I just bought a little beef jerky. Haven’t had any in quite a while. It was supposed to be spicy. What I got was something sweet, rubbery and gummy, with barely a hint of heat. (In the US) W.t.f.
When I was a kid, jerky was dry AF, thin, salty, tooth-rippingly tough sometimes, never sweet unless you specifically got a teryaki flavor or something. If you wanted spicy, it was covered in pepper and your mouth would be on fire after just a couple pieces. It was awesome.
Now it’s sugary and chewy. Why people gotta put sugar on everything? Can’t find that dry, thin, peppery stuff anywhere.
What food of yours has disappeared or been wrecked in order to appeal to more people?
Hamburger helper. I’m not sure if it was my taste buds as a kid VS adult, but I hadn’t had it in years and wanted to share the experience with my kids. It was so bad. It tasted like stale powders and cardboard. I know it wasn’t the height of cuisine but at least it was edible. This wasn’t.
I made some about a year ago, just for the nostalgia. It was so salty that I sincerely could not finish my plate. Two bites in, and that shit went in the trash. Normally if I have food I’m not gonna finish, I toss it to the pigs, or into the compost pile. But this was so bad I didn’t feel right feeding it to literal pigs. And with that much salt, it might never decompose.