Food crazes come and go, and unfortunately, that means that some of our favorite foods
tend to fade away. Now, we're not saying these foods have completely disappeared, but they
have definitely declined in sales and popularity. So here are the top 10 once popular foods
that we all stopped eating.
Cherries Jubilee
This sweet dessert staple has basically vanished. It's one of those old-timey desserts that
was popular until the 1960s. Essentially, the dessert is a cherry sauce over ice cream.
For the cherry sauce, cherries are flambeed with sugar and a liqueur. Usually, the liqueur
is kirschwasser or a plain brandy. Then, this sauce is poured over the ice cream. When
it was served in restaurants, it would often come to the table while on fire. Now, of course,
this dish would taste best with fresh cherries, but people starting using canned cherries
when they began serving it in larger quantities. Any food that comes in a spectacle like this usually
gets our vote, but it seems as though the magic has died out. According to some sources,
the dish became a bit of an overkill once people started eating it and serving it all
the time, using lesser quality canned cherries, making it less exquisite and more mainstream. Cherries
jubilee actually has a royal history behind it. The dish was invented in 1897 in honor
of Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee by a man named Auguste Escoffier. However, his original
recipe didn't include vanilla ice cream. We're assuming someone just thought this would be
a great combination, tried it, and the world never looked back.
Crisco
A staple of many kitchens, Crisco was introduced in 1911 as an alternative to lard in cooking.
It was made from partially hydrogenated vegetable oil, which allowed the company to claim that
it was made from vegetables in their original advertising campaigns. This ends up with a
crystallized cottonseed oil, the reason for the name. In fact, Crisco was actually first
used to make candles and other items typically made from lard, before it was ever considered
a food staple. And it became popular. People used it for everything, from frying fish to
baking flaky pie crusts and even spreading it on toast. By the mid-1990s, people began
to care more about the foods they were putting into their bodies. They realized that trans
fats were dangerous, and pointed the finger at fatty foods as the culprits of heart disease.
People today have started to kick the processed fats habit and turn to healthier alternatives
for their baking needs. At one point, Crisco did alter its recipe to try to keep up with
the demand for healthier foods.
Gelatin Salads
Back in the 1960s, gelatin salads were all the rage. A gelatin salad basically consisted
of a variety of food items, from vegetables to cheese and olives, and even tuna, encased
and chilled in a Jell-O mold. Part of the earlier advertising campaigns for Jell-O promoted
these salads as a great way for the housewives of America to preserve leftovers and encourage
their children to eat their veggies. During the Great Depression, this was a popular idea
for people to stretch their rations as far as they could. By the 1960s, gelatin salads
appeared everywhere, from family dinners to local potlucks, festivals, and public events.
In fact, they were so popular that Jell-O actually released a bunch of savory flavors,
such as tomato, Italian salad, and celery, to be used for these concoctions. The reality
is that there are a few possible reasons we don't eat gelatin salads anymore, with one
being the fact that they resemble alien brains being a major influence. Also, people began
to try to cut down on processed foods and sugars, and opt for more nutritious meals
instead. But the biggest reason is probably that American housewives started leaving the
home and working for a living, meaning they didn't have as much time to prepare gelatin
salads and have them chill until dinner.
Fondue
This Swiss mealtime tradition was really trendy in America in the 1970s. Fondue parties were
a staple in many households and communities, especially when the first chilly winter nights
hit. Sitting around a piping hot bowl of cheese with crusty bread or other items ready to
dip was the perfect way to bond. And if you wanted a dessert version, chocolate fondue
was right there ready to go. However, while Switzerland is still sitting around their
cheese bowls, dipping their crusty bread in that gooey goodness, America just isn't doing
it anymore. As much, anyway. There's no real explanation as to why this fad started to
die out. Perhaps too many people were double-dipping? A more realistic explanation is that in a world
where fatty foods and carbs are the devil, it's no surprise this isn't a common thing
anymore. Sure, you can still enjoy a great piping hot fondue dinner these days. Some
restauranteurs have actually tried to bring the trend back by putting a modern spin on
it, like seafood dishes and gourmet dessert fondues. But chances are you won't be getting
invited to any fondue dinner parties like you would have back in the 1970s.
Sunny Delight
Oh, good old Sunny D. The reason we don't really drink Sunny D anymore is pretty obvious.
Just check out the ingredients list for a bottle of Sunny D: Corn syrup with less than
5% real juice. Sugar, sugar, and more sugar. Artificial colors. Contains Ethylenediaminetetraacetic
acid (EDTA), which is currently being studied by the FDA for toxicity because it's known
to cause skin rashes. There is also another side effect. In 1999, a news report revealed
that a young four-year-old girl in the U.K. had actually turned yellow from drinking too
much Sunny D. This little girl was drinking about 1.5 liters of Sunny D a day when her
parents began to notice her skin was taking on an orange-yellow hue. This was caused by
the amount of betacarotene added to give the drink its signature color. Now, drinking 1.5
liters a day is extremely excessive, especially for a young child. But this isn't really a
risk you want with your favorite drink. Earlier this year, Sunny D made headlines in a negative
way that had nothing to do with the quality of their product. During the Superbowl, the
official Sunny D account tweeted the simple statement, "I can't do this anymore." While
it was probably in reference to the infamously boring game, many people took this as a negative
commodification of depression, triggering some bad PR for the brand. Thankfully, many
other brands came to the rescue to seize the opportunity and check in on the drink.
Tapioca Pudding
Our argument is not that tapioca pudding has disappeared. You can still find this pudding
staple kicking around at buffets and other places, but it's not as popular as it once
was. Do a quick Google search for tapioca pudding and you'll find the words "old-fashioned"
and "grandma's famous" in the title of many of the recipes. However, to its credit, it
was definitely a staple at one point. Many adults today probably remember the days when
they would open up their lunch bags at school to see a snack pack of tapioca pudding sitting
there. It was also one of those staple foods that many grandmas of America would make from
scratch. Tapioca pudding was definitely a love-it-or-hate-it food. Some people just
couldn't get past the lumpy texture. It's easy to see why people stopped making it – it's
a time-consuming process. There's also another very minor risk – tapioca is potentially
dangerous if cooked wrong. Here's why. To get tapioca, you need to grind down a cassava
root. Cassava is basically a root vegetable that looks a lot like a sweet potato. However,
when it's raw, the cassava root contains naturally occurring forms of cyanide. Yes, the poison.
So, if you don't cook it properly, you are poisoning yourself. Tapioca is heavily processed,
so there's not a ton to worry about, but it does come from this root and if it's not processed
properly, it could still carry traces of cyanide. Again, not likely, but you never know.
Ambrosia Salad
To be honest, ambrosia salad kind of looks like a unicorn went nuts at a birthday party
and threw up. However, it tastes surprisingly delicious. This particular dish consists of
fruit, coconut, and marshmallows tossed in whipped cream or another creamy substance
and then cooled for a few hours before serving. The most common fruits typically used to make
it are mandarin oranges and pineapple, but there are tons of versions out there. Originating
sometime in the early 1900s, ambrosia salad actually became a holiday staple for Christmas
and Thanksgiving dinners, served right alongside the vegetables, mashed potatoes, and turkey.
It was popularized in the southern states and was reserved for the holidays because
it called for luxurious ingredients that had to be imported. This made it seem exotic and
fancy. However, after the 1920s, it became easier for households with a tighter budget
to make because of the availability of things like marshmallow cream. It was still associated
with the holidays, though.
Sloppy Joes
Once a beloved dinner time staple for the average American household, sloppy joes aren't
quite as popular anymore. In fact, this entry probably prompted you to remember that they
existed in the first place. In their defense, many Americans still do eat sloppy joes. And
it's easy – the dish is literally ground beef in sauce on a bun. It's also still a
staple on many typical cafeteria menus. They just aren't being served as weekly dinners
as often as they used to be, and homemade versions are often swapped for the store-bought
sauce out of price and convenience. Manwich Monday should really be brought back if you
ask us. But, alas, lots of people kind of just let this one slip through the cracks
in favor of lower-sodium, less-processed options. No one really knows how sloppy joes even became
a thing. There are plenty of theories out there, all of which involved someone named
Joe. One theory tells the story of a man in Cuba named Jose, who owned a not-so-tidy bar
that was frequented by Ernest Hemingway. Hemingway supposedly liked his creation so much he brought
it home and got his go-to restaurant at home to make it. Another theory suggests a guy
named Joe invented it in Iowa in the 1930s, where loose-meat sandwiches are an iconic
food, by adding tomato sauce to the meat. Either way, lots of 90s kids' dinners wouldn't
have been the same without it.
TV Dinners
In the beginning, TV dinners appealed to many consumers because they were cheap and easy
to throw in the oven. It all began when Swanson was trying to figure out a way they could
package up their leftover Thanksgiving dinners and sell them. They settled on a frozen dinner
for one, and the idea took off. People loved it. They were easy and convenient, and you
could just pop them in the oven for a quick meal that could be eaten right in front of
the TV. At the time they were invented, in the 1950s, the TV was a new phenomenon that
captivated American households. People had never had this before, and would spend a lot
of their time gathered around watching the tube. To be able to eat a meal in front of
it was exciting and fun. The grocery store aisles are still packed with a variety to
choose from. Once the microwave became more popular it quicker and more convenient to
reheat TV dinners. While some people still opt for convenience foods once in a while,
many of us have caught on to the fact that the portion sizes in TV dinners are just not
enough for the cost. Even The Simpsons don't eat TV dinners nearly as much as they used
to. Not only that, but some of these meals are packed with sodium and preservatives we
don't need. Plus, some of them contain a heavy dose of fat in one little tray. With more
people opting for fresher foods, it's no wonder frozen meal sales haven't been what they used
to be.
Candy Cigarettes
When candy cigarettes first appeared on the scene, they were actually packaged to look
like real cigarettes. At the time, cigarette companies were actually working with candy
companies to collaborate on packaging and production. Some big tobacco companies would
actually send candy manufacturers copies of their labels so they could use them. Talk
about promoting a bad habit to kids. The reason this one has disappeared is pretty
obvious. Anything that could make cigarettes tempting to children is a no-no. As far back
as 1964, the Surgeon-General was stating that candy cigarettes lured children into becoming
interested in smoking. Today's research has also indicated that children may be more likely
to smoke if they use candy cigarettes. For some of us, a candy cigarette represents pure
nostalgia. For others, it's a dangerous entry into the world of nicotine addiction. In many
countries and some U.S. states, candy cigarettes are actually flat-out banned, unless they
are packaged to look nothing like real cigarettes and are called "candy sticks.”
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