It’s a strange old thing to think that even at the tender age of 34 there are foods I used to eat when I was younger that have now disappeared off of the face of the earth. I can remember if it was a gradual thing that Angel Delight worked its own way out of my life or if I simply stopped buying it because I became an adult. In either case, here are some foods that will TOTALLY take you back to the good old days of dressing up as the Spice Girls and trying no to choke on your Push Pop while playing pogs.

Custard

I get it – custard still exists. When you pass about 10 though, does it REALLY? I cannot remember the last time I thought “oh, do you know what, I’ll grab some custard at shopping”. What do you even eat it with as an adult? Can eating custard ever be as good as it was when you lost your shit over it being on the school dinner menu that day, or is it just banished to the world of nostalgia?

Tottenham Cake

Admission time. For the entire time at school I had Tottenham cake I had no idea it was called that. To me it was just sponge cake with pink icing. Reason being, it’s just sponge cake with pink icing. A few months ago I was reading a Twitter conversation about foods people missed and I saw it named, with a picture. I don’t know how it got it’s name or if it is affiliated with Tottenham in any way but if it is I need to take a trip there because this is one food I truly miss.

Parma Violets

Ok first of all can we just get something straight? If you feed your kid Parma Violets, this is child abuse. Seriously, what weirdo actually liked these? I’ll never forget the sheer horror and disappointment of getting a party bag with these little twats in instead of Fizzers. To a 9 year old that really is the end of the world.

Angel Delight

I know you can still buy Angel Delight but I really feel like the 90s were it’s heyday. Such a versatile dish, so cheap, so easy to make. Was there anything more exciting in the whole world than coming home and seeing a big bowl of Angel Delight setting in the fridge? Usefully, it could either be a side or a topping to an existing dish, or a dish on it’s own.

Frubes

A lot of people don’t like or understand Frubes and while I am not one of them I can understand their sentiment. Pre-social media, Miley Cyrus and Trump, the idea of yoghurt in a tube was seriously controversial. Some Mums even went to the great length of banning them from their kids lunch boxes. The most hilarious thing is, there is absolutely ZERO difference between yoghurt in a tub and yoghurt in a tube. The launch of Frubes was probably one of the earliest forms of successful marketing, and you have to salute them for thinking outside of the box (well, pot).

Smiley Faces

As a long time potato fan, I like to think I have been around the block when it comes to foods formed of them. I’ve tried wonderful fondant potatoes in London restaurants, dauphinoise in truffle oil at a leading Thailand restaurant and also many, MANY forms of “posh mash”. But there will be nothing that beats a good smiley face. For a start, you cannot look at one and not be happy. This inevitably puts you in a great mood for the rest of your meal. Also, if you cook them right, they are the perfect balance of crunchy outside and fluffy inside.

Vol-au-vents

What ever happened to these? I look back on family parties and remember my Mum running around, flustered, stressed, and downing Martini because her vol-au-vent cases were not rising and there was no room to fit the filling in the fridge. EVERY party in the 90s served them.

Cress

Remember the days when cress used to be kicking about everywhere? I remember my Junior school being a bit like that film, “The Birds”, but with cress. it was everywhere. Not satisfied with growing it at school, I am pretty sure I made my Mum and Dad let me grow it at home. It took approximately 67 years to become long enough to be picked and used, and then when you did use it, it added NO additional flavour what so ever to whatever it is you were eating.

Capri Sun

Not technically a food, but still up there with things that had a massive wave of popularity in the 90s. I think one of the things they succeeded in was creating packaging that could be squished down into a lunch box, thus leaving you room for more food. I’m sure everyone has had at least one incident where they have accidentally stabbed themselves with a straw, but it really made achieving the ultimate goal of getting it in the hole to actually drink it that much sweeter. Capri Sun still exists but they are bigger now and they have some ‘safe’ screw top lid. NOT THE SAME CAPRI SUN, NOT THE SAME.