Retro Recipes That Don"t Need To Make A Comeback. Ever.

Oh, the mid-century! People greet this period with more pained eye rolling than the 80s. When photographic evidence of this era comes to light, people rise to its defense and claim, “Everyone was wearing that…”  

Someone came up with the idea in the mid-century that housewives were looking for new ways to delight their families during mealtime. With this in mind, companies created “innovative” recipes sold on printed cards. Recipe cards usually came in sets and were ordered by phone. Struggling to outdo each another and to promote their own products, companies often featured horrifying concoctions. We’re talking recipes only seen in films involving mad scientists playing God. Staple ingredients included gelatin and mayonnaise, usually together, and nary a fresh vegetable… unless it was suspended in one of the aforementioned substances.

Feeling hungry? Check these out. You won’t be hungry afterwards.

1.) Crown Roast

2.) Treasure Chest Salad

3.) Seafood Mousse

4.) The Californian Jello Ring

5.) Steak Pudding

6.) Meat-za

7.) Aspic Aquarium

8.) Liver Sausage Pineapple

9.) Deviled Lettuce

10.) Fancy Chicken

11.) Party Sandwich Loaf

12.) Perfection Salad

If you’re wondering why packaged, chemical-laden foods were so popular during this time, I have a conspiracy theory for you. It’s unfounded, of course, but it claims that during the 50s, the US government promoted these types of non-perishable foods (Spam, Tang, Jell-O, etc.) so people would get used to living on military-style rations in case of a nuclear war with the Soviet Union. Nuclear winter would be more palatable if you were already used to eating grayish lumps of tinned meat. Whatever reason may be for this stuff catching on, be glad that aspic and filling heads of lettuce with mayo is no longer fashionable.

Retro Recipes That Don"t Need To Make A Comeback. Ever.