From liver and onions and Spam to savory Jell-O salad and classic fondue and baked Alaska,
there are some decades-old culinary treats that are having another big moment.
Keep watching to discover the foods from the 1960s that are weirdly making a comeback.
No game day celebration is complete without a chip spread and some french onion dip. This appetizer,
sometimes called California dip, came into being back in 1954 when an inventive home cook turned a
package of dehydrated onions into the popular sour cream chip accompaniment. Lipton onion soup was
blended with the dairy product to create this side that sprung to widespread popularity in the 60s.
The decade saw home cooks come up with their own variations on Lipton onion soup dip,
like adding bleu cheese. The dip never fully fell out of favor, but it did see
a massive resurgence when Mad Men fever hit America, which led to a big boost in sales.
"It's a chip 'n dip."
The Lipton version of the dip simplified the original 1954 edition.
The original recipe called for cream cheese, Roquefort with California Sauterne wine,
mayonnaise, salt, Worcestershire sauce, cayenne, and garlic salt. But the introduction of Lipton's
soup mix packets helped home cooks boil the recipe down to the iconic two-ingredient combo of
dehydrated soup and sour cream. Well-known chefs have helped revitalize this nostalgic party snack,
including in multiple fine dining locations across New York City,
and even Top Chef's Tom Colicchio has brought it to his restaurant!
Jell-O salads had a hard time making it past the 80s, when the gelatin novelties filled with savory
or sweet fillings sharply divided consumers. Our great-grandparents regularly dined on aspic,
a savory gelatin, while more elaborate gelatin desserts remained available only
for the wealthy and those with kitchens properly equipped to handle the challenge of making them.
So when Jell-O entered American markets at the turn of the 20th century,
the burgeoning middle class couldn't wait to get their hands on it.
"To give salads a holiday look, start with Jell-O gelatin."
Multiple recipes sprung up detailing all the creative ways one could whip up what was once
seen as a delicacy reserved for the rich. Jell-O salads eventually reigned supreme,
and 60s cookbooks document savory examples like "Molded Avocado and Tuna."
Even Julia Child devoted a section of her The Joy of Cooking to Jell-O salads.
Alas, Jell-O salads dropped off in popularity in the 80s due to health trends,
though they never completely disappeared in the South. Savory versions have also seen a resurgence
in Utah. A new generation of home chefs have tried their hand at bringing them into the 21st century,
and many have even experimented with the new vegan Jell-O in their recipes.
Meatloaf can seriously divide crowds. According to Bon Appétit, the recipe for the original
meatloaf first appeared in the Mediterranean in the Middle Ages and served as a way to use scrap
meat by combining leftover remains with nuts, fruits, and seasonings. The recipe stuck around,
started including bread and eggs, and people would traditionally eat it for breakfast.
Fast-forward to the 1950s, when Americans were eating Betty Crocker's take on the iconic loaf.
By the 70s, there were novel variations that included ingredients like peaches
and smashed bananas. The dish eventually turned into a nostalgic touchpoint for many.
All of this changed in the past few years as the humble meatloaf has taken on a whole new life
at the center of haute cuisine. The versatile recipe can easily shift with American tastes,
and pioneering chefs brought this Sunday dinner staple to the forefront of the
country's restaurant scene. Manhattan's Eatery features a ricotta meatloaf
with pecorino sauce and a grape tomato and balsamic reduction,
while Sentinel in San Francisco features a turkey meatloaf with lemon juice, chile paste,
tahini, and cream. The sky's the limit when it comes to dressing up this timeless dish.
"Hey, ma! The meatloaf!"
The square-shaped mystery meat known as Spam first came into production back in 1937,
but it really made waves in the 60s. American GIs had to eat it during World War
II and absolutely despised it, but they started to accept it
when cooks began to use it as an ingredient in sandwiches and as part of egg scrambles.
Spam especially took off in Hawaii thanks to government sanctions against Japanese-run
fishing businesses. Eventually, Hawaiian restaurants helped lay the groundwork for
Spam's modern revival, thus helping it regain some of its street cred. Starting in the early 2010s,
fine dining embraced the ingredient, and chefs started including Spam on their menus.
Los Angeles chef Roy Choi served up Spam musubi
and rice bowl specials with Spam at his restaurant Chego, while Asian-inspired
food trucks across California started serving up trendy meals with Spam as a starring ingredient.
The canned meat's recent resurgence has led Hormel to roll out new flavors of Spam for different
regions across the U.S. In the Southwest, you can pick up Spam with jalapenos, while
other regions feature a hickory-smoked option. Nowadays, you can even find Spam as a sushi
ingredient and as a star player in experimental cuisine at some of the finest restaurants around.
"I don't like Spam!" “Don't make a fuss,
dear. I'll have your Spam. I love it."
Fondue is one of those foods that feels like a party whenever it hits the table.
Dipping meat, bread, and vegetables into hot oil or cheese makes any meal feel so much more fun,
while dipping your favorite desserts into a torrent of melted chocolate
offers up a decadent treat that captured everyone's hearts and stomachs in the 60s.
The trend of dining and cooking food at one's own table eventually fell out
of vogue and even felt stodgy from anyone trying to bring it back. But
fondue persevered thanks to retro shows like Mad Men that showed off the dish,
and a younger generation has found ways to revitalize this classic.
Yes indeed, fondue parties have returned and offer a fun alternative to standard dinner
get-togethers. Hosts have even taken a page from world cuisine and introduced flavors
from Chinese hot pot into the mix, bringing the old style of fondue back with a facelift.
Some have even offered twists on the classic cheese and chocolate fountain by playing with new
flavors. There are Mexican-inspired cheese fondues that feature jalapeños and Monterey Jack cheese,
as well as a "Mississippi Mudslide" dessert fondue
with Baileys and bourbon-infused chocolate. With tasty flavors and a fun time for all,
it just makes sense that this retro novelty has once again popped up in homes.
Liver and onions easily cemented itself as a 60s favorite that even teenagers would ask
their mothers to make. This traditional home cooked meal traces its origins back to Europe,
where diners would opt for lamb liver, while the American standard features pork or beef liver.
Liver and onions never went out of style in Latin America,
though diners across America started to reject the dish as times changed. It might
seem a little off-putting, but its return to popularity makes sense. In the days before
the industrialized meat industry determined which cuts of beef hit your dinner table,
locally sourced products ensured that home cooks could get prime cuts of meat, including
livers. The high quality ingredients translated to instant popularity for liver and onions, a hearty
meal that wrapped a ton of nutrition into a single serving. As the meat industry changed, quality
control wavered in certain parts of the country, and liver's popularity quietly fell as well.
But thanks to efforts to eat local and source better meat,
diners can once again get quality livers and have accordingly revived liver and
onions as a mealtime go-to. This dish has also lately even been recognized as a superfood,
and you can now easily find new versions of liver and onions pretty much everywhere.
"We're having your favorite: liver and onions! See ya!"
You might never imagine pairing cocktail meatballs with grape jelly, but somehow,
this retro 60s classic works and has seen a comeback lately. As reported by Salon,
this offering pairs the unlikely ingredients of beef meatballs tossed in grape jelly and either
barbecue sauce or a tomato-based chili. Simmer it all together and you end up with an appetizer that
defined a decade. You could cook this meal on the stove top, but the introduction of slow cookers
redefined American cuisine and allowed many people to make this favorite with a new technology.
After the 60s came to a close, cookbooks occasionally found ways to reintroduce new
cocktail meatballs and grape jelly recipes and the dish never truly disappeared. Those meatballs then
found new life in the next generation of home cooks thanks to the comeback of slow cookers
in the 70s. The dish gained even more traction in 2018 when NFL star Odell Beckham Jr. joined
Welch's for an ad that featured him helping his mom make game-day grape jelly meatballs. With
this added star power, the appetizer took off, and now you can't escape it at dinner parties.
Nothing looks or tastes cooler than an exquisitely baked cake filled with ice
cream. The baked Alaska came into existence during the 19th century,
and it really established itself in the American culinary world in the 50s and 60s.
This dessert features an ice cream center baked inside a meringue shell, and its pastel colors
mirrored the aesthetics of the era. Eventually, though, ice cream cakes fell out of vogue,
and this elaborate showstopper disappeared from tables after the 60s came to a close.
But thanks to none other than Ina Garten, home cooks have rediscovered this time-tested dish.
Garten experimented with the recipe 15 times until she finally narrowed it down to the basics
so that anyone could tackle it at home. Now it's an easy go-to when
you need something elaborate. This recipe is in Garten's cookbook, Cook Like a Pro,
so make sure to thank her if you're happy to see the resurgence of this decadent ice cream treat.
Steak Diane is one of the most iconic retro dishes that once represented luxury.
It emerged during the 60s and conjured up images of fancy black tie dinners.
The steak would hit the table in a sizzling copper pan filled with melted butter and an
attendant would set the dish on fire in front of everyone with a torch and a splash of cognac.
The accompanying wine sauce tasted incredibly rich and oozed decadence, making for an absolutely
unforgettable meal. While this 60s classic used to be available at any steakhouse worth its salt,
times have changed and it's since declined in popularity.
While the theatricality of lighting diners' food on fire won over crowds back in the day,
people grew tired of it by the 70s. But thanks to the renewed interest in the classic recipes
of the likes of Julia Child and Jacques Pepin, a new generation of cooks have rediscovered this
classic dish buried in vintage recipe books. The steak has even started to reappear in New York
City restaurants, and while you will most likely have better luck trying out this recipe at home,
the time has indeed arrived for Steak Diane's luxurious return.
At one point in time, you couldn't go to any restaurant without seeing Cherries Jubilee
on the dessert menu. This iconic flambeed dessert had its heyday back in the '60s,
but when American diners grew tired of watching their food set aflame in front of them,
interest started to wane. But this simple recipe has stuck around and made a comeback.
This simple dessert requires a minimal amount of ingredients:
just cherries and liqueur. They're flambeed in a hot pan and served straight to the diner.
Cherries Jubilee was originally conceived in honor of Queen Victoria's Jubilee in the late 1800s,
and it's now once again started trending at restaurants and home menus nationwide. While
this iconic dish may have fallen out of favor at the end of the 60s due to everyone trying to
tackle it, chefs who like to embrace retro recipes and rediscover classic flavors have now revived
this time-tested treat. So try it out yourself at home and discover why it's started trending again!
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