Entertainment
Top 10 Once Popular Foods That We All Stopped Eating (Part 2)
We all think that the food from our childhood was the best, even though it may not have always been. Nostalgia can do that to the best of us. It makes us yearn for the things we used to have. That yearning becomes even stronger when it comes to our favorite foods, especially when those foods are almost never eaten these days. People of a certain age will think back fondly of all those treats they had and then grow sad as they struggle to find them in the grocery store today. Not all of those foods are gone forever, but most of them have hit that downward spiral and may never come back up. Here are our Top 10 Once Popular Foods That We All Stopped Eating.
10. Kool-Aid
‘Oh, Yeah!’ We all remember Kool-Aid and the Kool-Aid man. Those long, hot summer days of our youth could only be quenched by pouring some sugar into a cup, adding a packet of our favorite Kool-Aid flavor, and then wetting it with the all-important water. It was an easy and fun way to make a drink. Admittedly, adding our own sugar was probably one reason why Kool-Aid has declined over the years. In today’s more sugar conscious society, letting a child be in charge of their own sugar quantity, is probably not the best idea. Unfortunately, the sugar content was not the only reason Kool-Aid took a downward turn. No, that was a much darker path. During the late ’70s a cult, led by Jim Jones, took a mixture that was laced with cyanide. The ‘mixture’ was very reminiscent to Kool-Aid, although it wasn’t Kool-Aid at all it was actually Flavor Aid. However, it did start the damning phrase ‘Drinking the Kool-Aid,’ which meant to blindly follow. 900 people were affected by this tragedy and so was Kool-Aid’s reputation.
9. Pudding Pops
Speaking of tasty treats we enjoyed over a long hot summer, Jell-O’s Pudding Pops were another juicy favorite. These frosty little ice pops were a perfect treat for everyone. Unfortunately, these are one of the few of our favorite foods that have completely disappeared. Introduced as Puddin’ Pops by none other than Bill Cosby; younger people out there may not be aware that Mr. Cosby once stood for everything that was wholesome and family-related. At the time, Mr. Cosby was the perfect voice for these sweet treats and Pudding Pops flew off the shelves and made over $100 million in their first year alone. You would think that with a great profit start like that, Pudding Pops would be here to stay. Unfortunately, this wasn’t the case, and no, it actually had nothing to do with Bill Cosby. Due to the fact that Jell-O wasn’t overly experienced with the frozen food market, they started to lose money on unexpected overheads. It turns out that dried packet foods have a bigger markup. So, Jell-o Pudding Pops was discontinued completely. You can now buy Popsicle brand Pudding cups, but they have a completely different recipe and shape. It’s not the same, which is why these Pudding Pops are just not seeling as well.
8. Franks & Beans
Now, this really is a staple from our youth and from the youth of so many people. For a while, it seemed like every Saturday night wasn’t complete without a big pot of Franks and Beans. This casserole was the very definition of comfort food as the hearty meal kept us warm on those cold winters nights, which felt like a mother’s hug. and filled our stomachs to the brim. There are many ways to make Franks and Beans, with ingredients ranging from mustards and ketchup to fancier condiments such a Worcestershire and Tabasco sauce. Whatever you put in this dish, it had to have the irreplaceable Beans and Hot dogs. We are not really sure way Franks and Beans aren’t as popular as it used to be. Maybe in today’s society, Franks and Beans may seem a bit crude and simple; it is after all canned beans and hot dogs thrown in a pot together. People nowadays like a bit more sophistication and refinement in their home cooking. Also there is obviously the health side of this dish. As much as we love a good helping of Franks and Beans, there is no denying the sodium and sugar levels of this food. Which are crazy high! The more salt conscious people of today will no doubt be avoiding Franks and Beans like the plague, especially for family meals. All of those things are why this classic has seen a big decline in popularity.
7. Bubble Tape
There are many varieties of bubble Gum on the market. Most of which, surprisingly, has been around for decades and can still be bought, although some are harder to find than others. Out of these many varieties and variations, it’s actually Bubble Tape we are focusing on. While bubble gum as a whole was popular with kids; many of us will have fond memories of trading gum like baseball cards. However, nothing was quite like Bubble Tape. After all, it was gum that you could wind up and unravel. Gum you can play with, what was more fun than that? During the late 1980s and into the early 1990s, Bubble Tape exploded onto the scene. It probably had something to do with a genius add campaign that targeted pre-teens with the tag line: ‘It’s 6 feet of Bubble Gum for you… Not them.’ With ‘them’ meaning adults. Over the years Bubble Tape and Bubble Gum, in general, have taken a fairly big dive in the markets; one reason being that the original kids of the early ’90s have all grown up now. It doesn’t seem to be the done thing for adults to play with Bubble Tape at the office. We really don’t know why. Another reason is that the youth of today don’t seem to be interested in Bubble Gum. Maybe that has something to do with its ‘young’ image that kids don’t respond to today, or maybe it’s to do with their high sugar content. With plenty of tasty sugar-free chewing gums on the market, bright and colorful Bubble Gum just can’t compete.
6. Salisbury Steak
The biggest impact on the foods we eat in recent years has to be the low carb diets. Many people are turning to these diets as a good way to stay in shape and lose weight. There are so many high fat, low carb diets out there that we are all inundated with what foods to eat and what foods to not eat. One of the early dishes to hit it big and enter mainstream dinning, which was specifically designed for a low carb lifestyle, was the Salisbury Steak. Invented by Dr. James Salisbury towards the end of the 18th century, Dr. Salisbury was an advocate of meat-centered diets as he believed it was better for your health and wellbeing. The Salisbury Steak isn’t actually steak at all, it is made from ground beef which was a popular and cheap method of meat at the time. Traditionally Salisbury Steak is topped off with mushrooms and gravy and served with a side of mashed potatoes and green veg. During the mid 20th century, the Salisbury Steak was one of the more popular TV dinners that filled many living rooms on a nightly basis. However, as cuisine and dieting became a lot more refined and with better alternatives and more choices for people, the Sailsbury Steak started looking a bit dated and out of touch with society. Although this dish is a nice reminder of a simpler time, much like the once loved TV dinner, neither could find a place with today’s generation so the Sailsbury Steak has been entered into the nostalgic myths and legends hall of fame.
5. Baked Alaska
Many of today’s generation may have heard of the fabled Baked Alaska, but not many will have tried it. For those out there that don’t know what a Baked Alaska is then you are in for a treat. The dish consists of Ice Cream and slices of cake sponge which is then wrapped in meringue and baked in a very hot oven. The trick, obviously, is to cook the meringue perfectly without melting the ice cream. Not an easy task. During the 1960s and 1970s, the Baked Alaska was the pinnacle of gourmet desserts. Not only was it sweet, tasty and consisted of the two best ingredients; cake and ice cream, but it was also difficult to make. Presenting one of these delights at a dinner party showed off your culinary skills and became the ‘show-stopper’ of the age. As the desert grew popular many other versions come out; Bomb Alaska was the same desert but with a good helping of rum. Then there was the Frozen Florida, which was a Baked Alaska but in reverse. The meringue was frozen and the dairy was hot liquid inside. After being so popular, and people have some real fun with it, we are not really sure why this dessert has seen such a big downward decline. Maybe because of the time and effort it takes to create it, or maybe it’s for health reasons. It is a lot of sugar after all. Whatever the reason, a part of us is sad that this dish isn’t celebrated as much as it used to be.
4. Cottage Cheese
There seemed to be a time, not too long ago, when Cottage Cheese was everywhere and in everything. Every recipe, diet, and new food fade seemed to include this lumpy cream product. Cottage Cheese itself has been around for centuries, it even appears in a popular nursery rhyme. Yes, that nursery rhyme; ‘Eating their Curds and Whey.’ This cheese dates back to a period in time when people didn’t waste anything. Everything was used in some way, even the gone off milk and cream was used. This is how Cottage Cheese came about. Flick forward to the 20th century and Cottage Cheese found itself as a very trendy food item, particularly from the 1950s to the 1980s. Not only was it used for cooking, but people used to eat it by itself as a healthier food option. However, these days Cottage Cheese doesn’t really get a look in. Not only are there much healthier foods on the market but Cottage Cheese isn’t the easiest to make; especially compared to things like yogurt which has replaced Cottage Cheese in our lives. Plus its lumpy consistency and bland taste have kept Cottage Cheese firmly in the past as an old fashioned style of food. Because of this, the Cottage Cheese has almost dropped off the face of the Earth.
3. Whole Milk
‘Got Milk?’ Not these days! Put your hands up if anyone out there still drinks whole milk. There really can’t be many of you. Pretty much from birth, every child knows that milk is important and good for you. It makes us grow up big and strong with healthy teeth and bones. For many years this is how milk targeted us and we lapped it up. (We couldn’t help ourselves with that pun.) We were all encouraged to drink full-fat whole milk every day, especially with cookies to dunk in. Even schools provided milk for us to drink. However, as society became more health-conscious, milk was one of the first things to be changed. Slowly taking down the percentage of full-fat milk, today most people wouldn’t know what whole milk tastes like. Not only that but as lactose intolerance, and other dairy-related health issues became more commonplace, milk was replaced pretty much altogether. Soy, Almond and Coconut milk are more common than ever and are most people’s ‘go-to’ milk. Because of all these issues, it’s no wonder that whole milk has taken a dramatic plunge into decline. Maybe it’s nostalgia talking, but we can’t help but long for the days when a big, cold glass of whole milk really hit the spot.
2. Deviled Eggs
With our list of 10 foods that were once popular but we’ve all stopped eating, we head back into the 1970s with another retro classic. The Deviled Egg once graced every table and picnic all over the country. The basic Deviled egg was boild egg, mayo and then a mix of heat such as mustard and pepper. Usually eaten cold, and often before the main meal, the Deviled egg enjoyed a few decades as king of the appetizers. The term ‘Deviled’ or ‘Devil’ in relation to food actually means anything spicy or zesty and started to be used in relation to eggs as early as the 1800s in which people would cover their eggs in mustard. Deviled eggs have come a long way since then and people really like to experiment with flavors and ingredients. However, given the fact that Deviled eggs are quite a simple dish in relation to others on this list, they aren’t nearly as popular as they once were and are slowly fading from our cooking culture altogether. Many things from the 60s and 70s do come back into fashion, so who knows, maybe the Deviled egg will one day enjoy success once again.
1. All Things Offal
This one has to go down as a bit of a ‘no brainer’ as to why it has fallen out of fashion with people. Offal was at one stage in history, a staple of the dining world. It is in fact only until very recently that Offal has fallen out of favor with the home cooks. Anyone’s grandparents will no doubt have a dozen recipes that use Offal; Steak and Kidney pie, Liver and Onions, Black (or Blood Pudding), a lot of stews and casseroles, the list is long and pretty gross! Much of this is because of the War. During the Second World War, times were extremely tough and the US government didn’t want any food going to waste so they tried to make Offal, the insides, and organs from animals, into an American staple food. Not only because of things like rationing but because Offal was a great source of protein and zinc. So, people came up with recipes and dishes to incorporate the organs. Many of them lastest for decades; we can’t be the only ones to have childhood nightmares about liver! These days Offal isn’t seen as a great thing to eat, in fact, it’s usually the things that are discarded and thrown in the garbage. There are much better foods and recipes that people can get their protein and mineral needs from, so we stopped eating Offal. It must be noted that Offal has taken a big drop in the world of home cooking. However, in fine dining, Offal is actually starting to make a come back as top chefs try to make this unappealing ingredient more appetizing.