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Did food taste better in the past and if so, why?

That food had more flavour years ago was commonly voiced by older people in the 1940s and 50s. This page considers whether their view lay in personal perception, cookery skills or the food itself, and it considers how to attempt to achieve that old-fashioned taste today.

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By the webmaster based on firsthand recollections and informal discussions

When I was a young adult, older people regularly seemed to complain that food didn't taste as good as it used to. They yearned for that old-fashioned taste? Were they right to do so? I certainly understand their position for one or more of the following reasons:

Perception taste

• As it is older people who complain about food tasting worse today, it could be because their taste buds have deteriorated with age - as indeed so much of our bodies do.

• Families were larger in the past and they were expected to sit down with others for meals rather than rushing off and eating on the run. So there was a social aspect to eating that increased its enjoyment.

Were cooks more skilful in the past?

Bear the following points in mind when trying to answer this question.

• Cooks in the past had what was known as a stock pot. The liquid leftovers from one meal were placed into it and then added to the next meal and so on. This considerably added to the combination of flavours in the stock pot, making future meals far more flavoursome than if just the stock cubes of today had been used. Not any more. Today food safety is paramount, but people used to care less about that than they do today.

• Excess fat from roasts was poured off into a basin and kept for later use as dripping - again with no concern for germs. Provided that food smelled all right it was taken as all right.

• A whole generation, me included, - having grown up in the rationing and shortages in and after WW2 - could not learn cookery tips and tricks by watching their mothers. The mothers probably could cook skilfully, but they were unable to demonstrate their skills and so were unable to pass them on. Today's good cooks have learnt their skills in other ways than at their mothers' sides. So what older people are complaining about may be due to less skilful cooks. However, today's cooks have ready access to a huge range of international recipes and demonstrations on the internet. So maybe today's food just tastes different rather than worse.

Food really did have fuller flavour in the past

• Food used to be organically produced. There was no intensive farming of cereals and vegetables, and farm animals and poultry roamed freely. Their diet included scraps from people's tables and what they could scratch around to find for themselves. Today food crops are largely mass-produced and animals are bred for more lean meat rather than taste.

• No food in the past was ever served really cold because there were no fridges. A shaded outhouse or food safe was in every home, but it was never colder than the surrounding temperature, and, apart from in the depths of a cold winter, it was never as cold as a fridge. Food that is colder than room temperature never has such a fulsome taste as food served at room temperature. Just try bread or chocolate straight from the fridge, to see for yourself.

• Food was eaten fresher in the past, as it did not have to travel long distances and it was eaten in season.

• People in the past were not as concerned about germs as we are today, so there was widespread use of the stock pot - and dripping was kept until it was used up. If it smelt all right, it probably was.

• People used to cook with dripping with its wonderful taste, as there were no plant-based cooking oils.

Incidentally the vintage cookery book that everyone has heard of is Mrs Beeton's. However, just glancing through it shows that she was writing for the more affluent members of society with no shortage of money and with time on their hands. My interest and the focus of this website is the everyday life of ordinary families.

The old-fashioned taste today

As older people die and younger ones take their place, we don't hear as much about that old-fashioned taste because younger people never experienced it. Is it possible to resurrect it without paying a premium for organic food and without a risk to health?

The links in the above menu are to pages which show how I have done my best to achieve the old-fashioned taste today while making my own modifications to traditional methods to capitalise on modern cookery techniques, equipment and food safety. I hope you find the pages interesting and useful.

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