Why was a glass of orange juice a starter?

[NutellaEllaElla]

I learned this recently. Is it true? What don't I know that might help me understand this?

Yup it absolutely was. Freshly squeezed.

And lovely too!

Soup, orange juice or prawn cocktail. Pretty much everywhere.

Or tomato juice.

Yes, it's true - in the 70s

It was a treat. If we had orange juice at home you were only allowed a tiny glass of it, and only at a weekend.

I suspect it was expensive.

Yep, definitely was still a thing in the 80s. If you think about it it’s weirder to have a whole mini meal as a starter.

Was always an option on boarding house menus - that or soup.

I remember it being from concentrate rather than freshly squeeezed

I really think that restaurants should start doing 70's nights menus. Would be wonderful!

I remember this well, I worked in a restaurant in the late 90s where this was still an option on the Sunday lunch menu.

Yes. It’s true. No one I knew ever had orange juice. We never had it at home. We had squash to drink only.

I worked in a co-op restaurant from 1985 until 1990. Starters were fruit juice (orange, grapefruit or pineapple) or soup of the day.

God I feel ancient I mean 😅 yes it was definitely a thing especially if you went to seaside guest houses on holiday , I'm not sure why though.

It still is on most hospital menus - choice of orange juice or soup. They use it to help keep patients hydrated (dehydration is very common in hospital and increases the risk of UTIs, falls and delirium, so is also associated with mortality and length of stay)

Of course it's true, but it was usually out of a can, not fresh. In the more pretentious guest houses, it was served in a tiny glass, on a doily, on a saucer.
Had it so many times like this in the 70s..... never occurred to me you could just have it as an ordinary drink!

Half a grapefruit was another!

Still the case in a hotel in Frinton.

I'd be there for it !

With half a maraschino cherry on top!

Is it 'retro' or are they a bit behind the times?

What about a wedge of honeydew melon with half a glace cherry and a sprinkling of ground ginger? The 70s on a side plate.

And for pudding, tinned fruit salad and evaporated milk. Bleurgh.

with the cherry 🍒

Yes it was - why not? I guess fresh fruit juice was a bit exotic. Growing up in the 70s, we mostly drank cordial or tea/coffee. Fizzy drinks were rationed for parties/Christmas, fresh fruit juice was glamorous, and tap water was only for dullards 😁

And when you dug into the grapefruit it squirted you in the eye.

Ah yes .. Prawn cocktail, vol-au-vents; or better still, prawn cocktail in a vol-au-vent!

cheese, pineapple and pickled onion hedgehogs!

Black forest gateau for dessert!

I remember this being on wedding menus, but it was just described as fruit juice.

Also, a melon boat - a wedge of melon with thin slices of orange on cocktail sticks to look like sails and a cherry on the top!