10 Vintage Foods That Are Like Hopping Into a Time Machine

Step into a delicious time machine with these 10 vintage foods that scream nostalgia. From classic dishes that graced our grandparents' dinner tables to snacks that made every childhood party a hit, these recipes are a ticket back to simpler times. Ready to reminisce about the good old days through the universal language of food?

Table of Contents

1. Creamed Chipped Beef
2. Round Steak
3. Frozen Concentrated Fruit Juice
4. Organ Meat
5. Chicken a la King
6. Liver and Onions
7. Lime Green Jello Salad
8. Hamburger Helper
9. Shrimp Cocktail
10. Space Food Sticks
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1. Creamed Chipped Beef

I tried this when living in the United States, and maybe it was the quality, but I was not overawed. Effectively, it is bechamel white sauce with little strips of fried beef, though some people use burger meat or something else and eat it on toast. "That was something we alternated with Chicken a la King, "recalls someone who experienced the '70s. "We were poor growing up and existed on a single mom salary."

2. Round Steak

"My mom cooked round steak, so it was like a hockey puck," jokes a new thread poster. I haven't tried a round steak, but it gets a bad reputation for its texture and lack of flavor. "Yes, round steak has got to be one of the cheapest, toughest cuts of meat," a kindred spirit agrees.

3. Frozen Concentrated Fruit Juice

"My local grocery store has half a shelf in one cooler," explains a nostalgist. "They're in dead plastic cans. I miss the slight taste of paper in my juice." You might still be able to buy this bizarre yet comforting product — when we were younger, most aisles had whole parts of the frozen section dedicated to frozen juice — now, people prefer just cold juice. Who would have thought?

4. Organ Meat

"Generally, animal's internal organs aren't on the butcher shelf much these days," claims a meat eater. I am unsure about this — it depends on where you live. Organ meat is becoming popular with the keto crowd and other fitness enthusiasts. Others in the thread feel this way, too. "But if you want them, you have to go to a specialty butcher, and they are no longer cheap," claims one such person.

5. Chicken a la King

This dish was a British household favorite in the '80s. It is chicken and gravy finished with cream and served on buttered toast. Our family rendition had fried onions and peppers, and we ate it with boiled rice. "Chicken A la King" was a standard hot lunch at school in the '70s," says someone who grew up in the dish's heyday.

6. Liver and Onions

"I couldn't stand to be in the house the day my mom cooked it," says someone with liver flashbacks. "I'd come home from school, walk in the house and instantly know what it was, (then) I'd walk back outside." I feel you, partner. Nothing makes a teenager run from a house more than the smell of burnt rubber.

7. Lime Green Jello Salad

lime green salad — Image Credit: Shutterstock

"Lots of things I haven't seen in a while," says a commenter. "Lime green jello with carrots and marshmallows comes to mind." This comment caused a double-take, which prompted swift research. Yes, lime jello salad was a thing — but with carrots and marshmallows? Much like the parachute jacket, the anti-eating mask, and the Hindenburg, lime jello salad can please remain part of history.

8. Hamburger Helper

Being British, I didn't know what to think when I first discovered this product. I assumed it was some kind of seasoning to make hamburgers better. Hamburger Helper is a pack of freeze-dried carbs and seasoning, which one cooks with ground-up hamburger meat.

However, there are other options, such as tuna helper. "I reheated tuna helper at work once," jokes a rather inconsiderate office worker. "You want to see some angry people? Reheat tuna helper at work."

9. Shrimp Cocktail

"Shrimp Cocktail, sold refrigerated in six-packs of small glass jars," is our next commenter's offering. "Was so tasty, and the jars could be used as drinking glasses afterward." I don't miss shrimp cocktails. Even the name makes me feel uneasy — this comes after a traumatic event as a child involving watching a man slurp one down in a restaurant, the sick man.

10. Space Food Sticks

You can just imagine children of yesteryear going crazy for these snacks. The best thing about Space Food Sticks is Pillsbury's 1970 patent application description. They wanted a "non-frozen, balanced energy snack in rod form containing nutritionally balanced amounts of carbohydrate, fat, and protein." The "in rod form" bit gets me every time.

Source: Reddit