Do you remember when tequila sunrises first became popular? Or when molten chocolate cake was the cool new dessert? Here we take a nostalgic trip, from the 1940s through to the 1990s, revisiting the food fads of years gone by. Find out whether the craze from the year you were born lasted or whether it flopped like a 1950s Jell-O salad.

The coffee substitute Postum, which is caffeine-free and made from wheat grains and molasses, has been around since the late-19th century. However, due to rationing during the Second World War and people looking for a replacement hot drink, it did a roaring trade during the mid and late-1940s.

This B vitamin-rich lunch meat became popular in the war-torn 1940s as preferred pork and beef cuts were shipped overseas to feed troops. It was mass-produced in the US by the brand Morrell E-Z Serve and came in a can, ready to eat hot or cold.

A recipe for chiffon cake – a light, fluffy cake made from eggs, sugar, flour, baking powder and a secret ingredient, vegetable oil – was published by Betty Crocker in 1948. Touted as “The first really new cake in 100 years!”, for a time it became the cake to bake in households across the US.

All things Tiki – faux Polynesian – was a trend started in the 1930s by Hollywood eatery Don the Beachcomber. Diners loved the themed bars and restaurants, adorned with wooden carvings, where you could get tropical fruit and rum cocktails. Tiki reached peak popularity in the 1960s before falling foul of cultural appropriation.

The cabbage soup diet took off in the 1950s as figure-conscious housewives hailed the low-cal veggie broth for its quick weight loss results. It was typically followed for a week and dieters were told they could expect to lose between 10 and 15lbs. It was soon replaced by other fad diets but resurfaced in the 1980s and is still around today.

This indulgent dessert of bananas flambéed with brown sugar, butter, cinnamon, dark rum and banana liqueur, served with ice cream, was first created in 1951 at Brennan’s Restaurant in New Orleans, Louisiana. Today you can still find the wistful dish on some retro-inspired restaurant menus.

Although created in the 1930s, this resourceful, economical dish of store cupboard staples – canned tuna, pasta noodles, peas, creamy sauce and a cheesy topping – became synonymous with the 1950s. It was a regular on the roster for home cooks needing to feed their families on tight budgets.

Made in honour of Queen Elizabeth II’s coronation, coronation chicken consists of cooked chicken, curry powder and mayonnaise. People fell in love with the spicy sandwich and salad-filler – a 1950s buffet wasn't complete without it.

Swanson & Sons launched the TV dinner in time for Thanksgiving, 1953. It came in a box that looked like a TV, just when the devices were peaking in popularity. In the first year alone, more than 10 million were sold in the USA.

You can read more about the incredible story of TV dinners here

It’s an old recipe but pineapple upside-down cake is undeniably associated with this decade. Such was its popularity, US brand Py-O-My launched a cake mix that came with a can of pineapple rings and cherries. It’s now regarded as so deliciously retro it has had a bit of a resurgence.

Invented in the 1950s and designed to resemble fondue, Cheez Whiz was put on everything, from burgers and sandwiches to cooked veg and crudités. In this advert from 1956, the processed cheese is spread on crackers and topped with pickled onions and olives, to make these not-so-chic canapés.

As a result of wartime dairy rationing in the UK, oil-based margarine became a popular alternative to butter and one that was believed to be healthier. By 1957, margarine sales exceeded butter sales. However in recent years, there's been a move back towards butter, which is a more natural product.

Throughout the 1950s and 1960s, Steak Diane was one of the most luxurious dishes you could order at restaurants. It was flambéed tableside and also contained shallots, Worcestershire sauce, Dijon mustard, stock, Cognac and black pepper. However, by the late-1970s it had fallen out of fashion.

In previous centuries, aspic was used in a similar way. But it was the 1950s that saw a steep rise in Jell-O dishes in all shapes and flavours called "salads". Sweet "salads" contained the likes of fruit or marshmallows, while savoury versions included vegetables, cheese, fish and mayo.

Lipton onion soup dip is a prime example of how resourceful 1960s home cooks got the most out of the products available. Why use powdered soup mix to just make soup, when, combined with sour cream, it's an addictive dip that’s a perfect accompaniment to crudités or potato chips? 

A decadent plate of steak and lobster became the go-to dish on a fancy night out and the perfect choice for indecisive diners. But, as is so often the case, today's fashionable food soon becomes yesterday's news. Nowadays, while surf and turf is still available, it's seen as dated.

Cosmetic executive Robert Cameron self-published The Drinking Man’s Diet, a book that advises readers to eat meat, drink booze and avoid carbohydrates. It swiftly became the diet of choice and people couldn't quite believe their luck – until nutritionists denounced it as bad for the heart.

This classic French dish of crisp, succulent duck in a bright, citrus sauce was a guaranteed feature on dinner party and restaurant menus throughout the 1960s. It was also said to be one of Hollywood-darling-turned-European-princess Grace Kelly’s favourite dishes.

Fresh food aficionados and the anti-sugar movement remain perturbed by Pop Tarts’ durability. The sugary, highly-processed fad invented in 1964 never went away – in likelihood because it's convenient, addictively tasty and can be stored for ages.

Now take a look at the childhood snacks we'll never forget

Named after the Florida Gators football team from the University of Florida, Gatorade was invented to help athletes replenish lost fluid after exerting themselves. However, it quickly became a favourite of people of all different groups, not just sports players, and its popularity has endured.

After appearing at the 1964 New York World’s Fair and wowing Americans, this Swiss sharing meal became the dinner party plat du jour, a fad that continued into the 1970s. However, when the health-conscious 1980s began, this rich meal became passé and millions of fondue sets were relegated to attics and garages. 

Physician Irwin Maxwell Stillman created a high-protein, low-carb and low-fat diet that proved popular until the 1970s. The Stillman Diet also encouraged dieters to consume spices and lots of fluids, which led Dolly Parton to quip, "I tried… the Stillman water diet, you remember that one, where you run weight off trying to get to the bathroom."

Also known as astronaut ice cream, dehydrated ice cream was an earth-bound fad in a space-obsessed era. However NASA actually rejected the food because of its crumbly texture, particles of which could float into, and potentially damage, essential equipment.

This French culinary movement, which advocated light, uncomplicated cooking instead of traditional, cream and butter-heavy dishes, gathered pace in the late-1960s. Food was bright in colour and arranged in artistic ways on the plate so that it resembled sculptures and paintings.

The cheese and pineapple hedgehog was once the must-have centrepiece at every celebration and children’s parties. A very British fad, it involved sticking cheese and fruit into a raw potato or pineapple to create a hedgehog. Over time it came to be regarded as less trendy, but is now remembered with affection.

Another 1970s staple, these puff pastry nests were stuffed with fillings such as prawn mayo, creamy mushrooms or coronation chicken. Nowadays, they still feature on canapé trays, just served with up-to-date fillings such as pesto, hot smoked salmon or stilton and mushroom.

Loved this? These are the retro dishes we want to make a comeback

This colourful cocktail may have first appeared in the 1930s, but it’s the 1970s version of the tequila, orange juice and grenadine drink we nostalgically remember today. Legend has it it’s Mick Jagger we have to thank for this. It was after The Rolling Stones frontman tried one and named the band's 1972 American tour after it, the cocktail blew up.

So popular was this medium-sweet frizzante wine, it was referenced in Elton John's 1973 song Social Disease. All was well for Mateus Rose for a few decades, however by the 1990s sales were declining. The wine’s halcyon days are over, but you can still buy a bottle today, albeit a rebranded version.

The prawn cocktail – cooked shrimp smothered in marie rose sauce on a bed of shredded iceberg lettuce – was a favourite starter at 1970s dinner parties. The decades since have seen it see-saw back and forth between kitsch and charming, and out of date.

This dish of pasta, cream, Parmesan and spring vegetables was served at New York’s trendy Le Cirque restaurant and for a short while became "the most talked-about dish in Manhattan". Soon, restaurants and home cooks everywhere were emulating it.

This extreme liquid diet took off when alternative health practitioner Stanley Burroughs published The Master Cleanser in 1976. No food was allowed to pass its followers' lips, instead they lived off a concoction of cayenne pepper, lemon juice, maple syrup and water. We're glad this particular starvation fad is one that has been mostly relegated to history.

Founded in 1977, SlimFast meal replacement drinks were wildly popular in the health-conscious 1980s. Powdered chocolate, strawberry and vanilla flavours were mixed with low-fat milk and drunk twice a day, followed by a sensible dinner. The meal replacement brand still exists but is in no way as popular as it once was.

Another decade, another diet – this time the Scarsdale, developed by cardiologist Herman Tarnower. Dieters were restricted to 1,900 calories a day and a diet of low-fat, protein-rich foods, plus lots of fruit and vegetables. It was a runaway success and sales were further boosted when Tarnower was murdered by a jilted lover.

Advertised by Bill Cosby, frozen chocolate and vanilla Pudding Pops were a hit with kids in the US. However, in the early-2000s they started being sold under the Popsicle brand and the formula was changed. The new version of the treat was not nearly as popular and eventually discontinued.

Can you guess these popular childhood snacks from their close ups?

Bisquick developed the very marketable idea of the impossible pie, the recipes for which were found on the back of Bisquick baking mix boxes. Bisquick (basically flour, baking powder, salt and shortening) was mixed with other ingredients such as eggs, milk and desiccated coconut, and the mixture cooked in such a way that it formed its own crust and filling. It was a roaring success, but later the company renamed the recipes ‘impossibly easy pies'.

Judy Mazel created an instant bestseller when the glamorous-sounding The Beverly Hills Diet was published, complete with flattering endorsements from actress Linda Gray and singer Engelbert Humperdinck – both big stars at the time. A food combining diet, it involved eating only fruit at breakfast and never eating protein and carbs together. 

British children growing up in the 1980s were obsessed with highly-processed ice cream desserts. The most popular was Viennetta, made from thin sheets of chocolate layered between ice cream. It was launched in time for Christmas, 1982, and deemed the epitome of culinary chic.

While carbonated drink machines have been available since the start of the 20th century, it wasn't until the early-1980s they became ubiquitous in UK households. Those who grew up in the decade will remember the catchy jingle “Get busy with the fizzy.” 

The German riesling reached peak popularity in the 1980s when respectable dinner guests wouldn't have dared to turn up to a party without a bottle. Between 1984 and 1985, 1.25 million cases were sold in the US and 750,000 elsewhere. However, by the next decade the semi-sweet wine had fallen by the wayside.

When Time magazine ran an article entitled: Sorry, It’s True. Cholesterol Really Is A Killer, the Western world went mad for low-fat and no-fat diets and a billion-dollar industry was born. While the trend has longevity, it has since been challenged.

Although pasta salads were already popular, one in particular turned into the go-to dish of the 1980s – the tricolore, or three-coloured pasta. Why? Because it looked cool, even if the different pasta colours all tasted the same.

These sugary, boozy, highly-coloured drinks became popular with a younger demographic, reaching a peak in 1987, when sales topped £783.6 million ($1bn) annually. But the drink soon got bad press for being a little too easy to drink, and interest dropped away. 

Launched in 1981 as a healthy alternative to ready meals, Lean Cuisine was an overnight success. The under-300 calorie meals covered two of the decade's food trends, dieting and convenience food. From 1983 to 1988, sales of low calorie frozen dinners rose 24%, which was double that of regular frozen meals.

Already the norm in Italian cuisine, sun-dried tomatoes reached adoring Americans in the late-1980s, who insisted on adding them to everything. However, diners eventually grew tired of seeing the ingredient on restaurant menus again and again, and people moved on.

Now take a look at the retro ingredients we want to come back

Though it has been around since Roman times and exists in more authentic forms in Italy, this cheesy, garlicky, nutty sauce we call pesto became a sudden staple in the UK after Sacla launched its products in 1990. Though it endures today, more people are making homemade versions.

A rich chocolate cake with a core of melted chocolate, the dessert was an overnight success when Jean-Georges Vongerichten served it at his New York restaurant JoJo. Within months, replica desserts were on restaurant menus everywhere. Still as delicious as ever, nowadays its viewed as commonplace as a Big Mac.

The early to mid-1990s affection for oaked chardonnays, which were rich in flavour and golden in colour, didn’t last long. Mainly because the product is heavy, acidic and indigestion-inducing and preferences quickly turned to lighter wines such as sauvignon blanc and pinot grigio.

Stacking meals vertically by layering ingredients on top of each other, sometimes using a soup can as a mould, was a trend that took the 1990s by storm. Elaborately constructed crudité towers and tall plates of food at restaurants and events wowed diners and was an indication of fanciness. But by the end of the 20th century, the trend had moved on.

Also known as the Lean Mean Fat-Reducing Grilling Machine, the George Foreman Grill hit the market from 1994. It garnered immediate accolades and staggering sales (100 million worldwide). The indoor grill had a slope which allowed fat to drain away, making it appeal to the health conscious.

One of Scotland’s more unusual contributions to the culinary scene, the deep-fried Mars Bar started as a novelty item in a fish and chip shop in Stonehaven, near Aberdeen. It was widely criticised by the UK media, who accused it of contributing to Scotland’s poor diet, and it was disowned by Mars, Inc. 

After launching in Austria in 1987, the rest of Europe in the early-1990s, and the US in 1997, the sickly sweet, caffeinated energy drink Red Bull gained quite a following, which it maintains to this day. But it was the potent mix of vodka and Red Bull that briefly became the tipple of choice for young partygoers who knocked it back to pull all-nighters.

Created in the 1970s the Atkins Diet failed to have mass appeal until the late-1990s when celebrities started to wax lyrical about the effectiveness of its high-protein, low-carb regime. It became, arguably, the diet of the century with legions of avid fans in the UK and US and an accompanying product range.  

Want more? These are the most popular recipes from every decade

Fancy foam appeared on innovative dishes in high-end restaurants from the mid-1990s and is attributed to culinary genius Ferran Adrià of the now closed Michelin three-star El Bulli in Spain. However, as soon as other mid-range restaurants started to copy the technique it lost its magical appeal.

Sex and the City aired in 1998 and everyone wanted to emulate Carrie, Samantha, Charlotte and Miranda by drinking cosmopolitans. The fruity yet potent mix of vodka, triple sec, lime and cranberry juice can still be found on menus today, but is not nearly as popular as it was back then.

Now take a look at our favourite three-ingredient cocktails