I haven't eaten one for decades, but I'm sure they were much better than that. When our neighbours are on holiday, we feed their cats with tinned cat food which looks more appetising.
Worth noting, perhaps, that, when a television programme revisiting past eating habits delivered some of these to the participating family, the younger generation - true children of the 21st century - heated up one for each person; back in my childhood, one pie would be the main dish for a family of four.
Strangely, during the lockdowns I found at FB tin at the back of the cupboard. Although it was years out of date I ate it. It was delicious ! Much more meaty that your sample.
The pastry is, I believe, supposed to be "Moist". It is a pastry made for meat pies, not fruit pies.
I would have eaten that when younger, mainly because we weren't allowed sweets and snacks between meals, and were actually hungry when we got to the table. I mean, you'd have to be, wouldn't you.
For most of my childhood my mother was a housewife and cooked most of our meals from scratch. But there were a few 'prepared' meals that we looked upon as occasional treats. Fray Bentos pies, Findus frozen stuffed pancakes, and even Vesta Chow Mein.
In hindsight they were not very good quality, but they were tasty and different in a grey post-war Britain. Unfortunately the accountants have ensured that later versions of meals like this use "New recipe" to disguise reduced quality. Or they reduce the sizes.
Fray Bentos, in South America, devised ways of getting plentiful beef to Europe before refrigeration. So their products were rich in lean beef. Corned beef etc. Now there is no cheap beef and the brand is owned, in UK, by Baxters, purveyors of...... The pie dishes get shallower, the sides slope in sharply, a la Roses and "Quality" Street. The brand gets by because a purchaser remembers what the product used to be and buys one. Only one.
Macheath - yes I remember it as one pie for a family of four. Plus spuds and veg though.
DAD - that's how I remember them - quite meaty and no gristle.
Sam - we didn't have snacks between meals either. Sweets if we bought them ourselves with our pocket money.
DJ - I remember enjoying Vesta Chow Mein but we didn't have it often. Exotic at the time but even then I knew it wasn't good quality compared to home cooked meals. Then Chinese restaurants arrived and it was nowhere near good enough.
Doonhamer - I didn't realise Baxters owns Fray Bentos. Not a brand we go for.
7 comments:
Worth noting, perhaps, that, when a television programme revisiting past eating habits delivered some of these to the participating family, the younger generation - true children of the 21st century - heated up one for each person; back in my childhood, one pie would be the main dish for a family of four.
Strangely, during the lockdowns I found at FB tin at the back of the cupboard. Although it was years out of date I ate it. It was delicious ! Much more meaty that your sample.
The pastry is, I believe, supposed to be "Moist". It is a pastry made for meat pies, not fruit pies.
I would have eaten that when younger, mainly because we weren't allowed sweets and snacks between meals, and were actually hungry when we got to the table. I mean, you'd have to be, wouldn't you.
For most of my childhood my mother was a housewife and cooked most of our meals from scratch. But there were a few 'prepared' meals that we looked upon as occasional treats. Fray Bentos pies, Findus frozen stuffed pancakes, and even Vesta Chow Mein.
In hindsight they were not very good quality, but they were tasty and different in a grey post-war Britain. Unfortunately the accountants have ensured that later versions of meals like this use "New recipe" to disguise reduced quality. Or they reduce the sizes.
Fray Bentos, in South America, devised ways of getting plentiful beef to Europe before refrigeration.
So their products were rich in lean beef. Corned beef etc.
Now there is no cheap beef and the brand is owned, in UK, by Baxters, purveyors of......
The pie dishes get shallower, the sides slope in sharply, a la Roses and "Quality" Street.
The brand gets by because a purchaser remembers what the product used to be and buys one. Only one.
I gave my last one away some months back.
Macheath - yes I remember it as one pie for a family of four. Plus spuds and veg though.
DAD - that's how I remember them - quite meaty and no gristle.
Sam - we didn't have snacks between meals either. Sweets if we bought them ourselves with our pocket money.
DJ - I remember enjoying Vesta Chow Mein but we didn't have it often. Exotic at the time but even then I knew it wasn't good quality compared to home cooked meals. Then Chinese restaurants arrived and it was nowhere near good enough.
Doonhamer - I didn't realise Baxters owns Fray Bentos. Not a brand we go for.
James - I didn't think it was your kind of nosh.
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