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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Angel delight cheesecake wtf?

232 replies

Angeldelightcheesefreak · 30/06/2021 14:14

Very possibly BU with staff pressures, lack of funding etc but Dd yesterday was excited to be making cheesecake in technology at school. We love cheesecake so all good. The ingredients are provided for them. She came home and it's a digestive biscuit base, very thick, with a layer of chocolate angel delight mixed with cream cheese on top. It's tasty in an emergency food kind of way but cheesecake it is not.
Should schools not be teaching the children how to actually cook and to use proper ingredients for things? Luckily dd knows how to make a proper cheesecake and comes from a family of good cooks and bakers but others will think this is what cheesecake should be like and won't have the benefit of culinary knowledge at home. Why can't they teach proper dishes and techniques? Ok year 7 isn't cordon bleu but come on, angel delight cheesecake ffs. It's an abomination and an insult to cheesecake. I might make one of my chocolate cheesecakes and send it in to the teacher along with the recipe to show him or her what a cheesecake actually is. And don't get me started on the use of take away style plastic pots and cardboard boxes to bring things home in.

So far dd has made pineapple upside down cake-all good. Apple tart using ready made pastry-not good. And the angel delight abomination. Oh and some couscous.

Yes ok IABU, teachers, stress, budgets, Tory governments yada yada. And maybe I'm
A food snob 🤷🏼‍♀️

Please share with me your child's school food tech abominations. Please note I don't mean if your child has made a mess of the recipe but rather that the school has given them a shit recipe for bastardised dishes.

I feel better for that Grin

OP posts:
kezziethegingercat · 30/06/2021 19:32

My son came home with a pizza last week. I was excited to see it, took the foil off and it was a piece of white sliced bread with a spread of tomato purée and some chopped up ham/pre grated cheese scattered on it. He is in primary but still...

DontWiltMySpinachPlease · 30/06/2021 19:35

This was one of the first things we made in food tech when I was in secondary school (27 now!)

CatBumJuice · 30/06/2021 19:43

Ah, fond memories of home economics at school. We had to make Welsh raebit once. The classroom was on the first floor and everyone chucked theirs out of the window onto the terrace below. Those were the days.

Doubledoorsontogarden · 30/06/2021 19:48

Butterscotch angel delight is the only way forward

bunnytheegghunter · 30/06/2021 19:57

This surprised me when my children went to high school, they 'cook' some strange things. Pizza made me laugh it was a baguette topped with tomato purée and cheese and toasted 🤣 when I was in school we made a wholemeal dough and actually chopped up things to go on top! It's not as if the school are paying for the ingredients we had to send them in! They made spaghetti Bolognese it was a jar with some mince and onions 🙈 I really don't rate food technology in schools anymore it's not teaching them how to cook at all.

nonevernotever · 30/06/2021 20:00

I see your angel delight cheesecake and raise you with 1980s school trifle. My mum was so incensed when I brought it home that she wrote to complain. If anyone wants to make it, I can still remember the recipe :cut a slice of bought Swiss roll and put it in a small glass bowl. Sprinkle it with two tbs syrup from mixed tin fruit and 2tbs granulated sugar. Arrange 3tbs mixed fruit salad on top. Make a strawberry jelly and pour about a quarter over the fruit (give the rest to your friends for theirs ) once the jelly has set, pour over some tinned custard. Decorate with squirty cream and hundreds and thousands...

BobMortimersPetOwl · 30/06/2021 20:00

I don't think that dessert is the end of the world. I'd eat it!

I think the lessons should focus more on nutrition, making cheap meals from scratch, what flavours work well and basic techniques like how to poach an egg, how to make a simple sauce etc.

ineedaholidaynow · 30/06/2021 20:04

@nonevernotever I want that now! And butterscotch Angel Delight

isthismylifenow · 30/06/2021 20:20

I didn't know Angel Delight was still a thing. Sounds like a good idea for a one hour practical though.

My Dd has to make a very varied assortment. And they all have fancy names. She does a trial run at home first if she can and she was about to make Bavarious Cream. I had no idea what is what and left her to it (after having to buy yet more ingredients). It was very tasty but basically its a milk pudding which is set into a mould. I've not heard of this dessert before.

Ready made pasty is the norm though. They don't have the time to make the pastry as well.

Had to buy some last week as she was doing a trial run of beef wellington. And then they closed the school the next day! . So we ate the steak with egg and chips instead. Just seemed a bit less stressful at the time

The day they made churros I gave her friend a lift home, the whiff of far too hot oil coming off them was making my eyes water. 😂

shinynewapple21 · 30/06/2021 20:23

DS did food tech for GCSE 5/6 years ago. I thought the things they made were quite sensible and always tasted nice. Trying to think of what a few of them were now. Some kind of cheesy bread , upside down pudding . Apple crumble. Stir fry . Possibly pizza. I remember I used to provide slightly more of the ingredients than requested and the extra cheese was always added to the recipes so cheese flavour things were extra cheesy - you can't go wrong with that!

Angeldelightcheesefreak · 30/06/2021 20:32

I'm just trying to catch up on all the comments. It's been one hell of an afternoon. But for now suffice to say that yes, butterscotch is the way forward. Although it's not as good as it was in the 80s. Too many additives and sweeteners.

OP posts:
Angeldelightcheesefreak · 30/06/2021 20:34

Oh, and they had the cheesecake theory last week so this week was just the practical.

OP posts:
MrsTerryPratchett · 30/06/2021 21:37

I learned FAR more at the 'young peoples housing link' where I lived for a bit (effectively homeless shelter for kids too old for care, too young to be set free into the wild)... they would give us a budget to to cook for a group meeting of around 6 residents, we'd plan it, shop for it and cook it.

Awwww @WiddlinDiddlin I worked in a shelter for teenagers and I'm glad to hear that. We used to cook with the young people and it was lovely. Mine was in Saaaf Laaandon and the kids were all very 'street smart' outside but were still children with us in the safety of the home. I loved cooking with them. I learned a lot because the majority of them were Caribbean descent and so I learned to make jerk chicken and rice and peas. I still remember getting side eye about how little spice I used and them making me add more! And when I got some M&S food donated they told me it was inedible! Fish cakes are you joking? We taught a lot of skills and it was fun and homely.

You've taken me down memory lane!

Angeldelightcheesefreak · 30/06/2021 21:45

@GlitterDragon thank you, does that biscuit contain real butter though?

OP posts:
NeverDropYourMoonCup · 30/06/2021 22:38

Baked or set cheesecake contains, well, cheese. And this doesn't

Except for the fact it does contain cheese.

In any case, there's no point making stuff that tastes horrible. Which a baked cheesecake does.

My Home Economics lessons consisted of 6 recipes.

A cup of coffee, half water, half milk, to teach kids how to use a hob and boil/heat liquids. My mother complained that this was a waste of milk.

Cheese on toast to teach slicing cheese with a blunt knife, making toast without burning it and then melting cheese without setting fire to the toast.

Salad to teach cutting things up (I nicked a sharp kitchen knife and a mandolin from home that morning and got 5 merit marks for having perfect, thin slices of cucumber and neat zigzag tomatoes).

Cheese and potato pie (peel, cut and boil potatoes, draining them, mashing them, adding butter and warm milk, dice cheese and melt through).

Tuna pasta bake (boil water, cook and drain pasta, open a tin and drain Tuna, make white sauce) it tasted awful because I'd never eaten Tuna before

and the most successful one that everybody liked -

One packet of jelly.
One tin of evaporated milk.

Make jelly according to instructions. Mix with milk and whisk up. Allow to set.

Two years later we did another six weeks of Home Economics.

Hedgehog rolls.

Chocolate Chip Cookies.

Something with a pananda. Can't remember what, I just remember thinking 'isn't this a white sauce?' and my mother complaining that she had to buy butter when it was cheaper to buy a packet sauce, getting a block of Echo instead and then having the teacher give me the proper ingredients.

Mince pies. I hate mince pies, but I nicked a star shaped pastry cutter from home and got extra marks for the idea. Again, a block of Echo was provided rather than butter.

Christmas sweets - peppermint creams and truffles.

A three course meal of our choice to share at lunchtime. We enjoyed that greatly as we smuggled in cheap wine instead of fizzy grape juice

They weren't particularly exciting. Or tasty. But they were all thought out to teach small skills that not everybody had; I'd not been allowed near the oven or hob at home (it was OK for me to make tea for my mother and she permitted me to microwave eggs and loads of milk to make scrambled egg to put on toast for her on Sunday mornings, though). She didn't see the need to bother with rinsing soap off plates or having them clean in the first place, using salt to make bread, wiping down surfaces, cleaning the washing up bowl, drying anything with a teatowel or having things with proper places to store them, so it was the first time I'd done any of those things.

If I were a child now, I'm sure that I would have had even less knowledge, as she would definitely have gone for instant/readymade everything because she hated cooking for me.

Bufferingkisses · 30/06/2021 23:15

I always liked my dc's food tecg where the subject was taking unhealthy food and making it healthy. To do thus they first made flapjack. Then the made it with dried fruit so it was healthy Confused

Tbf they were year 4 so I was mostly pleased they were actually cooking and considering such things as healthier options but it did make me chuckle.

Angeldelightcheesefreak · 30/06/2021 23:54

Oh goodness, so many comments, I can't possibly reply to them all.

First off though, no, I am not an angel delight rep or whatever it was. If I was I'd be getting them to go back to the original recipe if possible.

The comments have made me realise how much I've taken for granted that many people don't have or experience. It's been quite sobering. For all I was having a fairly lighthearted grumble, I've really enjoyed reading the comments and have realised that angel delight cheesecake isn't half as bad as some of the dishes posters have been taught to make.

Pastry. I definitely would t expect anyone to faff about with making puff pastry or filo, but a basic shortcrust? Come on. I got in trouble at school for telling a friend to get her hands stick into the bowl instead of facing about trying to combine flour and butter with a fork. My grandmother made amazing pastry and a good forking was not her method at all. Dd has nice cold hands that are perfect for pastry making.

It makes me really sad to think there are kids out there who don't get shown how to cook and bake. Or how to do such basic things such as peel an apple or potato. I picked up most of my knowledge and skills from my mum. My grandmother was a fantastic cook and baker and I think it's genetic. She measured by eye and feel and didn't possess any cookery books. I seem to know instinctively what goes with what and how to substitute ingredients should I not have something the recipe calls for. I don't think I've made anything to the exact recipe for years. Dd has inherited the baking gene. Dd1 hasn't at all. Ds has. Dd2 is 12 and can make bread, scones, omelet, soup, various cookies and biscuits, pizza, coconut sweets, coconuts pyramids, peppermint creams, shortbread, gingerbread, cupcakes and muffins. We make our own bread regularly and I make pasta sauce from scratch.

I'm not sure what the answer is with school but concentrating on basics sounds like a good idea.

I used to have an eating disorder and tend not to eat food unless it's worth the calories. Angel delight cheesecake wouldn't be worth it if I was having a bad day. Proper (no bake) cheesecake would be worth it for the flavour, taste, texture, and quality of ingredients.

Dd says one regular sized tub of cream cheese and one packet of angel delight.. mix them together and dollop over biscuit base. It wasn't even butter in the biscuit base 😩

I'm going to have to make a cheesecake now.

OP posts:
Spaceprincess · 01/07/2021 07:27

When my daughter was in yr 7 (5 years ago) school told us to buy a cheesecake mix in a box for them to make at school.
Couldn't see the point and we'd never do that at home. YANBU

Angeldelightcheesefreak · 01/07/2021 11:45

In honour of this thread I'm going to make a butterscotch cheesecake this weekend. I've not made butterscotch before so I hope it turns out well.

OP posts:
PleasantBirthday · 01/07/2021 11:48

Dd says one regular sized tub of cream cheese and one packet of angel delight.. mix them together and dollop over biscuit base. It wasn't even butter in the biscuit base

Thanks for the info, sounds very doable. My DD is 6 and she loves a task she can fully accomplish with very little input from me. It sounds like a perfect rainy afternoon job for her!

Pazuzu · 01/07/2021 12:14

Basically you want the school to teach a room full of kids, some of whom won't have been served many meals that aren't delivered or go PING! Masterchef level meals?

They haven't got the time for much beyond the simple stuff and anything that gets them in the kitchen has to be a good thing.

I did coleslaw and maybe a shepherds pie. It's been a while but it involved mince I can remember that bit accurately.

BrieAndChilli · 01/07/2021 12:28

school lessons are generally less than an hour nowadays, it takes 5 minutes for the stragglers to arrive and everyone to settle down do the register etc, then another 5 minutes to explain what to do, sort out little johnny who hasn't brought any ingredients, martha whos just dropped her cream on the floor and so on.
Then there is probably only enough equipment for kids to share so in reality any dish needs to be something that doesn't take very long especially as kids wont be very practiced so a task like chopping an onion that would take me 2 minutes would take a lot of kids 5 and even longer!!
the cooking lessons aren't to make some Michelin starred amazing dish, they are to practice knife skills, measuring, using equipment safely, etc etc.
DD is 12 and the other night made from scratch steak enchiladas and veggie ones for herself, homemade guacamole and mexican rice. I cant get het up that shes only making couscous with some chopped salad in school, however put too much water in couscous and its soggy, not enough and its too hard so its a good lesson in judgement and not putting too much in a recipe too soon.
kids arent going to be interested in making a goats cheese and mushroom frittata as odds are half of them wont like the ingredients! however a choc chip flpakack is likely to keep them interested!

SoupDragon · 01/07/2021 12:46

Basically you want the school to teach a room full of kids, some of whom won't have been served many meals that aren't delivered or go PING! Masterchef level meals?

Or she wants them to be taught actual basic cookery.

TheOrigRights · 01/07/2021 12:52

@Pazuzu

Basically you want the school to teach a room full of kids, some of whom won't have been served many meals that aren't delivered or go PING! Masterchef level meals?

They haven't got the time for much beyond the simple stuff and anything that gets them in the kitchen has to be a good thing.

I did coleslaw and maybe a shepherds pie. It's been a while but it involved mince I can remember that bit accurately.

Well no.

I think there is a middle ground between a rather crappy pudding and Master Chef - like how to prepare vegetables, make an omelette, soup, stir fry, a tomato sauce. Those could all be done in an hour.

skybluee · 01/07/2021 13:23

I feel lucky reading this as all of my food technology lessons involved cooking proper food from scratch. We made some really nice stuff. This was in both primary school and high school (years 7 - 9, it didn't carry on beyond that).

I think they should focus on food safety and past that, basic recipes. So many people never learn these skills. Some of the dishes mentioned are things people simply aren't going to cook again, which makes it a bit pointless in that respect.

I think teaching kids to cook home-made takeaways (alternatives to takeaways) might be a good start.

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