Dedicated to all the mass produced items that we love both new and old.
Obviously Sara Lee pound cake
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Ore ida tater tot’s reminds me of school lunch and snacks at home in the toaster oven.
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V8. Nothing else comes close.
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I had no idea Sara Lee pound cake was such a cross-cultural touchstone.
There was ALWAYS one on the counter in the kitchen at home, and at least one in the chest freezer in the garage. It was a ubiquitous presence at both grandparents’ houses as well.
And it’s perfect for cubing up for chocolate fondue. I have a great poundcake recipe, but will STILL grab one from the store every now and then. Can’t duplicate it.
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Cheetos, Fritos, cheddar goldfish.
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You’d need modified food starch, milk protein concentrate, sodium acid pyrophosphate, guar gum, xanthan gum, sodium stearoyl lactylate, annatto, monocalcium phosphate, wheat starch, and soy lecithin.
But avoid the extra cheddar one!!!
Noted! Too cheddary?
I’ve tried to erase the memory. IIRC, weirdly, chemically cheddary. And powdery on the surface. I mentioned it elsewhere here, and i think someone agreed.
Bleah. The regular ones are so perfect!
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Indeed! Which is why I thought the Xtra Cheddar would be that much better. It was so shockingly bad.
My mass produced faves: Chicas blue corn tortilla chips. Salt and vinegar Kettle Chips (I have never had an Utz chip). TJ’s hummus and tzatziki. Maeda-en green tea mochi.
Grandma Utz chips are great but I’m not sure they’re mass-produced like the regular ones. They may be hand-cooked in batches rather than produced by some kind of continuous conveyor-belt machine.
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In direct contrast to the ‘Cheddar Blasted’ (there’s an uncomfortable image) Pirate Booty, which is superior (imho) to even the Trader Joe’s White Cheddar corn puffs, which are themselves superior to regular White Cheddar Pirate Booty.
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I had jimmy dean sandwiches many days during elementary school for breakfast since I wasn’t allowed any sweet cereal except for special occasions and I would cook myself breakfast since my parents were already out the house.
Haven’t had one in years I wonder if they’re still any good.
Ohmigod, it’s been so long since I’ve had Pirate’s Booty! Why did I think it was popcorn? My recollection is that I was never as fond of it as was, like, everyone else, alas.
Speaking of cheese-y snacks, I am curiously fond of Moon Cheese. I had it as part of a swag bag from a non-profit fundraiser. At first, I thought they were really weird and dry. And then I found them kind of addictive. I saw them recently at a nearby grocery store and was tempted to grab a bag…
Never made them for myself, but I do have a strange fondness for circular sausage patties. I think it’s what you grow up w/…
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Yup I have fond memories of all the trash food I used to eat as a kid which will be appearing on this thread. My mom thought sweets/desserts were bad but would literally buy me any type of cheap savory food to eat because she thought that was ok lol
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My father would put cold tomato sauce on top of spaghetti and (cooked and warm) ground meat. It wasn’t until I was a teen (and read the tomato sauce label myself) that I realized the tomato sauce was supposed to warm.
And it wasn’t until I was an adult that I realized he was likely making a version of dan dan mien!
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Am i the only one who doesn’t like tater tots . I wont ever disagree when they are cooked for me . But i find they come with a omnibob flavor.
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You’re not the only one, though I have less objection to the flavor and more to the form factor and texture.
An oven can never seem to really crisp them, so you just get mushy bland blobs.
If I have to break.out oil and pan fry something, I might as well just make hashbrowns.
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I have never had that problem with a toaster oven, you just gotta be patient! Another pro tip would be to microwave them a little soft to speed up the cook time.
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