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Re: Famous Five Food

Posted: 02 Sep 2012, 20:17
by Anita Bensoussane
Yes, they're never disappointed by the quality of the food and we don't see them forcing down under-ripe plums, dried out fruit cake, stale sandwiches, soggy pastry, lumpy porridge or lukewarm lemonade. Everything is always just perfect.

Re: Famous Five Food

Posted: 02 Sep 2012, 21:04
by Francis
The books celebrate the golden age of English food when farmer's wives
and housewives in general knew how to make wholesome food and had
the time to make it. No celebrity cooks with their exotic creations and snobbery
but good old fashioned food - deliceous and tasty. These days it is an almost
forgotten art.

Re: Famous Five Food

Posted: 03 Sep 2012, 11:41
by MJE
     I am lucky enough to have a mother who is a good cook, and also has that "old-style" view about meals and food: good food, but without fussing hugely about special diets and so on. (If all the diets people follow today are so effective, then why is overweight a bigger problem now than ever before? - including back in the time my childhood when people were not overly worried about diets, and probably ate shocking amounts of fat, salt, and sugar that the "food police" would now tut-tut about.) And my mother could probably make special dishes that would give the "Master Chef" people a run for their money; but she is also very good at producing a wide variety of simple but delicious food of a more everyday kind.
     I guess I take it for granted, having grown up with a mother like that - so it kind of startles me when I read about whole families half-living on junk food of various kinds, and just regarding this as the norm.
     It is sad that it has become that way for some families. Perhaps they need to read a few Famous Fives, and take a few lessons from that!

Regards, Michael.

Re: Famous Five Food

Posted: 03 Sep 2012, 21:00
by 70s-child
MJE wrote:  (If all the diets people follow today are so effective, then why is overweight a bigger problem now than ever before? - including back in the time my childhood when people were not overly worried about diets, and probably ate shocking amounts of fat, salt, and sugar that the "food police" would now tut-tut about.)
In America at least, obesity is prevalent among the less-well-to-do, because junk food is cheap (and fattening), but good quality food, like produce etc. is more expensive, and is affordable to the better-off, and the health conscious. Like you, my parents brought me up on good quality food, without worrying about carb and fat content, but many kids today seem to eat only pizza and drink only soda. So it is hardly surprising that obesity and juvenile diabetes is on the rise among school-going kids, at least here in the US. :|

Re: Famous Five Food

Posted: 06 Sep 2012, 18:55
by Ming
I'm very delighted to find a thread like this has popped up in my fortnight-long absence! Yesterday in my A Level Biology class my teacher was talking about tongue, and how the Famous Five eat it on their tours. I was very proud indeed, and we had quite an animated discussion on food in Famous Five. :D

Re: Famous Five Food

Posted: 06 Sep 2012, 18:58
by 7upromana01
I know this is going seriously off topic but how did your exams go Ming? Were they hard? Anyway, good luck!

Re: Famous Five Food

Posted: 07 Sep 2012, 16:09
by Ming
The last exam I had was back in June, I got my results in August - 4 A's in my four subjects Geography, Chemistry, Biology and Maths (focus on Pure Maths and Statistics). Cambridge doesn't award A* grades in AS levels.

Re: Famous Five Food

Posted: 07 Sep 2012, 16:58
by 7upromana01
Whoa! You done really good!

Re: Famous Five Food

Posted: 07 Sep 2012, 19:12
by Fiona1986
Ming wrote: my teacher was talking about tongue, and how the Famous Five eat it on their tours.
There's a bit of ox tongue in my fridge at the moment. I really like it on sandwiches with mustard though I try not to think about what it is! Silly, I know, how a tongue seems a little more disgusting than a leg muscle or whatever.
7upromana01 wrote:Whoa! You done really good!
Yes, she did very well :P

Re: Famous Five Food

Posted: 07 Sep 2012, 19:23
by 70s-child
7upromana01 wrote:Whoa! You done really good!
I will second that Abi! :D Well done Ming.

Re: Famous Five Food

Posted: 08 Sep 2012, 09:08
by Pippa-Stef
7upromana01 wrote:Whoa! You done really good!
Hehe. The girl did GOOD! :wink:

Well done Ming. And it is always nice to hear that its still possible for Enid / The Famous Five can crop up in discussions everywhere!

Re: Famous Five Food

Posted: 08 Sep 2012, 20:43
by Francis
Wonderful results Ming - I am sure they are result of natural talent and hard work - well done.

Re: Famous Five Food

Posted: 08 Sep 2012, 21:34
by Anita Bensoussane
Well done, Ming!

Re: Famous Five Food

Posted: 08 Sep 2012, 22:59
by Katharine
As far as I know, I've never eaten tongue, I'd like to try it, but ideally without knowing beforehand what I was eating, as I've a feeling I'd be a bit squeamish.

Regarding obesity, I'm sure the balance between physical activity and food consumed is a big problem nowadays. During the 1940s my grandfather used to eat a fried breakfast most days, then he'd have to cycle to his job - possibly several miles away. His job was a manual one, sometimes involving climbing ladders and a lot of walking. In the evenings after he'd eaten a good meal - probably full of calories and fat - he'd go and tend one of the 3 allotments he owned where he grew enough fresh fruit and vegetables to feed his family. So although he ate a diet which would probably be considered far higher in fat and calories than recommended today, he also ate a good variety of fresh produce and was very active.

By the way - well done Ming on your results.

Re: Famous Five Food

Posted: 09 Sep 2012, 15:11
by Lenoir
Yes, well done on the results Ming.

We used to have tongue at Christmas, or a few days later - it was a thing we had on certain special occasions. I haven't had it for ages now.