# 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:** 5
**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, 6:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-and-why-did-insert-food-trend-become-a-thing/949177/81 "2021-08-21T06:01:48Z")
Seagull shit adds a certain _je ne sais quoi_! ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2021, 6:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-and-why-did-insert-food-trend-become-a-thing/949177/82 "2021-08-21T06:03:04Z")
> [@needscoffee](#): > > This is complete marketing BS Probably (like almost certainly), but it is indeed part of the [mythology](https://ahg3rd.wordpress.com/joseph-f-fralinger-and-the-history-of-salt-water-taffy/), in this case that a wave purportedly washed over already manufactured pieces. Very likely bullshit, but those 19th century candy barons recognized a good bit of marketing when they saw it. ---
**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, 6:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-and-why-did-insert-food-trend-become-a-thing/949177/83 "2021-08-21T06:09:32Z")
Hey, if you can’t believe the Fralinger family, who can you believe? 😊 ---
**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, 6:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-and-why-did-insert-food-trend-become-a-thing/949177/84 "2021-08-21T06:11:58Z")
> [@Tamerlane](#): > > Probably (like almost certainly), but it is indeed part of the [mythology](https://ahg3rd.wordpress.com/joseph-f-fralinger-and-the-history-of-salt-water-taffy/), in this case that a wave purportedly washed over already manufactured pieces. Very likely bullshit, but those 19th century candy barons recognized a good bit of marketing when they saw it Certainly. Taffy has to be cooked with [salted] water; you can’t just splash salt water on it after it’s finished, or you get soggy melted ruined candy. I guess it’s a nice story? > Now as fable has it, a nasty Nor’Easter (a strong storm with winds out of the Northeast) in August of that year sprayed the Atlantic Ocean’s waves over Mr. Bradley’s stock of taffy and when the next little girl asked for ‘Salt Water Taffy’ the name rang a bell. That Winter he reportedly had muslin signs made up to advertise the name “Salt Water Taffy” and the next summer did a superior business. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2021, 12:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-and-why-did-insert-food-trend-become-a-thing/949177/85 "2021-08-21T12:45:28Z")
> [@california\_jobcase](#): > > You bite, I’ll barf. Cilantro is vile and tastes like stinkbugs smell. That’s the nicest thing I can say about it. I love cilantro, but we had a weird experience a few years ago. My gf picked some cilantro and parsley from the garden and served it alongside our big bowls of delicious stew. We each dressed our bowls, snipping cilantro and parsley with little culinary shears. As we were about to dig in, my gf noticed half of a stink bug on the plate with the remaining cilantro and parsley. I searched my bowl, she searched hers. Eventually we each assumed the other must have gotten it. Delicious stew! ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2021, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-and-why-did-insert-food-trend-become-a-thing/949177/86 "2021-08-21T17:14:06Z")
Stink bugs smell (and taste) like cilantro because the chemical that causes them to smell that way is the actually the exact same one found in cilantro. Mexican gourmets know: > **[Jumiles (Stink Bug) Salsa](http://cannundrum.blogspot.com/2018/03/jumiles-stink-bug-salsa.html)** > > Jumiles are stink bugs in the Taxco region of Mexico, Guerrero State, that are collected to be eaten. They are eaten raw (whole or ground)... ---
**Author:** ![GargoyleWB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gargoylewb/32/199_2.png) [@GargoyleWB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GargoyleWB)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2021, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-and-why-did-insert-food-trend-become-a-thing/949177/87 "2021-08-21T18:23:05Z")
IPAs. My last time at a brewa couple of weeks ago there were one stout and a cider in small print at the bottom of a dozen IPA selections. Blarf. ---
**Author:** ![Tarataratara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Tarataratara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tarataratara)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2021, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-and-why-did-insert-food-trend-become-a-thing/949177/88 "2021-08-21T18:42:02Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > I’ve seen cartoons referencing pumpkin spice gasoline, and pumpkin spice-flavored colonoscopy prep. There’s a car tune-up place I used to drive by that advertised pumpkin spice oil changes. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2021, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-and-why-did-insert-food-trend-become-a-thing/949177/89 "2021-08-21T19:16:20Z")
> [@GargoyleWB](#): > > dozen IPA selections. Blarf. Then there are hopheads like me who drive to far off breweries seeking out extreme IPAs. 🍻 ---
**Author:** ![Die\_Capacitrix](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/die_capacitrix/32/9_2.png) [@Die\_Capacitrix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Die_Capacitrix)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2021, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-and-why-did-insert-food-trend-become-a-thing/949177/90 "2021-08-21T19:33:28Z")
I remember the first time having sushi in approximately 1997 or so. That was in NJ. Sweet potato fries and pulled pork hit Switzerland approximately two years ago. Before then it was really difficult to find sweet potatos (or yams, for that matter) in the grocery store, now they’re common. Pumpkin pie spice never took off here. Too exotic. ---
**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, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-and-why-did-insert-food-trend-become-a-thing/949177/91 "2021-08-21T19:40:50Z")
Isn’t it because salting the water raises the boiling point, and enables the taffy to solidify? ---
**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, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-and-why-did-insert-food-trend-become-a-thing/949177/92 "2021-08-21T20:47:11Z")
> [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](#): > > 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. Well, maybe so, at least nowadays. But trust me when I say no one in my dusty West Texas burg in the 1970s would have thought this might be a sushi place. No one there had ever even heard of sushi. ---
**Author:** ![Bonum\_Legatum](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bonum_legatum/32/6183_2.png) [@Bonum\_Legatum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bonum_Legatum)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2021, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-and-why-did-insert-food-trend-become-a-thing/949177/93 "2021-08-21T21:12:06Z")
Yep, pumpkin pudding cakes have been at Kroger for at least two weeks now. But the prize for extreme pumpkination should go to Aldi for their pumpkin yogurt. . (Although I haven’t seen it for at least three years.) ---
**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, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-and-why-did-insert-food-trend-become-a-thing/949177/94 "2021-08-21T21:13:12Z")
I love the pumpkin spiced coffees. Wish they offered the year round. ---
**Author:** ![Bonum\_Legatum](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bonum_legatum/32/6183_2.png) [@Bonum\_Legatum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bonum_Legatum)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2021, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-and-why-did-insert-food-trend-become-a-thing/949177/95 "2021-08-21T21:15:23Z")
I remember when mustard for the masses was just French’s bright yellow, as seen on any hot dog. Then Grey Poupon started their advertising and varietal mustards broke out from the specialty stores. Any day now I expect to see varietal corn oils. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2021, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-and-why-did-insert-food-trend-become-a-thing/949177/96 "2021-08-21T21:23:35Z")
If you look at the part of the supermarket that has the corn oil, you can find all sorts of oils there, including peanut oil, coconut oil, ghee, etc. ---
**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, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-and-why-did-insert-food-trend-become-a-thing/949177/97 "2021-08-21T21:36:03Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > Isn’t it because salting the water raises the boiling point, and enables the taffy to solidify? - No. You don’t need any salt in taffy, but it tastes better with it. ---
**Author:** ![Bonum\_Legatum](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bonum_legatum/32/6183_2.png) [@Bonum\_Legatum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bonum_Legatum)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2021, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-and-why-did-insert-food-trend-become-a-thing/949177/98 "2021-08-22T13:52:13Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > If you look at the part of the supermarket that has the corn oil, you can find all sorts of oils there, including peanut oil, coconut oil, ghee, etc. Not other oils, but corn oils from different varieties of corn, such as: > **[Corn - Sweet Corn Seeds for Home Vegetable Gardens, Maize - Burpee](https://www.burpee.com/vegetables/corn/)** > > Corn (Maize) - Corn seeds are perfect for growing in home gardens. Shop and find a variety of tastes and colors from sweet corn. Find a range of popular sweet corn seeds and hybrids available at Burpee.com. Burpee After all, if you don’t have bottles of: - Strawberry popcorn corn oil. - Silver queen hybrid corn oil. - Golden bantam corn oil. - Santava Purple hybrid corn oil. - Glass Gem corn oil. - Baby corn corn oil. You have fallen behind in chasing the latest food trend recommended by the “golden palates”. (With the right writer, this could be a great April Fool joke for a foodie magazine.) ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2021, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-and-why-did-insert-food-trend-become-a-thing/949177/99 "2021-08-22T17:17:27Z")
It’s probably been around for ages. But I just heard about it a few years ago. Chicken and Waffles? As a dish. Together? Ummm… What? ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2021, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-and-why-did-insert-food-trend-become-a-thing/949177/100 "2021-08-22T17:58:21Z")
> [@enipla](#): > > Chicken and Waffles? As a dish… Together? Ummm… What? It has indeed been around [for ages](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicken_and_waffles) 😉. But you’re correct it has seen a bit of a boom in the last decade or two. A couple of my favorite breakfast places added it in in just the last five years. In this case it seems to have been the case of a slowly escalating cult/regional popularity (a la Roscoe’s in the 1970’s as per the above article) that may have hit a tipping point into a more general popularity. There was a Roscoe’s in Jack London Square in Oakland CA for ages (it has a different name now) which always intrigued me, but I didn’t end up trying any until I was in my late thirties. Damn good and I’m not normally a waffle guy. ETA: It was certainly being used as a joke in the mid-1990’s when the cartoon The Critic featured the head of the TV network as Duke Philips, head of Philips Broadcasting (formerly ‘Duke Philip’s House of Chicken and Waffles’). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-and-why-did-insert-food-trend-become-a-thing/949177.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-and-why-did-insert-food-trend-become-a-thing/949177.md?page=6)