30 Disgusting Vintage Recipes That Prove The Dishes Of The Past Were Really Bizarre Interview With Owner
Whoever said you can't time travel clearly has not stumbled upon Jess's Instagram page, "Weird Old Food." With a hefty collection of vintage cookbooks at her fingertips, Jess takes us way back, serving up photos of rather interesting recipes that might make you go, "Wait, people actually ate that?"
The charm of "Weird Old Food" lies in the mystery, with Jess sharing just enough to keep her followers intrigued and staying tuned for more. Each post reveals a scanned snapshot of a dish from the vintage cookbooks she owns, and the bare essentials—just the name of the dish, the year, and the cookbook it's pulled from. However, looking past all that, this page isn't just about the food itself, rather it’s a collection of the strange and quirky culinary trends of the past.
Also, don't forget to scroll down and check out an interview with Jess, the owner of the 'Weird Old Food' page!
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Shrimp Cucumber Aspic (Southern Living 1983 Annual Recipes)
Bored Panda reached out to Jess, the curator of the "Weird Old Food" Instagram page. As you might've guessed, Jess's unique hobby involves exploring vintage cookbooks and sharing particularly unusual or intriguing recipes with her audience.
When asked about how her interest in vintage cookbooks began, Jess shared, "I have always loved paging through cookbooks. I was very interested in vintage illustrations and I began collecting vintage cookbooks that had beautiful mid-century line illustrations. Now I collect any books from 1990 or earlier." The oldest books in her collection date back to the late 1800s.
Ham Buffet Mold (Campbell’s Great Restaurant Cookbook, U.s.a.)
Regarding a recipe that genuinely surprised her, she revealed a peculiar one, 'Salmon in Bladder of Pork' (also mentioned in the post) from the book 'Loving French Cuisine, 1995'. She commented, "It’s from the nineties, which is very modern for my collection, but the photography is horrifying. It looks so anatomical."
Rice And Salmon Mould (Gelatine Home Cooking Secrets, 1975)
Ducklings Afloat On A Pond Cake (The Wilton Way Of Cake Decorating, 1979)
The most challenging dishes in her collection, she explained, come from classic French cuisine. She mentioned recipes such as "Galantine of Duck" from "Classic French Cooking, 1971", and "Chicken in Chaud-Froid Sauce" from "The Creative Cooking Course, 1975", admitting, "As a home chef I wouldn’t ever attempt those... I don’t see myself ever attempting chaud-froid sauce."
Spaghetti Ring Florentine (Better Homes And Gardens 1988 Best-Recipes Yearbook)
Discussing her process for selecting which recipe to feature next on "Weird Old Food", Jess noted, "My process is very casual. When I’m looking through my collection and I see something odd or interesting I take a photo of it... My photo library looks wild- old cookbook pictures, cat pictures, and pictures of my niece and nephew. It’s mostly food pics though." She picks something that amuses her at that moment, demonstrating a light-hearted and spontaneous approach to her unique hobby.
Chutney Aspic (Trader Vic’s Pacific Island Cookbook, 1968)
Shrimps In Aspic (Grand Diplome Cooking Course, Volume 8, 1972)
Soup On The Rocks (Campbell’s Soup Ad, 1956)
Sugar Cube Castle (Holiday Cookies, Sweets, Appetizers And Meals, 1986)
That'd be fun. How many battalions do you intend to serve with that?
Frankfurter Crown With Kraut (34 Selected Recipes For Delicious Dishes And Dinners With Kraut)
Stuffed Flank-Steak Roll (Time Life Illustrated Library Of Cooking: Appetizers, Beef, Breads And Rolls, Breakfast Quick Breads, 1969)
I had a nightmare, where I was being chased (very slowly) by one of these.
Lemon Dill Shrimp Mold (Wilton Entertaining Appetizers To Desserts, 1994)
Lobster Salad Heligoland (Gourmet’s Old Vienna Cookbook, 1959)
We're gonna need a banana here, people. Either those are teeny tiny lobsters or the rest of the meal is gigantic!
Shrimp Tree With Curry Sauce (Great Recipes Of The World)
Whole Fish In Aspic (Gelatine Home Cooking Secrets, 1975)
Lettuce-Wrapped And Stuffed Fillets Of Fish (Victory Garden Cookbook, 1982)
Fruit-Salad Linguine (Better Homes And Gardens Pasta, 1983)
Rag Doll Cake (The Wilton Yearbook Of Cake Decorating, 1978)
Sea Dream (Joys Of Jello, 1963)
Brain Salad With Cream Dressing (The Good Cook Salads, 1980)
My mum actually like boiled cow brains. Nothing like coming back from school and see a brain in a pyrex bowl in the fridge. No wonder old horror movies never scared me.
Golden Gate Saucy Burgers With Spaghetti Topping (Family Circle Illustrated Library Of Cooking Volume 3, 1972)
Hard Sauce Clowns (How To Have The Most Fun With Cake Mixes)
Summer Day Salad (Holiday Cooking For Kids, 1982)
Noodle Ring (The Good Housekeeping Illustrated Cookbook, 1980)
Fun At The Fair Cake (Wilton Yearbook 1977 Cake Decorating)
Why were these cake people so obsessed with clowns? I get serious Gacy vibes from these cakes.
Clown Cake (1989 Wilton Yearbook Cake Decorating!)
Note: this post originally had 99 images. It’s been shortened to the top 30 images based on user votes.
A lot of these did not deserve to be on this list.
Agreed, The cakes are fugly but wouldn't taste bad. Now the fish/jello pairings on the other hand.. 🤢
Wilton cakes we're a thing. We bought all these fancy molds and then they've fancy decorating tips and you've got your. Directions and it was just a thing to do when my daughter was little
Totally agree with you
I have to say the skill involved with the Wilton cakes is very impressive.
Most of these aren't bad at all, just unusual (from a modern perspective). In fact, we've probably eaten something like the shown foods when we were kids (I know for sure we had quite a few jelly-based desserts at home). I'd love to sample many of these dishes.
Yes. And gelatine or aspic is great thing for your hair, nails, skin and joints. That reminds me that I should get some pork skins and make something amazing once again.
And better against wrinkles than any cream.
Rose Nyland recipes.
A lot of these did not deserve to be on this list.
Agreed, The cakes are fugly but wouldn't taste bad. Now the fish/jello pairings on the other hand.. 🤢
Wilton cakes we're a thing. We bought all these fancy molds and then they've fancy decorating tips and you've got your. Directions and it was just a thing to do when my daughter was little
Totally agree with you
I have to say the skill involved with the Wilton cakes is very impressive.
Most of these aren't bad at all, just unusual (from a modern perspective). In fact, we've probably eaten something like the shown foods when we were kids (I know for sure we had quite a few jelly-based desserts at home). I'd love to sample many of these dishes.
Yes. And gelatine or aspic is great thing for your hair, nails, skin and joints. That reminds me that I should get some pork skins and make something amazing once again.
And better against wrinkles than any cream.
Rose Nyland recipes.