The secret histories of 6 ubiquitous American foods

The Week ^ | December 26, 2014 | Therese Oneill

[angry elephant]

If you saute some onions and celery, chop up some leftover chicken and add it to the Campbell’s chicken noodle soup it makes a hearty bowl of soup. I actually like to add some velveeta and tabasco to it as well. Good for a stuffy nose, all that salt and heat.

[Catmom]

No, but I’m sure there aren’t too many things you CAN’T put in them.

[Boogieman]

I think the rule with hot dogs is, if you can sell it under its own name, don’t put it in a hot dog.

[tet68]

Tiger 33, ah, the memories...

[oldsicilian]

You lived awfully high on the hog with Ramen. All I could afford was oatmeal at 19 cents a box. Created havoc on my digestive system, but I still love it.

[Finny]

He would on occasion, when all goals were met, send out a short truck to how many supermarkets was necessary to buy a case of beer for each employee. He would have it delivered about a half an hour before the end of the shift and they would drink until they punched out, taking the rest home with them (presumably drinking and driving; but in NH, it was not against the law then).

Wonderful accounts you're posting here! Thank you for the great reading!

Can anyone imagine any successful company doing that today?

Actually, I figure that there are many successful bosses doing something like that today, in one way or another. I've known a few very much like that in spirit. They are great bosses, leaders of men.

The CFO you mention sounds like a great boss!

[Finny]

Great post!

[Finny]

Neat article!

One little item, though -- In 1903, the California Fish Company figured out steaming tuna made it white and removed most of the oil that made it taste so "fishy."

Ummmmmmmmm ... tuna is white when it's albacore. It isn't white because it got steamed to be that way. I think what really happened is they figured out how to can tuna in a tin can instead of in jars, and smart people loved it -- top-notch protein source on hand easily. Every cupboard should have several cans of tuna, preferably albacore!

[Finny]

Another one they might have missed is canned peaches, which were around in the mid to late 1800s in America. Canned peaches were a real treat for Western pioneers, and even now it’s a treat just to wantonly open up a can of peaches and gobble them down! Up to then, stuff had to be canned in jars — heavy and breakable, hard to transport. When canning was accomplished in light-weight unbreakable tin cans — whoa, nelly!

[HiJinx]

College at GCC? Or Thunderbird Int’l School of Business?
Glendale had and has quite a few great little diners and dives!

[Jeff Chandler]

Hunts has a separate “tangy” variety that is actually spicier than Heinz’.

I'll look for it.

[Jeff Chandler]

Heinz is owned by Teresa Heinz (S Africa) family, married to John Kerry, and I don’t care how good it tastes I will NOT support Muslims

Sometimes ya gotta compromise your principles if you want tasty French fries.

[Jeff Chandler]

Back before chicken wings were trendy, they were cheap. In the early 1980’s I was able to buy them for $.25 to $.50 a pound and they became my main source of protein.

Oh yeah. Also good were chicken livers sauteed with onion and a slice of bacon. The real po' food though, was popcorn and iced tea.

I made “pizza” out of English Muffins, ketchup, and Velveeta.

The trick is to sprinkle with Italian seasoning.

[Jeff Chandler]

I think the rule with hot dogs is, if you can sell it under its own name, don’t put it in a hot dog.

Conversation at the factory:

"Hey, you want me to put this stuff in the hot dog bin?"

"Hell no, that's disgusting. Put it in the chorizo bin."

[Boogieman]

What’s funny is, Americans have a phobia of “offal”. If you tell them what this stuff is and serve it up on a nice plate at a fancy restaurant, most won’t eat it. However, stick it in a sausage and call it a “hot dog” or “chorizo”, and we love it.

[DaveArk]

I went to the La Perla in Glendale, AZ the first time in 1978. Loved their chille relenos.

[katana]

T-Bird.

[editor-surveyor]

Haven’t had so much as a spoonful of Danon yogurt; why bother, its pasteurized, thus totally lacks the benefit of real yogurt.

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Campbell’s soup? - Yuck!

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