A few issues ago, we’ve uncovered where some iconic dishes originally came from (that annoyed a few people for reasons I can’t understand), and those that were created by accident. Today, however, it’s the turn of recognisable treats that feel like they’ve been around forever but were only invented last week—and others that couldn’t possibly be ancient but actually are. No particular order here, just to keep you guessing. And no, we won’t be including the likes of bread and beer, which are ancient…
Pad Thai
One of Thailand’s national dishes, and quite possibly one of its most famous. Noodles, shrimp, egg, peanuts—it’s an absolute classic of Thai food, with Chinese influence going back around a thousand years when the country began to see an influx of immigrants.
Only thing is—that’s not true. During the Second World War, a massive flood severely damaged rice fields, so the government encouraged people to switch over to noodles, and so Pad Thai was born. Or was it?
Several theories have been put forward dating from that era, but the version we know today may not have been invented until the 1960s. Either way, it’s only 60–80 years old.
General Tso’s Chicken
Let’s get the origin out of the way: this sweet and sour crispy chicken dish was adapted in the United States, from a Chinese dish, by a Chinese chef, in New York. Or… exactly the same thing, but by a different chef.
I say adapted because it was considered too spicy for Americans, so the heat was dialled down and the sweetness ramped up (hence Orange Chicken). But when did it all happen? Isn’t that why we’re here?
Early 1970s. And originally, only a couple of decades earlier.
Popcorn
Light, airy, sometimes healthy, sometimes not—this has become synonymous with going to the cinema. During the Great Depression and WWII, it was an incredibly cheap snack, and more importantly, it required no utensils to consume (and wasn’t messy either).
Fast forward a few decades, and that snack, once sold cheaply to boost cinema profits, is now more expensive than the ticket itself.
So at least 100 years old? Yes—if you add another 5,000. Native Americans were eating popcorn back in the time of the pyramids.
Cheesecake
Allow me to let the cat out of the bag: England, 14th century. Ooh, that’s quite old. These days there are cooked, uncooked, sweet, and savoury versions galore, but none of them would exist without its original creation… 2,500 years ago in Greece. Aegimus, a physician, even wrote a book about it.
Banoffee Pie
Caramel, bananas, cream—in a pie!? That combination seems so natural that it has to be at least a century or two old, right?
Wrong. It’s only 54 years old, and it’s English.
French Toast
I could easily have included this one in the “That Dish Doesn’t Come From Where You Think It Does” category, because it isn’t French. Well… the modern version is, if you count the year 1300 as modern. Guillaume Taillevent invented it, but sadly he was about 1,200 years too late—the Romans had already beaten him to it, and even included it in a cookbook so nobody could dispute the claim.
Ciabatta
Yes, I know I said no bread, but you can’t get more Italian than this timeless classic… except it’s only 40 years old. It was created as an alternative to the baguette, and the addition of extra water made it cheaper to produce.
And who invented it? A rally driver. Yes, a rally driver.
Sausages
You’d imagine this one is old—but how old, exactly? “Sawsyg” first appeared around 1450, but that word came from the French “saucisse”, which in turn came from the Latin “salsica”.
Pretty old. But wait—sausages are also mentioned on an Akkadian tablet from Mesopotamia, which pushes things back another 3,000 years.
You knew that, right? Yeah, you’re awesome.
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