What Foods and Food Products Are Still Just As Good As Ever?

[Perilagu Khan]

Pork rinds of just about any brand (hard to screw 'em up, I guess)

Uncle Ben's Wild Rice (just don't grab one of the instant boxes or frou-frou flavors by mistake)

Chef Boyardee mini ravs

Lipton Chicken Noodle Soup

Whataburger burgers (although they have become prohibitively expensive)

Totino's frozen pies (they have gotten smaller, though; still a good deal)

Heinz Ketchup (I don't see the decline descried by others)

French's yellow mustard (sometimes I just want yellow ballpark mustard, and this is still good stuff)

Del Monte French cut green beans (much better than the generic brands)

Popeye's Chicken

Taco Villa

Tabasco (original sauce)

[CDouglas]

Two more for me are Berger cookies and Fig Newtons.

[FoodFuser]

Whole molarered embrace
to the grind of those figs
and soft cover of Newtons.

[ninrn]

Eli's Cheesecake

DeCecco Pasta

Grape Nuts

V-8

Ryvita

Lime-flavored Perrier (in the original glass bottle)

Brunswick Sardines in water

[Passadumkeg]

Bud-wiser! Ribbit.

[FoodFuser]

In vein of Budweiser we must present bounty
of Cheetos extruded as dollops of corn
happily fried,
Then coated with some sort of cement of cheddar
which balances burps of those beers.

[ninrn]

Ezekiel 4:9 Sprouted Whole Grain Bread by Food for Life Bakeries is exactly the same as it was in the 60's, but they slice it a bit thinner which is good for such a dense loaf. Not great plain, but makes a nice toast and is (still) very nutritious.

Carr's water crackers

Tabachnik frozen mushroom barley soup

Nutella (never liked it that much, but to me it tastes exactly the same as it did when I was a kid)

Ghirardelli chocolate bars. They kind of get lost in the flood of fancier chocolates, but I think these have actually gotten better (I'm talking about the basic baking bars).

Pepperidge Farm frozen puff pastry

Eden Shake

Tillamook Cheddar

Farnum Hill Cider (only 21 years old, but so many things have gotten worse in that time, i.e. ramen noodles -- what do you need to do to make instant ramen WORSE?)

Edward & Sons instant miso soup. I've been getting these little packets for 20 years and they seem a bit skimpier in portion size, but taste just the same.

Bahlsen Choco Leibniz (also sometimes labeled Leibniz Choco Petit Beurre) cookies. One of the great old-style packaged cookies (no chemicals to keep them unnaturally fresh-baked-soft forever, however, so you have to check the packing date).

Natrona Bottling Co's Red Ribbon Sodas -- Never had HFCS, still has tiny, powerful bubbles

[smaki]

Great post +1 Tillamook Cheddar medium is as great as ever! Is some of the best I've had anywhere and traveled lots. Recently switched to the Tillamook white cheddar in the dark blue wrap as get on sale same price as medium cheddar at $5-6 for 2 lbs. No rBST milk to start. Also like Tillamook ice cream.

Wisconsin has some good cheddar also and is the only place to me that compares while many there are still BST fortified milk products ... but that is another thread (thank you to Monsanto who got the Fox news couple fired in Tampa and money to lobby congress to continue to feed modified foods to the public where the majority does not care so it will continue unless more information is spread to more people because rBST is approved by the feds and gives dairys who use it 15-20% more production and milk is mixed together in trucks and at production facilities). In a world where it is hard to know which cows get the shot and which ones do not... Tillamook is a good place to get milk products from.

[ninrn]

Thanks. Wish we got Tillamook ice cream here in NM, but no. Rupert Murdoch in bed with Monsanto (ick) is not a big surprise. What's always amazed me is all the other folks on both sides of the political spectrum who are in there too.

[marthasway]

Original Fritos, small size, regular flavor
Whataburgers, except that now SOP means that you have ask for buns toasted on both sides
Welch's grape juice

[al b. darned]

Häagen-Dazs ice cream seem to have avoided the trend of adding extra stuff to their products like Breyers and Ben & Jerry's did. Rum Raisin is still a favorite.

[I used to know how to cook...]

Karo corn syrup. Light and dark.

Important ingredient to prevent crystallization in candies and such.

Can't make a decent pecan pie without Karo dark.

Edited to add: Hershey's cocoa powder, the natural kind.

Lucy

[EWSflash]

Hostess cupcakes and Twinkies. And Snowballs, too. There's a vending machine around the corner at work that has an off brand of Hostess cupcakes, and I really like them, too. And I'm not even a chocaholic.

[mamachef]

Not to dissent too much, but Twinkies have changed, and greatly so. The filling, back in the day, was actually lightly banana-flavored.

[ipsedixit]

I said up above that Twinkies was one of those things that "are still as good as ever" ... and that's because I am not old enough to have ever had banana-filled (or flavored) Twinkies. Oh well.

[rworange]

Banana made a brief comeback in 2007
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/13/business/worldbusiness/13iht-twinkies.1.6119218.html

There are three flavors currently, original ... which Hostess has the audacity to call vanilla rather than mystery cream ... chocolate and strawberry.

You can vote on the site for the next flavor
http://www.hostesscakes.com/twinkies.asp

"Will it be Raspberry Tart, Cookies ‘n Crème, Blueberry Pie or Lemon Meringue? "

Ohhh ... blueberry pie ... that doesn't sound like a good idea ... a Twinkie with blue stuff oozing out of it. I think lemon would work though.

They also have the nerve to accent "Crème" ... would that be the French pronunciation?

Given that, I say they should go totally foodie-trendy with the next Crème flavor ... maple bacon.

Somehow straweberry has an appeal to me. I sort of like the fake strawberry flavor of stuff like strawberry Nestle Quik. This blog has a detaled report on the strawberry Twinkie
http://www.associatedcontent.com/arti...

"As soon as I opened the package, I was hit by a strong fake strawberry scent. It wasn't quite like strawberry candy, but something a little more fake and artificial if that's even possible. The worst part was that the scent seemed to hang in the air, even after we finished off the Twinkies ... Inside each Twinkie cake is a bright pink colored crème, much brighter than I was anticipating."

Hostess seems not to be in Guatemala. I do want to try the local version of Twinkies called "submarines" to see how they compare.

[guiller]

theres a lot dude,,

kfc chicken
macdonals burger
BBQ
coke
Rum
Taco Villa

THANKS,
www.easycookrecipes.com

[rworange]

If you mean coke, the drink, try some Mexican Coca Cola which is the unchanged version. It tastes better

[mamachef]

I love Mexican Coca Cola and can NEVER find it anywhere. Not even on the one million local taco trucks. Waaaah.

[rworange]

Some regular markets sell Kosher Coke around the Jewish holidays. It is made with real sugar. I gues HFCS isn't Kosher. You might post on your local board during that holiday period to ask if any stores sell it.

[mamachef]

WHAT A GREAT IDEA!! There's a store that caters to usn's that's not far away, and they will so be getting a query from me. Thank you; brilliant.
Meanwhile, any local 'hounds with trunkspace for Coke heading anywhere near South of the Border anytime soon? (I'll be glad to buy a case for you, tooo......)

[ninrn]

CostCo branches will get Mexican Coke in if enough people request it.

[susans]

It's not that HFCS isn't kosher; during Passover some Jews do not eat any corn products.

[smaki]

Smart people, we should all do that more. My home education teacher in high school called corn a 'nothing vegetable' as not much good in it - advised to eat peas or broccolli instead. HFCS is everywhere as inexpensive. For example, all the soda companies and sauce companies switched to HFCS as a sweetener instead of sugar long ago when consumers didn't notice or complain to save cash. The Coke Costco sells made with real sugar in Mexico does taste better to me.

[rworange]

Well, your high school teacher was wrong about corn. Here's a link about the 47 different types of corn in Guatemala, some so specialized that in some vilaages women have nurtured a unique type, generation after generation.
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/747638

Of course, the big US corn interests are coming into the country and taking out the small milpa fields. Some of this will be lost forever.

[roxlet]

From time to time we find the Mexican Coca-Cola at Costco. We buy a lot when we do.

[02putt]

I don't know when I was I kid I would eat this stuff but I think the products have changed in order to sell the items at a cheaper cost. Or I may be just getting older but whenever I eat the foods mentioned above I feel sick.

[02putt]

Was there anything good about Uncle Ben's, Chef Boyardee, Liptons, Popeyes Chicken in the first place?

[joan828]

Cain's Mayonnaise (NE Brand)
Bell's Seasoning (NE poultry seasoning - must have for stuffing)
French's Yellow Mustard
Marshmallow Fluff
Ah So Sauce
Moxie
Twinkies

[jbsiegel]

Are Twinkies really the same? The last time I had one, the filling didn't taste as "grainy" as it used to (sugar crystals I think)...

[Tripeler]

Maybe they switched from granulated sugar to HFCS?

[FoodFuser]

Been a while since a Twinkie made a path down my gullet
but I'd bet that a really close read of ingredients
would turn up a trace of grainy Portland Cement.

[ipsedixit]

Twinkies

[rworange]

Ah ... the Twinkie defense. Thanks for the reality check.

I see I misunderstood the original question. They didn't need to be good to start with.

I see your Twinkie and rais you Rice a Roni.

[ipsedixit]

The OP was "as good as ever"

Not, "as good as the best ever"

It's all relative.

Now, I understand your point about products with HFCS. I don't have a problem with HFCS, but I can see how some people would view products with HFCS not as good as the same product made with sugar.

[I used to know how to cook...]

Hi ipsedixit,

I agree... The OP was "as good as ever"

This started out, to me, a positive and upbeat thread. Asking for examples of foods that are still as good as ever. A nostalgic treat, if you will.

Unfortunately, it seems to have disintegrated into something quite different. That being how foods have changed (and not EVER for the better - just for the worst) Almost challenging posters to 'defend' why their old favorites are still favorites.

That makes me sad. There are far too many threads here on Chowhound that are negative. Too few that are positive.

Oh well, like Forrest Gump said, that's all I have to say about that.

No more fun here... No more pleasant, nostalgic memories... Sad...

Edited to add: I, too, have no problem whatsoever with high fructose corn syrup.

Lucy

[02putt]

Your thread made me think of a new one...Brand failures. It too is meant to be light hearted although not necessarily good for the heart!

[rworange]

How did the fun nostalgia help anyone eat better?

I thought this was a dead topic. It was started in January and for the most part dropped, otherwise I never would have gotten involved in one of these chatty posts.

I didn't think this was a trip down memory lane. I was hoping to find products that actually still set the same high standards that made them popular.

There are few in this thread. Kikkoman, Tabasco, Stouffer's spinach souffle, Ocean Spray Cranberry Juice ... it was nice to find there's no HFCS in it.

The cloying taste of HFCS doesn't improve anything. I could care less about its health impact if the stuff tasted good.

Heinz Simple is a good example of consumers standing up and saying they didn't like what Heinz had done to their catsup ... that it wasn't as good as ever.

Maybe if we can get past brand loyalty and nostolgia, we can claim back some of the food that did taste better before.

Or we can ignore the changes and wait for the next downgrade.

I believe the products that did maintain their integrity should get our praise ... and dollars. However, the other stuff shouldn't slide on past memories.

[mcap]

Superpretzels. In the freezer section.

Used to have them all the time as a kid and then didn't have any for about 20 yrs. Recently got them again and they are exactly the same. Frozen soft pretzels from the freezer that take 30 seconds to microwave to hot, soft pretzel.

You won't confuse them for a (fresh) street-cart pretzel but they are really good. Amazingly, nothing has changed in 20 years including the packaging, the directions, etc.

http://www.superpretzel.com/

[tracylee]

I went through a box of those in January or so when I had a week of salt cravings. I'd spritz the top with water to get the salt to stick before nuking it, then put extra salt on the plate to dip each bit in. Luckily that phase passed quickly!

[gaffk]

Don't you love the line in the directions about not using the whole salt packet on one pretzel? I'm a big fan of salt, but I don't think I've ever used the whole packet for the box of six. I too recently rediscovered these and they are, indeed, as good as I remember (though agreed they should not be confused with real street cart pretzels).

[FoodFuser]

One thing that has not changed:

Oscar Meyer Braunschweiger in the 8 ounce plastic tube.

It still has the ground grit of that granular bacon
and begs to be chowed with a spoon.

Its the same as it was those many passed years ago
when Dad brought it home
and we shared up a tube.

[Passadumkeg]

A goodin' My bro and I used to eat it on French toast w/ maple syrup (when there was no scrapple).

[gaffk]

No scrapple? What hell is this?

[LorenM]

Ah childhood memories of braunschweiger, Miracle Whip, Velveeta sandwiches on soft white bread. All ingredients I don't buy too often but I remember sitting on the couch on weekend afternoons with my dad, a roll of braunschweiger and cheese cutter.

[FoodFuser]

While not quite a fan of the processed Velveeta
It ain't changed, so belongs on the list.

But all those advances in all those cheese cutters
lend distance from original "Pull on my finger."

This digital tugging
has helped cut the cheese
since those days of our caves and our caverns.

[I used to know how to cook...]

Oh yes, braunshchweiger. On white bread with Miracle Whip.

Miracle Whip is another food that's still just as good as ever. Ditto Best Foods mayo.

Lucy

[Passadumkeg]

Eight O'clock coffee.

[FoodFuser]

I'd be hesitant to buy it here around Daylight savings time
for fear that the name shifts to Seven or Nine.

Will allow the espousement of the good of their bean
but darn it let's just get that time right.

[Passadumkeg]

It's always 8 o"clock somewhere.
Then what the Hell is a Starbuck!

Vida Herring.
Yuengling Beer (Since 1838.)

[thomas64]

Actually, Yuengling has been around since 1829 - it's the oldest brewery in the U.S.

[Passadumkeg]

I knew Yuengling was the oldest, but bluured vision confused the date! I will be back in MacAdoo and Allentown this summer!

[FoodFuser]

Ahh, sweet gossamer yields of gently draped muslin
when wrapped for remembering up over our heads
Permits with its soft cloth percolation of memories
As to original source of the brewskies.

We must never forget that as far back as Egyptians
we have stored carbohydrates in the form of good beer.

[Passadumkeg]

I drank a reincarnation at the British Museum; honey sweet.

[FoodFuser]

Many songs have been shed
of our need for the mead
and dangling hops
and the wind-shaken barley.

[goodhealthgourmet]

+1 for Grey Poupon, Hellman's/Best Foods, & Frank's Red Hot.

also:
Pommery French Mustard
Colman's Mustard Powder
Friendship Cottage Cheese
Breakstone's Sour Cream

[smaki]

Thank you for bringing up Pommery French Mustard (also added Coleman's to my list after saw on yours). Have been looking for Pommery forgot the name and no one seems to have it in the shelf anymore. Where do you buy it and what do you usually pay? Here is an Amazon link to where I got to see a picture of the container I remember growing up:
http://www.amazon.com/Pommery-Gourmet...

[goodhealthgourmet]

you know, i haven't had to buy it for a long time - i have a pretty large crock of it that i bought at Surfas Restaurant Supply here in LA, and since it's one of about 8 or 9 mustard varieties in my fridge at any given time, it lasts for a while ;) i'll keep an eye out and let you know if i see it anywhere that might also be accessible to you in Portland.

[smaki]

Thank you again for bringing up Pommery and keeping an eye out - you are my hero! I love this place. Did a search and found Pommery may possibly not be imported into the US anymore because of tariff taxes making importers mad:
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/291824

This site also has a comment from someone who says the Clinton years put a 100% tariff in place on French mustard that remains today:
http://www.amazon.com/Classic-Pommery...

Not sure what the deal is yet until look around some more. If not available will have to try to duplicate, but made by the same family since 1760 served to French Royalty since 1632. Love the history and it may be kinda hard to duplicate. Maybe it is available and just expensive so not in the regular stores where I usually shop anymore. If the above is true may have to go to Canada to get some - it isn't that far and will remember to buy lots next time I go. Mail order or Ebay looks like might have to work, but then it would make me wonder how long the stuff has sat around. Sitting is probably not a problem as do not think anything in it goes bad - I recall one crock that lasted years and was fine until gone. Maybe it gets better with age especially not opened. Pommery is an old favorite have been trying to find for a few months now. Even described the jar somewhere here in another post hoping to find it. What other kinds of mustard do you like in your fridge right now if you don't mind me asking? Have been eating more mustard in recent times avoiding my old favorite Best Foods now they are in a smaller plastic container (would rather eat out of glass especially oily foods). Find with good mustard there is often no need for mayo.

My fridge? All kinds of mustard is good to have around. We like the Chinese hot mustard taste like when mix fresh Coleman's powder with water / beer. Beaverton Foods has a really good Beaver brand Dijon that has a nice hot Chinese-like mustard kick (made here in Portland) that is my current favorite. Grey Poupon (original). French's Spicy Brown is often on sale usually have as my son's favorite. I do not remember a time when French's Yellow was not in the house. Just polished off a Grey Poupon mustard with whole seeds and found it kind of tasty.

NOTE: Do not like lots of horseradish mixed in with mustard. Like to add my own horseradish for some items like deli roast beef meat - or be able to choose to go with only a straight good mustard no horseradish with deli turkey meat. Also into layers of flavor when cook rather than mixing things together.

[goodhealthgourmet]

take another look at the date on that post you dug up - it's a year old ;) Pommery may be more difficult to find now, but it's still available in the States.

[goodhealthgourmet]

Sur La Table carries the Pommery...and i know there's one in Portland :)

i just realized i missed your question about the other types of mustard in my fridge. at this moment: TJ's Dijon with White Wine; TJ's Whole Grain Dijon; Dave's Gourmet Insanity Mustard; Grey Poupon; Maille Whole Grain; Guldens Spicy Brown; Beaver Extra Hot Jalapeno; TJ's Hot & Sweet; Woeber's Wasabi; Annie's Organic Honey Mustard; Robert Rothschild Anna Mae's Smoky Mustard; First Street (Smart & Final store brand)...so including the Pommery, i think that's 13.

i'm a mustard freak. and don't even get me started on vinegars or hot sauces...

[FoodFuser]

There should not be no shame in being a mustardhead
with arrays of those pastes in the fridge.

Nor shame of the vinegars or hot sauces.

It becomes more affliction, or even addiction,
if you find in your hordage and storage
You've bought up a second refrigerator.

[smaki]

FoodFuser you are very wise, have three refrigerators with freezers two in the kitchen here on the farm.

goodhelthgourmet, You rock thank you for getting back to me! Am going to have to try some of them and have never been to a Sur La Table but found a few near me with their store locator:
http://www.surlatable.com/browse/stor...

Thanks to the Clinton administration Pommery is double the price due to tariff taxes is why normal stores do not have anymore. One jar lasts a long time will just have to bite the bullet as love it.

We will be trying some of your selections starting with checking out TJs as is one very close to me. Your not a freak, just a very wise person who knows how to eat better than most! Getting into mustard more than ever and obviously you have been doing it for a long time. Making mustards are fun tastes good and sometimes the no “extras” so common in processed food (another topic). The standards seem to change sometimes through the years (some say Best Foods / Hellman's is even different than it used to be here on CH, Heinz just came out with Simply Heinz made again with real sugar instead of corn sugar, and Coke now has a real sugar version sold in small bottles by the case at Costco from Mexico. Wonder to myself when did all the products switch to something other than what we grew up with doing things like changing oil or switching to corn syrup instead of real sugar?). As time passess to make your own is the only way to know only quality ingredients are inside. In real life what is best often gets traded for convienience. As makers change standards in attempt to make more money, the universal language of business, consumers suffer and we often do not know it changed. Bait and switch. Get us hooked with something good and change it to make more money seems to be a common theme in food.

Hot sauces, rubs, and custom grinds is something we are also into. Yes hot sauce could be a huge topic. We have 20 or so hot sauces / salsas in the house. Also several proven Asian standards including Sambal Oelek, SRIRACHA, and what ever sweet chili sauce in a quart was on sale. We also love the differences in hot flavors. Feel capsaicin opens taste buds and when used in moderation is a flavor enhancer. I even put my chili grind, just a pinch, in chocolate fudge. Our chili grind is perfected over decades custom grind of 11 peppers in a specific ratio many smoked dry for extra flavor. We make our own no-salt seasoning (like Emeril's Bam with more of a kick - I call it Smakit. So we Smak in the kitchen instead of Bam!).

A favorite is to combine hot and vinegar - into awesome hot pickles of fresh still crispy fresh picked vegetables (we make mild, medium, and hot for the varied tastes of family and friends). We call them Smakin' pickles. World travelers tell us the best and have great references. We pickle cucumbers, gherkins, green beans, carrots / celery / cauliflower mix, beets, asparagus, ... Love to garden as started with family and always have. Due to encouragement from others, hope to make a bigger deal of hot pickles and at this time only do several hundred jars each year. Usually gone in a few months. While have plans for more plants this year than ever so maybe don't run out, but that would take 1000s of quarts. Simply so addicted to good eating had to make our own as better than could buy. Find having good hot pickles around makes potato salad and other dishes extra special when compared to others - even put a bit of home made hot pickle juice in some dishes.

[goodhealthgourmet]

Wonder to myself when did all the products switch to something other than what we grew up with doing things like changing oil or switching to corn syrup instead of real sugar?
~~~~~~~~~
when they realized it was cheaper for them to do so. grrr.

FYI, there are MANY more mustard varieties i *used* to keep on hand, but unfortunately a lot of them contain wheat flour or other sources of gluten, and since my Celiac diagnosis i've had to give them all up. boo.

for more inspiration, check out the mustard museum!
http://mustardmuseum.com/

[smaki]

Thank you again! Great website for mustard. They have over 5000 kinds. Dang didn't know there were that many. You are doing the right thing watching foods the doctor says are bad for your situation.

[roux42]

Kraft Macaroni and Cheese!

[smaki]

We agree Kraft M&C is the best! Some of the things I've grown up with that I love include:

A-1
Heinz 57
Lea and Perrins Worcestershire Sauce
Heinz Katchup (we agree with Eatin - Simply Heinz tastes best. Say no to HFCS)
Best Foods / Hellmans Mayo
Grey Poupon
French's Yellow Mustard
Kikkoman Soy Sauce
Cambell's Soups (fond of Bean and Bacon & Vegetable Beef)
Jimmy Dean Breakfast Sausage
Dinty Moore Beef Stew (like to eat over chow mein noodles)
Colman's English Mustard Powder
Coke from Mexico made with real sugar they sell by the case at Costco.
Kahlua and cream over ice
Hawaiian Punch Concentrate made a little stronger than normal
NESQUIK chocolate powder in milk
Hershey's Chocolate Syrup in the dark can not plastic (great on ice cream and in milk)

[Samuelinthekitchen]

Absolutely Kikkoman soy, best damned soy sauce going.

[EWSflash]

+1

[pinehurst]

I second the Hellman's mayo. Grey Poupon is always in my fridge, too. I also always have a couple of Le Sueur peas with mushrooms and onions in my cabinet. And Ken's Italian dressing/marinade (don't know if that's available outside the Northeast?)....my go-to marinade for steak tips.

[beanodc]

As a Ken's Dressing user for 50 years, I can tell you that it has changed since the 60's and 70's. I assume it happened when Ken's sold the business. Way back when, it had a truly unique taste.

[rworange]

And I guarantee you that when they started they weren't using canola or soy oil ... and most of those preservatives
http://www.kensfoods.com/kf/products/...

This thread is exactly why corporations feel free to screw up their products. People don't even notice the difference ... so sure, use cheaper ingredients and turn it into a chemical wonderland.

[smaki]

Agree used to taste better.

[I used to know how to cook...]

Stouffer's Spinach Souffle

[invinotheresverde]

I've always wanted to try that...

[I used to know how to cook...]

Hi there...

It's good! It's what I had for lunch today.

No icky ingredients - just spinach, skim milk, eggs, water, soybean oil and whatever starch-flour-sugar-salt-spice they need to add. Not too salty - 390 mg per serving.

Cooks in the micro from frozen in less than 15 minutes.

Also makes a darn nice stuffing for mushroom caps!

Lucy

[Nicolette S]

It's good on a baked potato, too!

[EWSflash]

Now I have to get some Spinach souffle

[LorenM]

I bought some last weekend based on some CH recommendations. I'll tell you- I am not a picky eater and love spinach but bleh! Not my thing.

[DougRisk]

Guinness

[alliegator]

Pringles chips--plain flavor. I've traveled a lot and not always been in the ritzy resort areas, lol. But no matter what county I'm in and what I do, Pringles are available and always taste exactly the same. Good stuff if you've had a frustrating day and you just want that taste of home.

[rworange]

Yeah. Pringles

I have just gone insane the last few weeks and have been craving potato chips which I rarely eat in the US I don't even LIKE Pringles in the US, but for some reason, they just satisfy the craving. Lays in the Pringle-like container just suck. I'm more of a sour cream and onion Pringle fan. The jalepeno are really good too. I think I need more ... now

I have to disagree with Heinz catsup. Try the organic. That is what it really tasted like at one time.

I'll go along with French's mustard, but to the fan of Grey Poupon, take a look at the ingredient list. It has changed. A bargain store used to have great deals on it and then I read the label. It isn't worth it at any price

Not to rain on too many people's parades, but I think some of what has been mentioned is stuff you buy all the time and haven't noticed the decline. If you don't eat it for a while and then try it after a while, it just isn't as good as the memory.

I'd go with the Chef Boyardi ravioli. Loved it once. ate it a year or two ago and failed to see what was so good about it

Ok ... here's my contribution

M & M's - they melt in your mouth and not in your hand ... or in hellish tropical heat. A Snicker's bar is just Snicker's soup by time I get home.

[EWSflash]

I will come out of the shadows and say that I like Pringles better than most of the greasy-ass potato chips whether they be "artisanal" or local or commercial or whatever. I also have no craving for Ruffles unless I eat one, then I keep on eating them until they're gone or I drag myself out of the building with duct tape over my mouth

[hamboney]

..."and you just want that taste of home". I violently agree! Memories; I must do the duck beak w/2 chips to feel like a kid in front of my 82 year-old mom. Plain or Sour Cream & Onion for me.
Already mentioned, but Simply Heinz is awesome.
Hammy

[Sandwich_Sister]

Inglehoffer mustard
Claussen dill pickles
Pappardelle pasta
Philadelphia Cream Cheese
Boars Head Meats
Tropicana Orange Juice
Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream

My junk food weakness - Totinos Pizza Bites.

[Delucacheesemonger]

If you ever get to NY and can try Ben's cream cheese, you cannot go back to Philadelphia brand.

[mamachef]

Best Foods Mayonnaise
French's Ballpark mustard
Newman's olive oil/vinegar dressing
Land o' Lakes butter, unsalted
V-8 juice - the classic
Frank's Red! Hot! Sauce
Mexican crema blanca from the carniceria
Ruffles potato chips
Welch's purple grape juice
And I may need to run away after I write this, but I still think Campbell's Cream of Tomato can't be beat, especially (ok, ONLY) if made with full whole milk.
And velveeta, which is gross unfood, but sometimes is the only thing for a pan of mac and cheese.

[CDouglas]

I agree with everything on this list (Hellmann's where I come from) and would add:
Mild Slim Jims
RC Cola
Cracker Jacks
Oscar Mayer Balogna
Claussen pickles
Ocean Spray Cranberry juice

[rworange]

I've got to ask, because this thread just astounds me. How long have you been consuming these products?

If you have been only eating them since the days of HFCS and other additives, I can understand saying they are good as always.

However, especially drinks like Ocean Spray and RC Cola have been changed from sugar to HFCS and if you had the original, no, they are not just as good.

I'm living in Central America now where everything is made from sugar. RC Cola is amazing. It is not the sad drink being sold currently in the US

[smaki]

Nice to hear brands we know are still made with regular sugar in Central America.

[rworange]

Yeah, its really sad to taste the "real thing" and know I can't get it at home. Yoplait with real sugar is a lovely thing ... and breakfast cereal ... with sugar ... what a concept.

On the other hand, Oreo's just ain't that great anymore even with sugar.

[goodhealthgourmet]

there's no HFCS in Ocean Spray Cranberry Juice Cocktail, and AFAIK, the recipe for Cracker Jacks is the same as it's always been.

[rworange]

My mistake. That is just the Cranberry sauce.

Did I critisize Cracker Jacks? No I did not. It probably is one of the few products that still has close to the original ingrediant list. No points off for using soy oil instead of whatever was originally used.

The prizes are increasingly cheesy over the years, but they weren't all that to start with ... but how many products always give you a toy.
http://www.fritolay.com/our-snacks/cr...

[goodhealthgourmet]

I've got to ask, because this thread just astounds me. How long have you been consuming these products?

If you have been only eating them since the days of HFCS and other additives, I can understand saying they are good as always.
~~~~~~~~~~~
i read that to mean that you were condemning every product on the list...i apologize if i misinterpreted your comments.

[rworange]

Yeah, I wasn't clear. Just picking on the drinks in that particular list.

However, so many of the products in this topic have clearly changed over the years it astounds me that people think they are as good as ever.

I love Hellman's mayo and I'll vouch for its goodness, but even the oil in that has changed over the years.

I don't know, as I read labels more and more I get more annoyed how food has changed.

Lea and Perrins Worcestershire Sauce has HFCC, so like Grey Poupon, it has changed
http://www.leaperrins.com/products/the-original-worcestershire-sauce/nutrition.aspx

Ben and Jerry's changed? For sure, since they were bought.

However, a good chunk of this list is just junk food anyway ... including my beloved Pringles ... which have always been formed potato chips

"DRIED POTATOES, VEGETABLE OIL (CONTAINS ONE OR MORE OF THE FOLLOWING: CORN OIL, COTTONSEED OIL, SOYBEAN OIL, AND/OR SUNFLOWER OIL), RICE FLOUR, WHEAT STARCH, MALTODEXTRIN, SALT AND DEXTROSE. CONTAINS WHEAT INGREDIENTS"

Its just that when you go back to this stuff after not eating it for years, theres a real taste shock.

Dinty Moore to me tastes and smells like dog food. I adored Claussen dill pickles, but after laying off them for a few years they taste of nothing but salt.

Do I like boxed Kraft Mac and cheese? Sure. Has it always been junk? Yep. Campbell's soups ... love the salty taste, mushy noodles with the notes of tin can. It hasn't changed at all.

I don't know ... maybe a lot of this just wasnt' really that good to begin with so "good as ever" is relative.

Going to have to try Slim Jims again when I see them. Used to loved them but even before the days of nutrional education, I wasn't thinking this was health food. Love this article on the ingredients
http://www.wired.com/science/discover...

"It's real meat, all right. But it ain't Kobe. The US Department of Agriculture categorizes beef into eight grades of quality. The bottom three—utility, cutter, and canner—are typically used in processed foods and come from older steers with partially ossified vertebrae, tougher tissue, and generally less reason to live. ConAgra wasn't exactly forthcoming on what's inside Slim Jim."

It goes on.

I guess we should celebrate the products that haven't done a slight of hand trick and really have not changed .... and it is sad that we often don't notice the difference.

[paulj]

Why would anyone hang on to a steer till it was old? Just for the joy of feeding it till its meat value drops? Yes there are older bulls (the Spanish have special uses for heroes of the bull ring), and older breeding cows and older milking cows. But steers don't produce anything except manure.

[CDouglas]

I have been drinking RC Cola at least as long as you. Has the taste changed? Yes. Do I still appreciate the difference it brings in comparison to Pepsi and Coke? Yes. Did I grow up drinking it and eating Moonpies? Yes.

Thanks for your critique of my post. I know why you did it but I simply don't care what you think.

[rworange]

It isn't you, I probably touched on most of the posts in this thread.

You acknowledge there's a difference. And that is just my point, so doin't read anything else into my post other than that.

The topic was what products are as good as ever.

There's a lot of things I like still, but they have changed ... McDonald's fries are one. However, they have changed a lot from the original version. So they are not as good as ever.

So my question was, and is to anyone, how long have you been eating or drinking these products. To someone who only had RC Cola since it changed to HFCS, yes, it would be as good as ever.

I guess it is living in Central America where products use sugar ad often fewer additives. My repeated mantra has been "Hey, I remember when this tasted this way.

I haven't seen Hostess cupcakes, but theres a product that is similar called "penguins". I bit into one the other day and ... I remember when Hostess cupcakes tasted that way.

How many corners do companies have to cut before people notice?

[I used to know how to cook...]

Hi rworange,

How long have I been eating these products?

Well, Miracle Whip, Best Foods Mayo, Oscar Mayer Braunschweiger -since I was a little kid. Oh, I was born in 1942, so that's a long, long time...

Stouffer's Spinach Souffle - since at least 1994.

Is that long enough to qualify for your stringent requirements?

Yes, I do believe they are just as good as ever. Your opinion, to which you are entitled, may vary.

Lucy

[rworange]

Doesn't sound like the spinach souffle changed.

IMO, the only mistake Coca Cola made with New Coke, was announcing the change. If they said nothing, I bet no one would have noticed.

As I said elsewhere, it is too bad for all of us. I keep being astounded that a third world country makes products the way they were once made and in many ways outdoes what we eat in the US.

Trying a lot of these products that are closer to the original version was an eye opener. They are not as good as ever were .... in the US. I'm really going to miss Yoplait with sugar rather than HFCS.

[I used to know how to cook...]

Well, I can't speak to Coca Cola making a mistake because I never drink it.

Nor do I eat Yoplait...

Lucy

[CDouglas]

"What Foods and Food Products Are Still Just As Good As Ever?"

In other words what products did you enjoy long ago that you still enjoy today? No mention of pristine ingredient replication being the requirement for products to be the same.

Many CHOW folks here tried to contribute just that type of content but your comments derailed the conversation.

Hijacking threads and being overly critical, patronizing and stubbornly argumentative does not progress the discussion and produces zero helpful content. That type of posting devalues this site.

[rworange]

Actually, I consider this thread exactly what Chowhound is for me. And I totally agree that this type of post devalues the site ... if the intent is as you describe.

This is a discussion forum. The point of it is differing points of view. Anything anyone posts is subject to being discussed .... positively or negatively.

Just because a discussion doesn't agree with you, doesn't make it argumentative. My experience with lots of these products is different. So that was the reason for my question about when people started trying these products.

Either ...

1. You purchased the product after it went downhill
2. You have been buying the product faithfully over the years and have not noticed the change.

The latter is distressing to me. That consumers are duped into eating products of inferior quality because they just don't notice the gradual changes.

Patronizing ... not in the least. How can you think anyone with a current passion for Pringles could be patronizing of anyone else's food choice. There are odes from me on the Chains board about shamrock shakes, McDonald's cheeseburgers and the McRib. That makes it difficult to patronize anyone else's food choices.

Many of these products just don;t taste as good to me. There is not a thing wrong with that. What is wrong is dumping on someone who says that.

Thinking about it ... no, the title does not imply what foods people still enjoy today. It implies unchanged products ... if not in terms of ingredients ... then taste.

The information here in that case, is misleading.

Maybe the one thing of value in this post is that it might bring up some foods people haven't tried for a while ... so they go out and buy it .. and find it really is not so good these days.

Tell me, exactly HOW does this type of thread lead anyone to eat better?

It is a consensus thread.

I like Hellman's mayo. Yeah, me too.

What's the point of that? Where is the helpful content you mention being lost? Are people who have never tried Hellman's going to rush out and buy it? What planet would those people live on never having tried Hellman's?

However, that is a product that, despite changes in the oil used, still tastes good and might actually taste as good as it ever did.

In Guatemala, there's Hellman's in squeeze bags. You can buy imported Hellman's iin a glass jar. There's some sort of subtle difference. While everyone is a Hellman's fan, my family went nuts over the imported version. So, yeah, I'd say original Hellman's is just as good as ever.

Seriously, don't worry about me particpating in "feel good" rather than "taste good" threads. As I mentioned, I thought this was going to be a dead thread. It was started in January and didn't have many posts.

The Pringles got to me. And they ARE just as good as ever ... but they weren't a quality product to begin with. However, if you pick up a can today, they taste like they did when they first came out ... actually, they might have improved since they first came out. They are edible these days.

AND my contribution of M&M's is spot on. They haven't changed. No one will be misled buying this product.

[ipsedixit]

AND my contribution of M&M's is spot on. They haven't changed. No one will be misled buying this product.
____________________________

Totally disagree.

I miss the tan M&M's. Blue M&M's are just so weak ...

[Tripeler]

Ipse,
You have GOT to be putting us on.

[goodhealthgourmet]

i'm with ipse. say what you will, but even if it's all in the mind, some of the colors taste different!

i never liked red m&m's, and though i haven't ever had a blue one - they were introduced after i last ate any - i wouldn't try one anyway. they just *look* wrong to me and that has enough of a subconscious impact to ruin the experience of eating one.

[roxlet]

Well, you need to get into a rock band and specify which M&Ms you want to have removed before they are put in your dressing room! Lol!

[jbsiegel]

The brown ones taste the best, and the tan ones were always the second best. I definitely miss them too....

[jhopp217]

Heinz Ketchup and Hellman's Mayo are still as good as ever. Have to disagree with you on Tabasco. I think it's definitely lost something over the years. maybe it's the inlfux of new hot sauces, but I definitely think it's gone from being slightly hot with good taste to hotter with no taste.

[sancan]

Gonna have to take up for the McIlhenny family's Tabasco sauce. I once knew a family member, and can say that they are serious about their original hot sauce staying the same (other newer flavors I don't know about). I've visited their company home on Avery Island, truly a beautiful place, and toured the facility. You don't have to know a family member to do that, it's open to the public. How many other American businesses have been in business since 1868 and are open to the public? No, I don't work there and not gettin' nuthin' for this. Read more about it on their website and check out the island photos of egrets and Mr. Ned's collections and more:
http://www.tabasco.com/tabasco_histor...

[jmckee]

There was a piece on NPR some years back -- an audio tour of the McIlhenny facilities. The guide, a gent with a delightful La. accent was taking the reporter to the aging room, where the pepper mash is in open vats. She started to cough and splutter upon entry. The guide said that "old Mr. McIlhenny" called this the family "baptismal font," that all McIlhenny babies had to be anointed there.

[sancan]

Love the Mr. Ned stories. For a long time, there weren't too many other hot sauces around - in comparison to now I mean. Mr. Ned traveled the world, often accompanied by several staffers and customers or suppliers. If they went to a place for lunch and there was no Tabasco on the table, he'd ask for it. If they didn't have any, the entire party would leave the restaurant.

[paulj]

Before I started shopping at Trader Joes, I preferred the C&W brand for frozen vegetables
http://articles.sfgate.com/2005-09-14...
Now I stick with the green beans that TJ imports from Frances, though they aren't 'French cut'.

[Chowrin]

new coke. oh, wait, you wanted things that used to be GOOD? ;-)

Simply Heinz is the orig. recipe. fucking fantastic.

[Eatin in Woostah]

Yes, Simply Heinz (made with real sugar, not HFCS) tastes like it used to. Coke from Mexico, sold in glass bottles and also made with real sugar, brings me right back to my childhood in the 70s.

Also, Armour Vienna Sausages and Sunbeam Bread.