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I'm curious, what were some things your grandparents ate ?

Aug 10, 2011
6
3
3
Northern Indiana
Mine were depression era people....grandma would dig up dandelions in their backyard, then wilt the greens in hot bacon grease. She'd drizzle them with vinegar. I remember them being o.k., but they were cooked in bacon grease ! Of coarse they were o.k.

Grandpa would buy pigs feet at the local butcher...he'd pickle them...
 
Fried zucchini flowers. My grandmother would stuff them with various things, dip them in a thin batter, and pan fry them. Oh so good.
 
Fried okra and biscuits on the black side. On the white side it seemed like we had rhubarb crisp and Special K bars quite a bit.
 
Offal, they were constently warning us not to take their gizzards, hearts, and intestines. Oh, OK gramps, I'm pretty sure it's all yours if you want it.

Swag, I can eat me some Rhubarb crisp.
 
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Anus Cookies I know it's not really anus but I have called them that for so long I can't remember the real name. Small bite sized rock hard nuggets of molasses.
 
Anus Cookies I know it's not really anus but I have called them that for so long I can't remember the real name. Small bite sized rock hard nuggets of molasses.

I believe my mom and grandma made/still make them today. We call them peppernuts. Kind of have that black liquorish flavor to them too?
Also made foochins (old German donuts recipe).
 
Mine were depression era people....grandma would dig up dandelions in their backyard, then wilt the greens in hot bacon grease. She'd drizzle them with vinegar. I remember them being o.k., but they were cooked in bacon grease ! Of coarse they were o.k.

Grandpa would buy pigs feet at the local butcher...he'd pickle them...

My grandparents eat well. Both families were farmers, good food was plentiful.

My mom made a dandelion dish similar to what you describe but it was because she treated it as a delicacy.
 
My granfather used to make Ponhaus. I was never sure what it was but it can be any pig scraps. Apparently there are a lot of spellings. May also be known as scrapple. Here's a recipe I found.
  1. Separate pig head into halves.
  2. Remove eyes and brains.
  3. Scrape head and clean thoroughly.
  4. Place in a large kettle, cover with water and simmer gently for 2 or 3 hours (or until meat falls off the bone).
  5. Skim grease from the surface; remove meat, chop finely and return to broth.
  6. Season with salt, pepper and sage to taste.
  7. Sift in corn meal, stirring constantly, until the mixture is thickened to the consistency of soft mush.
  8. Cook very slowly for one hour over low heat.
  9. When sufficiently cooked, pour into greased loaf pans and store in a cool place until ready to use.
  10. To serve, cut into 1/2" slices and fry until crisp and brown.
 
Mom grew up on a farm. After they chopped the head off the chickens they would drizzle the blood over bread crumbs and baked it, she said they called it blood sausage. It was one of her favorites.
 
Mine were depression era people....grandma would dig up dandelions in their backyard, then wilt the greens in hot bacon grease. She'd drizzle them with vinegar. I remember them being o.k., but they were cooked in bacon grease ! Of coarse they were o.k.

Grandpa would buy pigs feet at the local butcher...he'd pickle them...

I opened Grandma's fridge once and a monstrous cow tongue was staring right at me. She also made her own head cheese. There were a couple of old aunts who fought over goose neck at Thanksgiving. I found all that stuff pretty gross.
 
My grandparents made their own soppressata. They had an old hand-crank meat grinder and an old stuffer that my grandfather built himself. Gram always wanted to add more salt, while Grandpa wanted more spice. They each would try to take out what the other had added when the other’s back was turned. It was quite the show to watch them in the kitchen. They would grind, season, and stuff the sausage in late December. It would be hung in a shed to dry during the cold, Northern Pennsylvania winter. Sometime in March (depending on how dry the sausage was), they would start cold smoking. That usually lasted a couple days, depending on the weather. The soppressata was ready for consumption by early April. Each stick would be wrapped in foil before freezing.
Since they have passed, my uncles have take over production. While they have modernized the operation, they still make a small batch using the old equipment. In the past few years, they’ve gone from making 50-60 pounds to over 300. It’s goooooooood.
 
I opened Grandma's fridge once and a monstrous cow tongue was staring right at me. She also made her own head cheese. There were a couple of old aunts who fought over goose neck at Thanksgiving. I found all that stuff pretty gross.
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tongue is delicious. tacos de lengua.... mmm mmm now I am hungry.

My grandparents were young and just starting their family in the midst of the depression. They were farmers and had some dairy cows, so about all the vegetables my grandmother made were creamed. I always loved going to that set of grandparent's house and enjoying creamed peas. Cream on every vegetable, things cooked with lard and somehow they were always thin and lived into their 90's
 
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tongue is delicious. tacos de lengua.... mmm mmm now I am hungry.

My grandparents were young and just starting their family in the midst of the depression. They were farmers and had some dairy cows, so about all the vegetables my grandmother made were creamed. I always loved going to that set of grandparent's house and enjoying creamed peas. Cream on every vegetable, things cooked with lard and somehow they were always thin and lived into their 90's

I came to enjoy thinly sliced tongue, pickled, after living in Bakersfield and frequenting a Basque restaurant. Grandma and my mom ate their tongue in thick slices. Never liked that.
 
Only what they grew or raised. Nothing was wasted. It was the depression. They were farmers in Franklin County. "Meat and potatoes" type stuff.

My mother says they went out to eat once a year...and a couple years, even that didn't happen. When they went to town, about 10 miles away, they took a hay wagon and tractor.

One year, they lived off roughly $400 in cash. They were lucky to get meat once a week and lived off canned goods they made themselves in years prior.

She says she never received new clothes until when she went to UNI (before it was called UNI). It was always hand-me-downs from her older siblings otherwise. The old wives tale about wearing flour sacks for clothing as kids...she confirmed that. The youngest boy...his nickname was Patch. He never wore anything that wasn't half patched up.
 
Rum Tum Deli

1 large egg, beaten
  • 1 cup soft breadcrumbs
  • 2 tablespoons finely chopped onions
  • 8 pickled okra pods, sliced into rounds
[iframe name="google_ads_iframe_109359770/foodcom/recipes_5" width="1" height="13" id="google_ads_iframe_109359770/foodcom/recipes_5" src="javascript:"[/iframe]
Directions
  1. Preheat the oven to 350°.
  2. Butter an 8-inch square baking dish.
  3. In a large bowl, combine the egg, Worcestershire sauce, Cheddar cheese, pecans, and bread crumbs.
  4. In a medium skillet set over medium heat, melt the butter.
  5. Add the onion and cook until slightly browned, about 3 minutes.
  6. Add the tomato sauce and cook for 5 minutes.
  7. Pour the onion and tomato sauce over the bread crumb mixture and stir together.
  8. Spoon the tomato-bread mixture into the prepared baking dish and bake for 25 minutes or until firm.
  9. Cool for 10 minutes and cut into 16 squares.
  10. Put the parmesan cheese on a large plate.
  11. Coat all sides of the squares in the Parmesan.
  12. Place 1 round of pickled okra in the center of each square as a garnish.
  13. To serve, skewer each square on a cocktail pick.
My grandma use to make this and it scared the crap out of me at the time.

Now it doesn't sound too bad
 
Given that my grandparents were all either born in Scotland or were born in the States to Scottish immigrants, they all ate normal (for them) Scottish fare. Things that I remember eating at grammy T's house when I was a kid...

Cullen Skink - a soup with seafood and potatoes
Partan bree - another seafood soup
Tatties
Black, Red and White puddings - All are mainly sausages made with different animal parts mixed with some type of filler, like oats
Haggis
Head Cheese - not a cheese (if you don't know what it is, I'm not describing it)
Scotch pie
Roasts - evidently whatever animal was lying around
Neeps and tatties - turnips and potatoes
Kailkenny - kind of a roasted potato, onion casserole type thing that might also include leftover chopped up meat

Oh, and lots of ale and scotch. Generally single malt and almost always Speyside, with a very occasional Highland brand thrown in.
 
Mine were depression era people....grandma would dig up dandelions in their backyard, then wilt the greens in hot bacon grease. She'd drizzle them with vinegar. I remember them being o.k., but they were cooked in bacon grease ! Of coarse they were o.k.

Grandpa would buy pigs feet at the local butcher...he'd pickle them...
Blood pudding.
 
Blood Sausage
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Possum, groundhog, squirrel, rabbit...depression days were brutal.

My father said he and his father hunted before he was 10 years old for things to eat for the family. Deer, rabbit, duck and pheasant mainly. That side of the family didn't farm like my mom's side.

They had a garden every summer though. Corn, carrots, strawberries, potatoes, squash, cucumbers...you name it, it was in the garden. Lots of canning.

Lots of fishing also. They used to smoke catfish and carp year round as long as the local lakes and rivers were ice-free. Then it was ice fishing when Storm Lake was froze over.

They did what they had to do to survive.
 
limburger
scrapple
head cheese
snapping turtle soup
pickled pigs feet and chicken feet

Nothing went to waste when my grandpa butchered an animal, except the large intestine. He wouldn't touch it.
 
Squirrel is actually pretty good.
Rabbit is very good, and is served in high end French restaurants.
You just can't beat rabbit gumbo IMO.

I quit eating squirrel when I found out it was high in cholesterol.
 
Squirrel is actually pretty good.
Rabbit is very good, and is served in high end French restaurants.
You just can't beat rabbit gumbo IMO.
My paternal grandparents hated it...all they had to eat so they tired of it. Heard my Pa tell me he would get up early to hunt and fish...if he wasn't successful they didn't eat that day. My maternal grandparents were a little better off. They were southern aristocrats and farmers...hate to say it but their family did own slaves at one time although I always heard they were treated more like indentured farmers/sharecroppers...still not much difference. My paternal grandparents people were hard scrabble farmers and peddlers...the Depression hit them the hardest.
 
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