10 Fascinating Food Trends from America’s Past

Michie

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From stuffed celery in the 1920s to Beef Wellington in the 1980s, let’s look at 10 American food trends from the last century! Although the foods on our list are still around today, they reached the height of their popularity in decades past. Which ones do you remember?

1. Stuffed celery

19 Jan 1931, Mon Des Moines Tribune (Des Moines, Iowa)Newspapers.com


Stuffed celery was a hit in the U.S. during the 1920s and ‘30s, and it was often served as an hors d’oeuvre or along with soup or salad. To make the dish, chilled celery stalks were topped with any one of a number of fillings. Cheese-based fillings(especially cream cheese or Roquefort) and seafood fillings (tuna, lobster, crab, etc.) were particularly popular.

2. Icebox cakes

Continued below.
10 Fascinating Food Trends from America’s Past - The official blog of Newspapers.com
 

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From stuffed celery in the 1920s to Beef Wellington in the 1980s, let’s look at 10 American food trends from the last century! Although the foods on our list are still around today, they reached the height of their popularity in decades past. Which ones do you remember?

1. Stuffed celery

19 Jan 1931, Mon Des Moines Tribune (Des Moines, Iowa)Newspapers.com

Stuffed celery was a hit in the U.S. during the 1920s and ‘30s, and it was often served as an hors d’oeuvre or along with soup or salad. To make the dish, chilled celery stalks were topped with any one of a number of fillings. Cheese-based fillings(especially cream cheese or Roquefort) and seafood fillings (tuna, lobster, crab, etc.) were particularly popular.

2. Icebox cakes

Continued below.
10 Fascinating Food Trends from America’s Past - The official blog of Newspapers.com
WOW! I can't believe it! We're kindred spirits in the nostalgia department!
 
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Shane R

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There's always fruit cocktail and Spam in my pantry. We've usually got a few TV dinners in the freezer too. My kids think they are a treat for some reason. For me they are more like an easy supper when I'm not feeling like cooking or didn't meal plan but don't want to pay restaurant prices.
 
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jacks

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We used to eat a lot more celery when I was growing up. The little ridge seemed to be just made for stuffing something in. The snack we got the most growing up was peanut butter in celery. I'm sure many of you did too. BTW I also loved TV dinners when I was a kid. Something about all the separate little "snacks" and desert too!
 
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We used to eat a lot more celery when I was growing up. The little ridge seemed to be just made for stuffing something in. The snack we got the most growing up was peanut butter in celery. I'm sure many of you did too. BTW I also loved TV dinners when I was a kid. Something about all the separate little "snacks" and desert too!
Now it's hard to find those frozen dinners with a green vegetable! I LOVE broccoli, but what happened to green beans?
 
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Michie

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WOW! I can't believe it! We're kindred spirits in the nostalgia department!
I have a collection of vintage and antique cookbooks I’ve run across. It’s fascinating to see the food trends back in the day. :)
 
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Rescued One

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I remember fondue in the seventies. I don't remember anything before that. My mother didn't like to cook or entertain. She NEVER invited anyone over, not even her parents or siblings. And
I don't remember her ever baking a birthday cake for any of us.
 
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Michie

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I remember Fondue in the seventies. Before that I don't know because my mother didn't like to or entertain. She never invited people over. NEVER, not even her parents or siblings.
Any reason why?
 
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Sometimes I wonder if her mother's generation was like that about birthdays, My mother didn't have or want friends but looked for male companionship between marriages. :scratch: And she didn't want anyone to wear shoes in the house because there were germs on their soles. No she wasn't Japanese.
 
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We used to eat a lot more celery when I was growing up. The little ridge seemed to be just made for stuffing something in. The snack we got the most growing up was peanut butter in celery. I'm sure many of you did too. BTW I also loved TV dinners when I was a kid. Something about all the separate little "snacks" and desert too!
I never liked raw celery and only ate it if it was in potato salad. Peanut butter was good plain or on toast with jelly for breakfast.

My mother didn't provide snacks. We only ate at meal time. We had to eat everything on our plates and then after supper we could have ice cream or store bought cookies.
 
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There's always fruit cocktail and Spam in my pantry. We've usually got a few TV dinners in the freezer too. My kids think they are a treat for some reason. For me they are more like an easy supper when I'm not feeling like cooking or didn't meal plan but don't want to pay restaurant prices.
I like all that minus the Spam. I like the taste of fried Spam but won't buy it because of the fat.
 
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Michie

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