea occasionally and give us Heinz tinned spaghetti on buttered toast. Spaghetti hoops still seem to taste much the same. You're right though, the reduction of salt and sugar must have had an effect on our childhood favourites.

Vesta curries was my childhood treat on a Friday. Those crispy fried noodles on top which I've never seen anywhere else.

The four of us, Mum, Dad, big sister and me used to have a Fray Bentos pie for dinner quite often. Were they bigger then? Ok, we would have peas and potatoes with it but even so. (DH used to love them and could easily eat a whole one).
Anyone remember caramel flavour blancmange? Used to love that stuff. Must have been full of awful additives which is why it tasted so good.

I loved Vesta beef curry with the crispy fried noodles too Tippy.

We used to eat Fray Bentos tinned pies too, and I remember them as being rather tasty, but when DH had a nostalgic hankering for one a couple of years ago, he said "I don't know how we could have eaten these!" He was also always banging on about the tinned steak and kidney puddings that they used to eat on exercise when he was in the Army (affectionately known as "babies 'eads"!). He used to love them - until my son's friend who was in the RAF Regiment, managed to get hold of one for him, and when served up, it did not fill him with the delight he expected. His only comment was "Well, perhaps everything tastes better in the middle of a muddy field in the rain!" Nostalgia is a killer!?

Ah, the Fray Bentos pies! Have never liked them myself (the puddings are ok, ish.)

But back in the day when I used to have to be away for my job, I would break it to Mr P by presenting him with a bag of Fray Bentos pies, which would indicate how many nights I was going to be away!

I loved butterscotch flavour Angel Delight none of the other flavours would do. Think you can still get it but I'm reluctant to try it again in case it's still as delicious and I get hooked again.
I tried my DGD on blancmange a little while ago. We used to love it when we were kids. My DGD was not impressed at all.

Butterscotch Angel Delight is still wonderful Chewbacca. We have them sometimes with Cadbury Flakes. You can hear your teeth crumbling!

I was just going to say did you mean butterscotch for caramel Alima? I love it, must get it again, I could never wait to mix properly so it was lumpy!

Brains faggots, brilliant. Still love them but sure flavour not the same. They were my pregnancy crave, morning noon and night every day!

We sometimes had Fray Bentos steak and kidney pies. My mum made one stretch to feed five of us, we had them with potatoes or chips and vegetables. I used to like fried Spam and chips with baked beans too. I haven't had either for years.

It was the name that put me off Menopaws . Never liked the name "Brains Faggotts" so never got around to trying them! And I'm too old for a pregnancy crush now I suppose!

I loved Bird's Eye frozen roast chicken and roast beef meals in tinfoil trays. I thought that the individual sections were so exotic.

I used to dip my fingers into condensed milk in my childhood, without being found out if course, most unhygenic. Bought a can about a year ago and don't know what to do with it, opening it and dipping my fingers in now turns my stomach, I don't even take sugar, so think it will go to the local food bank.

Alima, caramel blancmange was my favourite too! With schoolfriends, I ate a lot of Mr Kipling treacle tarts and bakewell tarts. I still love those but only as a guilty treat.

Dh saw some Brains Faggots and bought, an old favourite, and cooked them. He hated them!!

Another thing he liked was sandwich spread. Yuck!!

I used to love butterscotch Angel delight too!

We still eat Brains faggots occasionaly. In fact I think I have some lurking at the bottom of the freezer.
We had Fray Bentos pies and Vesta curries when we first married, I haven't bought them for years.
Our first night holiday meal was always tinned corned beef Smash potato and beans. Smash is fairly edible if you add quiet a bit of butter

How nice to hear about all these forgotten delights.
Fray Bentos pies were a staple once a week in our early married days, so easy! The ready meal of the day.
I have to report that DH had a hankering for fried slices of Spam ( with eggs) ........it was delicious!

What memories, Spam fritters and Fray Bentos pies. The TV dinners were an innovation when I was first married but the portions were considered quite small by my husband. I never did like powdered potato. I remember buying four rashers of bacon from the butcher as we didn't have a fridge and bags of chops from Hull market at the close of trading as they were cheap, we shared them with friends - happy days.

I've never had a Fray Bentos pie...I did used to buy Birds trifle with pink custard and hundreds and thousands and artificial cream when my daughter was small.It was so useful having everything in one box.I vaguely remember it as being far too sweet though so unlikely I'll try it again .

I've never had a Fray Bentos pie...I did used to buy Birds trifle with pink custard and hundreds and thousands and artificial cream when my daughter was small.It was so useful having everything in one box.I vaguely remember it as being far too sweet though so unlikely I'll try it again .

I've never had a Fray Bentos pie...I did used to buy Birds trifle with pink custard and hundreds and thousands and artificial cream when my daughter was small.It was so useful having everything in one box.I vaguely remember it as being far too sweet though so unlikely I'll try it again .