11 Forgotten Foods That Deserve a Comeback

They say what goes around comes back around, but we’re still waiting for the triumphant return of medlars, sweet potato pudding, and other culinary crushes that history ghosted.

Food fads are basically edible time capsules—each one reflecting what was in style, what was scarce, and how much mayonnaise was socially acceptable.

So, until someone finally builds a tasty time machine, here’s our wish list of bygone bites we’d bring back.

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1. SWEET POTATO PUDDING
Thomas Jefferson: Founding Father, inventor, dessert guy. This Colonial classic—basically sweet potato pie before it was cool—was loaded with sweet potatoes, eggs, sugar, and nutmeg. Jefferson’s version was a remix of Mary Randolph’s pudding, from her 1824 cookbook The Virginia Housewife. She also suggested making it with Irish potatoes, but said “it is not so good.” Translation: Don’t.

2. GREAT DEPRESSION CAKE
The name says it all. With milk, eggs, and butter rationed or MIA, bakers in the 1930s had to MacGyver their way to dessert. The result? A flour-dense cake, heavy on spices like cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg and studded with boiled raisins. It’s proof you can make comfort food without actual comfort.

3. WATERGATE SALAD
This “salad” is 10% pistachio pudding, 90% Cool Whip, and 0% vegetables. Born in the 1970s—when gelatin molds roamed free—it got its name from an editor looking to ride the coattails of the Nixon scandal. Nothing says “cover-up” like hiding pineapple chunks under a mountain of whipped topping.

4. MEDLARS
Think of medlars as apples’ goth cousin: smaller, tougher, and only edible after they’ve partially rotted (a process charmingly called “bletting”). The Victorians loved them. Shakespeare used them as a metaphor for decay. Today, they’re mostly found in jams, if at all—probably because “enjoy after mild decomposition” is a terrible marketing slogan.

5. SEVEN LAYER SALAD
Peak 1970s potluck chic. Layers of lettuce, peas, bacon, cheese, and a mayo-sugar dressing stacked in a glass dish so everyone could see the magic. The healthiest part? The transparency.

6. PRE-MEAL FRUIT COCKTAILS (Ambrosia’s prim, smaller cousin who shows up before dinner)
Prohibition killed the Champagne toast, so hostesses swapped bubbly for maraschino-cherry-heavy fruit cocktails sprinkled with sugar or marshmallows. Nothing says “sophisticated soirée” like canned peaches on lettuce leaves.

7. BEEF BOURGUIGNON
Julia Child made this beef-and-wine feast a ’60s sensation. It’s delicious, but takes more than two hours to make—which explains why it’s vanished from Tuesday night dinners. The modern shortcut? Calling DoorDash for steak tips.

8. NUT RING
Not a wedding band—an aspic-era party centerpiece. Depression-era homemakers molded gelatin into rings and stuffed the middle with nuts or Victory Garden veggies. It was budget-friendly and a conversation piece, usually along the lines of “What is that?”

9. DIPPIN’ DOTS
Cryogenically frozen ice cream beads that were a ’90s theme park flex. They stuck to your lips, melted weirdly, and tasted vaguely futuristic. We didn’t care—they were space ice cream, and that was enough.

10. CALAS
Deep-fried rice fritters from New Orleans with a history as rich as their flavor. Sold by African American street vendors in the 18th and 19th centuries, they were so profitable some vendors used the earnings to buy their freedom. Delicious and revolutionary.

11. CHEESE BALL
Part appetizer, part edible weapon. These nut-crusted cheese orbs date back at least to the early 1800s—Jefferson himself received a 1,200-pound version called “The Mammoth Cheese.” Today’s versions are smaller, but still the undisputed MVP of holiday snack tables.

If history has taught us anything, it’s that food trends always swing back around. Until then, we’ll be here, dreaming of medlars and mayo mountains.