BS: Food items one just can't get hold of

Subject: RE: BS: Food items one just can't get hold of
From: Penny S.
Date: 03 Mar 12 - 04:26 PM

C&B were last bought by Wrigleys, but on last reports on the web, were not making any of the old products except strong mints. There are many bewailing the nougat, and some the butterscotch.

Penny

Subject: RE: BS: Food items one just can't get hold of
From: gnu
Date: 03 Mar 12 - 02:35 PM

Cod tongues and cheeks. Last time I had any was in NFLD about 15 years ago. I was staying in a cabin on the shore on the west coast. I was in the cabin closest to the harbour dock. Two lads of about ten knocked on the door. Their father was just in. I asked how much a pound... $5. I asked how many pounds they had. 7. I said I'd take 7 pounds. They were agape and then off in a cloud of dust. Best I ever ate. Maybe seeing their faces added to my culinary delight.

Subject: RE: BS: Food items one just can't get hold of
From: EBarnacle
Date: 03 Mar 12 - 11:22 AM

Lady Hillary and I just finished a C & B chocolate bar. The chocolate tasted fresh. They don't seem to be out of business.

Subject: RE: BS: Food items one just can't get hold of
From: Big Al Whittle
Date: 03 Mar 12 - 08:04 AM

The best pea fritters(IMHO) have mushy peas with just a touch of spice, and a heavy - but not oily batter. Bit of salt and glass of warm dandelion and burdock - bloody brilliant. but a rare delicacy.

Subject: RE: BS: Food items one just can't get hold of
From: ChanteyLass
Date: 02 Mar 12 - 10:36 PM

Joe F., I suspect there are people here who can help you!

Subject: RE: BS: Food items one just can't get hold of
From: Joe_F
Date: 02 Mar 12 - 10:12 PM

Possum.
Groundhog.

Subject: RE: BS: Food items one just can't get hold of
From: Penny S.
Date: 02 Mar 12 - 02:47 PM

Thanks for that link - its a cheaper source of Cherry Ripes than the Aussie shop in Covent Garden!

Penny

Subject: RE: BS: Food items one just can't get hold of
From: gnomad
Date: 02 Mar 12 - 02:41 PM

Cybercandy Ltd. is a place I have come across, but never bought from. Exiles in the UK may find they sell something from 'back home' that answers a craving.

Subject: RE: BS: Food items one just can't get hold of
From: VirginiaTam
Date: 02 Mar 12 - 04:54 AM

Thanks all re the Bit o Honey. Part of the enjoyment of an unobtainable is the waiting and the rationing when you finally get your hands on it.

There is a company in the UK called American Sweets. The prices are frightening. I shall wait for my Bit o Honey and if I cannot find it on my visit, will consider the other more expensive options when I return to UK.

Subject: RE: BS: Food items one just can't get hold of
From: GUEST,Manuel
Date: 01 Mar 12 - 08:24 PM

Thanks a lot, Penny. I'm indebted to you.

Subject: RE: BS: Food items one just can't get hold of
From: Bee-dubya-ell
Date: 01 Mar 12 - 07:01 PM

Short of buying it on-line, it's damned near impossible to get 100% cane syrup anymore, even here in the southern US where it's a tradition. You can find cane/corn syrup blends, but not the real, unadulterated thing. I can get 100% maple syrup, and there's not sugar maple tree within 700 miles, but not 100% cane syrup when there's sugar cane grown locally. Even roadside produce stands, the last bastion of locally produced farm goods, only have blended crap canned in factories three states away.

Subject: RE: BS: Food items one just can't get hold of
From: Penny S.
Date: 01 Mar 12 - 04:25 PM

Manuel, unfortunately Callard and Bowsers was lost in a take over situation, as was the lovely nougat wrapped in rice paper, and their butterscotch. Suchard bought them out. Kraft bought Suchard.

'Nuff said.

Except that there's a lot of people wanting it back, and one has made a version themselves. DIY Nougat Haven't tried it myself yet.

Penny

Subject: RE: BS: Food items one just can't get hold of
From: GUEST,PeterC
Date: 01 Mar 12 - 03:53 PM

Going back to pork chops with the kidney in th UK. My butcher told me that these are no longer available as, since the BSE scare, all offal is supposed to be separated from the carcass in the slaughter house. Occasionally the odd one slip through if you are really lucky.

Subject: RE: BS: Food items one just can't get hold of
From: GUEST,Manuel
Date: 01 Mar 12 - 03:13 PM

I recognise that one man's meat is another man's poison. Keeping this in mind, I will hesistantly mention an item I was introduced to, and fell instantly for, as a very young man in the early 1960s. It was an imported product known as Callard & [something like Bowser's or Mowser's] dessert nougats and was marketed in cylindrically-shaped cans (light blue in colour). I seem to recall that this was a British product and, not having seen it in years, am wondering if it is still on the market in other countries. Eliza, if you read this, you might be able to help me with some information.

Subject: RE: BS: Food items one just can't get hold of
From: Bert
Date: 01 Mar 12 - 02:45 PM

Locust beans were still in their pods 'cos the pod was the only part that you ate.

Subject: RE: BS: Food items one just can't get hold of
From: Gurney
Date: 01 Mar 12 - 02:11 PM

Eliza, Cadbury are experimenting (here) with Palm Oil in place of their traditional ingredients. Chocolate lovers organised a national boycott.
They have seemingly gone back to real chocolate.

Maybe they bought a Palm plantation, and you are getting the 'benefit.'

Subject: RE: BS: Food items one just can't get hold of
From: MarkS
Date: 01 Mar 12 - 12:45 PM

Just try getting seal flipper pie outside of Newfoundland!

Subject: RE: BS: Food items one just can't get hold of
From: GUEST,Eliza
Date: 01 Mar 12 - 12:40 PM

Yummy yum, maeve! They look totally delish! Thank you for that! Eliza xx

Subject: RE: BS: Food items one just can't get hold of
From: maeve
Date: 01 Mar 12 - 12:34 PM

Oh, Eliza, look here: a recipe for homemade creme eggs!
http://www.instructables.com/id/Homemade-Cadbury-Creme-Eggs/

Subject: RE: BS: Food items one just can't get hold of
From: maeve
Date: 01 Mar 12 - 12:20 PM

Bert, were your locust beans still in the pods when you bought them? I just learned a couple of years ago that they're a traditional wild food treat here, too- as are the fresh flowers. We have a row of Black Locust trees bordering the road, so I hope to try them this year.

Subject: RE: BS: Food items one just can't get hold of
From: Penny S.
Date: 01 Mar 12 - 11:10 AM

I had a pea fritter in Haywards Heath that was delicious, and made with what were apparently frozen or fresh type peas. In NW Kent, they were made with mushy peas, and not so nice, in my opinion, though OK.

I meant to check out Waitrose, which has had Yorkshire Tea loaves in the past, but forgot. Sorry.

Subject: RE: BS: Food items one just can't get hold of
From: Bert
Date: 01 Mar 12 - 10:57 AM

Thanks for the link kat. Now you will have to remind me to look them up in October.

And whatever happened to Tiger Nuts (Shut up Spaw)
and does anyone remember the locust beans that we used to buy in the Greengrocers when we were kids. They smelled awful but were very sweet.

Subject: RE: BS: Food items one just can't get hold of
From: theleveller
Date: 01 Mar 12 - 07:50 AM

"We used to get spicy meatballs called faggots, years ago, "

In Yorkshire they were called savoury ducks, were made with assorted liver and offal, and most butchers sold them. But they are really a Midlands delicacy and were sold by Walkers Pork Butchers (who, of course, diversified into crisps). The (in)famous Brain's Faggots are still available in supermarkets (Tesco has a special offer: a pack of 6 for £1 (save 74p)). Personally, they make me puke!

Subject: RE: BS: Food items one just can't get hold of
From: maeve
Date: 01 Mar 12 - 07:43 AM

I looked up Jack Campin's "durian". This Asian fruit might be found in London:

"The doyenne of London gastronomes is at it again. Ann's West End Foodies walk is good-to-go [with]. Here she is:

"Would you eat a fruit that smells of sewage and vomit? The durian is so pungent that you can't carry it on public transport or airlines in the Far East. But its butter smooth golden flesh is addictive and very, very popular. There are many tales about it – death by durian is not unknown – it grows on trees up to 100 ft tall, and can weigh up to 6lbs. So don't take a nap under a tree laden with ripe durian. And its supposedly aphrodisiac qualities are enshrined in an Indonesian saying – when the durians come down, the sarongs go up.

At this time of year you can buy durian at some of the stores in London's Chinatown – it's large, green and spiky on the outside, uncompromising. Ask for a chunk, or see if there is some ready prepared in the chiller cabinet."http://www.walks.com/London_Walks_Home/FOOD_WALKS/default.aspx

I also see references to See Woo, in London and Glasgow, where durain appears to be available...along with a host of many other interesting foods.

Subject: RE: BS: Food items one just can't get hold of
From: Big Al Whittle
Date: 01 Mar 12 - 07:38 AM

Away from the weymouth /Portland area of the UK, I've rarely had a good pea fritter in a chip shop. Its not a concept that travels well, and rarely at all.

Subject: RE: BS: Food items one just can't get hold of
From: maeve
Date: 01 Mar 12 - 07:28 AM

banjoman, you are not alone in your desire for PanYan Pickle; have a look, here-
http://cranfieldsfoods.wordpress.com/2010/01/05/pan-yan-pickle-recipe/

And from Premier Foods:
"11 March 2008 • premierlife
Premier Foods has been inundated with letters and emails from consumers who wanted to see Pan Yan Pickle back on the shelves
again after Chris Evans put out a plea on his BBC Radio 2 drivetime
show in January for Premier Foods to revive it. Premier Foods acquired the brand when it bought the Nestle ambient portfolio in 2002, but by that time Pan Yan pickle, a spicy, apple-based
spread, was no longer made. The recipe was kept at the Bury factory, but was lost in the fire that destroyed the site in 2004.
Such was the public reaction that Premier Foods is giving serious
consideration to trying to reproduce the recipe. Said Head of Pickles,
Jamie Crofts: "We asked people who had got in touch with us, if they still had a jar of pickle, to send it in so we could analyse the contents." Over 1,000 people responded - twelve people still had an original jar, including four who sent in full, unopened jars that were at least six years old. Unfortunately for Pan Yan fans, the timing isn't quite right. "This is an exciting NPD opportunity for us to explore; however, driving sales of Branston has to be our top priority. Getting the Pan Yan recipe just right would have taken up a lot of everyone's time. Who knows; this could be one to watch next year," said Jamie." from 11 March 2008 • premierlife newsletter, found by searching their site for PanYan Pickles.

Subject: RE: BS: Food items one just can't get hold of
From: maeve
Date: 01 Mar 12 - 07:06 AM

ChanteyLass linked the Vermont Country Store a few posts ago; Bit O' Honey is there in 2 forms: Bit O'Honey

This is a good resource for all kinds of useful and nostalgic items.

Subject: RE: BS: Food items one just can't get hold of
From: theleveller
Date: 01 Mar 12 - 07:01 AM

"Taylors Yorkshire Tealoaf has semingly disappeared from the shelves in Kent? Is there a reason? We should be told!"


Exports were stopped after lorries carrying them south were hijacked at the Yorkshire border by the YRA (Yorkshire Republican Army) intent on ensuring southerners didn't get a taste for this highly-prized Yorkshire delicacy (I mean look what happened to Yorkshire puddings – totally ruined by southerners who cook them with oil instead of dripping, like they do fish and chips!).

Sorry! If you care to meet me Woodall services I may be able to smuggle a couple into your car boot if the price is right!

Subject: RE: BS: Food items one just can't get hold of
From: banjoman
Date: 01 Mar 12 - 06:27 AM

PanYan Pickle - I was brought up on it but have not seen it for many years and have to make do with Branston - a poor substitute

Subject: RE: BS: Food items one just can't get hold of
From: GUEST,vega
Date: 01 Mar 12 - 06:08 AM

Can't get the mixture now, but they were like a small pancake eaten with a fry-up.

They were called "Frizzets" DEEElish

Subject: RE: BS: Food items one just can't get hold of
From: GUEST,Eliza
Date: 01 Mar 12 - 05:54 AM

Sent an email to Cadbury yesterday saying how ghastly their creme eggs are and they've just replied. Naturally, 'they haven't changed a thing in their recipe for a long time, and it must be the storage conditions' in the shop. What a cheek, our village shop is perfectly ok. I also looked on several forums about this, and loads of people have noticed the same thing. Shan't be buying them ever again!

Subject: RE: BS: Food items one just can't get hold of
From: JohnInKansas
Date: 29 Feb 12 - 11:02 PM

Virginia Tam -

I haven't seen the "bars" in several years, but the separately wrapped "Bit-Os" are available here (Wichita Kansas) at "Joan Fabrics" shops, and some other "artsy/crafty" stores. You might try a local "sewing shop" since they're likely to use similar distributors to get their stock.

They're also nearly always available at Atwoods (Farm Supplies & Hardware) shops here, in bigger (and more economical) bags; but still not in the "bar" wrappers - only as individual bits.

John

Subject: RE: BS: Food items one just can't get hold of
From: Gurney
Date: 29 Feb 12 - 10:50 PM

We used to get spicy meatballs called faggots, years ago, until the revised meaning of the word became known. They just disappeared. Renaming would be enough.

Subject: RE: BS: Food items one just can't get hold of
From: Rapparee
Date: 29 Feb 12 - 10:19 PM

I found humbugs in Canada, but that was some years ago.

It all seems to depend on marketing. About 18 months ago Life Savers Raspberries and Creme (in fact the whole "with creme" line) disappeared. I used them to help with my blood sugar balance.

Subject: RE: BS: Food items one just can't get hold of
From: ChanteyLass
Date: 29 Feb 12 - 07:04 PM

Vermont Country Store is a mail-order store as well as having brick and mortar stores in VT. It may have some of the things you are looking for, including Bit-O-Honey candy. Click on the Food & Candy tab near the top of the site for the category that interests you. It is a fun site to explore. A few years before my dad died he complained that he could no longer find snap-front boxer shorts. I found them in the Vermont Country Store catalog.
http://www.vermontcountrystore.com/store/home.jsp

Subject: RE: BS: Food items one just can't get hold of
From: Bill D
Date: 29 Feb 12 - 06:54 PM

*remembering Cadbury's Shortcake Snacks*... which I used to eat almost every day in about 1960-62.

Noreen brought me a close imitation about 7-8 years ago, but I suppose they are gone now.

and yes, I remember Bit-o-Honey fondly... stuck to a bit of paper, like a sweet accordion.

Subject: RE: BS: Food items one just can't get hold of
From: katlaughing
Date: 29 Feb 12 - 05:37 PM

VTam, we can still get Bit-O-Honey here in Colorado. If you ever want me to send you some, holler.

Bert, looks as though you'll have to wait until October for any Melrose to come on ripe in the one place I found with them in CO, in Ft. Collins.

Subject: RE: BS: Food items one just can't get hold of
From: Abdul The Bul Bul
Date: 29 Feb 12 - 05:18 PM

Taylors Yorkshire Tealoaf has semingly disappeared from the shelves in Kent? Is there a reason? We should be told!
Al

Subject: RE: BS: Food items one just can't get hold of
From: Joe Offer
Date: 29 Feb 12 - 04:18 PM

"Humbugs" (molasses peppermints) from Sanders Candy in Detroit (pronounced but not spelled Saunders). Last time I was in Detroit, even Sanders didn't have them.

I actually did find some candies called "humbugs" in Northern Ireland. They tasted almost the same as the Detroit ones, but they were twice as big - bit enough to choke on.

The taste brought back good memories, though. I haven't found anything similar anywhere in the U.S. outside Detroit.

-Joe-

Subject: RE: BS: Food items one just can't get hold of
From: Helen
Date: 29 Feb 12 - 04:07 PM

Jack Campin,

Chokoes - baked until translucent, then garlic lightly fried in butter, and drizzled over the top. Yum! I bake zucchinis (courgettes) as well, when I bake the chokos.

Or you can use them as cheap/cheat apples in "apple pie", i.e. half quantity of apples, half of chokos which was done in the Great Depression because choko vines can grow like weeds here in Australia.

Or you can make choko pickles or relish.

I think the other name for them is chayote.

Helen

Subject: RE: BS: Food items one just can't get hold of
From: Rapparee
Date: 29 Feb 12 - 03:03 PM

Pocatello, Idaho -- right on the coast, with the waves gently lapping against the sandy beach and the tropical moon lighting the night sky as I sit 'neath the swaying palms.

Subject: RE: BS: Food items one just can't get hold of
From: VirginiaTam
Date: 29 Feb 12 - 02:53 PM

Hope I can find this when I visit Virginia in the summer. Last visit 3 years ago I looked everywhere and found it in the last gas station filling up the hire car before returning it at airport (Raleigh Durham NC) just before we flew back.

Subject: RE: BS: Food items one just can't get hold of
From: Penny S.
Date: 29 Feb 12 - 02:32 PM

It has occurred to me that I can reproduce those biscuits by buying Cafe Noir and coating the non-iced side with melted dark chocolate.

What a lovely shop.

Penny

Subject: RE: BS: Food items one just can't get hold of
From: Gurney
Date: 29 Feb 12 - 01:52 PM

Obviously, there are people of refined taste in Colorado Springs.
But blood pudding with cloves? Isn't lumps of fat enough?

Oh, and we can only get jelly crystals, not those ready-flavoured slabs that it used to come in. How are you going to get strong fingernails without jelly slabs?

To quote Blaster Bates, jelly is made from 'cows udders, horses hooves, and donkeys queer things.'

Subject: RE: BS: Food items one just can't get hold of
From: Bert
Date: 29 Feb 12 - 01:05 PM

Spaw: Melrose Apples, Never seen them here in Colorado Springs. I'll look out for them though.

Hey Rap! where exactly are you in the wilds of the West?

We have two Indian Grocers in The Springs and they both sell Darjeeling.

There is a German Bakery here that sells Something like Black Pudding. It looks the same but is strongly flavoured with cloves which spoils it.

Subject: RE: BS: Food items one just can't get hold of
From: GUEST,olddude
Date: 29 Feb 12 - 12:05 AM

If someone mentions green Jello I am coming after ya I will :-)

Subject: RE: BS: Food items one just can't get hold of
From: Gurney
Date: 28 Feb 12 - 11:58 PM

Here in NZ, Horlicks tablets are not available, and pork pies are hard to find, and Darjeeling tea.

Fancy coffee with patterns in the froth is everywhere. The cafe I went into today had never HEARD of Darjeeling!

Subject: RE: BS: Food items one just can't get hold of
From: number 6
Date: 28 Feb 12 - 11:44 PM

I miss the Italian Bakeries since we moved here to Saint John from Toronto ... also one can't find any black pudding here.

I wish we could also find some piri piri spice ... you can get piri piri sauce but that isn't the same thing.

biLL

Subject: RE: BS: Food items one just can't get hold of
From: katlaughing
Date: 28 Feb 12 - 11:23 PM

Penny, maybe Maxims in Paris has them?

I miss the Portuguese rolls we used to get in New England. They were delicious for egg salad sandwiches, etc.

Subject: RE: BS: Food items one just can't get hold of
From: JohnInKansas
Date: 28 Feb 12 - 10:43 PM

Even within the US, there are regional differences that make foods popular in one part of the country virtually impossible to get in another place where they're less known.

I can recall the "Chittlin Incident," ca. 1946(?), when the entire grade school (in Wichita KS) was recruited to ask all their friends and relatives where they could be found. The educational part of it was trying to "politely explain" to those who'd never heard of 'em that you knew of someone who wanted to eat some pig guts.

A neighborhood grocer (reluctantly) special ordered a batch, rumor is that he got warnings from the Dept of Health and declined to place another order.

'Tis said they're still a popular "holiday side dish" in some parts of the southeast US, but the health dept advisors are kinda scared by them.

John