Atomic Food
As much as I gobbled it, I somehow missed that Atomic Fireball candy, a well-known staple of Gen X and better youth, had a rather noticeable mushroom cloud on the box cover.
Invented in 1954 by Italian-American company Ferrara Pan, the Fireball was a hot jawbreaker whose aesthetic or gimmick incorporated atomic bomb imagery that, at the time, was still full of relative promise: as energy, a way to end wars, and a neat-o way to look at the bones in your feet at the shoe store using an X-ray machine. Even the darkness of historical events and nuclear meltdowns could not change the iconic candy, as Warheads candy (formerly Mega Warheads) came out in 1975, no doubt continuing the advertising lineage of Atomic Fireballs. And Fireball Whiskey made a big splash when the U.S. learned about it outside of its native Canada, with its signature taste of Atomic Fireballs mixed with Canadian whiskey.
Welcome to how the space age, atomic age, and 1970s and 80s shaped American food and culinary psychology. The invention of plastics in the 1940s, and the continuing development of and optimism in chemicals, extracts, flavorings, and preservatives ushered in the age of the TV dinner. A rising divorce rate in the 1970s led to parents choosing the convenience of TV dinners, instant noodles, and rolled-up fruit.
Chef Becky grew up in the 1970s in rural New Jersey and remembers quick meals that were questionable in their nutritional value, such as butter and sugar sandwiches on white bread, and pasta from cans. Looking back, she credits these formative experiences as showing her the link between healthy eating and general health. Socio-economics of course play a role, as Appalachian writer Chris Offutt notes in his classic article “Trash Food.” We need to use caution in looking back with today’s standards and judging too-harshly bygone times, as links between questionable chemicals interjected into food had not been firmly established yet.
Chef Becky learned about the macrobiotic approach a friend used to help fight his leukemia, and she began to connect the dots about food systems and making informed choices when buying and cooking food. At Bex Kitchen, Chef Becky cooks simple, wholesome, high-quality ingredients, because she feels a social responsibility to serving customers. She still gets nostalgic for certain atomic age foodstuffs, like when she made a Philly Cheesesteak but with a healthier version of Cheez Wiz. She loves pickles straight out of the jar, and Twizzlers strawberry-flavored licorice. But she’ll be the first to tell you that an over-reliance on processed foods and an over-optimism about blindly trusting food corporations is a surefire way to see a rise in food system-related illnesses and conditions.
Bex Kitchen takes the extra time, extra effort, and spends the extra money to deliver food that tastes great and is good for you. So enjoy those nostalgic foods in moderation and look to Bex for healthy tasty eating, where it’s all about the bite!
