Here’s What Foodies Ate In Every Decade Since The Turn Of The 20th Century (2024)

FAQs

What food was invented in the 20th century? ›

Some of the biggest food trends of the 2010s included fro-yo, pumpkin spice, ramen, matcha, hummus, quinoa, macarons, cake pops, kombucha, and bagels, which all jostled for their share of the limelight.

1900s: Chicken Pudding, Exotic Meats Like Caribou And Bear, Layered Ice Cream 'Bombe' American diets during the first half of the 20th century were heavy on meat, thanks to both its filling nature and its growing reputation as a "manly" dish.

Try finger foods like devilled eggs, tea sandwiches, salted nuts, prawn co*cktail and canapés. Cakes were also very popular in the 1920s with red velvets, pound cakes and devil cakes popular. For a Queensland twist try a mini upside down pineapple cake.

Meat, cheese, butter, cooking fats and sugar were heavily restricted, but potatoes, other root vegetables and bread were freely available. People ate a diet much higher in carbohydrates and lower in fats than we do today.

The Turn of the 20th Century

Fast forward to the early 1900s, diet culture began to take a more recognizable shape. This era saw the rise of the calorie as a measure of energy in food and the introduction of weighing scales. The concept of counting calories and monitoring weight became popular.

Food in 2050 might look very different

Cultured meat, high protein insects, seaweed and algae, and allergen-free nuts will be some of the foods that pave the way for creating a better, more sustainable way of life for humans and animals.

Bread, potatoes, cabbage, beans, and various kinds of cereal were the base of local cuisine. There was usually only one dish per meal on the table on regular days. On holidays, there could be several dishes served during the same meal, but they were the same as those cooked on regular days, as a rule.

Over the last twenty years, the American diet has changed dramatically both in terms of the quantity and quality of our food intake. In 1970, Americans took in an average of 2,160 calories per day. Today, it has skyrocketed to 2,673 daily calories per person.

It was an exciting time for food, too. In the first decade of the new century, brownies were invented, Necco wafers came into being and the first patent was issued for instant coffee. Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and hot fudge sundaes were created then, too.

What did people eat for dinner in 1910? ›

The diet of many people tended toward things easily grown and preserved. Salted pork was a mainstay because pigs were easy to raise and the meat kept well. Many dishes featured corn: soaked and turned into hominy, ground and mixed with rye or wheat for bread, or served on the cob in season.

NARRATOR: Meals were very simple affairs for most people living in the early 1900s. Breakfast for the Youngeins would consist of a piece of toast and a cup of tea or porridge. Occasionally on weekends, they would get cooked breakfast as a special treat.

The cheeseburger's genesis can be traced back to 1924 in Pasadena, California. It was the first time "The Original Hamburger with Cheese" appeared on a menu. The legend takes us to Colorado Boulevard (then Route 66), where The Rite Spot once stood and the cheeseburger was born.

On the other hand, the Baby Ruth bar and Wonder Bread were both invented in 1920, Popsicles came out in 1924, Hostess cakes and Kool-Aid were products of 1927 and Velveeta cheese was introduced in 1928.

We began the 20th century with the infancy of airplanes, automobiles, and radio, when those inventions dazzled us with their novelty and wonder. We ended the 20th century with spaceships, computers, cell phones, and the wireless Internet all being technologies we can take for granted.

2 – The Green Revolution and food Industrialisation of the 20th century, when we moved from scarcity to over-abundance. The prioritization of high-yield crops, breeding, the use of fertilizers, livestock optimisation… All these factors led to an unprecedented surge in productivity.

Here is the answer for you! Bread is considered to be first prepared probably some 30000+ years back and is one of the very first foods made by mankind. The earliest proof of making bread loaf occurred with the Natufian hunter-gatherers that lived in the Levant.

The 20th century saw some of the most important inventions that have shaped our world today. Some appliances that were invented include the vacuum, the air conditioner, and the blow dryer. The television, the computer, and the cell phone were also invented in the 1900s.