Jello 1-2-3

Tags

1960s, creamy top, Food, Jello, Jello 1-2-3, Jello bottom, mix, mousse-like middle, three textual layers

Jello 1-2-3 (Jello, 1960s)

Introduced in 1969, Jello 1-2-3 was one mix that separated into three distinct textual layers. A creamy top sat atop a mousse-like middle that sat on top of a plain Jello bottom. Jello 1-2-3 was discontinued in 1996.

Escamoles

Tags

cottage cheese consistency, eggs, escamole, Food, Liometopum ant, maguey and agave plants, Mexico, Taco, venomous

Escamoles

This delicacy is brought to us from Mexico. Escamoles are the eggs from the giant black Liometopum ant. The ant lives in the root systems of maguey and agave plants. Collecting these eggs is an extremely unpleasant task since the ants are highly venomous. The eggs have a consistency like cottage cheese. The most popular way is to eat them is in a taco with guacamole. Escamoles are said to have a surprisingly pleasant taste: buttery and slightly nutty.

Frings

Tags

1970s, fast food, Food, french fries, Frings, Jack in the Box, onions rings

Frings (Jack in the Box, 1970s)

Frings were for the indecisive customer who couldn’t decide whether they wanted fries or onion rings. Frings solved the problem; you got a little of both. Introduced in the 1970s, they were discontinued early in the 1980s.

Raw Food Diet

Tags

118 degrees Fahrenheit, diet, Food, fresh, Raw Food, vegetarian

Raw Food Diet

Advocates say that cooking food breaks down its enzymes and food loses many of its nutritional benefits. In this diet, no food is cooked above 118 degrees Fahrenheit. You are allowed to eat as much as you want as long as your food is raw and vegetarian. While you will definitely focusing on eating fresh produce and vegetables and avoiding processed foods, this diet is lacking in nutrients and will be difficult to sustain over time.

Hula Burger

Tags

Catholics, Filet-O-Fish, Food, Hula Burger, McDonald's, meat, pineapple

Hula Burger (McDonald’s, 1960s)

Meant for Catholics that don’t eat meat on Fridays, the Hula Burger replaced their meat patty with a grilled pineapple slice. However, since the Filet-o-Fish was more popular, the Hula Burger was quickly discontinued.

Melody Pops

Tags

Amazon, British, bulk, candy, Candy FunHouse, Chupa Chups, eBay, Food, lollipops, Melody Pops, slide, stick, strawberry, whistle

Melody Pops (Chupa Chups, 1990s)

This British candy actually plays real music. What?! Melody Pops are strawberry flavored lollipops shaped into a whistle. Yes, you could hear a whistling sound from them. The stick acts as a slide. Though Melody Pops may not be readily available in candy aisles anymore, I have found Melody Pops for sale via Amazon, eBay and Candy FunHouse. You do have to buy in bulk.

Berry Berry Kix

Tags

1990s, Berry Berry Kix, berry shaped, cereal, corn, Food, General Mills, round

Berry Berry Kix (General Mills, 1990s)

The first incarnation of Berry Berry Kix had berry pieces shaped like the berries they were naturally flavored with. Otherwise it also included round corn cereal pieces. It came into the marketplace in the 1990s, but quickly disappeared. The cereal still exists, is still made by General Mills, still has the same name and taste. The only differences are the new packaging and the cereal pieces. Berry Berry Kix is still a round-shaped corn cereal, but the berry pieces are round now. Berry Berry Kix is still readily available too.

Celery Jell-O

Tags

1950s, Celery, Food, Jello, mixed vegetable, salad, tomato

Celery Jell-O (1950s)

In the 1950s, Jell-O introduced a line of congealed salad ingredients, including celery, seasoned tomato and a general mixed vegetable. Yikes.

Peter Pan Peanut Butter

Tags

1920s, Derby Foods, Disney, Fad, Food, glass, J.M. Barrie, mascot, peanut butter, Peter Pan, plastic, recall, salmonella, Swift & Company, tin, turn key

Peter Pan Peanut Butter (Swift & Company, 1920; now produced by ConAgra Foods)

The Peter Pan brand of peanut butter was first introduced by Swift & Company’s Derby Foods subsidiary in 1920, but was indeed named after the J.M. Barrie character. Originally, Peter Pan Peanut Butter came in a tin can with a turn key and re-closable lid. During metal shortages from World War II, it was packaged in glass jars. In 1988, Peter Pan Peanut Butter was the first brand to be packaged in plastic jars. For most of its life, Peter Pan was represented as a woman in a Peter Pan costume. In August 2007, Disney allowed the boy version of Peter Pan alongside other characters (most notably Tinkerbell) from their 1953 animated movie to be used as the peanut butter’s mascot. The only other time Peter Pan Peanut Butter was able to use boy Peter Pan as a mascot was during the mid-1950s when the peanut butter cosponsored ABC’s Disneyland TV series.

There are over a dozen varieties of Peter Pan Peanut Butter: Original Creamy, Original Chunky, Honey Roast Creamy, Honey Roast Crunchy, Reduced-Fat Crunchy, Whipped Creamy, Plus Creamy (contains added vitamins and minerals), Natural Creamy, Natural Crunchy, Natural Honey Roast Creamy, Simply Ground Original and Simply Ground Honey Roast.

In February 2007, Peter Pan and Great Value (Wal-Mart’s store brand) of peanut butter were linked to 425 cases of salmonellosis across the U.S. and were recalled. (This was believed to be the first time a Salmonella outbreak occurred involving peanut butter in the U.S.) In January 2009, another peanut butter recall occurred when the Peanut Corporation of America recalled 21 lots of peanut butter from their Blakely, Georgia plant over another possible Salmonella contamination. Peter Pan responded by confirming that no ingredients they use to make their peanut butter come from any location operated by the Peanut Corporation of America, though the recall did effect some Peter Pan jars.

Kopi Luwak

Tags

beverage, Civet, coffee, coffee beans, coffee cherries, excrement, expensive coffee, Food, Kopi Luwak, musk

Kopi Luwak

Kopi Luwak are coffee beans that come from the Asian Palm Civet (a cat-like and cat-sized mammal native to tropical forests of Asia and Africa) excrement. Civets gorge on coffee cherries and excrete partially digested beans. These berries are collected, washed and lightly roasted so the flavor of the berries isn’t destroyed. These newly made coffee beans sell between $120 to $600 USD per pound to make the world’s most expensive coffee in the world. Kopi Luwak is mostly sold in Japan and the U.S., but is increasingly becoming readily available worldwide.

The African Civet, which is the best known Civet species produces a musky scent that is primarily used for perfumes. In fact, the word Civet can also refer to this distinctive musky scent that they produce.