The biggest food trends of the past forty years

Remember about 10 years ago when cupcakes became a near obsession, with a new ‘cupcakery’ opening on what seemed to be every street corner? Food trends are always evolving, and today’s food sensation may be tomorrow’s old news. Sometimes food trends come back, just like men’s and women’s fashions, and a few things always stay in style. Good Housekeeping Magazine takes a nostalgic look at the trendiest foods for each year since 1970.

The slideshow begins with 1970’s most popular food: quiche. The dish gained popularity beginning in the 1950s but hit its peak in the early 1970s. People went wild over quiche because “it was a good way to get rid of leftovers, it was a vehicle for creativity, and it was French, which meant it was chic and sophisticated,” according to the magazine.

Fast forward to 1977 and you’ll see the ascendance of Buffalo wings, which according to legend were invented in 1964 at the Anchor Bar in Buffalo, New York. In 1984, diners went wild over blackened fish, thanks in part to the first edition of Chef Paul Prudhomme’s Louisiana Kitchen. In 1997, molten chocolate cake was at its height. This dish is often credited to Jean-Georges Vongerichten, who accidentally undercooked a chocolate sponge cake in his New York restaurant, Jo Jo, in 1987. Diners liked the result so much that his restaurants now serve more than 1,000 of the cakes every day.

While some of the foods listed in the slideshow, like quiche and creme brulee, are perennial favorites, a few have certainly declined since their peak popularity. Those on the downward trend include the once-ubiquitous cupcakes, along with fat-free foods and Cosmopolitans.

Photo of Quiche Lorraine from Saveur Magazine by Sara Moulton