6 Foods No One Eats Anymore

Food trends come and go with the introduction of new technology and new products. Look at the proliferation of air fryer and Instant Pot^® recipes on food blogs. Of course, as new trends come, old ones get left by the wayside. Here are six foods that hardly anyone eats (or drinks) today. 

1. Ambrosia Salad

What was once a staple dessert across the U.S. in the 1950s is now the butt of many jokes. Made from pineapple, mandarin oranges, coconut, marshmallows, and sour cream, Ambrosia salad was originally revered for its exotic ingredients. Ambrosia salad hails from an era where the word salad had jigglier, less healthy connotations than its contemporary kale counterparts. 

2. Fondue

Walk the aisles of any thrift store in America and you are bound to find a funky colorful pot with a wooden handle. Those too young to remember the fondue craze of the 1970s might ask, “What’s this for?” But, if you were there, then you remember all too well how difficult it was to both prepare and clean-up this pot of molten cheese.

3. Milk

More drink than food, milk was once a common essential in American households. However, as more and more plant-based milks enter the market, Americans are swapping out dairy for nuttier alternatives. Compared to 1975, Americans are now drinking 47% less milk, and in 2022, 41% of American households purchased plant-based milk at least once and 76% of them were repeat customers. 

4. Candy Cigarettes

While debate rages today about vape companies marketing their products to youth, big tobacco had a simpler and sweeter way to reach a young audience in the early 20th century. Candy cigarettes were once marketed to children to make them look “just like daddy” back before the public knew about the dangers of smoking. A 2007 Mother Jones report found that kids who “smoked” candy cigarettes were twice as likely to become actual smokers themselves.

5. Salisbury Steak

If you ate public school lunch as a kid, you are no doubt familiar with the divisive Salisbury steak – a patty of ground beef smothered in brown mushroom gravy. The history of Salisbury steak goes back to Dr. James Henry Salisbury who developed the entrée as a health food in the late 1880s. Before the rise of fast-food hamburgers, this ground beef “steak” was popular in lunch counters and coffee shops across the country as a cheap alternative to the real thing. These days, it’s mostly reserved for school lunch trays and frozen TV dinners.

6. TV Dinners

In the 1950s the introduction of the microwave brought a revolution in cooking to American kitchens. Gourmet meals could be prepared in minutes with the simple press of a button. According to the Atlantic, TV dinner titans Swanson sold more than 25 million frozen meals in 1953 alone. Sales climbed until 2008 when they suddenly plummeted as consumers began to look for healthier, fresher options.

Do you remember eating any of these forgotten foods? Maybe you still drink milk with your Salisbury steak? In the decades to come, it will be interesting to see what contemporary food trends disappear. Hopefully, we get over the realistic cake trend sooner rather than later.

References: 21 Once-Popular Foods That We All Stopped Eating | 10 once-popular foods that have fallen out of favor | Almond Dominates U.S. Milk Substitute Market | Are Americans moving on from dairy? | 9 of the Strategies Big Tobacco Used to Target Kids with E-Cigarettes