Nostalgic Nopes
There are lots of nostalgic foods from our youth that we have fond memories of. But if you try them today, it might surprise you just how different they are. From the recipes changing to shrinkflation, these are 20 foods that just aren’t as good as you remember. Did we cover all your favorites?
1. Planters Cheez Balls
Planters Cheez Balls used to be the pinnacle of cheesy snacks. They were salty, tangy, and almost seemed like magic. Decades later, they made a comeback, but the resulting Cheez Balls were dull and stale, leaving a salty aftertaste.
2. Tim Hortons Donuts
Tim Hortons donuts used to be legendary, fresh, store-made. Since they started using factory production, the donuts just don't taste the same. They've lost their homemade quality and now seem overly processed and bland.
3. Little Debbie’s
Little Debbie brownies used to be a childhood treasure: soft, sweet, and richly chocolatey. Now they seem leaden and cloying, without the fudgy decadence of their better days. Where once they were special, now they are just sad.
4. Juicy Fruit Gum
Juicy Fruit used to be one of the most flavorful gums, its trademark fruity sweetness making each chew an adventure. Now, the flavor disappears as soon as you chew, and within seconds you're left with a horrible, bitter aftertaste. This gum was once enjoyable, but now is almost not worth unwrapping.
Alexander Staubo from Oslo, Norway on Wikimedia
5. Thin Mints
Thin Mints used to be crisp with chocolate and cool with mint; frozen ones were hard to resist. The new ones are flatter, less decadent, and waxy. It's not the same as the cookie people remember.
6. KFC
KFC used to be THE place to go for fried chicken. Crispy, flavorful outside, juicy meat, pure comfort food. Over the last 25 years, it's just gone downhill: greasier, less seasoned, and oftentimes dry. It's sad to think of today’s KFC.
Spencer Scott Pugh on Unsplash
7. Butterfingers
Classic Butterfingers used to be the ideal combination of crunchy peanut-buttery goodness enrobed in smooth milk chocolate. The current formula is waxy and artificial tasting, with an off-putting texture. It's hard to believe this candy bar has fallen so far.
8. Pop-Tarts
Pop-Tarts used to be like an actual dessert: thick, moist, and sweet. Now they are thin, dry, and chalky with a barely-filled interior. So as far as this treat goes, it's evident the manufactures are taking the cheap way out.
9. Hershey Chocolate
The vast majority of candy bars sold in the United States have been desecrated. Full-fat creamy chocolate has been replaced with inexpensive substitutes, so much so that the once-creamy Hershey bar now tastes chalky and waxy. It's gone from a delicious treat to eating flavored brown wax.
10. Pizza Hut
Pizza Hut was once synonymous with piping hot, cheesy goodness, with a crust that melted in your mouth like butter. But now the crust tastes like cardboard, the toppings are sparse, and it all just tastes more processed. It used to be a family favorite, but now it's a grease-laden shadow of what it once was.
11. Corn Pops
Corn Pops used to be sweet, crunchy, and perfectly fresh, with the foil bag keeping them sealed. Ever since they changed to the regular bag, they taste stale and flat the minute they come out. Gone is my breakfast favorite; now it's lackluster and disappointing.
12. Peaches
Peaches used to be just right. Sweet, juicy, and full of flavor, they were the perfect summer fruit. These days, they are mealy, bland, and disappointing. They have no satisfying juiciness at all.
NisonCo PR and SEO on Unsplash
13. Klondike Bars
Old Klondike Bars were thick, creamy, and solidly coated in rich chocolate. Today's bar is smaller, and the "chocolate" has a waxy, fake taste. This once-decadent dessert now tastes cheap and hollow.
14. Cadbury
Cadbury chocolate used to be silky, smooth, and packed with creamy cocoa. It used to melt on your tongue. Now it is sweeter, waxier, and doesn’t melt in your mouth as much.
15. Oranges
Oranges used to be very juicy with a sweet and deliciously thirst-quenching taste. You could almost drip juice down your hands from biting into them. Now, oranges are mostly dry with a weird, bland taste and not nearly as juicy as they used to be.
16. Chips Ahoy Chewy
Chips Ahoy Chewy Chocolate Chip used to be soft, gooey, and packed with chocolatey deliciousness that was irresistible. Now they taste overly processed, dry, and almost stale, with little satisfying chew. They went from a beloved childhood favorite to a total letdown.
17. Campbell’s Chunky Chicken Noodle
Campbell’s Chunky Chicken Noodle Soup was once hearty, comforting, and full of savory flavor. Now it tastes bitter and artificial, nothing like the classic taste of many people’s childhood. What was once a go-to comfort food is now unpleasant and disappointing.
18. Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup
Reese's Peanut Butter Cups used to be amazing. Perfect ratios of smooth peanut butter and decadent chocolate made every bite sinful. Now, the chocolate is waxy and the peanut butter is excessively sweet and fake tasting. It used to be a favorite, and now it is sad and lacking.
19. Burger King
Burger King used to have flame-grilled burgers with juicy meat and fresh toppings. Every bite was bursting with flavor and satisfaction. Today, the burgers often taste dry, overprocessed, and bland. They lack the bold, smoky taste that used to make them special.
20. Scooby-Doo Fruit Snacks
Old Scooby-Doo Fruit Snacks were soft, tasty, and fun to chew. They also had a very real fruity flavor that children enjoyed. New Scooby-Doo Fruit Snacks, however, are super sweet, rubbery, and lack that real fruit flavor. These are no longer nostalgic, but rather artificial snacks.
KEEP ON READING
Pick A Side: 20 Foods You Either Love Or Hate
