9 holiday foods (we probably shouldn’t eat)
Posted on November 30, 2016 by bob in Features
It can’t be Christmas without these iconic holiday foods.
Eggnog
The most common way we see eggnog is served out of a sad dairy carton, sickly sweet, too thin to taste rich, yet heavy as sin. But at its best, eggnog is a beverage of beauty: a mixture of sweetened milk or cream and beaten eggs that’s spiked with brown liquor, whipped to a festive froth, and topped with a dusting of nutmeg. And that’s what we hold in our hearts—the creamy taste of Christmas we can’t live without.
Port Wine Cheese
Is there really wine in this processed cheese spread? Actually, there likely is! Port wine cheese is a magical, impossibly orange-colored blend of Cheddar cheese, cream cheese or neufchâtel, port wine, and seasonings. Often sold molded into a ball or log and covered with chopped nuts, port wine cheese is not considered to be a gourmet foodstuff. But slathered on buttery crackers it’s a holiday party essential.
Gingerbread Men
Decorated gingerbread has been a popular treat since the 16th Century (in the late 1500s, Queen Elizabeth I presented esteemed guests with their portrait in gingerbread)—and many of the versions we encounter taste like they came from the original batch! When freshly baked, these cookie men are a delight, spicy and sweet, but for the most part, they are dry and bland with hard, nubby icing. Nonetheless, Christmas wouldn’t be Christmas without them.
Jell-O Salad
Though not a salad in the healthy, lettuce-based sense, this 1960s side dish does contain fruits and vegetables, and it’s sweet, jiggly appeal can’t be denied. An admittedly weird mix, Jell-O salad is typically made from flavored gelatin, sometimes Cool Whip, and various cut-up ingredients, from carrots to mandarin oranges or canned ham. We tend to prefer the fruit-based versions, but we’ll even take a cabbage-cucumber variety over nothing.
Mincemeat Pie
Counter to what its name suggests, mincemeat pie usually doesn’t contain meat anymore, though traditional recipes still call for hard beef fat (a.k.a. suet), along with fruitmince, a mix of dried fruit, spices, nuts, and brandy or rum. When mince pies first came into fashion about 800 years ago, they were a way to preserve fresh meat, using spices newly acquired from the East. Now they’re a celebrated Christmas must-have, though a bit of an acquired taste.
Cheap Chocolates Shaped Like Santa
We get the feeling the mini chocolate Santa manufacturers aren’t sticklers for cocoa content or expiration dates. Those little guys are generally on the tasteless side! But Santa chocolates are all about the shiny foil wrappers and the big guy’s jolly smile, so we can forgive the modest quality and hope to see them at every Christmas party we attend.
Green Bean Casserole
Traditionally made with limp canned green beans, canned mushroom soup, and French’s fried onions, the green bean casserole doesn’t have a ton going for it in a culinary sense. But no matter what, the GBC is a must-have side dish on the Christmas dinner buffet. It’s deliciously salty and vaguely a vegetable — and goes with glazed ham in a serious way.
Panettone
Ok, sure, this Italian Christmas bread is often dry… very dry. And the multicolored fruit bits a little too reminiscent of fruitcake than is comfortable. But panettone looks festive, and comes in a pretty box with a handle, and we’re not going to stop giving and receiving it come the holiday season.
Popcorn Balls
Most popcorn balls we meet around Christmas are, how can we say… gracefully aged and way too hard to eat. But we’re still gonna try! Made from popcorn held together with corn-syrup caramel, these crunchy treats look great on a tree and even better in our hands.
Courtesy: grandparents.com, a lifestyle site that celebrates the grandparent community by providing trusted information about family & relationships, health & well-being, travel & retirement, and more. Follow the site on Twitter (@grandparentscom) and on Facebook (facebook.com/grandparentscom).
