# When and why did \[insert food trend\] become a thing? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** food-cooking\ **Created:** [August 19, 2021, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-and-why-did-insert-food-trend-become-a-thing/949177 "2021-08-19T21:50:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2021, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-and-why-did-insert-food-trend-become-a-thing/949177/61 "2021-08-21T01:19:02Z")
Yeah, one of my friends posted a picture of herself gleefully enjoying a cup of some pumpkin-or-other coffee drink at Dunkin Donuts. ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2021, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-and-why-did-insert-food-trend-become-a-thing/949177/62 "2021-08-21T01:40:48Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > > [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](#): > > > > Correct me if I’m wrong – late '80s saw an explosion of **Orange Roughy**. Never heard of it before, trend seemed to have died down within a half decade, or so. Did it come from another planet, then return to its home world? I know the price exploded rapidly. > > Name change. > > Prior to that time period it was known as “red roughy”, “deep sea perch”, and “slimehead”. Good marketing decision. They are vulnerable to overfishing and some people have stopped buying them because of that. Sometimes when orange roughy is unavailable I make do with a dish made of red roughy and yellow roughy. mmm ---
**Author:** ![Martini\_Enfield](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/martini_enfield/32/11123_2.png) [@Martini\_Enfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martini_Enfield)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2021, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-and-why-did-insert-food-trend-become-a-thing/949177/63 "2021-08-21T02:13:05Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > Sushi. > > When did that turn the corner from “ewwww! You’re eating BAIT!” to “gourmet”? There were sushi roll places in major shopping malls in NZ in the late 1990s, so it was definitely A Thing by then. When was that Fugu Fish episode of _The Simpsons_? I feel like that was about the time sushi became a recognisably mainstream thing for Westerners as a collective. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2021, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-and-why-did-insert-food-trend-become-a-thing/949177/64 "2021-08-21T02:35:24Z")
“One Fish, Two Fish, Blowfish, Blue Fish,” air date 24 January 1991. There was an episode of _ **Columbo** _ that featured fugu (“Murder Under Glass”). Air date, 30 January 1978. I remember sushi being trendy when I was in college, early to mid '80s. Of course, this was in Minnesota, which is always at least a couple of years behind either coast. I remember hearing a story on the radio in which some yuppie was operated on after feeling abdominal pain, and what the surgeons thought was a long red thread turned out to be a worm from eating sushi. ---
**Author:** ![psychobunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/54ee81/32.png) [@psychobunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychobunny)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2021, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-and-why-did-insert-food-trend-become-a-thing/949177/65 "2021-08-21T02:57:22Z")
Salted caramel. Who decreed that all caramel must now be salted? It was perfectly fine before. Bring back plain caramel. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2021, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-and-why-did-insert-food-trend-become-a-thing/949177/66 "2021-08-21T03:06:35Z")
Orange roughy is borderline endangered, because of overfishing. It’s so popular because it does taste good, but they don’t reach sexual maturity until they’re about 30 years old. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2021, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-and-why-did-insert-food-trend-become-a-thing/949177/67 "2021-08-21T03:09:03Z")
I think TCBY simply expanded faster than it should have. There was one in my old town that always did quite well, and when I stayed their 4 years ago (night before the eclipse), I stopped by because there isn’t one where I live now. Another thing is “fusion cuisine”, where two very different cuisines are combined. I haven’t really tried any of them. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2021, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-and-why-did-insert-food-trend-become-a-thing/949177/68 "2021-08-21T03:10:24Z")
Doesn’t saltwater taffy (caramel) go all the way back to Coney Island, where some candy got splashed with seawater during a storm? Rather than throw it out, they started selling it and everybody loved it. I’m pretty sure I read this back in the '80s too. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2021, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-and-why-did-insert-food-trend-become-a-thing/949177/69 "2021-08-21T03:13:58Z")
I’ve seen cartoons referencing pumpkin spice gasoline, and pumpkin spice-flavored colonoscopy prep. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2021, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-and-why-did-insert-food-trend-become-a-thing/949177/70 "2021-08-21T03:23:54Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > Another thing is “fusion cuisine”, where two very different cuisines are combined. I haven’t really tried any of them. I feel like that’s gotta go back to at least the 80s. I really can’t remember a time where there wasn’t some sort of fusion cuisine. Wikipedia seems to date it to the 70s as part of contemporary restaurant cuisines (of course, it depends on how you define “fusion cuisine.” In one form or another, it goes back to the dawn of time, pretty much.) ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2021, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-and-why-did-insert-food-trend-become-a-thing/949177/71 "2021-08-21T04:16:57Z")
The rise of Greek yogurt over the past decade has baffled me. When I started working at the grocery store in 2011, yogurt took up about half of one side of our dairy aisle, and Greek yogurt was just a four-foot section in between the regular yogurt and the cream cheese. Now, Greek yogurt is about two-thirds of that same half-aisle, with the Yoplait and the drinkable yogurt squeezed into the corner. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2021, 4:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-and-why-did-insert-food-trend-become-a-thing/949177/72 "2021-08-21T04:18:13Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > I feel like that’s gotta go back to at least the 80s. I really can’t remember a time where there wasn’t some sort of fusion cuisine. Hell, in the '60s, Taco Bell could have been considered “fusion cuisine”. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2021, 4:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-and-why-did-insert-food-trend-become-a-thing/949177/73 "2021-08-21T04:59:22Z")
As for Sushi, I remember when Japanese restaurants of any ilk were ungodly expensive. I saw them mainly in airports, because everyone is used to paying out the nose for everything in airports. But there are a lot of affordable Japanese places around now. Back in my West Texas hometown, there was one Japanese restaurant. I never ate there, it was too pricey, but my roommate was the bartender. Being West Texas, It had to style itself as a “Japanese steakhouse” to have any hope of business. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2021, 5:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-and-why-did-insert-food-trend-become-a-thing/949177/74 "2021-08-21T05:05:40Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > Being West Texas, It had to style itself as a “Japanese steakhouse” to have any hope of business. Most teppanyaki places on the West Coast say “Japanese Steakhouse” on the sign. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2021, 5:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-and-why-did-insert-food-trend-become-a-thing/949177/75 "2021-08-21T05:07:15Z")
Thanks. I thought it was just a West Texas thing. But in my example, so many decades ago and in that place, it might have been the case. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2021, 5:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-and-why-did-insert-food-trend-become-a-thing/949177/76 "2021-08-21T05:16:04Z")
> [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](#): > > Most teppanyaki places on the West Coast say “Japanese Steakhouse” on the sign. Indeed, both the teppanyaki places we have here in Olympia bill themselves as Japanese steakhouses. Even Benihana calls itself a Japanese steakhouse when you Google them. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2021, 5:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-and-why-did-insert-food-trend-become-a-thing/949177/77 "2021-08-21T05:19:02Z")
I think it’s a necessary identifier for any restaurant with a Japanese name that doesn’t want to be confused with a sushi restaurant. I’ve often wondered why it’s so hard to find a restaurant that specializes in katsu in the US. I think it might just be that there is no short cut branding like “steakhouse” or “noodle house” for breaded cutlets. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2021, 5:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-and-why-did-insert-food-trend-become-a-thing/949177/78 "2021-08-21T05:34:13Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > Doesn’t saltwater taffy (caramel) go all the way back to Coney Island, where some candy got splashed with seawater during a storm? Rather than throw it out, they started selling it and everybody loved it. > > I’m pretty sure I read this back in the '80s too. This is complete marketing BS. Most candy recipes have a tiny amount of salt somewhere (either in the butter or separately. Attributing it to sea water somehow splashing indoors into a boiling pot of candy and the minute amount of salt present making a bit of difference (when taffy is completely dependent on the amount of water in the boiling mix to achieve the correct temp stage) is a just a form of marketing promotion. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2021, 5:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-and-why-did-insert-food-trend-become-a-thing/949177/79 "2021-08-21T05:51:47Z")
Hey, I don’t make this stuff up! I just parrot it. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2021, 6:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-and-why-did-insert-food-trend-become-a-thing/949177/80 "2021-08-21T06:00:07Z")
Are seriously implying that taffy bought in an Omaha candy shop tastes as good as that you might find for sale from a seaside tourist trap covered in seagull shit? I think not! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-and-why-did-insert-food-trend-become-a-thing/949177.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-and-why-did-insert-food-trend-become-a-thing/949177.md?page=5)