1970s, Breakfast, Childhood Memories, Country Style, dailyprompt, dailyprompt-2005, Food, Golden Nuggets, Milky Bar, Sweet Shop, Weetabix
Tastes and Memories of Childhood
What’s your go-to comfort food?
My comfort foods fall into two categories, those I grew up with and those my wife bakes day to day and for special occasions. In this post I will concentrate on the former, as I have mentioned the latter many times, particularly in my Christmas blogs.
So, what were my childhood favourites? Well, for breakfast I loved Weetabix and Golden Nuggets and, luckily, both are still in production. Equally good with hot or cold milk, but it is the hot milk that takes me back to schoolday breakfasts before going to St Andrew’s, and I still see the kitchen from our house in Cobham, Kent. The connection between the cereal and the one school I enjoyed is so strong that, although I must have had this breakfast before my other schools, it has nothing but positive memories for me. I also remember the Doctor Who cardboard figures that you could collect and then play with against the alien landscapes from the back of the box. Having a taste for Golden Nuggets stretched beyond breakfast though. On a long trip from Kent to Cornwall – and that was a long trip back in 1971! – I had a bag of Golden Nuggets in the back of the car which I snacked on for the whole journey!
When we were in Cobham my parents owned a sweet shop – yes, your average 7 year old’s dream! At that time I had two favourite chocolate bars. The first was Country Style, which was milk chocolate with raisins and biscuit pieces and which sadly disappeared from the shelves and the memories of just about everyone else by the end of the 70s. The other bar is luckily still in production, the classic Milky Bar. White chocolate is my favourite but only Milky Bar white chocolate. I have tried the premium white chocolate but that’s as far from comfort food as you can get for me! When I eat Milky Bars I am 7 or 8 again and looking around the stocked shelves of our sweet shop.
It’s amazing how food acts like a time machine isn’t it? It’s also quite revealing that when we have those memories they tend to be very specific memories of particular places and particular times, which is where the time machine comes in. I am sure that you have that same experience, but perhaps it’s not related to food. Why not let me know in the comments? Thanks for reading.
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David Pearce - Popular Culture and Personal Passions 
One of my favourite tastes from childhood was fizzy drinks from the pop man – Corona if memory serves – the flavours of which have never been bettered, although Barrs comes close! Big bags of Nibbits Wheelz snacks with the cartoon squirrel on the front which sadly they no longer make. And a more homely front my Mum used to occasionally make a corned beef stew – onions, diced potatoes, gravy mix and a tin of corned beef crumbled, with white bread and Country Life butter. Ultimate comfort food that transports me right back to my childhood.
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I had forgotten the Corona man! Limeade and Cream Soda were my favourite flavours and you got 2p for returning the bottle. You’re right, it’s not the same anymore.
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When I first came to the UK, I discovered Weetabix and instantly fell in love with those rough rectangular blocks. I ate 6 blocks in a meal once which did not go down very well (lesson learnt).
My father was a trainee chef when he was young, hence I had been really lucky growing up with delicious foods. My all time favourite and comfort food is my dad’s fish soup which is creamy and fresh. It is my must-have dish whenever I have a chance to visit my parents over in Asia.
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I have never tried fish soup but I bet it’s amazing. I think 4 is the largest number of Weetabix I have managed at one go but I never have more than 2 nowadays.
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For breakfast nowadays, I usually have a cup of Keefer, an apple and some berries instead cereals. But if I do have cereals for breakfast, I will still go with Weetabix or cornflakes.
If you are a fan of river fishes, you might enjoy fish soup too. The soup contains carp fish, tofu, onion, garlic and plenty of coriander, cooked for hours in a clay pot. It goes really well with a bowl of rice.
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Loved this—amazing how certain foods can bring back such vivid memories. Milky Bars and Golden Nuggets really are little time machines!
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Cereal certainly reminds me of childhood and reading this instantly brought me back to those days too. I loved Weetabix so much that I’d regularly have two bowls of three – covering each in brown sugar. I am not sure when I stopped eating it for breakfast, but as as a lazy evening meal it still hits the spot. I think there’s something very comforting in it, and definitely a kind of time machine too.
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