Few things are more delicious than nostalgia. When you walk the aisles of the grocery store, you’re sure to see a multitude of classic foods from your childhood—even your parents’ and your grandparents’ childhoods, depending on how old you are. These old-school foods offer familiarity you can lean on in the toughest times. Sure, everyone loves spankin’ new products—in fact, we review them all the time—but today, let’s pay tribute to the old-school foods that never seem to go out of style in the aisles.
- Lipton Recipe Secrets Onion Soup & Dip Mix
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Lipton Recipe Secrets Onion Soup & Dip Mix is the nostalgic “secret ingredient” in thousands of families’ trusty dip recipes. Its solid flavor profile has turned generations of regular people into chefs when they need to bring something to the company picnic. When Sporked contributor Danny Palumbo ranked the best dip mixes, he loved Lipton’s depth of flavor. And as he pointed out, “This contains MSG and soy sauce, meaning the umami flavor is powerful and delicious.” Serve a bowl of this with some Ruffles (or another great potato chip) and you’ve got a timeless snack right there.
Read the full ranking of the best dip mixes
- Stouffer’s Extra Cheese French Bread Pizza
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If you ask managing editor Gwynedd Stuart, there isn’t a more nostalgic food than a Stouffer’s French Bread Pizza. These things are old-school cool, right up there with roller disco and using actual maps. They screams ’70s—Stouffer’s even made throwback packaging recently to remind you of their status as a classic food. Stouffer’s may not make the best French bread pizza currently on the market—that honor goes to Red Baron—but their zesty sauce and pleasantly greasy crust are sure to tickle your nostalgia receptors.
Read the full ranking of the best frozen French bread pizzas
- Häagen-Dazs Vanilla Bean Ice Cream
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If you grew up in the ’70s or ’80s, you know that Häagen-Dazs is the absolute height of luxury. These days, there are fancier brands in the freezer (pricier ones, at least), but the classic flavor of Häagen-Dazs Vanilla Bean ice cream still holds up so well. As senior writer Jordan Myrick wrote in their ranking of the best vanilla ice cream, “This would be great with sprinkles and hot fudge, slapped onto a piece of warm apple pie, or eaten completely alone in a cup.” There’s honestly no scenario that won’t be improved by a scoop of the eternally nostalgic Häagen-Dazs Vanilla Bean
Read the full ranking of the best vanilla ice cream
- Ritz Original Crackers
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Ritz Original Crackers are on my personal list of nostalgia foods. I used to eat these by the sleeve without anything on top; their salty, buttery, toasty flavor sucked me in like a tractor beam. Ritz Crackers launched in 1934, and they’re still the best crackers at the grocery store. Just ask Danny, who called them “the king of crackers.” They’re just as good slathered with peanut butter and grape jelly as they are topped with fancy cheese and charcuterie.
Read the full ranking of the best crackers
- Banquet Turkey Pot Pie
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Banquet puts out many old-school hits, but it all started with their classic meat pies. And, yep, their turkey pot pie is still good as hell. Danny loved its “great, full fat flavor with creamy gravy, big dark meat turkey chunks, potatoes, carrots, and peas.” These are a nostalgia food for me because there was a time I would eat these every night by scooping out the filling and saving the crust to eat by itself. Yes it’s weird, but the soggy crust all on its own is the perfect way to finish a meal.
Read the full ranking of the best frozen chicken pot pies
- Stouffer’s Salisbury Steak
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Salisbury steak is such an old-school food that you can’t even find it in most restaurants. In fact, the only restaurant I could find near me that has it on the menu is IHOP. If you’re a fan of the classic taste but can’t find it anywhere near you, Stouffer’s has your back. Danny, Rhett, and Link ranked six versions of Salisbury steak that can be found in the freezer section, and Stouffer’s was the meatiest and tastiestof them all. Don’t turn up your nose at this classic food—it’s a perennial freezer favorite for a reason.
Read the full ranking of the best frozen Salisbury steaks
- Werther’s Original Caramel Hard Candies
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You thought I’d forget the final boss of old-school foods? The literal grandaddy of grandaddy candies? Little nuclear warheads of nostalgia? No list of classic and old-school foods could ever be complete without paying respects to Werther’s Original Caramel Hard Candies. Created in 1909, these timeless treats come off the conveyor belt and right into pocks of grandfathers all across the country. Werther’s Originals are rich and decadent, and if you haven’t had one since you were a kid, it’s time to revisit.
Read the full ranking of the best hard candy
Thoughts? Questions? Complete disagreement? Leave a comment!