Food trends come and go, with some crazes lingering as tried-and-true classics and others
getting chucked into the waste bin of history.
Here are a few culinary concoctions that used to be wildly popular, but have now seemingly
disappeared.
If you completely forgot this childhood favorite even existed, you're not alone.
Sure, there are still Maid-Rite restaurants slinging "loose meat" sandwiches in the Midwest.
And there's at least one gourmet Sloppy Joes food truck out there, D.C.'s Neat Meat.
But Sloppy Joes are nowhere near the weekly dinnertime staple, complete with "Manwich"
sauce, as they once were.
"Ahaha I know how you's kids like 'em sloppy!
Haha!"
"Lady, you're scaring us!"
Sandwich-centric food blog Eat A Sandwich took to social media to try to find out just
when was the last time someone had a sloppy joe, and the answers varied, but hovered around,
"Some time in the 1990s."
"I love Manwich Mondays."
It's possible it's a health thing, and they're just too high in sodium for people.
The name might be turning people off as adults, and Sloppy Joes haven't been given the gourmet
makeover that similar kid-friendly fare like grilled cheese has.
One response to the "Why aren't we all still eating Sloppy Joes?"
question was the simple, straightforward,
"Because we're not 11."
Hard to argue with that.
There's a good chance you forgot that tapioca pudding is even a thing.
If you're of a certain age, you probably remember eating the little snack pack as a kid, or
the homemade kind that Grandma used to make, so, what happened?
It's not entirely clear, but the culinary historians over at Aunt Lil's Kitchen suggest
scratch-made tapioca fell from popularity because it was a time-consuming and rather
difficult process.
In 2005, Amanda Hesser concluded in the New York Times that it probably fell out favor
for two reasons: most home cooks can't give it the consistency, and it looks disgusting
when it's done wrong.
Unfortunately, improper cooking of this oddly-textured treat is all too common, which is why it's
earned the nickname "fish eye pudding."
With a nickname like that, it's no wonder people stopped eating it!
Or maybe it's something else ..
"Tapioca is extracted from the root of the plant Manihot esculenta, due to the high concentration
of cyanide it is poisonous in its raw form and lethal if prepared improperly."
It wasn't too long ago that a backyard cookout wasn't complete without a massive tray of
franks and beans.
People took it seriously, too, in 1995, Margaret King of Yankee magazine reminisced about how
important it was to get the dish just right in mid-century New England, writing,
"[...] the yin-yang of trying to achieve excellence with franks and beans, was the secret of not
only a great supper, but of a marriage as well."
Franks and beans were easy, affordable, filling, and, to some, delicious… so why aren't they
a mealtime staple anymore?
You could argue that they're the opposite of Instagrammable.
Plus, these days, if you're going to eat hot dogs in public, they're going to be authentic
stadium-style dogs or in foodie-friendly street food form, like those found in food trucks,
not all chopped up and mixed with canned beans.
We're also a little more aware of the consequences of sodium these days, and canned beans and
hot dogs are both big offenders in that regard.
Business Wire says sales of kids' beverages have been on the decline since at least 2008,
and there are a few reasons for that.
The American Academy of Pediatrics notes that one little box of Hi-C Wild Cherry contains
27 grams of sugar.
That's more than the American Heart Association recommends for an adult woman to have in an
entire day!
And Romper points out they're not exactly environmentally friendly, either.
A juice box can take 300 years, at least, to disintegrate, and anyone who wants to set
a good example for their kids is opting for reusable containers.
McDonald's had a hand in forcing us all to stop drinking Hi-C, too, specifically the
drink known as Hi-C Orange Lavaburst, when they decided to stop carrying it in 2017.
Believe it or not, you can still buy gum-in-tape-form under the name Hubba Bubba Bubble Tape.
Even more surprising?
Fruit Stripe gum is still around.
So is Bubble Yum, the super-sweet, super-fruity gum that suffered briefly from the strange
rumor it was made with spider eggs.
It's understandable that adults have moved on from these totally radical gums, but even
the kids aren't chewing these sugary gums much anymore.
What happened here?
It's likely these '80s and '90s favorites were pushed aside when we realized sugar-free
gum wasn't terrible, and that we could chomp away without all the tooth decay.
But then again, can your sugar-free gum do this?
"Their full-faced taste keeps my jaws jammin', and their blastin' bubbles slide off my lips
like my fingers across this guitar."
"You gotta like the sound of that!'