Vintage Things That Have Disappeared In Your Lifetime?

[buelligan]

A doughnut made with potato flour instead of wheat flour. Surprisingly fluffy and dunkable!

Hmm where would someone pick up the potato flour needed to give a go at making some of these. Sounds just interesting enough to try.

 

[LizzieMaine]

You could use actual mashed potatoes, or look for "potato starch," which you should be able to find in a local health-food or co-op store. The actual franchised Spudnut recipe used a proprietary powdered mix in which dried mashed potatoes were the main ingredient.

 

[Stanley Doble]

Don't they sell dried mashed potatoes in little packets at the grocery store?

 

[3fingers]

Actually, even though the little stores are pretty well gone, Spudnuts are still available. A guy not far from here ended up owning what was left of the company. I have no experience dealing with them, but you can order online.

http://www.spudosdonuts.com/

 

[LizzieMaine]

Exactly the stuff -- there was a glut of that kind of product on the market right after the war when the demand from the Army faded out, and the original Spudnuts took advantage of it.

There should be recipes floating around for how to do it -- potato-based pastries are very familiar among the Eastern and Central European working classes.

 

[sheeplady]

Larger mainstream grocery stores that have a gluten-free section likely also carry potato flour/starch. Potato-based products are really common in gluten-free cookbooks.

 

[V.C. Brunswick]

That's good to know. One of my housemates suffers from exzema and the doctor says she has to eat gluten-free.

 

[Gregg Axley]

Don't they sell dried mashed potatoes in little packets at the grocery store?

Yes.
Walmart has Idahoan packs for about $1 to $1.10ea.
Four cheese, garlic butter, and a few others.

 

[HudsonHawk]

Hmm where would someone pick up the potato flour needed to give a go at making some of these. Sounds just interesting enough to try.

Potato flour is the rage among the gluten free. You can find it in any supermarket.

 

[Fastuni]

Don't care for the fad, but ¨Cronuts¨ get my approval.
Puff pastry, whether savoury or sweet, is great and I never really liked varieties of oil-fried dough (donuts or their hole-less European cousins).

Regarding gluten-free, I once accidentally bought penne pasta made from corn & chickpea flour. They were atrocious in color, consistency and taste.*yucky*

 

[jamespowers]

Potato flour is the rage among the gluten free. You can find it in any supermarket.

Hipsters Gone Wild.

 

[V.C. Brunswick]

Had some gluten-free pizza tonight.

 

[Fastuni]

Since when is potato flour for ¨hipsters¨?

Is puree from the supermarket now considered ¨trend food¨?

Perfectly respectable potato bread and countless other potato (starch/flour) based foods have been around for centuries.

Westphalian potato bread... not invented by ¨hipsters¨:

 

[sheeplady]

Since when is potato flour for ¨hipsters¨?

Is puree from the supermarket now considered ¨trend food¨?

Perfectly respectable potato bread and countless other potato (starch/flour) based foods have been around for centuries.

Westphalian potato bread... not invented by ¨hipsters¨

I think they're more referring to the phenomenon in the U.S. of people avoiding gluten than an actual product. It's kind of an "in" thing to be gluten-free nowadays. As someone who had to be gluten free for a period of time and knows people with celiac and crohn's (the person I know with severe Crohn's finds their symptoms are aggravated by gluten), the one side benefit of this whole thing has been that gluten-free awareness has gone mainstream. There's also been a proliferation of products that are gluten free.

Regarding gluten-free, I once accidentally bought penne pasta made from corn & chickpea flour. They were atrocious in color, consistency and taste.*yucky*

Gluten-free stuff is going to be very different than stuff that contains gluten. Gluten has it's uses as far as texture and making stuff hold together. If you have to go gluten free (and most of those who are truly 100% gluten free are doing it because they *have* to) you learn to adapt your tastes. I'm not talking about the people who are saying, "Oh, does that have gluten in it?" and then sneaking gluten cookies in the bathroom.

On the other hand, some gluten-free stuff is just plain nasty.

Baking gluten-free is an extreme challenge. I *LOVE* doing it because it is a challenge to get the texture and consistency right. I've also learned along the way how to do egg-free and milk-free baking. I love being able to bring something to a party that someone who normally can't have any of the baked goods can have something to eat the same as everyone else. Most people never consider the kid or adult who always get's left out of having a cupcake because they have egg in them (or milk, or gluten, or whatever). I pay lots of attention to people's allergies and check with the party host to see who's coming in advance.

 

[HudsonHawk]

Regarding gluten-free, I once accidentally bought penne pasta made from corn & chickpea flour. They were atrocious in color, consistency and taste.*yucky*

I've had desserts made with almond flour. They were pretty good, though there's no rise in them.

 

[Gregg Axley]

I've had desserts made with almond flour. They were pretty good, though there's no rise in them.

I make pancakes with it, and add a bit of baking powder.
They rise just like regular pancakes.
I've also made cinnamon apple muffins with it, and they came out just fine.

Yeah I've noticed this trend of various flours that I never knew existed.
Almond, Coconut, Chickpea, Seminola(?) and others I've forgotten.
My mother is afflicted with Celiac and if she actually cooked, this would be wonderful (as Sheeplady pointed out) because now there are a lot of items in the grocery store that are gleuten free. And even some pizza places (I think) offer pizza this way.
I don't use almond flour to be trendy, or odd (I can be odd without it LOL). I use it because of the carb count verses the protein. I'm not on an "Atkins" diet, I just make sure I eat the proper ratio of carbs and protein daily. Of course breads, muffins, desserts, and even pancakes made with this flour do come out a bit grainy, but I can deal with it. Maybe it's just me, but eating all these chemicals have caused allergies that didn't exist 40-50yrs ago. Or perhaps we just now have the technology to know what caused "Jimmy" to react a certain way when he eats this or drinks that, who knows? I for one have given up a lot of subtitutes because of this. BTW, many grocery stores in the US now have Fanta flavors (in the bottle) made with sugar and not high fructose corn syrup. The strawberry I tried the other day tasted like strawbery, without any weird aftertaste. Maybe that and regular coke (with sugar) are making a come back, it certainly would be nice to see that.

 

[HudsonHawk]

I make pancakes with it, and add a bit of baking powder.
They rise just like regular pancakes.
I've also made cinnamon apple muffins with it, and they came out just fine.

Really? I've never had any luck getting gluten free flour to rise properly. Gluten is what gives structure to be able to hold the bubbles produced by the leavening. The almond flour stuff tastes really good, but is usually really dense. Perhaps I'm doing something wrong.

My mother is afflicted with Celiac and if she actually cooked, this would be wonderful (as Sheeplady pointed out) because now there are a lot of items in the grocery store that are gleuten free. And even some pizza places (I think) offer pizza this way.

Both of my sisters are celiacs (something which can only be truly diagnosed with an intestinal biopsy). My younger sister has it worse. She's learned to cook most things gluten free, but she says every once in a while she craves a slice of real pizza or garlic bread or something, but only when she knows she has nothing to do the next two days. One bite tears her up, but she says it's occassionally worth it.

BTW, many grocery stores in the US now have Fanta flavors (in the bottle) made with sugar and not high fructose corn syrup. The strawberry I tried the other day tasted like strawbery, without any weird aftertaste. Maybe that and regular coke (with sugar) are making a come back, it certainly would be nice to see that.

I love strawberries (aside from having to pick them). A lot. But I can't stand anything "strawberry flavored". It's just never right. Never. It all ends up tasting like perfume.

 

[Fastuni]

Seminola(?)

Semolina... it's just coarsely grinded grain (usually wheat) and probably older than fine flour.
I would be surprised if this hasn't been at US grocery stores continuosly.

 

[Stanley Doble]

Semolina in the US and Canada, is used to make a hot breakfast cereal like Cream of Wheat. You can get it in the cereal aisle of grocery stores and bulk food stores.

 

[jamespowers]

Semolina... it's just coarsely grinded grain (usually wheat) and probably older than fine flour.
I would be surprised if this hasn't been at US grocery stores continuously.

It has been around but there was little demand for it until now.