Saturday, March 9, 2013

Like me, I'm sure there are particular food items that remind you of your childhood.

I have many nostalgic food memories such as my Grandmother's cinnamon rolls, my mother's roast beef and taking family picnics with the iconic lime green cooler.

On those picnics in Nebraska, once I reached the age of 5, I finally was allowed to drink pop as we called it in the Midwest. Other regions in the U.S. refer to pop as soda or just plain Coke. I thought this was the best thing ever as we sat out on our blanket and enjoyed my mom's sandwiches and simple picnic fare. Pop was a rare treat for my brother and I when we were little.
My mom's flowers were even bigger than me when I was about 4 in Nebraska.
My favorite pop always was and still is Dr. Pepper. Who else remembers this catchy phrase: "I'm a pepper, you're a pepper, wouldn't you like to be a pepper too?"

Every time I'm back home in the U.S., I drink my favorite Dr. Pepper nearly every day. My parents usually stock it in the fridge for me too.

Dr. Pepper is a unique soft drink. It doesn't taste like Coke or Pepsi and is said to contain like 20 different flavor profiles. The drink was created in the 1880s by a pharmacist, Charles Alderton of Morrison's Old Corner Drug Store, in Waco, Texas. Back then, sodas were a popular thing and served at soda fountains inside of the pharmacy. In 1904, Dr. Pepper was first nationally marketed in the U.S. and can be found in a few places overseas today.
That's how I obtained my precious Dr. Pepper.

Hubby was in London all week for work and brought me back a surprise. What could it be?

He pulled out three bottles of Dr. Pepper, purchased at Heathrow Airport. I was so exited.

He knows me so well.

"Who knew Dr. Pepper would be a better gift than chocolate?" he told me.

Mmmm...I love my Dr. Pepper. I immediately drank a bottle last night. Thanks honey!

What foods or beverages make you nostalgic?

Tagged:

14 comments:

Tina Maxima said...

I read your blog often and that is reason why I give a blog award for you :)
http://tinamaxima.blogspot.com/2013/03/liebster-award.html

jaz@octoberfarm said...

hahaha....i am not a pepper but i loved this story! you are so cute amongst your mom's flowers!

Joy said...

@Tina, thanks for the award! I really appreciate you reading my blog. How kind of you! :-)

@Joyce, Dr. Pepper either appeals to you or it doesn't. ;-) I can't remember being so small and getting lost amongst my mom's flowers.

Manya said...

This will sound crazy, but the food that makes me nostalgic is braunschweiger or liverwurst. When I was a child, we lived near a German butcher shop. They would always slice a piece of this sausage and hand it over the counter to me. Hooked me for life. My dad, who is nearly 97, smiles when he sees me eat this. I think we all must have a special food or drink that takes us back to our childhood.

Joy said...

@Manya, actually I can totally relate! My mother used to buy this for us to when we were kids. She'd slice off a few hunks, place on white bread, slathered in butter or margarine and topped with a slice of Velveeta cheese. Yum! ;-)

BacktoBodrum said...

When I was small, the pop man would deliver bottles of fizzy lemonade. I was only allowed it at my Gran's as the pop man never came to our house. When I came to Turkey, I was surprised to find that gozoz tasted just like my Gran's pop.

Joy said...

@Annie, thanks for sharing your sweet memory! That's interesting you would find something so similar here in Turkey.

Alyson said...

My husband loves Dr. Pepper. When we were in Istanbul, we found it at the Gourmet Garage in Etiler. Perhaps they kept it in stock just for us, because we usually bought the whole 6 pack when we got it :)

Kim, Living to Seas the Moment said...

I am a "Pepper" too but these days, it is diet ;)

When I was a little girl growing up in Colorado Bubble Up was my favorite pop. When I see it these days it immediately takes me back to the moutains and a little place we liked to eat at on Saturdays called Lori's Cabin. Just plain food but I always got a Bubble Up!

Love your photo in the Iris garden...that pic took me back too, as my mother always had a large iris garden.

Joy said...

@Alyson, how funny! I've never seen Dr. Pepper here, but I've also never been to the Gourmet Garage. It's just not very close to any of the public transportation that I usually use.

@Kim, What a wonderful childhood memory! I've actually never seen Bubble Up. Is it a Colorado thing? :-)The iris photo is one of my favorites too as I don't have a lot of photos from my childhood.

Ilke said...

That is funny, when I moved to the US, I found Dr. Pepper's taste sooo different and could not drink it. Still can not drink to this day. I guess that is the outcome of growing with Pepsi. Now I can not drink Pepsi either. Has to be Coca Cola.
Glad you had your Dr. Pepper :)
Boza brings back a lot of memories for me.

Joy said...

@Ilke, lol, yes Dr. Pepper is definitely something not everyone might enjoy. But I'm definitely not a Pepsi fan. :-)

tasteofbeirut said...

I love Pepsi and Coke is OK; I always hated Dr Pepper! (funny ain'it?) always felt it tasted like pharmaceutical drugs; but then a lot of my friends back in the States love it. What do you think of Red Bull, people in Lebanon love it ! (never tried it)

Joy said...

@Tasteofbeirut, it is funny! I can't stand Pepsi. There's been a few times in Turkey when I ordered a rum and coke cocktail and it was mixed with Pepsi. You just can't do that! ;-) I'm not a huge Red Bull fan. I've had it now and then mixed with vodka as a cocktail, but that's about it.