Snacks is the name for snacks for a drink. The drink can be a beer or a glass of wine, but also a glass of young genever. In the past people called the snacks for the TV or at a party ‘drinks snacks.’ Nowadays many people open a bag of chips or a bag with other snacks, but in the past the snacks were put together or cut themselves. What are old-fashioned snacks and how do you make them yourself?
In the 1960s more and more people got their own TV. This not only changed family life in general, but also people’s eating habits. Previously, it was still customary to sit at the table with the family to shell peanuts, while playing a game of Goose or ‘Mens Erger Je Niet’, when the TV appeared in living rooms, people were glued to the TV in the evening. Advertising gained a wider reach, more power, and so more and more products were invented. Possibly because of this, so many different products have entered the market.
In any case, evenings at the TV were increasingly common Snacks served. Previously this had only been done on birthdays, but now it became the habit to have a nice bite to eat with a drink almost every day at the TV. People started having a drink from about 8 p.m. For example a beer. Children were already drinking soft drinks then. Well-known soft drinks then were Coca Cola, Fanta, 7Up and Exota. The snacks did not come from ready-made packaging, but were made or cut themselves.
Well-known snacks from that time were:
- cheese cubes with a pearl onion, a slice of gherkin and then dip a little in a dollop of mustard
- Hamrolls
- salami rolls
- mixed skewer
- popcorn
- filled eggs
- salty peanuts
- sweet peanuts
- bitterballen
- slices of boiled sausage
- slices of beef sausage
- slice liverwurst with pickle and mustard
- salted herring
- sour herring
Make old-fashioned snacks yourself
The aforementioned snacks are all fairly easy to prepare. You can serve them to see if you still like it, but also especially because you give a party just like the theme: sixties party. What you need minimum of utensils are:
- a sharp knife
- flat plates or bowls
- short wooden toothpicks or toothpicks
- long wooden skewers
Cheese cubes with pearl onions, gherkin or cherry
Use young cheese. You also need a can of half cherries in juice and wooden skewers. Cut a piece of young cheese into beautiful cubes of about 1.5 by 1.5 centimeters. Prick (on top) each block of cheese a pearl onion or a slice of pickle or a half cherry (from a can) with a wooden skewer. Serve on a dish with a dash of mustard in the middle.
Hamrolls
Cut slices of gammon in half and cut gherkins lengthwise into quarters. Roll half a slice of ham around a piece of pickle until it forms a roll. Place these in a row on a platter, next to salami rolls.
Salami rolls
Cut gherkins lengthwise into four thin parts and roll these parts one by one into a slice of salami to form a nice roll. Serve on a platter in a row along with ham rolls.
Mixed skewer
Use a long wooden skewer to prick the following snacks:
- a small piece of frankfurters or a mini sausage (cold)
- cube of young cheese
- piece of pineapple
- cube of salami
- pearl onions
- solid cherry (without stone) from a can
- slice of pickle
- green olive without stone
- another cube of young cheese
- white grape
popcorn
Popcorn is still regularly eaten. However, popcorn used to be freshly popped. This came out hot from the pan. Use a deep pan with a tight-fitting lid for this. Buy a bag of real dry popcorn. You can make sweet or salty popcorn. For 100 grams of poppy corn, you use about 80 grams of powdered sugar or regular sugar (this contains a lot of kcal). For salty popcorn, use salt to taste. Salty popcorn therefore contains less calories than sweet ones. A large pan that is deep enough, with a lid, is sufficient. Choose a pan with a thick bottom. Use peanut or corn germ oil. Heat the oil until it is hot (should not smoke or smoke) and add a few kernels until the corn starts to pop. Then add the rest of the popcorn and put the lid on. The lid prevents the popcorn from flying through the kitchen. Turn the pan (use oven gloves) a little bit around so that the oil is distributed a bit (make sure it does not get over the edge). Then place the lid diagonally on the pan so that the steam can escape, but not the popcorn. Keep a close eye on the heat. The popcorn will burn quickly if the heat is too great, the popcorn will not pop if the heat is too low. Stand by to prevent a fire and reduce the heat as soon as the pop is well underway. When the popping decreases, the popcorn is basically ready. Turn off the heat in time. Is the pan nicely filled with popped corn? Then sprinkle salt on top. Do you prefer the popcorn sweet? Sprinkle the sugar immediately over the popcorn before it is popped.
Filled eggs
Boil ten eggs and cut them in half lengthwise. Using a teaspoon, carefully spoon out the hard egg yolk and collect all the egg yolk in a bowl. Let the eggs cool well. Add the following ingredients to the egg yolk:
- 1 half teaspoon of mustard
- 1 tablespoon of mayonnaise
- 1 tablespoon of fresh and finely chopped chives
- 1 cup of ketchup
- 1 teaspoon of curry powder
- pepper (black)
- salt to taste
Mix everything together and then fill the half white egg parts with it. Decorating with a tiny piece of parsley above the yellow is fresh.
Salty peanuts and sweet peanuts
In the 1960s and before that, salty peanuts were a popular snack. You could get them in brown cafes (from a peanut machine) but also in the supermarket. Peanuts contain an enormous amount of kcal, but even now they are still served regularly. However, you hardly see it in pubs. Salty peanuts, however, aroused thirst, so for the innkeeper it was more than just a tasty snack. It sold more drinks. You can buy them ready-made in any supermarket to serve them as snacks. Serve the salty peanuts in small bowls that you can easily take a hand out. You can also serve candied peanuts. These are also very high in calories, but also very tasty.
bitterballen
This snack is still eaten today. You can buy bitterballen in any supermarket and they are fried. Then serve on a flat dish with mustard.
Slices of sausage
Slices of cooked sausage, beef sausage and liver sausage, were once very popular as a snack. They were eaten either pure, or with mustard, or garnished with a piece of fruit, cucumber, or pickle.
Herring with onions
Salt herring was also served at parties in the past. Nicely cut into pieces, with a Dutch flag in the slice. In the center of the bowl with herring you place a pile of freshly cut onions and a bowl with slices of sour.
Sour herring
Pickled herring is not so well known anymore. They are still for sale in pots or at the fishmonger. Sour herring is a herring that has been preserved in vinegar, with allspice grains and herbs. If you’re serving pickled herring at a party, drain them well. Cut them into nice pieces and serve on a plate with a skewer. Sour herring does cause heartburn easily, so don’t over serve it.