Food 'they' don't make any more

[teamsaint]

Don't think so.
The 'ripples' were more like ridges (furrows).
My partner thinks they might have been chocolate malted milk biscuits, and rectangular not round, so maybe my memory is at fault.

Whatever they were, I used to like them.

Chocolate Malted Milk are still available, and only about 50 calories each.

Or 90 calories for 2......

[benrayburn]

Instant whip - I particularly liked the butterscotch flavour!

Same here! I used that on almost every dessert.

[Barbirollians]

Same here! I used that on almost every dessert.

Imitation cream - a disgusting almost perfumed concoction of skimmed milk powder ,vegetable fat and chemicals they ruined many a school dinner - before they invented real squirt cream.

Heinz toast toppers and Sainsbury’s China and Darjeeling tea .

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

Linda McCartney vegetarian roasts seem to have disappeared, along with their Sainsbury's equivalent.

[Dave2002]

Tried some Kit-Kat chocolate recently. Didn't seem to taste the same as previously. Could have been a one off sample, but I think the flavours of some products are being manipulated, not always to good effect. Also, note the weight of some chocolates and other foods. There are some "interesting" changes, so that the apparent packet sizes are the same, and the product might look overall the same, but there may be a 10% reduction in product weight - e.g. 180 grams vs 200 grams. This can be quite subtle and by no means easy to spot, other than by looking at the product specifications printed on the packaging, or by actually weighing the products.

The usual way this "trick" works is to recycle the "New/Improved" claims a few times, gradually reduce the weight of the product - or change the recipe to use cheaper ingredients, then change the packaging - while adjusting the price carefully so that consumers mostly don't notice. Then eventually do a "re-release" (original recipe ) at a higher price.

[Serial_Apologist]

Linda McCartney vegetarian roasts seem to have disappeared, along with their Sainsbury's equivalent.

Have they been withdrawn altogether? I used to get the two single portions in a pack ones, then they were only offering a single family-sized portion - no good if you live alone. I'm surprised the supermarkets aren't coming up with more new vegetarian pre-prepared meal varieties - someone could make a lot of money out of manufacturing such, surely? They can't all be worried about putting vegetarian restaurants out of business. Also I can't seem to find the Sainsbury's beef-style veggie burgers in packs of 6 anymore, nor the Tesco's equivalent - only in double-sized packs of 2. Two of the old 6-type make an adequate meal; one of the new is not really enough.

[oddoneout]

Tried some Kit-Kat chocolate recently. Didn't seem to taste the same as previously. Could have been a one off sample, but I think the flavours of some products are being manipulated, not always to good effect. Also, note the weight of some chocolates and other foods. There are some "interesting" changes, so that the apparent packet sizes are the same, and the product might look overall the same, but there may be a 10% reduction in product weight - e.g. 180 grams vs 200 grams. This can be quite subtle and by no means easy to spot, other than by looking at the product specifications printed on the packaging, or by actually weighing the products.

The usual way this "trick" works is to recycle the "New/Improved" claims a few times, gradually reduce the weight of the product - or change the recipe to use cheaper ingredients, then change the packaging - while adjusting the price carefully so that consumers mostly don't notice. Then eventually do a "re-release" (original recipe ) at a higher price.

Didn't the Mars bar stop being a useful price/inflation comparator some years ago because of the weight fiddle? The interesting(and rather sad) thing is that reactions fall into one of two camps - either not noticing, or noticing, grumbling, but still buying it. Both are of course good outcomes for the manufacturer and retailer.
Whenever I see "Improved" on a product I use my heart sinks because I know that means I'll need to find an alternative. I think I've only ever once found the claim justified and seem to remember that ironically the improvement I liked proved to be one 'the buying public' didn't like and so was quietly discarded.
The price rise trick is one that always follows a big manufacturer-led promotion and frequently also an in-house price promotion. Again my reaction is always 'heigh ho more expense'. Just occasionally it doesn't happen straightaway, so inducing a false sense of security. Where it involves fresh food, especially fruit or veg, the natural volatility of the pricing makes the connection less straightforward, and doesn't seem to apply to the weekly offers Lidl and Aldi do.

[oddoneout]

Have they been withdrawn altogether? I used to get the two single portions in a pack ones, then they were only offering a single family-sized portion - no good if you live alone. I'm surprised the supermarkets aren't coming up with more new vegetarian pre-prepared meal varieties - someone could make a lot of money out of manufacturing such, surely? They can't all be worried about putting vegetarian restaurants out of business. Also I can't seem to find the Sainsbury's beef-style veggie burgers in packs of 6 anymore, nor the Tesco's equivalent - only in double-sized packs of 2. Two of the old 6-type make an adequate meal; one of the new is not really enough.

You might find it worth looking in the chill/freezer cabinets of the Free From section, there are often quite a lot of interesting veggie items appearing there. I find the Gosh brand good, they are on occasion the subject of price promotions in my local Morrisons, and Aldi and Lidl stock them although not always in a consistent way. It's possibly part of the 'make the customer walk past as much product as possible' retail psychology of the major supermarkets but items in a given category may be split across more than one store location, so all vegetarian options won't necessarily be in a veggie section, particularly if they also fall into another category such as Free From. Last Christmas I wondered why I couldn't find the advertised gluten-free cake and mince pies in Morrisons Free From section and when I asked was directed to the store bakery section. I pointed out that didn't make sense to someone looking for GF items.

[Serial_Apologist]

Didn't the Mars bar stop being a useful price/inflation comparator some years ago because of the weight fiddle? The interesting(and rather sad) thing is that reactions fall into one of two camps - either not noticing, or noticing, grumbling, but still buying it. Both are of course good outcomes for the manufacturer and retailer.
Whenever I see "Improved" on a product I use my heart sinks because I know that means I'll need to find an alternative. I think I've only ever once found the claim justified and seem to remember that ironically the improvement I liked proved to be one 'the buying public' didn't like and so was quietly discarded.
The price rise trick is one that always follows a big manufacturer-led promotion and frequently also an in-house price promotion. Again my reaction is always 'heigh ho more expense'. Just occasionally it doesn't happen straightaway, so inducing a false sense of security. Where it involves fresh food, especially fruit or veg, the natural volatility of the pricing makes the connection less straightforward, and doesn't seem to apply to the weekly offers Lidl and Aldi do.

Some years ago I ceased purchasing a certain brand of paprika-flavoured crisps after the firm changed the manufacturing process by including soured cream in the ingredients. This completely ruined what had been the flavour of my favourite crisps of all time, and I emailed the company asking if the new version was on trial or would it be permanent? In return they replied teling me how much more popular the new brand was with customers. After that I was literally continually bombarded with bulk offers of this and that product from the same manufacturer, until months later I guess they must have twigged that I was binning all the missals - but it was an object lesson: never ever bother complaining about a generic product, unless for obvious reasons of damage etc, for which in any case one would return said product to the retailer. Oh and remember always not to ditch your receipt.

[Serial_Apologist]

You might find it worth looking in the chill/freezer cabinets of the Free From section, there are often quite a lot of interesting veggie items appearing there. I find the Gosh brand good, they are on occasion the subject of price promotions in my local Morrisons, and Aldi and Lidl stock them although not always in a consistent way. It's possibly part of the 'make the customer walk past as much product as possible' retail psychology of the major supermarkets but items in a given category may be split across more than one store location, so all vegetarian options won't necessarily be in a veggie section, particularly if they also fall into another category such as Free From. Last Christmas I wondered why I couldn't find the advertised gluten-free cake and mince pies in Morrisons Free From section and when I asked was directed to the store bakery section. I pointed out that didn't make sense to someone looking for GF items.

The way specific items categorised and associated varies even between branches of the same retail chains is a constant source of bafflement and frustration! Furthermore, so is the way supermarkets change the locations of products - designed to make the customer spend longer in the premises and just maybe go for something he or she would not otherwise have considered buying. My ageing brain gets more and more panicked by the disorientating effect such changes have on it.

[Globaltruth]

I’d heartily recommend Tiptree products - jam they still make ‘like they used to’ plus a slightly odd combination of other fine products.

We make some jams and jellies but still bow to the expertise of the high quality and worker owned Tiptree company.

Astonishingly not only can you buy online

https://Www.tiptree.com

But they do not charge for postage

don’t forget to try the Wilkin Tomato Ketchup - sans pareil)
( medlar jelly anyone?)
( chocolate and orange spread for your inner 12 yr old self)


[ I have no connection with this company other than as a customer]

[alywin]

Don't think so.
The 'ripples' were more like ridges (furrows).
My partner thinks they might have been chocolate malted milk biscuits, and rectangular not round, so maybe my memory is at fault.

Whatever they were, I used to like them.

Pretty certain I know which ones you mean, and they were definitely round, and not malted milk. I can't remember what they were called, though - just that there was a big Cadbury's logo on the top and the packaging was purple (no surprised there, then).

I really miss Brown & Poulson blancmanges - so much better and less synthetic than the Pearce Duffs one. In particular the caramel one, because I had a really nice recipe which used it, and my attempts to replicate the flavour never worked :(

Another vote for Instant Whip, since it's been mentioned ...

McVities Digestive Creams - they seem to have vanished off the face of the earth. I thought I'd found some recently, but they turned out to be Hob-Nob Creams, and very sickly.

[alywin]

2) Cheesy loaf of bread. This was really nice - from Sainsbury's back in the day, I recall. Must have been about 20 years ago, I recall, since I had ham sandwiches with this bread, so was before I went veggie.

Sainsbury's still make one, although possibly not quite the same. Tesco's is rather bland. The place to go to is Marks & Spencer - theirs is REALLY cheesy. I've been known to sit there and just inhale it for several minutes. (I bought one in the late lamented M&S in Covent Garden, then went on to a performance at the Opera House, and realised that I could smell it in my bag from my seat! Fortunately I was at least sitting right next to the amphitheatre wall, so hopefully the smell didn't reach any of my neighbours. And at least it wasn't an onion loaf ...)

[Joseph K]

Sainsbury's still make one, although possibly not quite the same. Tesco's is rather bland. The place to go to is Marks & Spencer - theirs is REALLY cheesy. I've been known to sit there and just inhale it for several minutes. (I bought one in the late lamented M&S in Covent Garden, then went on to a performance at the Opera House, and realised that I could smell it in my bag from my seat! Fortunately I was at least sitting right next to the amphitheatre wall, so hopefully the smell didn't reach any of my neighbours. And at least it wasn't an onion loaf ...)

Unfortunately they shut the Redditch M&S... (Have to travel to Longbridge).

[gradus]

Only ever ate home-made Junkets but they seem to have disappeared from modern diets.