We have moved on from hunting and gathering, but our brains still work in the same way. With the current fashion for looking back to previous years for inspiration, it is easy to reminisce about the food and drink of yesteryear.
My own childhood memories include three very distinct flavour experiences. As a child I attended summer fêtes at the old FCJ granite building and distinctly remember the lemonade that was made from crystals that the nuns had imported from France. Refreshing and not too sweet, there seems to be nothing available today that matches this delicious summer flavour.
The corner shop, run by Mrs Yates at the end of the housing estate where I lived, sold large, cellophane-wrapped coconut biscuits with a chocolate base. Websites these days cover almost every topic, including biscuit varieties of the 1970’s, but not this treat. With the taste and look of the biscuit still distinct in my mind, can anyone remember the brand? The biscuit was pleasantly chewy and perhaps sweetened with golden syrup.
Perhaps my strongest food memory is that of Vencat curry powder. With modern supermarkets full of ingredients from around the world, and chicken tikka masala regularly quoted as the UK’s favourite dinner, it is hard to recall the novelty of a plate of curry in those days.
In 1893 James Sharwood started to import madras curry powders from an Indian spice merchant called Vencatachellum into the UK. Over the years the business grew, with products marketed under the Vencat trade name. For me and many of my generation, this was our first experience of Indian cuisine. With my younger siblings having the standard strength, I enjoyed the stronger version with my parents and still recall the greenish-brown sheen of the more pungent curry sauce. This flavour sensation is etched in my memory. Has anyone a forgotten pot tucked away in their pantry that they could sell me?
