The secret histories of 6 ubiquitous American foods

The Week ^ | December 26, 2014 | Therese Oneill

[iowamark]

Little things, like the addition of a little fruit jam to yogurt, make all the difference.

[RushIsMyTeddyBear]

Bkmrk

[Usagi_yo]

Fish Ketchup == Garum no?

Ketchup ... Hunts makes a very good and palatable ketchup sans High Fructose Corn Syrup.

Saltines ... My grandmother told me about leaving home made saltines (hardtack) and Peanut butter out on the porch for hobos or whatever they’re called in England.

[Publius]

Fish ketchup = garum, si.

[Red_Devil 232]

I love Peanut Butter on saltine crackers as a mid morning snack, my dogs agree with my choice when they can stop licking the roof of their mouths.

[Catmom]

Hot dogs. Mashed potatoes. Hamburgers. Pizza. Fried chicken. Popcorn. Apple pie. Chocolate chip cookies.

They missed a few, here.

[lee martell]

Many of these same staples are what kept me full during my college years. My parents didn’t know and didn’t have to know how little food there was. I was happy to be living in a dorm with new people. You learn to become resourceful when then money is tight. I experimented with mixing link sausage, raisins, nutmeg and almonds into my basmati rice. My family would never have permitted that back in Michigan without a lot of fake shock and complaining.

[Bloody Sam Roberts]

Little things, like the addition of a little fruit jam to yogurt, make all the difference.

Indeed. I like to mix in honey and raisins.

[Responsibility2nd]

What?

No Spam?

[rdl6989]

We MUST have our spam.

[spel_grammer_an_punct_polise]

Add ice cream to your list. ;-)

[deoetdoctrinae]

[Lurker]

Spam, eggs, sausage, and Spam hasn’t got much Spam in it.

[spel_grammer_an_punct_polise]

There is a Vietnamese ‘fish sauce’ that is actually the liquid residual of fermented fish eggs. Sounds yucky but tastes pretty good.

[Jeff Chandler]

[wally_bert]

I am a tartar sauce guy who likes some fish or fries too.

[CrazyIvan]

No chili?

[Jeff Chandler]

Hunts makes a very good and palatable ketchup sans High Fructose Corn Syrup.

With a half a dollop service size, who cares about corn syrup?

As for palatable, my experience is Hunts has a strong tomato flavor which is shared by all the other brands except for Heinz, which has a spicier flavor. I prefer Heinz.

[Cicero]

Let’s add mayonnaise to the list.

[GOJPN]

Nuc Mom I believe was the name. Smelled horrible as I recall. A BaMiBa (33) or two made it edible though.