Are you still using these old-school ingredients our grandmas used to?
A big talk about food and health is going on, with many ingredients under scrutiny. Scrutiny, which Grandma would definitely not approve of!
Despite the jokes, it is true that while some of the ingredients that our grandmas used to use have been proven not to be that healthy, some have been tried and true and used in family recipes for generations.
It is hard to think about those recipes that have been passed on in the family and realize that not only have we forgotten grandma’s recipes, but they have also seemingly disappeared and made us forget about these retro foods and childhood staples.
Today we decided to take you down memory lane and bring back some of the old-school ingredients that used to be in all the dishes we loved and our grandmas used to make so that we can maybe learn from tradition and see where they have a place in our modern lives!
In the end, there is always space for comfort foods and ingredients, and nothing spells this out more than grandma’s recipes! But do we remember all the key ingredients? Let’s find out!
What are some of your favorite recipes you remember from your grandparents? Which ones do you still make today? Share your answers in the comments!
Evaporated milk
Evaporated milk is probably one of the most famous old-school ingredients on the market. Also known as unsweetened condensed milk, it has lost most of its popularity in the face of the sweetened version.
However, evaporated milk has always been raved about due to its creamy and rich texture. Not to mention, it comes in convenient packaging (since it’s canned), and it has a long shelf life.
It makes sense why grandma made this ingredient a pantry staple and why it was seemingly added to anything from sauces and soups to decadent desserts.
As we mentioned, we should not confuse this type with sweetened condensed milk, since it has a different texture (much thicker and sticker) and a high sugar content. Another way to tell them apart besides the taste is the fact that evaporated milk can be poured more easily and is overall runnier in texture.
Evaporated milk was invented in the 19th century, and it has become a great pantry staple since once it is canned, you can easily and safely hold it on the shelf for up to two years.
Where can it come back into our lives now? It is a great ingredient to add to rice pudding, which has been a dessert loved by generations, making it one of the easiest-to-make yet decadent and comforting desserts that we were given in childhood!
What’s more, you can also make homemade fudge with it, and since it is not sweetened, you can easily add it to a number of savory dishes to add a creamy and rich texture!
The most common applications include mache and cheese, chicken soup, and mashed potatoes!
The good news is that you can easily find organic evaporated milk online, and you can even find lactose-free alternatives such as coconut evaporated milk!
Maraschino cherries
If you are looking for a staple ingredient of the fruit variety, we cannot ignore maraschino cherries. Now a staple in a couple of cocktails, this fruit used to also be a staple when it came to desserts, and it has been a highlight of early 1900s recipes!
The reason why we probably do not hear about these red jewels that often is that they are quite complex to make. The cherries are first brined, which makes them lose their flavor and color.
Then they are soaked in a mixture that contains red dye, sugar syrup, and flavoring.
They are not the healthiest since they are a preserved sweet fruit, but they are still a highlight, and we can learn to add them to more recipes for a pop of contrasting flavor and color!
My grandma would always add one or two of these red cherries to her Manhattan cocktails, and you can also start doing the same!
Likewise, they make for amazing companions for other cocktails, including piña coladas and amaretto sours. They also make great additions to any mocktail since they are sweet and flavorful.
What you remember the most is probably deserts. Grandmas in our family are used to decorating fruit cakes with them or using them as toppers for those classic pineapple upside-down cakes!
And even if you do not find them that great for these usages, no ice cream sundae is complete without one on top!
Desiccated coconut
Stay with us for this one! While we have gotten used to the raw fruit and coconut water these days, the way most of us got introduced to this fruit was through desiccated coconut!
In the end, coconut has an innate creamy sweetness, and the desiccated version of it makes for an amazing addition of flavor and texture to any recipe. And boy, did grandma have a ton of recipes that make use of this versatile ingredient!
This is also a great way to make use of the whole nut since it is fried with finely ground coconut pulp. It is a true retro ingredient that has been a star in the United States since the late 1800s and a staple in baking dishes ever since it was introduced!
Not only can you easily use it to add a moist and chewy texture to most cakes, bars, and cookies, but due to its fine texture, it can easily be introduced to most batters and mixes to add a tropical flavor and make sure that the coconut taste can be found in every morsel of dessert!
Probably the most common desiccated coconut usage is macaroons (not to be confused with macarons), which are bite-sized coconut cookies, sometimes covered in a chocolate glaze!
It is a great, not-too-sweet yet decadent dessert that many of us have forgotten about. Not to mention, there are some amazing coconut batter cakes out there that are easy to make and will wow your guests!
Start experimenting today!
Spam
This is probably one of the most contested old-school ingredients that grandmas used to love. Spam is definitely one of the most controversial ingredients of the 1900s, and it has also become a staple in some Asian cuisines!
Some people love it, others hate it, but there is no question of whether or not there are many applications for this pre-cooked meat product!
While some people would find spam weird, it is in actuality a mix of ground pork and game, mixed with some sugar, salt, and preservatives, then canned in order to make it a staple.
It had been invented back in 1937 in order to be able to feed World War II soldiers since the can was the most convenient.
However, Spam saw its sales soar after the war in 1959, when it reached an impressive 1 billion cans sold and became an everyday staple in American households.
While some people are turned off by it, spam is definitely a pantry staple for most, and it has been a versatile ingredient for a ton of dishes, being used for all the day’s meals.
The easiest way to integrate it is by pan-frying a slice of it and making a spam sandwich with some cheese and a fried egg. Some others would remember spam fritters or even spam musubi (which are tiny rice and seaweed sandwiches that are easy to prepare).
Spam is versatile, and it can definitely have a spot in our pantries as long as we make sure not to eat too much of it.
In the end, all of these retro ingredients have a spot in our pantries, and as long as we have a balanced diet, there is no reason to forget about grandma’s staples and her OG recipes!
These are just some of the old-fashioned ingredients that our grandma swore by that we should maybe start giving a second chance. However, there are some other healthy staples that most of us do not have in the home, but they would make healthy eating a breeze. If you want to make sure you have them stocked up, check out this article!
