The citizens of the Roman Empire, which sprawled from north Africa to modern day Great Britain, consumed stuffed door mice. Later on, English royalty would bake blood-sucking lamprey eels into pies. Suffice it to say, both of these options would sound disgusting to modern eaters; foods come and go, fading into the annals of history. So let’s take some time to eulogize the top 5 foods that delighted our palates in decades past:

1. Jell-O salads 

Bored housewives found a new way to serve leftovers when the Jell-O Salad was concocted: anything from vegetables to cottage cheese could be found trapped in jiggly stasis. Brought on by the post-WWII technology boom, the Jell-O mold and its many variations was a symbol of the era’s burgeoning home economics and the drive for domestic perfection. A quick dessert or an ornate entree, Jell-O Salad could be a mess-free meal prepared by the time the husband and kids get home. 

2. Dandelions

Dandelions are everywhere this time of year – and lucky for you if you’re ever in a pinch, they are also edible. First introduced to the Americas by the passengers of the Mayflower, the dandelion had long been consumed for medicinal purposes in Europe and Asia. It is an incredibly versatile plant – It can be fermented into an alcohol known as dandelion wine or used to create a coffee substitute. 

3. Tuna casserole

Commonly consisting of canned tuna, pasta, shredded cheese, cream of mushroom soup, and often fried onions, the tuna casserole’s ingredients were an easy find at any supermarket. In fact, 8 out of 10 households would serve tuna casserole at least once a week not only because it was cheap to make, but also out of their own love for the dish. In modern times (perhaps due to such frequent consumption), families now opt for more varied weekly menus, sans the infamous casserole. 

4. Sloppy Joes 

My earliest memories of the Sloppy Joe are piles of sauce-drenched napkins strewn about the cafeteria. Who thought it was a good idea to serve what is essentially bowl-less chili to Kindergarteners, I’ll never know. The origin of the Sloppy Joe is just as mysterious: some say it was the creation of an Iowa chef named Joe in 1930, while others believe it was first served at Sloppy Joe’s Bar in Key West, Florida. The most curious story, however, involves author Ernest Hemingway. The tale goes that Hemingway ate at another Sloppy Joe’s in Havana, Cuba. After being served a sandwich variation of the Cuban dish ropa vieja, he brought it back to the aforementioned restaurant in Key West which began serving the Sloppy Joe as we know it today.

5. Tapioca pudding

While Americans now prefer to consume their tapioca in boba form, it was once eaten in a sticky, cream-based pudding. The creation of tapioca pudding is accredited to one woman in the 19th century: Susan Stavers. Stavers was the owner of a Boston boarding house and reportedly created the dish out of taro root that one of her lodgers had brought from an overseas voyage. Although infamously nicknamed ‘frogspawn’ due to its somewhat unsettling texture, tapioca pudding has made a recent comeback in highbrow restaurants as an addition to savory meals. 

These foods may seem tacky and unappealing by our modern standards but were once considered dietary staples. Who knows what common foods of the current era will go out of style next? Only time will tell.