Victorian food brands still extant

[yereverluvinunclebert]

I think I might be forced to agree with that if you had the contents of the still to hand.

[yereverluvinunclebert]

Since reading that site, I am definitely going to buy a large bottle but I will be using it exclusively for cleaning unless the products of that still are available.

Coca cola has to go on my banqueting list just because it is a brand and it was probably available at the time in the UK, I wonder from what date?

PS. I am not particularly precious about any drink other than Brakspears and they have already adulterated that... Coca cola supporters can be quite tribal I have heard. So, back on topic, what Victorian food brands are still extant?

[yereverluvinunclebert]

J Collis Browne's mixture, still contains morphine to this day so will be better suited to dealing with the cramps brought on by eating too much of all this stuff, if the fizzy drinks don't relieve the symptoms, the liver salts don't work then it is straight onto the Collis Browne's...

Used to be Dr. Collis Browne's but he got struck off.

[MWBailey]

The only good thing to do with carbonated dark drinks is to mix it with "cooking" Burbon from the "old number 7 still"!

I'll have to agree with that.

[Madasasteamfish]

Henderson's Relish - a vegan alternative to 'wooster' sauce

Oh god yes. That is wonderful stuff (then again being from Sheffield I may be slightly biased)

[yereverluvinunclebert]

Hendersons' - I've never tried it but I imagine it is good on Shepherd's pie...

I must add the specific Mcvities biscuits already mentioned in a previous post, Digestives and Rich Tea biscuits, unfortunately no jaffa cakes nor jammy dodgers.

[yereverluvinunclebert]

You know that stuff on serving drinks cold, sugared and carbonated, well I used to work for Bass Brewers and Mars Confectionery. Whilst there I learnt the methods for disguising a poor quality ingredient in a drink. Serving cold is the first, as cold as possible, note a recent trend for sub-zero lagers. In the UK the process of reducing the quality and disguising the flavour was explained to me as being "creating appropriate quality for the market". Hmmm. A lot of the brands we have previously mentioned are equally guilty of that, Walls for instance. Oh well, I digress.

[yereverluvinunclebert]

Brown and Poulson's cornflour
Borwick's baking powder

How about Fentiman's ginger beer? 1905 - does that count?

[yereverluvinunclebert]

Suchard chocolate
Atora beef suet - so we can have a good beef pudding or a summer fruit pudding

[yereverluvinunclebert]

That stuff about drinking water. I've just realised the Victorians drank buckets of the bottled stuff but really only as a medicinal aid to digestion. Taking the waters was a cure rather than an enjoyment, anyone tried Harrogate water?

[yereverluvinunclebert]

Walkers Shortbread, can't do without shortbread to go with the tea. Any old brands of coffee that you know of?

That's me done for the day... I'll draw up a complete list later.

Any more for any more?

[Angus A Fitziron]

G^eo. Watkins Mushroom Relish est.1830
HP Sauce 1895
Sharwoods Mango Chutney est 1889

[yereverluvinunclebert]

lovely stuff - we already have the HP (Gunsons) sauce but the other stuff makes it on the list

[yereverluvinunclebert]

Warburtons bread
Holland's Pies
Dickinson and Morris 1851 (maker of Melton Mowbray pork pies)
Sarson's vinegar 1794
Sharwood's chutney 1889
Cerebos Salt
Paxo stuffing (1901)
Hartley's jams 1871
Frank Cooper's 1874
Haywards pickles 1868

The more I dig into this I realise that a large portion of Britain's well-known brands have been about since the end of the 19th century... us Brits are still a Victorian nation.

[Mr. Boltneck]

Actually, I know people from parts the southern US who have family recipes for Coca-Cola-glazed ham. Many people think this is some sort of modern Iron Chef routine, but it apparently goes back about a century. It makes a certain amount of sense, given that ham often goes well with a mix of sweet and acid, although I personally tend to rely on apples in this regard.

[yereverluvinunclebert]

I am thinking of using the cola for both cooking and tanning. Iron chef - what's that?

Here is the UK list so far, this will comprise the steampunk banquet:

Colman's Mustard - 1814
McVitie's Biscuits - 1830
Digestives and Rich Tea biscuits
Robertson's Marmalade - 1864
Twinings Tea - 1706
Pontefract cakes - ~1760 - unsure whether this is actually a 'brand' so lets just say Bassetts (1842)
Andrews Liver Salts - 1894
Warburtons bread - 1876
John West tinned salmon, mackerel and sardines 1857
Crosse and Blackwell chutneys and picallili 1706
Walls sausages and bacon - 1786
Walls pork pies 1786
R Whites lemonade - 1894
Idris ginger beer - 1873
Idris fizzy cream soda
Idris dandelion and baldock
Fyffe's bananas 1878
Taylor's of Harrogate tea and coffee (1886)
Irn Bru - 1901 under the name Strachan's Brew
Holland's Pies 1854
Dickinson and Morris 1851 (maker of Melton Mowbray pork pies)
Sarson's vinegar 1794
Sharwood's chutney 1889
Cerebos Salt 1894
Paxo stuffing (1901)
Hartley's jams 1871
Frank Cooper's 1874
Haywards pickles 1868
Geo. Watkins Mushroom Relish est.1830
HP Sauce 1895
Sharwoods Mango Chutney est 1889
Walkers Shortbread 1898
Suchard chocolate 1826
Atora beef suet 1893
Brown and Poulson's cornflour 1865
Borwick's baking powder 1895
Fentiman's ginger beer 1905
Coca cola 1900 (UK)
Robinson's barley water 1830
Rose's lime juice 1867
Scott's Porage Oats 1880
Perrier water 1898
Schweppes tonic 1771
Schweppes ginger ale (1870)
jacobs cream crackers 1885
oxo 1899
Carrs water biscuits 1841
Cadbury's cocoa 1824
Tate & lyle sugar 1877
Tate & lyle ssyrup
Tate & lyle streacle
Birds custard 1837
Bovril 1870
golden shred marmalade 1864
garabaldi biscuits 1861
Patum Peperium 1828
Fray Bentos corned beef 1899
nestles condensed milk 1867
typhoo tea 1903
camp coffee 1876
huntley and palmers nice biscuits 1895
Shippams meat pastes 1896
rowntrees pastilles 1881
heinz beans 1886 (UK)

It will be fun to eat and filling though not particularly healthy, thank goodness for Ffyfe's bananas.

None of these are particularly obscure brands and the majority will be in most UK cupboards, not perhaps patum paperium, although it is in my cupboard. I even have the Shippams crab paste, the only one I eat and enjoy. I can admit I have never drunk "Irn Bru" in my life. I am going shopping and may take my camera with me to show the result. I'll see if I can get it all in glass or tin but no plastic whatsoever!

Anyone fancy making a US list?

[LadyAsprin]

Irn Bru does come in 750ml glass bottles.

[Kryss LaBryn]

The chocolate candy called "Smarties" in Canada and the UK (the States don't seem to have them) have been around since at least 1882 but was formerly known as "Chocolate Beans". No beans involved though so they were forced to change their name just before WW!!.

And Kellogg's Corn Flakes have been around since 1896.

Hmm. We seem to have a lot of tinned food here (which isn't surprising since of course there aren't really "brands" for fresh food like beef and eggs and things like that). Might be fun to see if I can track down some varieties of apples etc dating from the period that are still commonly available, maybe see when the dairies that supply the two brands I can get locally date from.

[Kryss LaBryn]

Had a quick look in my fridge:

Freybe (liver sausage; they're a company that sells packaged meats: various sausages, bacon, things like that): 1844

Heinz Tomato Ketchup: 1869

Lucerne (coffee cream, a nice thick 18% milk fat): 1904, which I feel is close enough for my area, ha ha.

I believe Rose's has been mentioned, but if not, my lime marmalade jar says 1865 on it.

[LadyAsprin]

The chocolate candy called "Smarties" in Canada and the UK (the States don't seem to have them) have been around since at least 1882 but was formerly known as "Chocolate Beans". No beans involved though so they were forced to change their name just before WW!!.

That's why Irn Bru had to change their spelling, they never brewed it and decided to change the spelling of both parts.  It had picked up the name of Iron Brew due to its links with the steel and iron works.

Jesmona Black Bullets are from 1906, they are spherical black mint sweets.  It was said that they were popular with the miners since the soot didn't show up.

[elShoggotho]

Erbswurst. Pea soup stock, originally invented for the Imperial German army.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

[HAC]

Hmm..
   Samworth Brothers Melton Mowbray pork pies - 1896
   Harrington Cheese's Stilton (and Derbyshire) -- 1720
   Eccles cakes (first made commercially in Eccles in  1793)  (great-grandad worked in Eccles for a bit)
   Bakewell tarts -1820..
   Lea and Perrins Worcestershire Sauce - 1839

and quite a few more "traditional" foods, methinks could make the ...

Cheers
Harold

[yereverluvinunclebert]

@Kryss LaBryn  - Kellogs introduced to the UK in 1924 unfortunately, Cadbury smarties 1937

Heinz tomato ketchup 1886 - so fine, its on list.

Lucerne coffee cream, not heard of it here, same with Freybe unless someone knows better, looks like we need a Canadian list too.

The lime stuff, we Limeys are good at making stuff like that for known reasons, it goes back a long way.

Jesmona Black Bullets - I'll add them to the list though I doubt I'll be able to get hold of any.

@elShoggotho - and a German list?

[yereverluvinunclebert]

@HAC

Samworth Brothers Melton Mowbray pork pies - 1896 - I think they were pork sellers until the 20th century and may not have been making pies until the mid 20th C.
  
Harrington Cheese's Stilton (and Derbyshire) -- 1720 How could I forget cheese?!! Good one. There must be other brands.

Eccles cakes - We need a brand for the Eccles cakes, as they are a little too generic, just a type of food. A baker, a maker... do we know one that has been baking for over a hundred years, I bet there are a few but do they have a name? Bakewell tarts -1820.., same again, made by who? Can't be Mr. Kipling as they have only been going since the 60s.

Lea and Perrins Worcestershire Sauce - 1839 - we have the 'wooster' sauce on the list.

[Unsubtle Pete]

Of course, not all of these products are in their original form, sadly.