General Discussion

hedgehog

(36,286 posts) Tue Jul 16, 2013, 01:09 PM Jul 2013

Did pastries and fast foods use to taste better? [View all]

I loved the donuts we got at the local donut shop. Whenever I get a donut now, it's a disappointment.

I suspect the reason is here:

Donut: Enriched Unbleached Wheat Flour (Wheat Flour, Niacin, Iron as Ferrous Sulfate, Thiamin Mononitrate, Enzyme, Riboflavin, Folic Acid), Palm Oil, Water, Soybean Oil, Cocoa processed with alkali, Dextrose, Yeast, Contains less than 2% of the following: Natural and Artificial Flavor, Sugar, Leavening (Baking Soda, Sodium Acid Pyrophosphate), Salt, Defatted Soy Flour, Gelatinized Wheat Starch, Mono and Diglycerides, Maltodextrin, Sodium Stearoyl Lactylate, Cellulose Gum, Soy Lecithin, Guar Gum, Xanthan Gum, Enzyme, Sucralose, Eggs, Milk; Chocolate Buttercreme Filling: Sugar, Vegetable Shortening (Palm Oil, Canola Oil, Mono and Diglycerides), Corn Syrup, Water, Cocoa processed with alkali, Corn Starch, Salt, Vegetable Shortening (Partially Hydrogenated Soybean and Cottonseed Oils), Artificial Flavor, Chocolate Liquor, Citric Acid, Guar Gum, Potassium Sorbate (Preservative), Mono and Diglycerides, Sodium Benzoate (Preservative), Polysorbate 60; Powdered Sugar: Dextrose, Corn Starch, Vegetable Oil (Soybean and/or Cottonseed), Palm Oil, Titanium Dioxide (Color), Artificial Flavor.

I doubt McDonald's started out making hamburgers out of anything but the same ground beef the supermarket sells. Fifty years of food science may have increased profits, but it hasn't done anything for taste or quality!

129 replies

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Highlight:

Did pastries and fast foods use to taste better? [View all] hedgehog Jul 2013 OP

Your reasoning is correct, but also remember: your taste buds get weaker as you get older. n/t FSogol Jul 2013 #1

The same reason, IMO that broccoli tastes better as you get older. tridim Jul 2013 #4

Broccoli will never taste better to me Art_from_Ark Jul 2013 #98

All you have to do is compare homemade doughnuts to commercial ones. Big Blue Marble Jul 2013 #43

NIH disagrees. FSogol Jul 2013 #67

You are absolutely right. SheilaT Jul 2013 #70

Wonderful that you treat your coworkers with your home cooked cakes and cookies.. nenagh Jul 2013 #109

It's that or eventually weigh 800 pounds. SheilaT Jul 2013 #111

.. nenagh Jul 2013 #113

wow that donut list is stunning grasswire Jul 2013 #2

Half the ingredients are for the chocolate buttercreme filling. FarCenter Jul 2013 #30

Remember that most processed corn products are GMO. PDJane Jul 2013 #3

The four years I spent in Europe gave me the opportunity to get away from all of that crap MrScorpio Jul 2013 #5

I've lived in the UK for 7 years FunkyLeprechaun Jul 2013 #35

I've heard that... mockmonkey Jul 2013 #42

Yep! FunkyLeprechaun Jul 2013 #46

The big "chocolate" bar manufacturers in America kentauros Jul 2013 #49

I'm Canadian and I think that u4ic Jul 2013 #99

My British son in law thinks " it tastes like sick." vanlassie Jul 2013 #110

An apt description! u4ic Jul 2013 #128

Ruined it for ME! He brings me Malteasers...ummm! vanlassie Jul 2013 #129

Maybe it's the plutocracy's answer to overpopulation IrishAyes Jul 2013 #54

Europe is starting to get much like the US Major Nikon Jul 2013 #100

Add to that.... defacto7 Jul 2013 #108

Mmmmm donuts... SomethingFishy Jul 2013 #6

I think KS raised donuts are good, too. CrispyQ Jul 2013 #20

Have you tried the "soft cookies"? SomethingFishy Jul 2013 #73

When did you last eat a Tim Hortons doughnut? naturallyselected Jul 2013 #63

I was in upstate NY last week and a friend from Canada SomethingFishy Jul 2013 #72

Years ago I worked for a CPA firm. We had to work on upaloopa Jul 2013 #7

Sounds like McDeath's IrishAyes Jul 2013 #60

Yes and no jberryhill Jul 2013 #8

French fries used to taste better because they were fried in lard. Shrike47 Jul 2013 #9

Beef Tallow, more likely. MineralMan Jul 2013 #10

Not fried in beef extract, but it was added to the fries until about ten years ago ... SomeGuyInEagan Jul 2013 #61

I knew it was beef tallow at some point. MineralMan Jul 2013 #62

Pie crusts made with lard ... incredibly flaky and tasty. SomeGuyInEagan Jul 2013 #93

Make your own raspberry jam and jelly from those fresh raspberries! Stonepounder Jul 2013 #71

And freezer jam is even easier to make. Arugula Latte Jul 2013 #116

Where did you find that ingredients list? MineralMan Jul 2013 #11

It's from a famous donut chain - hedgehog Jul 2013 #13

Go to your local bakery, instead. Try different ones until you MineralMan Jul 2013 #17

Just remember, the local bakery may buy its donuts wholesale from a chain. 40 years ago I worked the Nay Jul 2013 #55

Ask. I don't assume anything. MineralMan Jul 2013 #85

The Baker's Wife BainsBane Jul 2013 #81

stick to honest bakeries BainsBane Jul 2013 #34

Which one? AtheistCrusader Jul 2013 #53

The very original McDonalds burger circa 1950 was quite tasty. My mom and Cleita Jul 2013 #12

Fast food was a treat for us back in the 60's. hedgehog Jul 2013 #14

A & W Skittles Jul 2013 #33

I went to school in tenth grade with the daughter of one of the franchise owners of A & W. Cleita Jul 2013 #37

OMG OMG OMG Skittles Jul 2013 #75

I remember going to the now long-defunct A&W drive-in Art_from_Ark Jul 2013 #101

so strange, that song quote Skittles Jul 2013 #103

Biff Burger in FL! What a treat once every couple of weeks! nt Nay Jul 2013 #58

Big Mac's and Whoppers have become uneatable.... WCGreen Jul 2013 #36

Whoppers haven't changed, for me, in 20 years. AtheistCrusader Jul 2013 #57

I'm talking 30 - 35 years ago... WCGreen Jul 2013 #66

Of course these ingredients diminish flavor. Common sense. closeupready Jul 2013 #15

It's a good way of purging your cupboard of fattening foods! hedgehog Jul 2013 #16

Yes indeed - I cook fresh most of the time, and brown bag closeupready Jul 2013 #18

Everything used to taste better. Punkingal Jul 2013 #19

I was just thinking pecwae Jul 2013 #21

I'm reading "Much Depends on Dinner" - by a Margaret Visser, from 1986, closeupready Jul 2013 #22

I appreciate that tip! pecwae Jul 2013 #23

Industrial tomatoes have no flavor. progressoid Jul 2013 #27

I've planted nothing but 'heirloom' varieties in my garden, and they taste the way they should. ColesCountyDem Jul 2013 #39

Three apples today = the iron content of one apple from 1950. Auggie Jul 2013 #51

A good book about that is "Eating on the Wild Side" laundry_queen Jul 2013 #79

Thanks! This looks fantastic. Auggie Jul 2013 #82

Donuts have to be really fresh to be good BainsBane Jul 2013 #24

I used to live in a small coastal town in California. MineralMan Jul 2013 #112

Have you tried the bakeries I mentioned? BainsBane Jul 2013 #114

Yah, they're not close enough for me to run over MineralMan Jul 2013 #123

There are some on the West side of St Paul I haven't tried BainsBane Jul 2013 #125

I'm still working on trying the closer ones. MineralMan Jul 2013 #126

Yes, most everything did. I used to think it was simply getting older, but then Egalitarian Thug Jul 2013 #25

Remember when Dunkin Donuts were made in the store fresh... Historic NY Jul 2013 #26

I suspect ingredients are part of it, but I also think our individual tastes change petronius Jul 2013 #28

Sorry, I read that as... RC Jul 2013 #29

I read the same damn thing. Time to correct the prescription....AGAIN. nt msanthrope Jul 2013 #87

Many years ago a local bakery supply warehouse was closing its doors SnowCritter Jul 2013 #31

Yep. Unless you buy it from a mom n pop bakery or make it yourself, it all tastes basicallythe same. Myrina Jul 2013 #32

Best BornLooser Jul 2013 #38

I admit to being very fond of Kincaid's. n/t Laelth Jul 2013 #64

O.R. Gentry's method is still in use...to this day. BornLooser Jul 2013 #76

McDonald's mockmonkey Jul 2013 #40

I got one for you. Try to find Concord Grapes.... Spitfire of ATJ Jul 2013 #41

I can usually get them, in season, at Eastern Market susanna Jul 2013 #77

I mention them on the West Coast and people just don't get it. Spitfire of ATJ Jul 2013 #86

Maybe because indigenous American grapes are looked down on because of the... susanna Jul 2013 #88

It's like FOODCO doesn't want people to know about that stuff.... Spitfire of ATJ Jul 2013 #89

Yes, that is the attitude of Foodco. susanna Jul 2013 #94

The OP is right though that the quality of commercial food has gone down... Spitfire of ATJ Jul 2013 #95

Oh, absolutely! susanna Jul 2013 #106

You might like this... Spitfire of ATJ Jul 2013 #107

Message auto-removed Name removed Jul 2013 #117

Be Careful What You Eat....Yakko, Wakko, and Dot Half-Century Man Jul 2013 #44

Pasturizing milk w moderate heat = better taste. Pasturizing w higher heat = quicker & profitable. AnotherMcIntosh Jul 2013 #45

I like the 'Lactose Free' stuff, and they hyper-pasteurize it. AtheistCrusader Jul 2013 #59

I sooooo agree. I've always wanted to see what the formula or recipe Pretzel_Warrior Jul 2013 #47

i blame all the kids on my lawn Enrique Jul 2013 #48

Yeah, when they used real EC Jul 2013 #50

What you said, IrishAyes Jul 2013 #52

50 years has increased profits in the biotech fake food industrial complex. That is all. ancianita Jul 2013 #56

Most of our familiar processed foods Freddie Jul 2013 #65

Prepared-for-you-foods are now mostly franken-foods SoCalDem Jul 2013 #68

I was just speaking about this with friends... slor Jul 2013 #69

Even simple foods, like milk, are different now KurtNYC Jul 2013 #74

During the war (WWII) my grandmother got pasteurized milk from the local dairy Cleita Jul 2013 #80

I had a Twinkie yesterday brooklynite Jul 2013 #78

I haven't had a good donut in 30 years Ratty Jul 2013 #83

Yes. Though with baked goods, texture tended to be either harder or more doughy. haele Jul 2013 #84

The local shop around here makes the best doughnuts I've ever had. LeftyMom Jul 2013 #90

My mother was a young Navy wife in Oakland in the 50's when she was pregnant with me - hedgehog Jul 2013 #91

McDonald's hamburgers Aerows Jul 2013 #92

I notice it leaves a film in my mouth. xmas74 Jul 2013 #96

Au contraire! Major Nikon Jul 2013 #97

Salt Sugar Fat u4ic Jul 2013 #102

One thing jumps out at me and it's the use of vegetable oils Warpy Jul 2013 #104

I remember real good donuts from the Helm's man Politicalboi Jul 2013 #105

Ah yes, and the huge Venice Blvd. Helm's building is a treat to this day. Bluenorthwest Jul 2013 #118

Message auto-removed Name removed Jul 2013 #115

Small city/town in upstate New York - hedgehog Jul 2013 #120

Buy local and high quality. Baked goods in particular... Bluenorthwest Jul 2013 #119

I don't dispute that some things may have indeed changed in quality but... Silent3 Jul 2013 #121

I'd like to see the Penn and teller test done with baked goods - hedgehog Jul 2013 #122

When two halves of the very same banana produce that much florid verbiage... Silent3 Jul 2013 #124

The bakery I used to go to used HFCS. I suspect that is the reason why baked goods don't applegrove Jul 2013 #127