From Babycham to Spam, our millennial writer taste tests classic Seventies food
Nostalgic classics like Angel Delight have seen sales soar after giving their classic pudding a modern makeover
FOR mash get Smash.
You might remember the famous ad with the laughing Martians more than the taste of instant mash potato.
It is still around today, but it’s not such a Smash hit as other retro Seventies food such as Angel Delight.
This classic dessert has had a revamp and is back in demand.
The pud of old was a powder you had to whisk with milk but now it is ready to eat straight from the pot and sales are up by 30 per cent.
How will the millennial generation get on with well-known Seventies fare?
Here, GIULIA CROUCH, 25, samples other food made famous in the “decade that taste forgot” and gives each of them a mark out of five for taste.
Semolina pudding
A surprising treat. As far as tinned desserts go you can’t go wrong with this take on rice pudding. OK, it is a bit like baby food – but in a good way. I loved it.
Probably best eaten with a big splodge of strawberry jam.
VERDICT: Yummy, millennials should embrace it – 4/5.
Arctic roll
Ice cream in sponge – what’s not to like?
It may not be as fashionable these days but it hasn’t vanished.
The sponge is a little cardboardy but the filling is so creamy.
VERDICT: A good pud. Let’s revive it – 4/5.
Evaporated milk
My new favourite thing. Sweet and creamy, I’d definitely drizzle it on apple crumble.
I’d put it on my cereal if the mood took me. I don’t know why it has fallen out of fashion.
VERDICT: A proper British treat that deserves revisiting – 5/5.
Spam
Smell-wise it is just as bad as corned beef but it tastes OK. t is savoury and salty and would probably be OK on toast.
It’s not something I’d choose to eat but not the worst of foods I tried. All I could find was the health-conscious version Spam Lite – perhaps it is for millennials after all.
VERDICT: I’d scoff it if I was starving and there was no other choice – 2/5.
Smash
Very strange. It is like potato plus jelly and looks like frogspawn. It is edible but not particularly reminiscent of mashed potato.
The flavour is of watery nothingness with a mere back note of something that was once – ages ago – a potato.
VERDICT: Confusing and just wrong – 2/5.
Fray Bentos steak & Kidney pie
Pie has no business being in a tin. The concept alone is deeply troubling.
Still, it came out of the oven with a crisp top and didn’t look unappetising.
But below was a soggy bottom that would make Mary Berry baulk. And don’t get me started on the filling. Yuck.
VERDICT: It had the potential to be so bad it was good. But it was just bad – 1/5.
Black forest gateau
Why did this dessert ever fade from favour? It is really delicious. Chocolate? Good. Cherry? Good.
Whipped cream? Good. In fact, there is nothing not to like about this wonderful combination of flavours and the gateau itself was moist and moreish.
VERDICT: An absolute winner. Revive it now – 5/5.
Findus crispy Pancakes
I’d heard of these. They have a cult following and enjoyed widespread popularity in the past. So I was hopeful.
But biting into the beige crescent moon was disappointing. The gloopy yellow filling was alarmingly luminous, not especially cheesy and had a claggy texture.
I liked the idea of this but it was a major letdown.
VERDICT: Don’t believe the hype – 2/5.
Angel delight
And so we come to the product that spurred this taste test. I discovered that Angel Delight, in butterscotch flavour, is a thing of wonder.
It’s light and fluffy and so easy to scoff. I’m pleased it’s back and would urge anyone who hasn’t tried it to buy it immediately.
VERDICT: A revelation. A Seventies food to celebrate – 5/5.
MOST READ IN FOOD
Babycham
Far, far too sweet. If anyone still looks back fondly on this mildly alcoholic pop then I don’t know why.
There’s no way I could finish a whole glass of Babycham.
The slap of sugar from the very first sip makes you wince and, aside from that, there’s really no discernible flavour.
VERDICT: It’s baffling why anyone would want to drink this.