A lot can change in, say, 50 years. Just look at the car or communication industry. How we eat is no exception. And nothing shows it as vividly as the Facebook group Questionable Vintage Recipes.
As the name suggests, its members share funny and weird foods from back in the day: we’re talking lamb chops, cranberry “candles”, and crown roasts of frankfurters. You know, the good stuff.
Continue scrolling to check out some of the most ridiculous recipes the group has to offer. Just don’t show them to Gordon Ramsay. He’d be fuming!
#1 That Might Explain Some Things About The 70s…
Image source: Reverse Wine Snob
#2 Questionable Vintage Recipes
Image source: Jason Sachs
#3 Who Doesn’t Love A Little Whipped Cream With Their Angel Food?
Image source: Emilie Kovalik
#4 Questionable Vintage Recipes
Image source: Robin Lee Miracle
#5 I’d Eat It
Image source: Nancy Ann
#6 Tonight’s Dinner Sorted!
Image source: Glenn Raymond Hadgkiss
#7 A Personal Favorite, Conceptually. From That 70s Ww Recipe Deck
Image source: Meredith Elliott
#8 Not Quite Sure What To Make Of This
Image source: Joann Cataldo
#9 Where A Lot Of ‘Salads’ Got Their Jell-O From. Special Non Sweet Flavors
Image source: Kenneth Influencer Charles
#10 Some Of These Look Good…
Image source: Michelle Lynn Ryan
#11 Anyone Have The Recipe For This One?
Image source: Van Rose
#12 Kielbasa Legs! Ahh My Polish Grandmother Would Have Blown Her Cigarette Smoke On This In Absolute Delight
Image source: Misfit History
#13 May I Present To You…. Shrimptree! Seemed To Be A Trend In 1965
Image source: Alison Novak
#14 Why Not Slice The Banana?
Image source: Nancy Rees
#15 Questionable Vintage Recipes
Image source: Bonnie White
#16 I Don’t Think I’ve Ever Had A Stuffed Party Pickle Slice. Surprised They Didn’t Suggest Putting The Party Pickle Innards On A Saltine!!
Image source: Linda Lackner Donovan
#17 I’m Going Through My Mom’s Recipe Box Since She Passed Away. I’ve Come Across Some Lovely Recipes (Heh) Including This Gem. I Hope It’s Okay For Me To Share A Few More Later
Image source: Peach Kay
#18 Questionable Vintage Recipes
Image source: Nancy Rees
#19 Questionable Vintage Recipes
Image source: Romney Ryan
#20 I Teach Culinary Arts. One Of My Fav Classes Is Garde Manger. My #1 Rule: Tread Carefully With Animals (Cucumber Sharks, Ugh) But Never Make Food Look Like Other Food. Below Is The First Slide In My What Not To Do Presentation
Image source: Ridire Quinn
#21 Campbell’s Cream Of Mushroom Soup. Is There Anything It Can’t Make More Delicious?
Image source: Mark Langer
#22 I Found This Recipe And I Just Had To Try It
It’s called Frankaroni loaf. It calls for macaroni, bread crumbs, cheese, hot dogs, tomato sauce (not spaghetti sauce) and stuffed olives. I had all ingredients on hand. Except I chose to make it with Spaghettios because it just made the whole thing campier (more campy?campier? Technically that’s not a word but I’m a trailblazer) also the only olives I have are stuffed with blue cheese and are for Martinis (guess what wins here). So I reserved some of the Spaghettio juice (or whatever it’s called), mixed all the ingredients and put the hot dogs in the middle. It called for 6 hot dogs in a loaf pan longer than the one I had so I needed to break hot dogs in pieces and arrange them to fit (which drove me nuts that I couldn’t get into perfect rows). I had 1 left over that I just couldn’t fit in and I was already stressed from the guilt of saving the stuffed olives for Martinis so I just left it out. I baked it then used the reserved Spaghettio juice to make that classy diagonal stripe. But alas, what do I do with the leftover hot dog? Well, since the lack of green olives left a gaping hole of despair in our culinary sensibilities I decided I would use the extra hot dog in the style of nouvelle cuisine. Nouvelle cuisine uses the presentation of the dish artistically. For example, you may have a salad that resembles a sunset over the ocean. And the chick pea, if placed perfectly, represents blissful departures with good fortune. So I placed the leftover hot dog along the diagonal stripe of Spaghettio juice to represent a hand hewn boat floating with tranquility across a placid fjord. And the tooth pick represents a flaming arrow shot by a viking setting his dead friend ablaze. Finally it was cool enough to try. I took my first bite and I must say this pretty much tasted like crap. Not spit it out and wash your out out with Scope bad. It just tasted like Spaghettios with bread crumbs. Maybe it will taste better tomorrow. That’s OK. I’ll just wash the taste out with this Martini…with olives
Image source: Pam Zanco
#23 Questionable Vintage Recipes
Image source: Alejandro Amortegui
#24 Anyone Fancy A Lamb Chop Tandoori With Mango Chutney- In A Glass?!! Taken From A Book Called Aphrodisiac Cuisine…
Image source: Paula Pheby
#25 Jellied Bouillon With Frankfurters
think we (mostly) really like each other in this group. I don’t know why we feel compelled to do this to one another. For the record, I’m REALLY ashamed of myself for posting this. Sigh.
Jellied Bouillon with Frankfurters
Directions: “Dissolve unflavored gelatin in hot beef broth. In a pretty gelatin mold, place diced celery, slices of hard-boiled eggs and hot dogs in an eye-pleasing design. Pour beef Jell-O into the mold. Chill until firm.”
Image source: Lloyd Vinnik
#26 Uestionable Vintage Recipes
Image source: Chad Weirick
#27 Here…all These Years…steak, Lasagna, Burgers, Pizza…sigh…all I Needed Was A Can Of Beans & A Hollowed Out Onions! “Honey, Dinners Ready!”
Image source: Shauna Tucker
#28 So, The Company’s Coming Cookbooks Were A Huge Hit In Canada In The 1980s. You Could Buy Them At Every Drug Store, Grocery Store And Department Store. Probably Even Larger Gas Stations And The Most Canadian Of All Stores – Canadian Tire. Lots Of Canned Soup Involved In The Recipes. Some Are Actually Pretty Good. And Then There Is This Gem:
Image source: Kim Paterson-Cameron
#29 Church Cookbook. 1991
Image source: Christine Hodgson
#30 Questionable Vintage Recipes
Image source: Stevie Holcomb
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