SEE ALL THOSE BRAND NEW HOLIDAY FOOD PRODUCTS….BAH HUMBUG!

Call me traditional or call me crazy but when I think of food for the holiday season my mind goes to the old favorites. Doesn’t everybody look forward to the candy canes, cranberries, gingerbread, egg nog, mince meat, shortbread and the turkey with all the “trimmins”? Well, apparently not because if you head to the grocery stores over the next few weeks you’ll see some pretty strange concoctions that may or may not tempt your palate…but more about that later.Turkey wasn’t always the number one choice for the Christmas feast. Until the 17th century one would celebrate with mutton, pork, peacocks or, sadly, even swans. King James 1 straightened things out by trotting out the turkeys, which he found easier to digest than the other options. Back then, the less fortunate found a turkey substitute in the Christmas goose. Today, ham seems to be gaining in popularity and is the number one choice for many.Bring on the figgy pudding. OK, Christmas or plum pudding. Plum pudding is still as popular as ever but in the old days it was very different . It used to consist of meat broth with dried fruit along with wine and lots of spices. Later the meat content was given the heave ho, ho, ho and the pudding became an annual Christmas standby.Perhaps it’s not great for the waistline but who can resist egg nog? This mixture of eggs, sugar, milk/cream is often accompanied by some type of liquor and was the creation of the English upper crust. Back then, there was no refrigeration, so a good way of keeping the drink fresh was to mix it with sherry or brandy. It seems that we Americans made it the “original”, popular Christmas libation, a couple of hundred years ago, when we started mixing it with rum, which was plentiful and relatively affordable. Of course, in the south, it still tastes very good with Kentucky bourbon.All the dishes we have grown to love will be making a return visit through the holidays. Hanukkah is celebrated by foods cooked in oil such as potato latkes (pancakes) and sufganyot, which are irresistible, jelly doughnuts. For many, Christmas is as American as pumpkin pie. It will be wonderful to chomp on chestnuts and sneak a few Christmas cookies and peppermint patties.However, today things are changing and maybe not for the best. I took a quick look into the mygrocerydeals database and found some pretty unusual holiday products. I don’t think anyone can get too upset about “Winter Oreos” which come with red cream filling and Ritz’s new “snowflake crackers” sound kind of creative. No problem, I guess, with Kellogg’s holiday Rice Krispies. Of course, the Italian fruit cake, Panettone, is almost mainstream now, for everybody.However, Noah’s Bagels are introducing Candy Cane Bagels for the holidays. Apparently they don’t taste minty at all but are just in the shape of candy canes. Still, as a novelty item they might be at least a bit of fun. Turtle Island Foods is celebrating the sale of its one-millionth Tofurky roast, a vegetarian poultry alternative and that’s a little different. Unfortunately, I have to draw the line with the Jones Soda 2006 Holiday Gift Pack. It’s a complete holiday meal that’s brightly packaged in five cute little bottles. No calories, no fat, no caffeine and definitely no fun! You can try turkey and gravy soda, pea soda, sweet potato soda and antacid flavoured soda. Proceeds of sales go to charity but what about your poor taste buds.What next? Well, McReynolds Farms will deliver a suckling pig right to your door. Shaw’s in New England is encouraging their customers to collect turkey points and over in the UK you can find Pedigree Limited Edition Turkey Schmackos which are described as a delicious and nutritious, meaty Christmas treat for your canine…..making it official that holiday eating is going to the dogs in no uncertain terms.

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