Discontinued Foods You Miss

[Mountainair]

I don't think I've ever seen this kind of pudding. Was it chocolate pudding flavored with peppermint, or was peppermint the only flavoring?

My bad, it was actually called Candy Cane. A quick google image search for Jello Candy Cane pudding brought it right up. I'm cool with pumpkin spice but my favorite thing about the holidays is the PepperMint flavored things! I did end up finding another peppermint cookie recipe that didn't call for the pudding and it was ok.

[stillshimpy]

I don't think anyone will miss this one, but do you guys remember Jello 123?  I was volunteering at a food bank collection drive and helping to sort food into categories for packing.  I can tell you the year because of where I was living -- it was 2009, which is just slightly before smart phones were everywhere and someone had donated boxes of J-ello 123.  So we had about six people searching them all over for an expiration date and not finding any, but no one could recall seeing the brand in ages.  

 

Finally someone went inside and discovered it had been discontinued in the mid-nineties around 1995.  I still feel like we should have donated it to some kind of domestic science museum and we did not, in fact throw it away (or lest anyone really get freaked out, we also didn't put it in among the donation because foods of antiquity, while interesting still aren't edible).  

 

We could never figure out if it was one of those instances where someone had finally, finally gotten around to cleaning out their pantry, but the sheer age of the product made that seem unlikely.  We kind of assumed it was food from someone's estate sale, it was that old. 

Edited October 4, 2014 by stillshimpy

[Bastet]

Anything that is just a little packet of chemicals to begin with wouldn't bother me to eat more today than it did 20 years ago when it was first packaged; a few years back, my best friend and I made Jello pudding from packets that must date back to the late '70s or early '80s based on the price tag (found in the pantry of her parents when they moved).  I can only imagine what the half life is on that stuff.

[StatisticalOutlier]

Speaking of Enchiritos, I miss that single black olive slice that was perched on top.

 

I really miss the Bell Beefer at Taco Bell, with that soft steamed bun. 

 

Hmm...I always called it the Bell Burger and thought I was just ignorant because it was actually a Bell Beefer, but I did some searching and found out there WAS a Bell Burger in the 1970s, and was replaced by the Bell Beefer.  I feel vindicated. 

[InDueTime]

When I was a kid, there were "Chocolate Fudge" and "Cookies & Cream" flavored Twix.  I was really disappointed when they disappeared off the shelves.  I even liked the Twix Triple Chocolate and Twix Java bars from a few years ago.

 

I also miss Fruit Punch Jolly Ranchers.

 

I think I may be eating too much candy. :p

[spaceytraci1208]

When I was a kid, there were "Chocolate Fudge" and "Cookies & Cream" flavored Twix. I was really disappointed when they disappeared off the shelves. I even liked the Twix Triple Chocolate and Twix Java bars from a few years ago.

I miss peanut butter Twix. I know they have the one with the chocolate cookie that you can find some places, but I swear there used to be one with the regular Twix cookie once upon a time

[mansonlamps]

I don't think Ice Cube chocolates are discontinued but darned if I can find them in any stores.

They have them at my Walgreens and believe me they are not as good as you remember. Or they are different. Honestly not sure which.

[SoSueMe]

Going waaayyyy back, Jello Whip and Chill, although who knows what it was made out of. And also Birdseye Cool and Creamy pudding, it came out roughly the same time as Cool Whip and in the same shape containers.

[amitville]

There's a pizza place in Brooklyn that still sells the original Spumoni. 

It is called Spumoni Gardens and has been in Brooklyn for years

[annzeepark914]

I miss biscuit tortoni, the rich vanilla ice cream in a paper souffle cup with crunchy toasted almonds on top and a maraschino cherry in the center.  You'd see that on the menu at a lot of nice restaurants (especially the Italian restaurants) years ago in the metro NYC area.

[Tunia]

My mom & I were recently talking about those frozen sealed meat & sauce, & you boiled the packet & poured it over bread pr toast. I have no idea who made them or what they were called, but I loved them!

 

 

 

Mrsjumbo:

Hmmm...wonder if that might be made by Banquet.  I came here to post about their chicken ala king in the plastic bag that I used to love over toast points or white rice.  Ummmmmm, and it was a quick 5-minute meal.  AFAIR, Banquet also had a beef variety such as you described.

 

Almost forgot:  Starbucks Coffee Ice Cream in all its varieties...Boy, do I miss that stuff!

Edited October 18, 2014 by Tunia

[GaT]

I miss biscuit tortoni, the rich vanilla ice cream in a paper souffle cup with crunchy toasted almonds on top and a maraschino cherry in the center.  You'd see that on the menu at a lot of nice restaurants (especially the Italian restaurants) years ago in the metro NYC area.

OMG, I remember this, I used to LOVE it. It's been years since I had one, but I can still remember the taste.

[turbogirlnyc]

All Bran wheat crackers. Weird but true.

[Etaoin Shrdlu]

In the 80s there used to be these microwave cake mixes by Betty Crocker (? maybe). They came with a plastic pan and you mixed the cake mix with water and bunged it in the microwave. Six minutes later when it was done you took it out, let it cool, then squeezed the packet of frosting over the top.

 

I would SO SO SO buy those now if they still had them! The cakes were moist and tasty, and you could save the plastic pan to use later. Win/win.

[Wings]

I miss the plain solid block of Chunky chocolate. All they have now is the fruit and nuts and I don't like those.

 

Also the plain Nestle's chocolate that came in the red wrapper.

 

I don't think Ice Cube chocolates are discontinued but darned if I can find them in any stores.

 

Voila!  http://www.vermontcountrystore.com/store/jump/productDetail/Food_&_Candy/Sweet/Chocolates/Ice_Cube_Chocolates_-9_oz._Bag-/47288?q=ice%20cube%20choco

In the 80s there used to be these microwave cake mixes by Betty Crocker (? maybe). They came with a plastic pan and you mixed the cake mix with water and bunged it in the microwave. Six minutes later when it was done you took it out, let it cool, then squeezed the packet of frosting over the top.

 

I would SO SO SO buy those now if they still had them! The cakes were moist and tasty, and you could save the plastic pan to use later. Win/win.

 

 

When I was a kid, before microwaves, Betty Crocker had Answer Cakes.  They came with a foil pan in the box and you added only water, I think.  My favorite was their peanut butter cake.  I wish they still made those.  

 

Also Spumoni ice cream.   

Edited October 19, 2014 by wings707

[WendyCR72]

Also the plain Nestle's chocolate that came in the red wrapper.

 

It still exists!

[mansonlamps]

Multi bran wheat chex, my favorite variety. Loved it!

Edited October 20, 2014 by mansonlamps

[grisgris]

I loved those Betty Crocker snack cakes, too. My favorite flavor was chocolate chip.

[Vixenstud]

Sigh....

 

Apples N' Cinnamon flavored Mix and Eat Cream of Wheat - Lawd, that was my Saturday morning staple!  Two packets with a big ol' glass of milk and a few hours of cartoons and I was set.  For some reason they stopped, then started then stopped again.  When it was brought back, the apples tasted different.

 

On-Cor Meat Loaf - On-Cor used to have two great entrees....a sliced Beef in Gravy and the Meat Loaf in a thick ketchup sauce.  Man, you could eat the meatloaf cold, my sandwiches had the sauce mingling with the bread?!  Chile! 

 

Stroehmann Chocolate Cake - In Pennsylvania (Philly gal here!), Stroehmann's made a delicious pound cake that was the size of a brick.  The top was chocolate with a vanilla icing middle.  That was my crack man, you couldn't eat one slice!  I actually called the main bakery and asked what happened....unfortunately, no one bought it so they stopped.  On-Cor claimed the same thing with the meatloaf.

 

Milkshake Candy Bars - There was a cute commercial and that candy was sooooooo good!  I used to always get a couple whenever I went to camp when I was a kid.

Edited October 20, 2014 by Vixenstud

[ikmccall]

In the 80s there used to be these microwave cake mixes by Betty Crocker (? maybe). They came with a plastic pan and you mixed the cake mix with water and bunged it in the microwave. Six minutes later when it was done you took it out, let it cool, then squeezed the packet of frosting over the top.

 

I would SO SO SO buy those now if they still had them! The cakes were moist and tasty, and you could save the plastic pan to use later. Win/win.

 

 

I still have the plastic pan!  I use it for the egg wash when I fry fish.

[jjj]

What a great thread!   Brown Edge Wafers (Nabisco) are the cookie I miss -- those were perfect three-inch circles of a vanilla cookie that was almost translucent in its thinness.  They went away almost twenty years ago, but had existed for my whole life up to then.  I have a fairly good recipe, but it is not the same. 

[mishy]

In the 80s there used to be these microwave cake mixes by Betty Crocker (? maybe). They came with a plastic pan and you mixed the cake mix with water and bunged it in the microwave.

Are you thinking of Betty Crocker Warm Delights? They still make those if that’s what you mean. Someone up thread mentioned Frusen Glädjé. My brother, parents and I are the only people we know that remember Frusen Glädjé. Everyone looks at us like we’re crazy. My brother and I recall the commercial like we’d seen it on TV last night.

[stillshimpy]

My brother, parents and I are the only people we know that remember Frusen Glädjé. Everyone looks at us like we’re crazy.

 

 

 

 

(takes out notepad) How does that make you feel?

Edited November 6, 2014 by stillshimpy

[mishy]

Ha! The crazy thing is, to my knowledge, we never even tasted the stuff. My dad was like, I'm not buying that ice cream it costs too much! I have no idea how much it cost but I remembered that package and crazy name like I ate it all the time.

Edited November 12, 2014 by mishy

[DeLurker]

Morning Star Spinach Artichoke Veggie Bites were awesome.  I want them back or if someone can recommend a similar product it would be much appreciated.

[Fabricationary]

Circa 2009-2010, Healthy Choice (I think) had an awesome frozen entree of long grain rice with some other components inside, including some veggies, some sort of bean and, I think, cranberries.  It was my go-to work lunch and was a reasonable ~300 calories per serving.  It was sadly discontinued.

 

Being a vegetarian, finding an egg-containing breakfast sandwich in the frozen food aisle is a surprisingly difficult task, since most have sausage, ham, bacon, etc. along with the egg patty and bun.  Smart Ones used to sell a product like this, with an English muffin as the bun, an egg patty, and a slice of cheese, for around 200 calories.  Then they discontinued it (or at least the stores around me stopped carrying it), but they still have the meat options available.  Happily, in the past year or so, both Lean Cuisine and Special K have started selling vegetarian egg sandwiches for breakfast.  I've tried the Special K flatbreads - their egg patty also has some vegetables and some spicy-infused cheese (which I don't really like).  But I really enjoy the Lean Cuisine version, which is an egg patty with spinach and tomato cooked into it, along with a slice of cheese on an English muffin for 180 calories.  It's my go-to breakfast most days (with a generous dab of ketchup, since I'm the kind of person who almost always eats eggs with ketchup!).

 

More recently, in the last few months I think, I have been unable to find the only Marie Callender's frozen entrees I eat - the steamers.  They come (came?) with two plastic dishes inside each other - sauce on the bottom with vents, and a top dish with the pasta.  You would stick them in the microwave as-is, and then after cooking, you'd transfer the pasta from the top dish into the bottom sauce dish.  I loved the tortellini romano variety, but as of August or so, I've been unable to find them anymore.

[DeLurker]

 

They come (came?) with two plastic dishes inside each other - sauce on the bottom with vents, and a top dish with the pasta.

I kept one of the vented ones to act as a strainer when cleaning small amounts of fruit  (you know, the lunch packed grapes, etc...). 

 

I tried a couple of steamers within the last year and really liked them.  I'll have to check if any varieties are still in my local stores.

[Fabricationary]

I kept one of the vented ones to act as a strainer when cleaning small amounts of fruit  (you know, the lunch packed grapes, etc...). 

 

Nice!

 

I know Bertolli's frozen steamers are still sold, at least at my local Target, but they're pricier ($3.29ish where I live), so I don't buy them unless they're on sale/I have a Cartwheel offer or a coupon/both.  There's a cheese tortellini variety with a yummy sauce/mozzarella cheese that I really like, and also a pasta primavera type dish, and they'll all around ~350 calories.  (Unlike the tortas, which are like 700-1000 calories apiece!  I saw that on the package and was flummoxed.) 

[PRgal]

Starbucks Teazzi (or however you spelled it).  It was kind of like a frappucino with juice and tea.  They got rid of it about 10-12 years ago.

[Etaoin Shrdlu]

Are you thinking of Betty Crocker Warm Delights? They still make those if that’s what you mean. Someone up thread mentioned Frusen Glädjé. My brother, parents and I are the only people we know that remember Frusen Glädjé. Everyone looks at us like we’re crazy. My brother and I recall the commercial like we’d seen it on TV last night.

No, these were different from the Warm Delights thingies. It was a regular cake-mix style cake with a packet of frosting to put on top. I also remember the Betty Crocker Snackin' Cakes  ones that didn't come with frosting - those were good too.

[mishy]

Upthread someone mentioned Clearly Canadian which I loved, and it made me remember another drink i loved in the 80s early 90s New York Seltzer, it might have been called Original New York Seltzer, i remember drinking the orange one a lot and that the bottles were actually glass and not plastic. 

[WendyCR72]

Upthread someone mentioned Clearly Canadian which I loved, and it made me remember another drink i loved in the 80s early 90s New York Seltzer, it might have been called Original New York Seltzer, i remember drinking the orange one a lot and that the bottles were actually glass and not plastic. 

 

Yeah, I think it may have been me who'd mentioned Clearly Canadian. Their website is trying to bring it back. Once 25,000 preorders are in, it goes into production, I think. That, too, had glass bottles. Made it taste better.  :-)

[Etaoin Shrdlu]

OMG! Stir 'n Frost!! That's IT!

Dear Ms. Crocker: Please bring this stuff back.

Sincerely,

E.S.

 

[Bastet]

it made me remember another drink i loved in the 80s early 90s New York Seltzer, it might have been called Original New York Seltzer, i remember drinking the orange one a lot and that the bottles were actually glass and not plastic.

 

Oh, I remember those!  I drank the root beer one.

[mansonlamps]

Wow while I made plenty of stir n frost cakes back in the day (and they were easy as hell and delicious) the nostalgia that ad really brings back is the hours I spent with my curling iron getting that perfect flip hairdo on the little girl.

[stillshimpy]

There was also Snackin' Cake :-)   

 

[Etaoin Shrdlu]

Snackin' Cake and Stir 'n Frost were both awesome. Why did you discontinue them Betty? Whyyyy??

[grisgris]

Golden chocolate chip was my favorite.  Bring them back! Bring them back!

[jenh526]

Sara Lee coffee cakes (butter streusel and pecan) - I guess these are still available somewhere but I can't find them anymore.

 

There was a Dove (?) ice cream that came out a few years ago that had a chocolate ganache layer on top of it. Can't find that anymore either. But someone started a petition for out-of-production Dove ice cream: https://www.change.org/p/restart-production-of-dove-ice-cream-pints-unconditional-chocolate-vanilla-chocolate-chunk-and-mint-chocolate-chunk-ect

[mishy]

There was a Dove (?) ice cream that came out a few years ago that had a chocolate ganache layer on top of it.

Oh man! I forgot all about those. But I loved them. There was a caramel pecan one and a vanilla chocolate chunk, that I enjoyed. I don't even know when they went off the market so I suppose I didn't miss them that much but I really enjoyed them.

Yeah, I think it may have been me who'd mentioned Clearly Canadian. Their website is trying to bring it back. Once 25,000 preorders are in, it goes into production, I think.

I enjoyed Clearly Canadian but I don't think I want my own case. A case is 12 bottles for $29.99, if it was in the stores would I pay $2.50 for it? I don't know.

[emma675]

 

Sara Lee coffee cakes (butter streusel and pecan) - I guess these are still available somewhere but I can't find them anymore.

OMG, I forgot about those! The butter streusel one was to die for.

[Shannon L.]

I forgot about Sara Lee!  I loved their coffee cakes, too!

[WendyCR72]

I enjoyed Clearly Canadian but I don't think I want my own case. A case is 12 bottles for $29.99, if it was in the stores would I pay $2.50 for it? I don't know.

 

I hear you! (For the record, I just stated that as a fact, not a sales pitch.  :-)  But if it does manage to get off the ground again, well...good for them.)

[jjj]

Sara Lee coffee cakes (butter streusel and pecan) - I guess these are still available somewhere but I can't find them anymore.

 

I thought I still saw those from time to time -- will have to check the frozen section stores and see if they are still there.  They are so delicious! 

[tabbybear]

New York style cheese cake flavored Hershey kisses.

[callie lee 29]

 

My mom & I were recently talking about those frozen sealed meat & sauce, & you boiled the packet & poured it over bread pr toast. I have no idea who made them or what they were called, but I loved them!

 

Creamed chipped beef, AKA SOS. Stouffers still has it.

 

 

it made me remember another drink i loved in the 80s early 90s New York Seltzer, it might have been called Original New York Seltzer, i remember drinking the orange one a lot and that the bottles were actually glass and not plastic.

I LOVED this. The peach and the root beer were awesome. Peach got me through since you couldn't find Peach Nehi in Las Vegas for anything!!

 

It was a dark day in my life when Ben and Jerry's discontinued their cashew ice cream. I have never been able to find anything remotely like it.

[glowlights]

Sourdough flavor Stove Top Stuffing. Yes, I know it's junk. But I adored it.

[MarkHB]

I live in Maine; my corner store carries both the mixed flavor Necco wafers and the all-chocolate rolls. I believe Cracker Barrel carries both the Clark's gum flavors (Teaberry, Black Jack and Beeman's) and New York Seltzer. And I, too, really loved Choco-Lites as a kid.

Two of my now-gone favorites were both cereals: Buc-Wheats and Quisp.

[WendyCR72]

@MarkHB, Quisp still exists! But if you want it, you're going to pay through the nose for it!

[blueray]

green and yellow skittles. The real ones not the fake ones they are going for now (apple?)

Edited January 10, 2015 by blueray