An era of frozen dinners and tinned fruit, the 1950s was a decade filled with amazing post-war innovations. From Friday night fish suppers to the rise of flavoured crisps – and not forgetting the first US fast food chain to take the nation by storm – we take a look at the finest food fads 1950s Britain had to offer, as well as the forgotten dishes that defined a generation.

Click or scroll our gallery to discover the foods we couldn’t live without in the 1950s, counting down to the most iconic of them all.

We’ve based our ranking on the enduring popularity of each food item in its place of origin and beyond, and on the opinions of our well-travelled (and well-fed) team. This list is unavoidably subjective.

The foods that defined 1950s Britain