# Do you remember when certain foods became available to you? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 18, 2018, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-remember-when-certain-foods-became-available-to-you/823121 "2018-10-18T01:43:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Quimby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/22d042/32.png) [@Quimby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quimby)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2018, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-remember-when-certain-foods-became-available-to-you/823121/41 "2018-10-19T19:43:11Z")
The first time I saw a seedless watermelon I had no idea such a thing was even possible let alone available. I was so amazed it was like I had been a time traveler who woke up in the future. I had a similar experience the first time I saw one of those Coke machines that let you pick any variety and add a flavor. They are everywhere now but the first time I saw one was in a QDoba and it was like something out of a sci fi movie. ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2018, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-remember-when-certain-foods-became-available-to-you/823121/42 "2018-10-19T20:30:31Z")
I remember… Yogurt: 1970 Fresh mushrooms: 1972 100% whole-wheat bread: 1974 Kiwi fruit: 1975 Jalapeños: 1976 Granola bars: 1977 Alfalfa sprouts: 1977 Hummus: 1978 Tofu: 1979 Red bell peppers: 1979 Cilantro: 1980 Miso: 1980 Good _arabica_ coffee beans: 1982 Tempeh: 1983 Arugula: 1985 Fuji apples: 1995 Shiitake: 1998 Habaneros: 2000 Fresh turmeric: 2012 ---
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2018, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-remember-when-certain-foods-became-available-to-you/823121/43 "2018-10-19T20:42:05Z")
First time I saw a Nashi fruit (not technically a pear), was in the 90’s when my brother brought one home for our mother: “Look mother, a special fruit from the special shop!” “Oh yes, a nashi”. crunch. eat. Damn know-it-all old people… ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2018, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-remember-when-certain-foods-became-available-to-you/823121/44 "2018-10-19T21:03:28Z")
As dramatized in _Reign_—year 1565 Captain John Hawkins: Fruit from the New World! It’s called a tomato. Queen Elizabeth I: This is a fruit? Captain Hawkins: Some say vegetable. Standing argument. ---
**Author:** ![TSBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/77aa72/32.png) [@TSBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TSBG)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2018, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-remember-when-certain-foods-became-available-to-you/823121/45 "2018-10-19T23:13:08Z")
> [@Johanna](#): > > I remember… > Yogurt: 1970 > Fresh mushrooms: 1972 > 100% whole-wheat bread: 1974 > Kiwi fruit: 1975 > Jalapeños: 1976 > Granola bars: 1977 > Alfalfa sprouts: 1977 > Hummus: 1978 > Tofu: 1979 > Red bell peppers: 1979 > Cilantro: 1980 > Miso: 1980 > Good _arabica_ coffee beans: 1982 > Tempeh: 1983 > Arugula: 1985 > Fuji apples: 1995 > Shiitake: 1998 > Habaneros: 2000 > Fresh turmeric: 2012 Good memory! I’m kind of surprised red bell peppers came in so late. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2018, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-remember-when-certain-foods-became-available-to-you/823121/46 "2018-10-19T23:23:04Z")
> [@TSBG](#): > > When I was a kid, call it 40 years ago, the amazing variety of food now available everywhere was…less available. For example, I remember when fresh coconuts started being sold in the grocery store. And when a specialty coffee shop opened selling imported coffee beans. And that arugula was just not around at all. > > I’m speaking about the US here and I know experiences will differ, but curious to hear about other foods that are now commonplace but were once exotic to you. Things started getting a little more varied in the 90s, from what I can remember, in terms of grocery stores. Restaurants, same thing. As a kid, my town had one Indian restaurant, which most people were scared to go to. There was no other cuisine one would call “ethnic,” unless you count “Chinese food” and Italian. Today, no self respecting Ontario town would not have Indian, Thai, sushi, Vietnamese, Lebanese, and the like. ---
**Author:** ![Spud](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spud/32/347_2.png) [@Spud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spud)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2018, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-remember-when-certain-foods-became-available-to-you/823121/47 "2018-10-19T23:57:44Z")
> [@Ukulele\_Ike](#): > > Kumatoes from Mexico and Canada became available about three years ago. Before that, you could only buy a tomato that tasted like a tomato between late July and early October. > > (The Kumato is a bruise-colored tomato that was cross-bred in northern Italy several years ago, and it is rich and flavorful year-round. The breeder sold North American rights to Mexico and Canada, but not to the U.S.) I had never heard of these before, but I remembered this thread while at the grocery today and sure enough they had some. Since I had a couple of Indiana vine ripened tomatoes from the farmer’s market I thought I would see how they stacked up. I tried mine side by side and had my wife do a blind taste test without explaining. We both thought the Indiana tomato was far better. BUT… the Kumatoe was much better than a normal grocery store tomato. So, I guess the end result is these will probably be something we will use through the winter, but once “real” tomatoes are available that will be our choice. There was another hybrid next to these that were red but also touted the fresh vine ripened taste so I may have to give those a try once we go through the others. ---
**Author:** ![Arrendajo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Arrendajo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arrendajo)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2018, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-remember-when-certain-foods-became-available-to-you/823121/48 "2018-10-20T00:41:41Z")
The thing I remember from my youth that’s so different from today is the sheer number and variety of ethnic restaurants. Growing up in the 1960s in an Idaho town of 45,000, there was a Chinese restaurant, and that was it. The first pizza parlor (who nowadays considers pizza foreign?) opened in the mid 60s. I think it was called Gay Nineties (gay meant happy in those days) and they showed old Laurel and Hardy and Keystone Kops movies. I remember when the first Taco John’s opened in Boise, and we were all like Wow! Mexican food! A Japanese restaurant also opened in Boise in the early 80s, and that seemed tres exotic. I remember in 1987 we drove miles up the Oregon coast to dine at the only Japanese restaurant we knew of, specifically to try sushi. My wife and I were about to move to Japan for a year, and we wanted to try sushi before we got there. The idea of eating raw fish was so off-putting that I wanted to know before we got to Japan whether it was going to make me gag or grimace (turned out I loved it!). In Corvallis, a college town of about 45,000, the only ethnic restaurant, again, was a Chinese place. The first Mexican eatery opened there about 1985. Nowadays there is hardly a town anywhere so small that you can’t swing a cat without hitting an ethnic restaurant. ---
**Author:** ![TSBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/77aa72/32.png) [@TSBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TSBG)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2018, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-remember-when-certain-foods-became-available-to-you/823121/49 "2018-10-20T02:28:29Z")
Stipulating that fresh tomatoes from the garden, or right off the farm, are clearly the best, kumatoes are far and away the best supermarket option. I do remember a local pizza joint similar to Gay 90s in my town, but pizza wasn’t a mystery at all because my family is Italian, there are a lot of Italian heritage people where I grew up, and my mom made it now and then. One thing that was maybe a “discovery” for some other folks was Buffalo wings–growing up in the Buffalo area they were ubiquitous, so much so that I wouldn’t eat them for a loooong time. Pro tip: go to Duffs, not the Anchor Bar, particularly the place on Sheridan ---
**Author:** ![lorene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/65b543/32.png) [@lorene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lorene)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2018, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-remember-when-certain-foods-became-available-to-you/823121/50 "2018-10-20T02:54:47Z")
I remember clearly in the mid-70s when fruit yogurt became available. Firm and fruity was the brand. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Girlfriend](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.girlfriend/32/193_2.png) [@Dr.Girlfriend](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Girlfriend)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2018, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-remember-when-certain-foods-became-available-to-you/823121/51 "2018-10-20T16:32:29Z")
> [@Quimby](#): > > The first time I saw a seedless watermelon I had no idea such a thing was even possible let alone available. I was so amazed it was like I had been a time traveler who woke up in the future. > > I had a similar experience the first time I saw one of those Coke machines that let you pick any variety and add a flavor. They are everywhere now but the first time I saw one was in a QDoba and it was like something out of a sci fi movie. You reminded me of something. Cherry Coke was introduced in the mid-80s when I was a kid and we heard about it but it hadn’t yet come to our neck of the woods in NE Indiana. I went on a vacation that summer to Niagara Falls with my grandparents. Granddad stopped for gas on the way back and came out of the gas station with a bottle of Cherry Coke. My sister and I were super excited to try it. I remember being a little disappointed that it didn’t taste more like cherries but I was still pretty happy about it. ---
**Author:** ![TSBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/77aa72/32.png) [@TSBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TSBG)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2018, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-remember-when-certain-foods-became-available-to-you/823121/52 "2018-10-20T23:39:36Z")
I remember yogurt-with-fruit too. I don’t know if unflavored yogurt would have been available to us before this, but in the mid-70s I remember starting to get the “fruit on the bottom” individual servings in my lunch. ---
**Author:** ![nightshadea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7ba0ec/32.png) [@nightshadea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nightshadea)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2018, 7:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-remember-when-certain-foods-became-available-to-you/823121/53 "2018-10-21T07:33:40Z")
> [@Dr.Girlfriend](#): > > You reminded me of something. Cherry Coke was introduced in the mid-80s when I was a kid and we heard about it but it hadn’t yet come to our neck of the woods in NE Indiana. I went on a vacation that summer to Niagara Falls with my grandparents. Granddad stopped for gas on the way back and came out of the gas station with a bottle of Cherry Coke. My sister and I were super excited to try it. I remember being a little disappointed that it didn’t taste more like cherries but I was still pretty happy about it. for the longest time in central Indiana when it came out in 86 cherry coke was only sold in the vending machines…at 65 cents a can (this was expensive back then)….I drove grandma nuts until I got one , I remember not trying barqs root beer until I found it in a NM bus station because they didn’t sell it out west until coke bought it out they made a red crème soda at one time too and they now sel faygo pop here in ca now …. I knew relatives that moved here in CA would have people send them cases of redpop years ago ---
**Author:** ![ratatoskK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ratatoskk/32/2987_2.png) [@ratatoskK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ratatoskK)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2018, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-remember-when-certain-foods-became-available-to-you/823121/54 "2018-10-21T22:32:44Z")
What is the world is a kumatoe? ---
**Author:** ![TSBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/77aa72/32.png) [@TSBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TSBG)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2018, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-remember-when-certain-foods-became-available-to-you/823121/55 "2018-10-21T22:37:36Z")
[https://www.kumato.com/en/faq](https://www.kumato.com/en/faq) ---
**Author:** ![Enola\_Gay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/3ab097/32.png) [@Enola\_Gay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enola_Gay)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2018, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-remember-when-certain-foods-became-available-to-you/823121/56 "2018-10-22T00:51:15Z")
In the 1970s Kiwis (aka Chinese gooseberries) were a very rare treat only seen in Harry & David’s Fruit of the Month Club. But now they’re in every grocery store in the US of A. ---
**Author:** ![Enola\_Gay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/3ab097/32.png) [@Enola\_Gay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enola_Gay)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2018, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-remember-when-certain-foods-became-available-to-you/823121/57 "2018-10-22T00:52:41Z")
> [@ratatoskK](#): > > What is the world is a kumatoe? Looks like a dark purplish tomato. ---
**Author:** ![Cub\_Mistress](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ea666f/32.png) [@Cub\_Mistress](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cub_Mistress)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2018, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-remember-when-certain-foods-became-available-to-you/823121/58 "2018-10-22T01:05:58Z")
I remember ordering exotic spaghetti with meat sauce at Shoney’s in the late 60’s First pizza was Pizza Hut in Tupelo MS circa 1970 Krystal burgers: January 1969 Nashville TN I made refried beans from a recipe in Creem magazine circa 1975, and made tacos from a recipe I hunted down before I had even tasted either made by a restaurant. What chutzpah! Now Mexican (or Tex-Mex) is American, as is pizza, spaghetti, and yogurt. ---
**Author:** ![Aspidistra](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspidistra/32/3894_2.png) [@Aspidistra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspidistra)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2018, 5:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-remember-when-certain-foods-became-available-to-you/823121/59 "2018-10-22T05:19:49Z")
Boysenberries - some time in the 80’s which is apparently when they started to be cultivated and exported from New Zealand. Similarly, all sorts of citrus crosses - tangerines, tangellos, satsumas … even mandarines were a little uncommon at the time. On the ethnic food front … I grew up eating all sorts of cuisines, but I vividly remember the first time I encountered Thai food, which was at a cafe/diner in Bangkok at the age of eleven. That did NOT go well - because the fact that my parents had been presenting me with curry on a frequent basis over the past decade had had no actual impact on the low, low spice-tolerance of my pre-teen tastebuds (I’m better now) ---
**Author:** ![G0sp3l](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c68b51/32.png) [@G0sp3l](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/G0sp3l)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2018, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-remember-when-certain-foods-became-available-to-you/823121/60 "2018-10-22T16:09:09Z")
I’m re-reading 'Salem’s Lot written in 1975, and one of the characters mentions Fluff, raspberry, to be precise. I have NEVER seen the stuff, I sort of remember hearing something about it in the 90’s-2000’s. I thought it was a new product then, I didn’t know Fluff existed in the 70’s. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-remember-when-certain-foods-became-available-to-you/823121.md?page=2)