When the days get shorter and the temperatures begin to drop, it can mean only one thing: The holidays are here. Which in almost all cases means a lot of food. Like everything we eat, holiday foods have undergone countless changes, embracing new trends, fusions, and healthy alternatives, which is not bad per se. Still, holidays should carry the message of preserving tradition and history. That’s why we’ve decided it’s the perfect time to dust off those retro cookbooks and bring the once-kings of holiday dinners back into the spotlight. Now, bring us some figgy pudding and take a look at these 13 retro holiday foods that totally deserve a comeback.
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Fruit cake
If there ever was a most misunderstood holiday dessert, it’s the mercilessly mocked fruit cake. But before becoming the national joke and a holiday outcast, it was once a beloved staple in American festivities. Fans of the dense, booze-soaked, candied fruits and nuts-packed sweet loaf can blame Johnny Carson for the dessert’s bad rep. In the 1960s, the legendary host of “The Tonight Show” said, “The worst Christmas gift is fruitcake. There is only one fruitcake in the entire world, and people keep sending it to each other.” But if you ask us, this ridiculed dessert deserves a place in the zeitgeist of American holiday food.
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Roast goose
Before it was replaced by the now king of the holidays, the prized turkey, everyone and their mother had a roast goose for Christmas dinner. For those yearning to channel the Cratchit family’s festive spirit from Dickens’s “A Christmas Carol,” reintroducing the roast Christmas goose to the holiday table is a comeback worth considering.
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Yule log (Bûche de Noël)
Yule log or bûche or “Bûche de Noël” is a French holiday cake that literally translates to “Christmas log.” It’s basically a rolled sponge cake that’s decorated to look like, you guessed it, a log. Traditionally filled and frosted with buttercream icing, then decorated with meringue, powdered sugar, and fresh or candied berries, this indulgent creamy dessert deserves a spot on your holiday dinner table this year.
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Waldorf salad
The classic recipe, created in 1893 at the famous Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York City, quickly became a favorite and was once a beloved Christmas appetizer. You see it less and less on holiday menus, and it’s a refreshing festive salad that is worthy of bringing back.
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Christmas plum pudding
This 19th-century holiday treat is a traditional British dessert that, for one, does not contain plums, and it doesn’t exactly align with what Americans typically think of as pudding. Instead, it’s a concoction of raisins and dried fruit with a generous helping of sugar and brandy or ale.
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Jell-O molds
Nothing screams Christmas of our childhood more than a bundt pan and gelatin. In all its vibrant, jiggly glory, Jell-O was the star of many holiday tables back in the day and the front page of every vintage cookbook. Though nowadays voted out as tacky and outdated, Jell-O molds can still make for a festive centerpiece.
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Swedish meatballs
They may be called Swedish, but these meaty rounds of comfort have been a Christmas staple in many American kitchens. Whether it’s mom’s meatballs with that special ingredient or grandma’s version that no one can quite replicate, everyone’s got their own secret recipe. Once the go-to dish for gatherings and cozy family dinners, Swedish meatballs have somewhat drifted into the background in recent years, overshadowed by your quinoa, mushrooms, veggies, and whatnot balls. For those yearning for simple, feel-good comfort food this Christmas, going back to the basics is the way to go.
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Mincemeat pies
A British Christmas favorite since the 12th century, mince pies or mince meat pies were originally served as hearty blends of minced meats like beef and pork, mixed up with fruits and classic festive spices – nutmeg and cinnamon between two pie crusts. Mince pies made their way into American kitchens around the late 19th century when they popped up in an 1896 Thanksgiving menu and inspired unique takes like Fannie Farmer’s Mock Mince Meat Pie recipe, using crackers instead of suet. Today, they’re not as common as they were in your grandma’s day, but they sure deserve a comeback.
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Christmas cheese balls
These cheesy “hockey pucks,” rimmed with crushed almonds, pecans, or walnuts, are another ghost of Christmas past, evoking fond memories as a once-loved and now largely ignored holiday appetizer. You can fill them with any cheese you fancy and cover them with your choice of toppings. Why not shape them into Christmas-themed forms like reindeer for an extra festive touch?
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Glazed ham with pineapple and maraschino cherries
Here is a Christmas recipe that evokes images of your grandmother’s old Christmas cooking magazines: Glazed Ham with Pineapple and Maraschino Cherries. For anyone wanting to jazz up their festive feast with a bit of nostalgia, this dish should be on the menu. It’s got that sweet-meets-savory vibe with a juicy ham glazed to golden perfection, topped with zesty pineapple rings and those little pops of red from Maraschino cherries.
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Christmas Stollen
Stollen, Germany’s answer to fruitcake, is a sweet loaf dating back to 1329. Packed with dried fruits, nuts, and candied citrus peels, this medieval festive treat was brought to America by German immigrants. It’s now poised for a comeback. Who doesn’t love a bit of retro with their coffee on Christmas morning?
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Ambrosia salad
Remember that scene in the 1990 cult classic “Edward Scissorhands” where Johnny Depp, as Edward, gets a big spoonful of ambrosia salad? It’s a fluffy, pink-tinged fruit concoction that nowadays is the black sheep of Thanksgiving and Christmas dinner tables. But it wasn’t always deemed a salad without morals. Ambrosia salad appeared as a simple recipe of grated coconut and orange pulp suggested by Maria Massey Barringer in “Dixie Cookery,” in 1867. By 1870, Godey’s Lady’s Book and Magazine from Philadelphia suggested adding pineapple to the mix. Over the years, many fluffy, creamy additions were added to the mix to create the whole shebang, which works for a perfect retro festive treat.
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Pfeffernüsse cookies
Pfeffernusse cookies—the snowball treats from our childhood holidays, were always there but never the main attraction. A mix of spices like ginger, cloves, cardamom, and white pepper, these traditionally German festive treats would work as a perfect addition to your Christmas morning coffee.
This article was produced and syndicated by MediaFeed.
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