Food trends change constantly, with only a select handful of dishes becoming staples for multiple generations. Baby boomers seemed to have a distinct palate, conjuring up multiple dishes that the younger generations wouldn’t dare try, like these 19 controversial boomer meals.
Twinkies
After making their debut in 1930, Twinkies’ popularity went from strength to strength in the decades to come, becoming the favored snack of many Americans. However, Gen Z is far more conscious of what they eat, with the preservatives and additives in Twinkies proving too much for them to bear.
Liver
While eating liver can offer huge benefits to your body, enriching it with protein, iron, and vitamin A, as the Cleveland Clinic points out, Gen Z is far from enamored with it. With fewer and fewer young people consuming meat products, off-cuts have never been less popular.
Processed Cheese
Many young Americans are realizing the joy of eating ‘real cheese’, or in other words, cheese that can legally be named cheese, unlike the processed horror of years gone by. Processed cheese may as well be named yellow plastic. Regardless, boomers would still probably buy it!
Bologna Sandwich
The Bologna sandwich, often referred to as a ‘baloney’ sandwich, is particularly popular in the Midwest and Appalachian regions of the US. Packed with processed meat and either ketchup or mustard, the dish lacks any real depth or nutritious value, turning off many health-conscious youngsters from trying it.
Spam
The popularity of Spam went through the roof in the Second World War, with canned products providing perfect sustenance during the food shortage. As the years have gone by, the attitude toward processed meat and the abundance of fresh food has drastically lowered Spam’s popularity, just like with Bologna sandwiches.
Ambrosia Salad
After popping up in the 19th century, Ambrosia salad was given a mythological name as it was made from the luxurious ingredients of the time. Its decadence originally made it appealing, but as the ingredients—which include pineapple, oranges, and coconut—became more accessible, the dish became less fashionable.
Grits
Grits is a Southern staple, although its worth is questionable, with its sandy texture, lack of flavor density, and unappealing color not in vogue in the 2020s. However, it would be a shame to see grits die out entirely due to their historical relevance, having been consumed by Native Americans, according to NPR.
Creamed Corn
It seemed that baby boomers had quite the knack for making fruit and vegetables grossly unhealthy. Creamed corn is essentially sweetcorn mixed with milk, cheese, and cream. The dish doesn’t exactly elevate the taste of the sweetcorn; instead, it drowns it out… what were boomers thinking?
Chicken Pot Pie
Once a family favorite, chicken pot pie has lost its charm to young people as a result of the influx of foreign dishes in modern times. Chicken pot pie just doesn’t have the depth of flavor present in dishes from across the world, although boomers still love it. We do, too!
Tapioca Pudding
There seems to be a distinctive trend recurring in so-called baby boomer dishes: so many of them look like creamy mush in a bowl! Many Gen Z youngsters are put off by tapioca pudding’s lack of color and dull texture, barely giving it a taste before dismissing it.
Canned Fruit Cocktail
You’ll have realized by now that baby boomers will happily consume fruit, but only if it is made as unhealthy as possible first. The canning process of canned fruit cocktails already strips it of much of its nutritional value, which is further stripped away with the addition of a thick, sugary syrup.
Cottage Cheese
It was only very recently that cottage cheese was looked down upon by Gen Z, who believed it shared a closer resemblance to vomit than cheese. However, in an unexpected turn of events, CNBC reported that Gen Z is now attempting to make cottage cheese cool again due to its health benefits. The irony!
Meatloaf
It seems everyone’s grandma has a meatloaf recipe that has been passed down through the generations. Sadly, as it stands, it’s unlikely that the Gen Z members of the family will continue to pass the recipe down, as nobody will want to carry on eating dry, tasteless meat shaped into a long, unappetizing loaf.
Jell-O Salad
What is it with old people throwing random ingredients together, which may or may not contain fruit and vegetables, and calling it a salad? Jell-O salad is a selection of fruit and sometimes vegetables thrown into a large Jell-O mold. Thankfully, it’s now regarded as old-fashioned and rarely served on modern dinner tables.
Blood Sausages
The cousin of the blood sausage, black pudding, is still frequently eaten across the pond, but the youth of today will refuse to go near it. A mixture of animal blood, cereals, and spices just doesn’t appeal to young people, who are far more conscious of what they eat.
Deviled Eggs
Gen Z seems to be failing to understand the point of deviled eggs; after all, they are just hard-boiled eggs with their yolks tampered with. The yolks are removed, mixed with mayonnaise and mustard, and then put back where they came from. They’re tasty, but it’s undeniably a long process for relatively little payoff.
Asparagus
Once a much-loved spring vegetable in the USA, asparagus has fallen out of favor. A YouGov study found that it has been relegated to 40th place in the US’ favorite vegetable list. Much of its downfall is linked to the rather unfortunate fact that it negatively impacts the smell of urine.
Prune Juice
Unsurprisingly, young people don’t tend to enjoy drinks that taste medicinal, explaining the drop off in prune juice’s popularity. It also doesn’t help that the consumption of prunes in general is seen as an old people thing, despite their effectiveness as a digestion agent. We bet it will make a comeback, though!
Frozen Mac & Cheese
Last but not least, taking a classic dish, making it as unhealthy as possible with the addition of artificial colors, preservatives, and flavorings, and then selling it frozen to the masses should no doubt be classed as a criminal offense. Frozen mac & cheese is inexcusable, as Gen Z is now pointing out, but boomers just don’t care.
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