Six Things I Didn't Know About When I was a Kid - Kitchen Edition!

As a child, thinking that my childhood was “normal” (like there is such a thing) and believing that this was how the whole world worked, I was shocked when I ran into things I had never known about. It was only when I went to school or visited other friends’ houses and eventually grew up, that I realized my childhood was simply a fraction of how life could be.

Even friends who had their bedrooms in the basement was a strange thought to me. Finished basements still amaze me! Since we’d always had a basement of concrete and spider webs, I didn’t know that basements could have wallpaper and carpet. Cool! People in New Orleans don't even have basements!

Here are six things I was shocked to learn about when I was a kid (kitchen edition):

ONE: Cutting boards

I never really used a cutting board growing up. I think we had one big, heavy, wooden one we would pull out during rare occasions, but it wasn’t a common thing for me. When I met people who used cutting boards, I thought it was a bit silly to have a board specifically dedicated to cutting. If we needed to cut things, like cheese or apples, we’d just grab a plate. We had these white plastic plates we’d cut on, which we kept separate from our nice plates that we used to eat off of. If it was something big like a watermelon, we’d grab some newspaper from our recycling stack, which would also double in utility to sop up the melon juice.

TWO: Saran wrap

Saran wrap was something I was introduced to at bake sales, pot luck dinners, or any kind of family gathering with a table of food. I was so fascinated how the plastic could stick to itself and still peel off. We either used aluminum foil, tupperware containers, or plastic Ziploc bags to store food in, so we didn’t utilize saran wrap in the house.

THREE: Parchment paper

Along with that, parchment paper. I’d read online recipes which would often call for parchment paper. We didn’t have any because we’d grease cookie sheets or baking pans with lard or a stick of butter for nonstick purposes. I remember asking my mom for some, since I didn’t know what it was. “But that’s what the recipe says, so we must get some!”

FOUR: Chewy granola bars

We always had Nature Valley Oats and Honey granola bars at our house. Those green-boxed bars were the exact food that my mind associated with “granola bars” and after a few years, I got burnt out on them. But THEN I learned about CHEWY granola bars! We got those Quaker chocolate chip granola bars, and I was shocked that “granola bars” (these hard oat bars) could also include chewy, soft, chocolate chip bars! I’d always thought that granola bars were a bit hard. And then suddenly, here were these soft bars that didn’t break your teeth in half! Win!

FIVE: Biscuits and gravy

I first learned about biscuits and gravy in middle school Home EC class. One of our cooking assignments was to make biscuits and gravy, and I had no idea what they were talking about. For some reason, my classmates were very excited about it and they were shocked when I, and probably two other students, didn’t know what biscuits and gravy was. Which I learned really was simply biscuits… and gravy. Okay…. As a kid I didn’t get it.

SIX: Garbage disposals

When I first learned of garbage disposals, I didn’t understand the need for them. Now I definitely appreciate them! They’re so handy to grind up the last few noodles left on my plate, or some cereal that has turned into mush. As a kid, though, I didn’t even think about them. We had a drain stopper in the drain for when we’d do dishes, which would catch food particles. Then we’d flick them in the trash. When we had scraps, we’d either throw them out to the cats, dog, or chickens, depending on the type of food. If it was grease or old leftovers, we’d dump it out in our woods. While dishes were being done, my brother and I would slip on our rubber boots and carry the old scraps out to their designated dump locations. Meat scraps to the cats and dog, melon rinds to the chickens, last week’s mashed potatoes to the woods. (Not to say that these things would be going down the garbage disposal!)