Did you dine on Coronation chicken, binge Beef Wellington,
or slurp down smoothies? Food fads come and go but one thing stays true,
people love to eat. What were your parent's noshing when you were in nappies?
Those born between the years of 1950 to 1952 were growing up at the same time that pizza was
gaining in popularity. While you might think of this Italian dish as a modern invention
The Washington Post says that pizza was first introduced to the U.S. by Italian immigrants
who brought their love for this dish with them when they arrived on American soil.
Pizza didn't officially become part of U.S. history until 1905. That's when store owner
Gennaro Lombardi and chef Antonio Pero formally introduced the dish with the
opening of the first pizzeria in a New York City neighborhood, aptly named Little Italy.
By 1950, pizza had become exceptionally popular:
That is also the year that frozen pizza was introduced to the market.
"You know, when you fix'a Italian food,
everything's gotta be perfect. Especially when you make a pizza!"
Coronation chicken received a culinary seat at the royal table when it was created for
Queen Elizabeth II's coronation in 1953. The original recipe was perfected by Angela Wood
while she was a student at the esteemed culinary school, Le Cordon Bleu London.
Described as a savory meal made from chicken and a curry cream sauce,
it is sometimes garnished with parsley and often served on either toast points or as an
accompaniment to other dishes. Coronation chicken has since become a British culinary classic.
Although Wood never established a professional career as a cook, this dish secured her place
in culinary history. Today, coronation chicken can easily be found ready-made in supermarkets
as well as in countless recipe books, making it relatively easy to prepare at home.
Created by Dr. James H. Salisbury during the late 1800s, Salisbury steak contained ground
beef, a mix of flour, and various seasonings, was slathered in gravy,
and eventually became a staple meal for Union soldiers during the Civil War.
According to Food Timeline, Salisbury steak recipes were available many years
though they stayed largely under the radar for decades. However,
it was during the mid-1950s that Salisbury steak caught on as a popular dish in American homes
and restaurants alike – boosted in large part by the popularization of frozen TV dinners.
1957 was quite the eventful year: The Frisbee was created, the Cold War was steadily heating up,
and bubble wrap was accidentally invented. On the culinary end of things,
1957 saw the very first time the name "pigs in a blanket" was printed in a cookbook.
It remains unclear who developed this popular snack recipe, but Betty Crocker
has been credited with putting the name in print and catapulting it into households
across the United States. Though commonly wrapped in pastry dough, pigs in a blanket have plenty of
variations these days. You could wrap sausages in tortillas, or swap them out for steamed pastry or
cabbage leaves. But should you get supremely decadent and wrap them in bacon? Absolutely!
Dating back to the Roman Empire, meat pies had been simplified by the 16th century,
basically consisting of just pastry, chicken, and gravy. By 1796, the concept had crossed oceans to
America with the recipe for chicken pot pie being featured in the cookbook "American Cookery."
Over time, however, other ingredients have been added to create something resembling the chicken
pot pie one might enjoy today. By 1958, most Americans had become familiar with chicken pot
pies as well as other, more experimental versions featuring different ingredients
depending on where you were located. The main ingredient in Virginia, for example, was carrots,
while it was asparagus tips in Mississippi, and rice if you lived in South Carolina.
Tuna noodle casserole is one of the most iconic American dishes. While it has been
revised over the many years it's been around, noodles and canned tuna fish
remain the primary components, along with a mushroom soup or chicken soup as a base.
It's largely considered one of the most iconic dishes of the 1950s, and for good reason:
In 1959, tuna noodle casserole was named one of the most popular recipes in America. This
was after the U.S. Bureau of Commercial Fisheries conducted a survey revealing
that eight out of ten American households consumed canned tuna at least once a week,
with tuna casseroles among the top three most prepared dishes.
"Well,
it's an exciting day here in Tunaville, the town where they catch and pack breast 'o chicken tuna."
Chicken a la king dates back to the 19th century, but its popularity was quite apparent during
the 1950s and 1960s. It's still not
clear who created the chicken, mushroom,
and wine combo traditionally served on toast, but there are several theories.
The first is backed by The New York Times' former food editor and author Craig Claiborne,
who suggested that the recipe was created by chef George Greenwald in the late 1800s
or early 1900s, and was added to the menu at New York's Brighton Beach Hotel.
Other claims credit a patron at Delmonico's restaurant,
and in another version, William King is said to have created the dish while working
as a cook at Philadelphia's Bellevue Hotel. Regardless of which origin story you believe,
if you were born in 1960, this recipe was popular at that time.
Those who were born in 1961 and the few years after that arrived about the same time as
popularity grew for the French dish boeuf bourguignon, which is a hearty mix of beef,
mushrooms, and red wine. Most notably, 1961 was the year that "Mastering the
Art of French Cooking" by Julia Child was published, with its version of the recipe.
It's unclear where this dish originated, though it's been associated with the
Burgundy region of France. In addition, it seems there are several variations to the
classic recipe. While some recommend veal rather than beef or white wine as opposed to red.
Those born in 1964 who are also cheese lovers can only be praised for their peak timing. This was
the year Americans were first introduced to fondue at the New York World's Fair,
which quickly became popular across the nation.
Fondue's origins date back to between 800 B.C. and 725 B.C. with descriptions of cooking with wine,
goat's cheese, and flour. Today, fondue remains a dish around which groups gather and dip
bread and a host of other ingredients while they make their way through the
fondue bowl. In addition to cheese, other varieties call for using melted chocolate.
Described as, quote, "the ultimate indulgence" by celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay,
beef Wellington was all the rave in 1965— particularly after it was featured that
year in an episode of Julia Child's TV show, "The French Chef." And although
it's lauded as a classic U.K. dish -– its origins are believed to be French.
Supposedly named after Arthur Wellesley, the first Duke of Wellington, the dish was traditionally
made using a whole filet of beef and pâte de foie gras wrapped in pastry and served with a Madeira
sauce. Today there are countless variations for both the fillings and casings alike.
Long before baking contests were televised to global notoriety,
home bakers could showcase their talent in contests like the Pillsbury Bake-Off.
That's where the Tunnel of Fudge Cake first made a name for itself.
Entered into the baking contest by Ella Helfrich in 1966, the cake had a center
of fudge and nuts and was baked in a Bundt pan. The cake placed second in the contest,
but the company received more than 200,000 letters from home bakers
requesting the recipe as well as information on where to find their own Bundt cake pans.
Even today, versions of the recipe have remained a favorite for chocolate lovers.
The 1970s was the era that gave us disco, and The Pet Rock, but on the foodie front,
quiche was making its mark as a go-to food popular as a brunch dish or appetizer. A 1972
cookbook titled "Favorite New England Recipes" included directions for making a spinach quiche.
Not only was its signature combination of eggs, milk, cheese, meats, and vegetables
delicious on its own, but according to The New York Times, it could also make magic
with food that has been sitting in the refrigerator for too long. For instance,
leftover turkey and chicken could easily be converted into a quiche. Being a delicious,
versatile meal that cuts down on food waste made it a total win for busy families.
Although the word "smoothie" started making the rounds during the early 20th century,
the evolution of its meaning is intertwined with the creation and
popularization of blenders. By the 1960s and 1970s, the U.S. became the hub of a
natural food trend that included smoothies made of fresh fruits, ice, and fruit juice.
The mass popularization of smoothies is largely tied to Steve Kuhnau,
who established the first Smoothie King in 1973. Having developed various recipes using
what are now standard additions to many homemade smoothies -– like protein powders
and yogurt -– Smoothie King spread in popularity and now has more than 1,300 locations worldwide.
If you've ever justified that extra slice of carrot cake as
healthy just because it contains a vegetable, nuts, and raisins,
you would have channeled the overriding theory that made it so wildly popular in the 1970s.
"I'm getting healthier snacks for the shoe shine stand. Chris
is a food genius. Did you know that the food you eat becomes energy?"
Originally created as an updated version of European steamed puddings and medieval
English baked puddings, carrot cake dates back as far as the 18th century.
Pillsbury Baking Company had conducted enough research to not only find a
carrot pudding recipe in "The Thirteen Colonies Cookbook" published in 1975,
but also to come up with its version centered on spices and carrots. Carrot cake continued to rise
in popularity and eventually earned its place as one of the top five food fads of the decade.
According to The Nibble, legend has it that the very first chocolate truffles
were created in the kitchen of famed chef Auguste Escoffier during the 1920s. Named
after the black truffle fungus because of their similar appearance, chocolate truffles consisted
of a ball of chocolate and cream rolled in cocoa powder. Today, chocolate truffles can
contain an array of other ingredients, from nuts and caramels to peppercorns and paprika.
And here's a bonus fun fact for you! If you were born in 1976,
you share a birth year with Alice Medrich's first bake shop, Cocolat, in Berkeley, California,
which became wildly successful in part due to the owner's hallmark chocolate truffles.
Pasta primavera was, according to the National Post, a happy accident that originated at a
mansion in Nova Scotia, Canada. Some attribute the creation of pasta primavera to cookbook author Ed
Giobbi and Sirio Maccioni during a fishing trip they took to the peninsula. Although
others elaborate on the fishing trip story with the addition of Maccioni's wife, who presented
visitors with an improvised mix of mushrooms, greens, cream, and olive oil tossed into pasta.
The dish, at the time called spaghetti primavera,
was offered as a special at the Manhattan restaurant Le Cirque. It was only after a
scathing 1977 review from The New York Times that they perfected the recipe,
which then took Manhattan by storm and has remained a popular recipe to this day.
The increase in health consciousness during the 1970s gave way in 1980
to a spike in the popularity of granola. It wasn't a novel concept,
though. According to the Los Angeles Times, granola became popular when its marketing
was touted as a snub to previous generations' unhealthy lifestyles.
"Tuna salad, and an orange… that's a very healthy lunch!"
"You know what I done with that healthy lunch, Edith?"
Granola went fully mainstream in the 1970s after General Mills developed Natural Valley Granola,
and later, cereal bars. By 1981 Quaker had introduced its Chewy Granola Bars to compete
with General Mills, which quickly came to top the sales charts. This soon began an
era of fierce granola competition with other companies like Hershey Foods and Carnation.
The Italian word tiramisu translates to "pick me up," and it's apt for
a dessert that's a decadent mix of mascarpone cheese whipped with rum,
sugar, and heavy cream and then layered with ladyfingers that have been dipped in espresso.
According to National Geographic, the origin story of tiramisu is fiercely debated to
this day. Some believe it was created as an aphrodisiac in the 19th century. Others say
it was developed at Italy's Le Beccherie restaurant, which opened in the 1970s.
Nevertheless, the dessert took the U.S. by storm in 1981, when Lidia Bastianich featured
it on the menu of her newly opened restaurant Felidia in New York City's Upper East Side.
A few years after Le Cirque owner, Sirio Maccioni, put pasta primavera on the map,
he had his staff create a dessert that went on to become one of the restaurant's most
popular items. Although versions of creme brulee date back as far as medieval times,
the dessert has also undergone many revisions.
Its name borrows from the French words for "burnt cream," and the New York Post says
that Maccioni's staff created an updated version of this sweet masterpiece after a family visit
to Spain in 1982. The restaurant's creme brulee soared in popularity,
and by 1984 variations had popped up across the country, such as creme brulee with berries,
currants, mint, and even with orange liqueur.
Blackened fish was steadily making waves on the way to claiming its culinary moment in
1985 during what The New York Times dubbed the "year of surprises." Restaurants had
introduced a variety of Cajun-style dishes. Among these were blackened tuna, blackened snapper,
blackened prime rib, and so on. The possibilities for blacked foods appeared to be endless.
According to the Chicago Tribune, the unstoppable food trend could be traced back to Paul Prudhomme,
chef and owner of K-Paul's Louisiana Kitchen in New Orleans. He created a blackened redfish recipe
for his menu, and patrons were so thoroughly taken by the flavors that it not only became
his signature dish, but other restaurants also quickly followed suit with their own versions.
It's hard to believe that something as delicious as Buffalo wings didn't exist
until 1964. Fried chicken wings had already been a longstanding staple in the South,
but according to the National Chicken Council, the concept of Buffalo wings came into being in
Buffalo, New York's Anchor Bar, and were soon added as a mainstay on the restaurant's menu.
Buffalo wings remained a regional food relegated to the New York area for years, but by the
mid-1980s, the concept had grown progressively more popular across the country. In 1990,
a version of Buffalo wings went national with the McDonald's launch of its spicy Mighty Wings.
According to Slate, ranch dressing was created by Steve and Gayle Henson,
who opened Hidden Valley Ranch in California in 1954.
By the time the Clorox Company purchased the Hidden Valley Ranch brand in 1972,
the dressing had become a local specialty with a steadily thriving market.
"There's a Hidden Valley Ranch party in my mouth. There's a Hidden Valley Ranch party in my mouth!"
By the mid-1980s, casual dining and fast food joints were using ranch dressing in their recipes,
thus spreading its popularity across the country. By 1992,
ranch dressing had become the top-selling salad dressing in the United States and
has continued to garner notoriety in many households to this day.
"I could eat a whole bottle." "Yeah, I could eat a whole bottle, too!"
As if pizza wasn't popular enough, the 1990s saw the high-profile introduction
of a bite-sized pizza snack that took the country by storm. What was it exactly? An
Italian spin on egg rolls made by filling delicious little pockets of dough with cheese
and sauce that came to be known as pizza rolls. Starting as a ready-made frozen product offered
through Jeno's Inc., they quickly grew in popularity, and it's easy to see why!
Jeno's was sold to Pillsbury in 1985, and Pillsbury also owned Totino's. In 1993,
the snack was rebranded to become what is still known today as Totino's Pizza Rolls.
"There comes a time when you need a meal quick!" "But you want a snack with a spicy kick!"
"Bake 'em in the over or the microwave!" "Think about all the time you'll save!"
The company's website claims its trademarked snack is the best-selling hot-snack food in the U.S.
The origins of Sloppy Joes are a bit sketchy. There are those that claim
that the sandwich may have been inspired by a Cuban dish, while others suggest
the sandwiches may have been created by an actual Joe based in Iowa. Some even credit
Ernest Hemingway as having had a hand in the creation of this hearty 90s-era favorite.
According to Mel Magazine, the term "Sloppy Joe" can be traced to at least the 1880s. But
it was in 1994 when this messy mix of ground beef, tomato sauce, onions, green peppers,
and spices got a huge boost in popularity. Due in part to the popular SNL sketch featuring Adam
Sandler and Chris Farley singing about the school lunch lady and Sloppy Joes.
"Sloppy Joe, slop, sloppy Joe, yeah! Sloppy Joe, slop, sloppy Joe, yeah!"
By the mid-1990's Magazines and television shows about food and cooking were on the rise,
and between 1995 and 1996, sun-dried tomatoes peaked in popularity as more and more were
being imported from Europe for all those home cooks to use in a myriad of dishes.
Moreover, "Sun-Dried Tomatoes," a cookbook co-written by Ethel and Georgeanne Brennan
was released in 1995 and became so popular that it had to be printed several more times. While
sun-dried tomatoes have lost some of their popularity, they are still relatively easy
to make. All you need are Roma or San Marzano tomatoes, a little bit of salt to siphon their
moisture, and exposure to the sun's rays while covered in a cheesecloth for a couple of days.
Most people love a good, molten lava cake, but it seems the history of this popular dessert is
just as fascinating as it is yummy. When chocolate lava cake was introduced to Disney World in 1997,
it could only be purchased in the more expensive restaurants at the park.
This was hardly surprising, though, given that chocolate lava cake had
already grown exceptionally popular in upscale restaurants across New York City
and Los Angeles as well as in France. The dessert became even more mainstream once
Chili's began selling its version that it called a Molten Chocolate Cake in 1998.
Dubbed "the year that transformed British food forever" by Delicious Magazine,
1999 saw some serious spikes in food positivity
thanks to celebrities like Nigella Lawson. This was especially welcome,
given that Britain had been muddled in beef export bans and salmonella scares in the previous years.
On a commercial, and in some ways more entertaining level, the British
food scene was thriving. Given the messaging delivered by the emerging food celebrities,
there was great emphasis on local, farm-fresh ingredients centered around simplicity and
giving people the confidence to create delicious meals from basic elements.
If you were born between 2000 and 2005, you were definitely too young to be watching "Sex & the
City." But countless Carrie Bradshaw fans will remember the scene from the third season when
she declares her crush on Aidan while biting into a cupcake at Magnolia Bakery in New York City.
With an already longstanding history dating back to the introduction of
the Hostess CupCake in 1919, cupcakes were propelled to superstar culinary
status with this cultural moment. Crumbs Bake Shop launched in 2003,
featuring gourmet and supersized cupcakes that quickly become a cult favorite.
The cupcake craze was in full swing by 2005,
and Magnolia Bakery's cupcakes once again found themselves thrust into the limelight,
this time during an SNL excerpt starring Chris Parnell and Andy Samberg.
"Two! No, six! No, twelve! Bakers dozen! I told you that I'm crazy for these cupcakes cousin!"
Cupcakes peaked and then fell from grace in the coming years. But there's no doubt that
they made many taste buds dance during their time at the top,
as it's nigh impossible to find someone who doesn't smile at the sight of a colorful cupcake.
"James Bond was a spy."
"Yes, he was a good spy."
"Yeah... He was the best. James Bond would love this cupcake."