’s fantastic podcast, Keep Calm and Cook On. Whenever Julia interviews a guest, she closes with this question: What was your favorite thing to eat as a child? It’s an excellent conversation starter that I’ve used in many social situations because it’s almost guaranteed to spark interesting stories.
So friends, that’s my question for you today: When you were growing up, what was your favorite thing to eat?
My mum used to make a bolognese sauce (although I have no doubt that an Italian would take issue with that description) that was half minced beef and half lentils to try and bulk it out a bit more when they were trying to make ends meet on just my dad’s salary. It wasn’t authentic or high-level gastronomy but it was warm, comforting and made with love. She gave the recipe to my husband before she died and he still makes it for me if I’m ill.
How wonderful that your husband makes this for you when you're not feeling well and in the need of some comfort! He gets lots of gold stars. :-) Isn't it interesting how food can get so intertwined with memories and become something that's so much more than the food itself?
What a great question! It immediately brought me back to some of my childhood favorites. I grew up loving Pfannkuchen (German pancakes), Puffer (potato pancakes), and Marillenknödel (apricot dumplings). Then there were Frikadellen with Kohlrabi and carrot veggies, a classic combo, and of course, Blattspinat (leaf spinach) with Kartoffelpüree and scrambled eggs—a dish I still crave to this day. And let’s not forget Fish and Chips, a reminder of family trips that always felt like a treat!
Thanks for sparking the memories 😊 I’m curious to read everyone’s stories!
My mom's grandparents came over from Germany sometime before WWII, so we had several German recipes in our home and one of my favorites was German pancakes. I had forgotten about that treat until you mentioned it. I'm eager to ask my mom for the recipe and try my hand at making them!
Here you go, my tried and trusted German Egg-Pancake Recipe, best when the batter has rested about 30-45 Minutes and fold in stiff egg whites separately just before baking: **Recipe: Pancakes**
*(for 2-3 people / for 1 person)*
- 200-250g / 100-125g flour
- 4 / 2 eggs
- 1 pinch of salt
- 1 pinch of baking powder
- 1/4-1/2 l / 1/8-1/4 l milk
Mix the flour, salt, egg yolks, baking powder, and milk. Beat the egg whites until stiff and fold them into the batter. Finally, add a splash of sparkling water.
Definitely going to try these! Wish I had known about them earlier - I have an article coming out this week with an Oktoberfest-inspired menu plan. No matter, I’m looking forward to making them!
I love that! When my husband and I were first married, I tried my hand at making German pancakes. They turned out great the first time but the second time they failed to rise. After that we got a little obsessed with perfectimg the recipe and it morphed into making them for birthdays. It's been a fun tradition! If you find your family recipe I'd love to give it a try! We've been using the Betty Crocker recipe all these years. ☺️
That recipe has been passed down to me by my mother who attended finished school in the 1950sand that’s where she learned it, never failed, just add the stiff egg whites right before baking them in a medium hot small buttered pan, when first side is golden brown add another pea size piece of butter and swirling the melting butter flip on the other side.
These roast chicken descriptions sound wonderful!!
My favourite thing to eat as a child was most definitely not so elegant. I am a child of the British 80s through and through.
It was beef ravioli in cheap tomato sauce, in a tin. The kind that makes a horrible sucker sound when you pour it out Slathered on buttered toast with grated cheddar cheese.
I have eaten this as an adult and it is revolting. My kids love it though.
I remember those meals, we had them too. As a child and teen of the 50's and 60's, I remember all those meals being newly available to buy. Crispy Pancakes filled with mince beef or chicken were some of our favourites. We loved them all. Not so much now.
Haha! I love this! I used to love those horrible packaged iced chocolate cakes filled with "cream" that's probably nothing more than sweetened vegetable shortening. I hadn't had one since I was a kid and a few years ago picked one up at a gas station out of pure nostalgia. It was absolutely terrible. 😂 Some things are better left as memories.
The photo reminded me that as a kid, I loved eating those mini pot pies you can buy frozen. They were a treat that my mom would occasionally buy for a special occasion. This was a pretty big deal because my mom believed in whole wheat bread and cooking from scratch. Besides that, I was crazy for Apple Crisp.
I haven't added my answer yet - but it's the same as yours! My mom used to buy Marie Callander's frozen chicken pot pies and I LOVED them. As a young mom, I learned how to make chicken pot pie from scratch and that became a family favorite, so I don't know if I've ever bought them as an adult. It's probably best to leave the memory of how delicious they were alone. I'm afraid if I tried them now I'd discover that I no longer find them as delicious. 😂
They definitely tasted great but weren't that high quality or good for you. 😅 As a kid you don't care about stuff like that! As long as it tastes good!
It's funny you should say that about roast chicken because when I read the question that was the first thing that sprung to mind! I used to love roast chicken, especially the skin, and stuffing too. What makes it very strange is that I became vegetarian when I was 20 and wouldn't go near any form of chicken now (and haven't for the last 40 years or so!!) My food tastes have totally changed and I love eating vegetable based dishes which I wouldn't have touched as a child. I wonder who else's tastes have totally changed as well?
I used to love my mother's Sunday Roasty Beef dinners with large Yorkshire puddings and lots of onion gravy. Now, I rarely cook beef, as we prefer chicken or Turkey.
There are several things that I remember loving as a child but then when I've tried them as an adult, I find I don't like them at all. Also, as a child I thought I didn't like fish, broccoli or cauliflower, and now I can't get enough of all three of those things!
I’m late to the party! But loved reading everyone’s answers. When I was a kid I really loved the Korean bulgogi that my mom would make. It was a staple at our house and so delicious with rice and kimchi! I make it now for my family but it isn’t quite as good as my mom’s.
Haha I had too many faves to pick just one! But since roast chicken has brought back yummy memories for so many of you, I'll admit that one regular was chicken skin, fried till crispy and golden. My mum used to make enough for a week's supply, to toss on top of noodles and porridge. Did the same with pork skin, cut into thick cubes. When she wasn't looking, we'd sneak into the kitchen and snitch handfuls for snacking.
My mom would fry pork ribs and TO THIS DAY they are my absolute favorite thing to eat (besides Doritos with cream cheese, which is for another day). Being Puerto Rican, the ribs were always served with a version of rice and beans. Ugh. My mouth is watering now.
I knooooow, it’s so bad for you! But it’s one of those comfort foods that I just can’t give up. I have no problem eating caviar from one hand and Doritos w/cream cheese on the other! 🤣🤣🤣
Trifle is one of my favorite desserts! Anything that involves cake and cream rates high on my list. I'm wondering why I don't make this more often???? I think I need to rectify this oversight asap.
My favourite food treat as a child was a warm jam doughnut. I grew up in a village shop/bakery. Doughnuts were only made on Tuesdays and Thursday and always sold out ,so I only had them during school holidays. Even when it became my job to fill and roll them in sugar, I loved them and that was one of my favourite jobs (greasing the bread tins my least favourite). A freshly made doughnut is still one of my favourite treats.A weekend treat would be a fresh cream cake.
As for dinner, sausage mash and tomato (with packet mash and tin tomatoes) was my favourite.
A freshly made doughnut is also one of my favorite treats. It's really so hard to beat, especially when the baker knows what they're doing. From your description, I can practically smell those jam doughnuts from your home village bakery!
Kind of along the lines of roast chicken (my parents never bought a whole bird unless it was Thanksgiving), but my dad would bake bone-in, skin-on chicken breasts and season it HEAVILY with god knows what spice mix but it was delicious. (Maybe Paul Prudhomme??? best guess)
I called it Crispy Chicken, which amused my dad for whatever reason, but that’s what it was. The skin was so perfectly crisp and salty and I couldn’t get enough of it
Knowing how to season chicken well and get that gorgeous crispy skin are two skills that not many people possess. Your dad knew what he was doing. Delicious!
My favorite thing was Marie Callander's frozen chicken pot pies. They were individual pot pies that could be reheated in the microwave and I thought they were just the best thing ever. I started making homemade chicken pot pie as a young mom and have been making the same recipe for nearly 30 years. It's one of my family's favorite things to eat so I'm not sure if those pot pies are even still available in super markets, and am not sure if I'd still find them so delicious. Perhaps it's better to leave my memories of how tasty they were safely tucked away in my memories. 😉
My mum used to make a bolognese sauce (although I have no doubt that an Italian would take issue with that description) that was half minced beef and half lentils to try and bulk it out a bit more when they were trying to make ends meet on just my dad’s salary. It wasn’t authentic or high-level gastronomy but it was warm, comforting and made with love. She gave the recipe to my husband before she died and he still makes it for me if I’m ill.
Anything made with love is the best.
How wonderful that your husband makes this for you when you're not feeling well and in the need of some comfort! He gets lots of gold stars. :-) Isn't it interesting how food can get so intertwined with memories and become something that's so much more than the food itself?
Exactly that - it almost becomes a very visceral part of who we are.
Hey Rebecca,
What a great question! It immediately brought me back to some of my childhood favorites. I grew up loving Pfannkuchen (German pancakes), Puffer (potato pancakes), and Marillenknödel (apricot dumplings). Then there were Frikadellen with Kohlrabi and carrot veggies, a classic combo, and of course, Blattspinat (leaf spinach) with Kartoffelpüree and scrambled eggs—a dish I still crave to this day. And let’s not forget Fish and Chips, a reminder of family trips that always felt like a treat!
Thanks for sparking the memories 😊 I’m curious to read everyone’s stories!
My mom's grandparents came over from Germany sometime before WWII, so we had several German recipes in our home and one of my favorites was German pancakes. I had forgotten about that treat until you mentioned it. I'm eager to ask my mom for the recipe and try my hand at making them!
Here you go, my tried and trusted German Egg-Pancake Recipe, best when the batter has rested about 30-45 Minutes and fold in stiff egg whites separately just before baking: **Recipe: Pancakes**
*(for 2-3 people / for 1 person)*
- 200-250g / 100-125g flour
- 4 / 2 eggs
- 1 pinch of salt
- 1 pinch of baking powder
- 1/4-1/2 l / 1/8-1/4 l milk
Mix the flour, salt, egg yolks, baking powder, and milk. Beat the egg whites until stiff and fold them into the batter. Finally, add a splash of sparkling water.
AMAZING!!! Thank you so much! I can't wait to try this! I'll let you know when I do. Thank you, thank you!
Please let me know how it went!
Definitely going to try these! Wish I had known about them earlier - I have an article coming out this week with an Oktoberfest-inspired menu plan. No matter, I’m looking forward to making them!
Thank you. Actually I have done them today and will post about it still this week. But with regards to "Oktoberfest" may I invite you to look my post about lesser known facts: https://wildlionessespride.substack.com/p/7-oktoberfest-food-facts-you-never?r=1sss7q
Great article and I learned so much!
Glad It was able to add to your knowledge.
I love that! When my husband and I were first married, I tried my hand at making German pancakes. They turned out great the first time but the second time they failed to rise. After that we got a little obsessed with perfectimg the recipe and it morphed into making them for birthdays. It's been a fun tradition! If you find your family recipe I'd love to give it a try! We've been using the Betty Crocker recipe all these years. ☺️
That recipe has been passed down to me by my mother who attended finished school in the 1950sand that’s where she learned it, never failed, just add the stiff egg whites right before baking them in a medium hot small buttered pan, when first side is golden brown add another pea size piece of butter and swirling the melting butter flip on the other side.
Oh wow these all sound so so good!
These roast chicken descriptions sound wonderful!!
My favourite thing to eat as a child was most definitely not so elegant. I am a child of the British 80s through and through.
It was beef ravioli in cheap tomato sauce, in a tin. The kind that makes a horrible sucker sound when you pour it out Slathered on buttered toast with grated cheddar cheese.
I have eaten this as an adult and it is revolting. My kids love it though.
I remember those meals, we had them too. As a child and teen of the 50's and 60's, I remember all those meals being newly available to buy. Crispy Pancakes filled with mince beef or chicken were some of our favourites. We loved them all. Not so much now.
Oh my gosh, crispy pancakes! Also, baked beans with plasticy sausages
I think crispy pancakes are still available.
I'm not sure if that is a good or bad thing 😂
I loved going to my friend’s house because her Mum embraced all the latest convenience foods and was a source of Crispy Pancaked and scampi!
Haha! I love this! I used to love those horrible packaged iced chocolate cakes filled with "cream" that's probably nothing more than sweetened vegetable shortening. I hadn't had one since I was a kid and a few years ago picked one up at a gas station out of pure nostalgia. It was absolutely terrible. 😂 Some things are better left as memories.
The photo reminded me that as a kid, I loved eating those mini pot pies you can buy frozen. They were a treat that my mom would occasionally buy for a special occasion. This was a pretty big deal because my mom believed in whole wheat bread and cooking from scratch. Besides that, I was crazy for Apple Crisp.
I haven't added my answer yet - but it's the same as yours! My mom used to buy Marie Callander's frozen chicken pot pies and I LOVED them. As a young mom, I learned how to make chicken pot pie from scratch and that became a family favorite, so I don't know if I've ever bought them as an adult. It's probably best to leave the memory of how delicious they were alone. I'm afraid if I tried them now I'd discover that I no longer find them as delicious. 😂
The mini pot pies sound lovely. What was in them?
They were chicken with carrots and potatoes with a yummy chicken gravy. You could buy beef ones, but we liked the chicken ones the best.
Gosh, they sound really nice.
They definitely tasted great but weren't that high quality or good for you. 😅 As a kid you don't care about stuff like that! As long as it tastes good!
Sometimes we had to eat what we were given.
Always was and always will be roast chicken. With good, crispy roast potatoes, baked pumpkin, lightly steamed greens, and an awesome homemade gravy.
I have never been able to replicate my mother's gravy. Especially her onion gravy that we poured over large Yorkshire puddings on Sundays
Absolutely nothing beats roast chicken. The height of comfort food. My stomach is rumbling just thinking about it.
It's funny you should say that about roast chicken because when I read the question that was the first thing that sprung to mind! I used to love roast chicken, especially the skin, and stuffing too. What makes it very strange is that I became vegetarian when I was 20 and wouldn't go near any form of chicken now (and haven't for the last 40 years or so!!) My food tastes have totally changed and I love eating vegetable based dishes which I wouldn't have touched as a child. I wonder who else's tastes have totally changed as well?
I used to love my mother's Sunday Roasty Beef dinners with large Yorkshire puddings and lots of onion gravy. Now, I rarely cook beef, as we prefer chicken or Turkey.
There are several things that I remember loving as a child but then when I've tried them as an adult, I find I don't like them at all. Also, as a child I thought I didn't like fish, broccoli or cauliflower, and now I can't get enough of all three of those things!
I’m late to the party! But loved reading everyone’s answers. When I was a kid I really loved the Korean bulgogi that my mom would make. It was a staple at our house and so delicious with rice and kimchi! I make it now for my family but it isn’t quite as good as my mom’s.
There’s one thing about FSL, it’s one continuous party where you can join in at any time and anywhere in the world.
That’s how I feel any time I make cookies from one of my grandma’s recipes. They are never quite as good as the ones she made for me. ❤️
Haha I had too many faves to pick just one! But since roast chicken has brought back yummy memories for so many of you, I'll admit that one regular was chicken skin, fried till crispy and golden. My mum used to make enough for a week's supply, to toss on top of noodles and porridge. Did the same with pork skin, cut into thick cubes. When she wasn't looking, we'd sneak into the kitchen and snitch handfuls for snacking.
That's amazing! I love it! What a wonderful memory.
Chocolate chip ice cream. 🍦
Well, you can't go wrong with chocolate chip ice cream ever. I'd eat that every day for the rest of my life.
My mom would fry pork ribs and TO THIS DAY they are my absolute favorite thing to eat (besides Doritos with cream cheese, which is for another day). Being Puerto Rican, the ribs were always served with a version of rice and beans. Ugh. My mouth is watering now.
I am so on board with fried pork ribs but, um, Doritos with cream cheese??? 😂
I knooooow, it’s so bad for you! But it’s one of those comfort foods that I just can’t give up. I have no problem eating caviar from one hand and Doritos w/cream cheese on the other! 🤣🤣🤣
Hahaha! This is why I love you.
You get me, Rebecca. You really get me. 💖
My favourite treat was trifle: I still love it!
Trifle is one of my favorite desserts! Anything that involves cake and cream rates high on my list. I'm wondering why I don't make this more often???? I think I need to rectify this oversight asap.
I used to work in a bakery too at 13-14, and remember having to mix buckets of fake cream that was used to fill the sponges
😂 I wonder what was in the fake cream???
My favourite food treat as a child was a warm jam doughnut. I grew up in a village shop/bakery. Doughnuts were only made on Tuesdays and Thursday and always sold out ,so I only had them during school holidays. Even when it became my job to fill and roll them in sugar, I loved them and that was one of my favourite jobs (greasing the bread tins my least favourite). A freshly made doughnut is still one of my favourite treats.A weekend treat would be a fresh cream cake.
As for dinner, sausage mash and tomato (with packet mash and tin tomatoes) was my favourite.
A freshly made doughnut is also one of my favorite treats. It's really so hard to beat, especially when the baker knows what they're doing. From your description, I can practically smell those jam doughnuts from your home village bakery!
Kind of along the lines of roast chicken (my parents never bought a whole bird unless it was Thanksgiving), but my dad would bake bone-in, skin-on chicken breasts and season it HEAVILY with god knows what spice mix but it was delicious. (Maybe Paul Prudhomme??? best guess)
I called it Crispy Chicken, which amused my dad for whatever reason, but that’s what it was. The skin was so perfectly crisp and salty and I couldn’t get enough of it
Knowing how to season chicken well and get that gorgeous crispy skin are two skills that not many people possess. Your dad knew what he was doing. Delicious!
My favorite thing was Marie Callander's frozen chicken pot pies. They were individual pot pies that could be reheated in the microwave and I thought they were just the best thing ever. I started making homemade chicken pot pie as a young mom and have been making the same recipe for nearly 30 years. It's one of my family's favorite things to eat so I'm not sure if those pot pies are even still available in super markets, and am not sure if I'd still find them so delicious. Perhaps it's better to leave my memories of how tasty they were safely tucked away in my memories. 😉