Food for thought


When you sip a gin and tonic or buy a hot dog, do you ever stop and think how it was invented? Some of our most everyday dishes and drinks have quite unusual reasons as to why they were first made and eaten, from preserving food to being used as medicine. Here are some common foods with uncommon origins.



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Sushi

Sushi is something you want to eat fresh. But in ancient China, sushi was originally a way of preserving fish by storing it in fermented rice. Eventually, fermented rice was replaced with vinegar rice, which leads on to the types of sushi we have today.



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Slurpees

While most have enjoyed 7-Eleven’s frozen concoction, few know about its cool history. The idea for a slushy soft drink came about in the 1950s when Kansas shop owner Omar Knedlik’s soda fountain broke down. He put his drinks in the freezer to keep them cool and served them half-frozen instead. Customers returned asking for “those pops that were in a little bit longer.”



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Campbell’s SpaghettiOs

This kid-friendly food was invented in 1965 when Donald Goerke, who worked for Campbell’s Franco-American brand, was challenged to create a pasta dish for children that could be eaten with a spoon. It took a number of ideas before finally settling on the O. Pictured is an early advertisement saying it’s “practically unspillable”.



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Nashville hot chicken

This seriously spicy chicken is a treat to those who like hot food and a punishment to everyone else. Which is precisely the reason it was invented. In Nashville in the 1930s, Thornton Prince was caught cheating by his girlfriend. To get revenge she served him a breakfast of chicken dangerously doused in extremely hot pepper, but the plan backfired and he enjoyed it.



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McDonald’s Filet-O-Fish

The controversial McDonald’s menu item which arrived in 1965 was part of a strategy to elevate sales on Friday, which is when Roman Catholics abstain from meat. Named the Filet-O-Fish, it’s a breadcrumbed fish sandwich with tartar sauce and American cheese. Still on the menu today, its sales usually skyrocket in March because of Lent. Here’s an advert for the dish with the old McDonald’s logo.

Read the incredible story of how McDonald’s conquered the world



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Gin and tonic

It’s the fashionable drink of choice these days, but in the 19th century the alcoholic beverage had a far more practical purpose. British colonialists in India drank it to cope with malaria. The quinine (a medicinal extract from a tree) in tonic stopped fever chills, the gin made the tonic more palatable and the lime wedge, as a bonus, warded off scurvy.



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Bagels

We could eat bagels with cream cheese for breakfast, lunch and dinner every day of the week. But did you know it was invented to eat on Saturday after the Sabbath (a period of fasting from Friday to Saturday)? The bread has its origins in Krakow, Poland, in the 16th century and was supposedly chosen as it’s faster to make than other kinds – and tastier we think.



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Chips

The tale of how this salty snack was invented is often cited as one of revenge. At the Moon’s Lake House in Saratoga Springs, New York, in 1853, Cornelius Vanderbilt sent his French fries back to the kitchen for being too thick. In outrage, waiter George Crum prepared them again as thin and hard as possible. Although this origin story is sometimes contested, the restaurant is where they gained popularity.



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Sandwiches

Enjoyed around the world for lunch, the sandwich (as it’s known in the West) was supposedly invented as a way to eat meat without a knife, fork and plate. An 18th-century English nobleman, John Montagu the fourth Earl of Sandwich, is often credited with making the dish famous. He was playing a gambling game so requested his servant bring him meat between two pieces of bread. The meal caught on and people started saying “I’ll have the same as Sandwich”.



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Twinkies

These fluffy, golden cakes with a creamy filling were invented to make use of Continental Baking Company’s strawberry shortcake pans in the months after strawberry season. They were created in 1930, during the height of the Great Depression, when no machinery could afford to sit unused. They were named Twinkies after an advertisement for Twinkie Toe Shoes and were initially filled with banana crème.



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Lea & Perrins Worcestershire sauce

Poured over cheese on toast or used to marinate meat, Lea & Perrins Worcestershire sauce is a staple in most store cupboards, but do you know why it was invented? Chemists John Wheeley Lea and William Perrins were tasked with recreating a recipe nobleman Lordy Sandys experienced in Bengal, India. At first the product wasn’t to its makers’ tastes, but after storing it in the cellar the sauce’s flavors mellowed. Pictured is a magazine advertisement for the product from 1911.



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Buffalo wings

Buffalo wings is one of America’s favorite dishes, so much so that the country gets through billions on the Super Bowl weekend. However, it may have been invented to get rid of a large batch of unwanted chicken wings. Whatever the story, the deep-fried snack served with celery and blue cheese dip was first prepared by Teressa Bellissimo at The Anchor Bar in Buffalo, New York, in 1964.



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Raisins

When raisins were first discovered dried on vines in 2000 BC in Mediterranean Europe, they were used for decoration in homes, according to wall paintings from the time. Later, the dried fruit was also used as a prize at sporting events, to trade with and in medicine.



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TV dinners

Another food invention that came from needing to get rid of excess poultry – 520,000lbs (2,356 tons) of turkey – is TV dinners. Swanson Foods misjudged what it needed for Thanksgiving in 1953 and requested staff think up a way to avoid wasting it. A ready meal that looked like a TV was the answer. Pictured is an advert from 1963.

Read more about the invention of the TV dinner here



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Eggs Benedict

Eggs Benedict is said to have been first prepared for a hungry and hungover Wall Street broker. He walked into New York City’s Waldorf Hotel in 1894 and ordered buttered toast, poached eggs, crisp bacon and hollandaise. The hotel’s maître d’ was so impressed he made it a permanent fixture – and it’s still popular with those who are hungover and/or hungry today.



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Graham crackers

This unassuming cracker is used in recipes everywhere, from s’mores to cheesecake. But do you know what its original intended use was? Sylvester Graham, a puritanical 19th-century minister, believed romantic feelings of any sort to be bad and that delicious, flavorful food stimulated these emotions. He believed the plain, grain-based biscuit made people more wholesome.



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Kellogg’s Corn Flakes

A follower of Sylvester Graham, who invented Graham crackers, was John Harvey Kellogg, the founder of Kellogg’s Corn Flakes. The cereal was invented back in 1894 and was intentionally healthy and bland as he also believed a plain diet was key to leading a pure life. Pictured is a Kellogg’s advert from 1908.



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7 Up

These days the lemon and lime-flavored fizzy drink is seen as a fruity alternative to Coca-Cola. But when 7 Up was invented in 1929, it contained the chemical lithium which is used to treat depression, bipolar disorder and mania, making it a mood-enhancer as well as a refreshing drink. Pictured is a magazine advert from 1944.



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Salisbury steak

Salisbury steak was a popular cafeteria lunch and TV dinner in the 1970s, consisting of ground beef shaped into oblong patties and was usually served with gravy. Although it doesn’t sound healthy by today’s standards, it was invented by American physician Dr. Salisbury, at the end of the 19th century, as a health food that could improve digestion.

These are the retro dishes we think deserve a comeback



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Aspartame

The artificial sweetener was invented in 1965 by scientist Dr. James Schlatter who was trying to make an anti-ulcer drug. He licked his finger to pick up a piece of paper and discovered it tasted sweet, and the sugar replacement was born – likely one of the only times accidentally ingesting a chemical in science has led to a positive outcome.



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Goo Goo Clusters

Advertised as “a nourishing lunch for a nickel”, the round caramel, nougat, peanut and chocolate candy was originally touted as a nutritious and high-calorie meal. It was invented in 1912 by Standard Candy Co. and at one point cost just 5 cents. Pictured is what one of its early wrappers looked like.

Check out candy we fell in love with when we grew up



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Brandy

Brandy, a sweet liquor, was invented as a cheap and practical way of transporting wine. In the 16th century, Dutch wine merchants decided to evaporate liquid out of their product so they could fit more in cargo and pay less tax. It was called brandewijn, which means burnt wine, and stored it in wooden casks. When it was opened at the other end, it had a whole new aroma, color and taste.

Discover more foods that were invented by accident



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Dunkin’ Donuts’ Munchkins



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Hot dogs

Frankfurters originated in Austria or Germany but the American hot dog in a bun came about so people could eat hot and greasy sausages at events. The story goes, at the St. Louis World Fair in the 1800s, a sausage vendor loaned white gloves to customers to wear while eating but as they were never returned, he started giving out long soft rolls instead. The fast food quickly became the go-to choice at baseball games.

Discover the amazing stories behind America’s most historic foods



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