I opened a can of Planters cocktail peanuts . Thought to myself. These aren’t very good . A little rancid and less salty . Any packaged items you have purchased and just didn’t find them as good as before Or on the flipside have gotten better ?
Graham crackers used to taste good, and now they’re barely edible. Other things that come to mind are Lipton Onion Soup mix, Cheerios, and regular shredded wheat biscuits. The latter are still good, but not nearly as good as they were when Nabisco made them – they changed something in the manufacturing process and they no longer have that "toasty’ flavor. Conversely, one item that hasn’t changed one bit since I was a kid, is regular Fritos – they taste exactly the same as they always have. I feel frozen foods in general have improved both in quality and variety.
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Pecan Sandies cookies aren’t nearly as good as BITD. Also Velveeta Cheese has changed their recipe/formula a few years back. It’s not the same but still acceptable. (I use part Velveeta in homemade Mac n Cheese.) Crisco Shortening changed their product to have less transfats than before, and it simply doesn’t perform for me as well as the old version. I’ll still use some, but will mix with butter or lard.
There are literally dozens of products that are different in a lesser way, but I can’t think of them all now. Oh Yoplait Yogurt isn’t anything like it was when it first came on the market - totally different product.
Agree with @celeryvictor about frozen foods getting generally better. Also asceptic packaging has improved many things, which I’m happy about. Like boxed broth instead of canned, so you don’t get that tinny taste.
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Try Virginia Diner Peanuts. Big, fresh peanuts. So much better. (I have no affiliation with this company) https://www.vadiner.com/category/Virginia-Peanuts-Salted-Unsalted
Canned creamed corn. Any brand. When I was a kid, I loved the stuff. It was an integral part of one of a few comfort meals from my childhood. As an adult, I think “WTF happened here?? There’s no CREAM in this can of creamed corn!”
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Oreo’s
SPAM
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SPAM has never let me down. This is a hill on which I would die.
Most EVERYTHING I purchase that is a prepackaged item does not taste the same as what I remember it tasting like. Most recently: Hershey chocolate little Easter eggs (taste chalky?), Grape Nuts cereal ( taste bland) and Johnny’s Great Caesar Garlic Spread & Seasoning ( way, way salty, so much that it burns my tongue). I don’t know if this is part of ageing gracefully or just diminished quality. I’ve not had COVID, so I don’t think that is the cause.
Yes, Fritos, they’ll last through the next millennum.
It may be just a symptom of Rosy Retrospection which is something we all suffer from (myself included).
I do get the point about rosy retrospection, but companies quite frequently change their formulas. Hershey’s puts so little cocoa butter into their candies, they can no longer label as chocolate. It is chocolate flavor candy, syrup etc. Also in many cases, quality control has declined as well.
