Remember when prawn cocktail, a steak dinner and a Black Forest gâteau was the restaurant meal of dreams? Perhaps you snacked on Spam on toast and Angel Delight, or opened your lunchbox to find it crammed with Dairylea Lunchables and Cheesestrings. Here, we look at the foods we fell in love with while growing up in Britain.

Click or scroll on for some serious nostalgia as we remember the weird and wonderful foods we used to eat, from the 1950s to the 2000s.

Records released by the UK government show that salmon sandwiches – made with tinned fish, of course – were a regular on menus for families in the early 1950s. John West tinned salmon has been around since 1857, but it was especially popular in the post-war years when shoppers were still dealing with rationing.

Having been around since the 1930s, cake mix didn't properly take off until savvy companies introduced frosting and other ready-made decorating items, making the process feel more hands-on. American cake-mix connoisseur brand Betty Crocker became popular in mid-1950s Britain and remains popular to this day.

Infamous pre-cooked pork product Spam was created in the US in 1937, and became popular in 1950s Britain as an easy go-to dinner ingredient. Its popularity stretched through the following decade, when people especially fell for the brand's invention of Spam fritters.

Invented in 1953 for the coronation banquet of Queen Elizabeth II, coronation chicken was created as a dish that would suit both foreign and British guests' tastes. This cold curried chicken recipe, often with added almonds and raisins, lives on – it was especially popular in the 1970s and has had something of a renaissance of late, too.

Kellogg’s Sugar Frosted Flakes, which went on to be called Frosties in the UK, launched in 1954, and were instantly loved by kids thanks to the ingenious marketing campaign using legendary mascot Tony the Tiger and his famous catchphrase, 'They're gr-r-reat!' Another cereal that's stood the test of time, Special K, launched in 1956.

Burger mania hit the UK with the opening of the country's first Wimpy restaurant (the chain was founded in Bloomington, Indiana) in 1954. The burger bar in London was the first to serve a hamburger-based meal in the UK. By 1970, there were 1,000 Wimpy restaurants across 23 countries, and there are still locations in the UK today.

Smedley's were the first to bring frozen foods to the UK in 1937, but it wasn't until the late 1950s – when more people began to have freezers in their homes – that frozen veg became popular. Surprisingly, asparagus was the first frozen vegetable launched, but the ever-popular peas followed closely behind.

Coca Cola was invented in 1886 in Atlanta, Georgia, and was first internationally sold in the 1920s. By the 1950s, it was hugely popular, with adverts depicting the soft drink as synonymous with pleasure. The introduction of flat-top cans and different-sized bottles increased its popularity, in Britain and beyond, even further.

Del Monte Fruit Cocktail was particularly popular in the 1950s – tinned fruit with evaporated milk was the dessert of the decade, dished up in households across the UK. Adverts also featured recipe ideas such as 'rainbow pudding' and 'party fruit basket' (pictured), where one tin can be combined with ready-made sponge, custard and cream.

Irishman and owner of the Tayto company Joe 'Spud' Murphy developed flavoured crisps in the UK in the early 1950s. The sales of their three initial flavours – cheese and onion, salt and vinegar, and smoky bacon – were so high, the company had to expand rapidly.

Fruity, chewy and incredibly moreish, Opal Fruits sweets launched in 1960 and were a favourite of kids across the country. The individually wrapped chews, in lemon, lime, orange and strawberry flavours, rebranded as Starburst in 1998 to match their name in the US market – and fans were delighted when they briefly returned to their original name in 2020.

Coco Pops, the cereal that 'turns milk chocolatey', arrived in the UK in 1960, joining Kellogg's array of sugary breakfast offerings. Thanks to a huge advertising campaign, the cereal was (and still is) super popular, with kids begging their parents to buy them some.

Considered the epitome of glamourous dining, this indulgent main course of seafood and red meat became popular in restaurants in the 1960s. It remains popular today, and lobster tail with beef tenderloin is a particularly luxurious version of the dish.

Chef and food writer Elizabeth David revolutionised British cookery, starting with A Book Of Mediterranean Food in the 1950s. In 1963 she released Italian Cooking, including a note that lasagne was now available to buy in Italian shops and some supermarkets. Lasagne and spaghetti Bolognese became extremely popular on dinner tables across the UK.

In the 1960s, Dutch Canadian food chemist Edward Asselbergs developed instant mashed potato flakes. Smash hit shelves in this decade, and it quickly gained a following from time-strapped home cooks. It had a comeback in the 1970s and 1980s, thanks to adverts featuring the Smash Martians, and remains the most famous brand of its kind in the UK. 

KFC made it to Britain in 1965, with the first branch opening in Preston, Lancashire. Harry Latham, from Bristol, and his business partner Raymond Allen worked closely with KFC's Colonel Sanders to expand the franchise across the UK, with it popping up in hundreds of towns over the next decade. They were well ahead of the fast food game – McDonald's didn't arrive in Britain for another nine years.

The frozen ready-meal craze hit Britain in the late 1960s, with Birdseye at the helm. They really rose in popularity through the 1970s and 1980s, reportedly thanks to rising divorce rates – savvy ready-meal companies marketed their products with single men in mind.

Twix launched in 1967 in the UK and the twin shortbread biscuits – the reason for the name Twix – have been a fast favourite with many people ever since. They come topped with a layer of caramel and coated in chocolate, all packaged in a distinctive gold wrapper with bold red lettering.

Launched in 1967, the Fab ice lolly has remained one of the nation's favourites ever since. Each Fab, which stands for fruit and berries, has three layers of strawberry, milk and chocolate, covered in hundreds and thousands sprinkles.

Prawn cocktail is not a 1960s invention, but it is associated with this decade as well as the 1970s. Its origins are French, but English TV cook Fanny Craddock is largely credited with popularising the starter of cold prawns in Marie Rose sauce (a mix of mayo, ketchup, lemon juice and pepper). The dinner party favourite was (and still is, by retro fans) typically served on a bed of lettuce in a Martini glass.

The dessert consisting of vanilla ice cream wrapped in a Swiss roll was invented by Dr Ernest Velden, an immigrant from then Czechoslovakia. In 1968, he set up a UK factory producing Arctic Roll and it was a runaway success, with families enjoying the ice cream treat well into the 1970s and 1980s.

Bird's Angel Delight launched in 1967 but was the dessert of the 1970s. Mixed with milk and whisked to make a mousse-like dessert, it was first available in a strawberries and cream flavour. It's still sold today, with a range of flavours including strawberry, butterscotch, banana and chocolate.

One 1970s classic is Black Forest gâteau, which was regularly brought out as the showstopper at the end of a dinner party. Made from layers of rich chocolate and cream and doused in boozy Kirsch with cherries studded throughout, it hails from 20th-century Germany, where it's known as schwarzwälder kirschtorte.

While Americans had been enjoying burger bars and pizza restaurants since the 1950s, the UK was a little behind, with only Wimpy and KFC. So this was the decade that saw fast food really boom in Britain. Pizza Hut launched in 1973, McDonald's in 1974 and Burger King arrived in Britain in 1976.

Skittles became the must-have sweets for kids across the UK when they launched in 1974. These fruity, chewy sweets with hard shells have been a runaway success thanks, in part, to quirky ad campaigns.

Universally believed to be an Anglo-Indian dish (Glasgow in Scotland is often billed as its place of origin, although this is disputed), chicken tikka masala is one of the more enduring dishes to have emerged from 1970s Britain. Made up of chunks of chicken marinated in yogurt and spices, which is baked then served in a tomato and cream sauce, it remains one of the most successful fusion dishes of all time.

Although fondue has been around for much longer in Switzerland, this DIY dish took off in Britain in a big way in the 1970s. A dinner party classic, it involves a molten pot of Gruyère and a splash of wine, served alongside pieces of bread and meat for dunking.

Buffets were a big deal in the 1970s and, at the heart of any posh spread, was quiche, a French dish with English roots. Rich, salty and dotted with lardons, quiche Lorraine is the most famous.

Though not a 1970s invention, the salad bar is most associated with this decade because it’s when they started appearing in restaurants such as Berni Inn and Pizza Hut. Harvester, which opened in 1983, is still famous for its salad bar.

In 1979, Marks & Spencer changed British cooking with the introduction of the chicken Kiev. The middle classes went wild for the breaded chicken fillet filled with garlic butter, and a craze began for chilled ready meals rather than frozen. The trend grew throughout the 1980s and beyond.

McCain introduced oven chips to the UK in 1979 with much fanfare including a catchy advertising campaign. With no need for oil or a deep fat fryer, they were billed as healthier and easier to cook than ever before. They revolutionised the chip market and are still going strong to this day.

Children across the UK wanted a Trio chocolate bar, consisting of a biscuit topped with toffee and smothered in thick milk chocolate, in their lunchbox. They also loved Trio's excellent ad campaign, where cartoon character Suzy sang along to the tune of Day-O (The Banana Boat Song): "Trio, Trio, I want a Trio and I want one now."

Kids went crazy for Hubba Bubba bubble gum, which arrived in the UK in the early 1980s. Hours were spent seeing who could blow the biggest bubbles and flavours included apple, strawberry and cola.

Probably one of the most famous brands to be born in the 1980s, Diet Coke came into our lives in 1983, followed by a caffeine-free version, Cherry Coke and Diet Cherry Coke. Diet drink sales were at their greatest in 2005, but have been declining ever since as people increasingly opt for flavoured waters instead.

First launched in France in 1936, the sparkling orange juice drink Orangina arrived in the UK in 1984. With a bell-shaped glass bottle and the slogan 'shake the bottle to wake the taste', the refreshing juice drink disappeared from the UK in the early 1990s and is more often found in cafés across European beach resorts.

Domino’s was founded in Michigan in 1960, and has become the largest pizza-delivery chain on the planet, thanks to the world’s insatiable appetite for this comforting takeaway treat. Domino's finally found its way to the UK in 1985, and is now found on pretty much every high street across the country.

Tomatoes that had been preserved in the sun were already prevalent in Italian cuisine. But it wasn’t until the late-1980s that the UK discovered their intense flavour and fervently started adding them to pastas and salads.

The McDonald's Happy Meal arrived in the UK in 1986, consisting of a burger, cheeseburger or Chicken McNuggets, plus small fries, a drink and a toy. Often tied into film releases with a selection of toys to collect, the meals now offer healthier alternatives such as bags of fruit and milk and remain just as popular.

These bright green, pickled onion crisps came out in the UK in the late 1980s (the roast beef flavour was bright red). They were hugely popular because they defied inflation, costing just 10p until 2007 when the price increased, causing uproar among snack fans.

Beloved by vegetarians, who appreciate the meat-free meatiness, portobello mushrooms as we know them didn't exist until the late 1980s. When natural foods were coming into fashion, the exotic-looking mushroom – which is actually just an overgrown common mushroom – was renamed with great success.

Although pasta salads have been around since the 1960s, they were a go-to dish in the 1980s. Cheap, practical and versatile, they could be served hot or cold and could be fancy or simple depending on the variety of pasta shapes used. Tricolore pasta salad, made from three colours of spiral pasta, was a true dish of the decade.

Pesto wasn’t invented in the 1980s – far from it. The recipe is likely to have been derived from an ancient Roman one, and it has been enjoyed in Italy and France since the 19th century. However, it shot to fame in the UK in the 1980s, and has become a store-cupboard essential for students and busy families.

Potato alphabet shapes made up the carb element to many a family meal in the 1980s and 1990s. The original Alphabites came from Birds Eye and have been copied by supermarkets launching their own brand versions. Did any kids of the era not try to spell out their name while eating their tea?

Generations of children grew up eating Crispy Pancakes for tea since their launch in 1958, but it was the 1980s and early 1990s that they reached peak popularity. Flavours included chicken and mushroom, ham and cheese and minced beef, which has since been discontinued. Findus recently revamped the brand with fancier flavours including mozzarella, but it's just not the same as those tongue-burning fillings.

The German brand Müller arrived in the UK in 1988, and has been a leading yogurt brand for decades. The Müller Corner – sweet yogurt with an attached portion of fruit, chocolate or granola – turned what was previously considered health food into a proper treat.

Pop-Tarts are everything that’s good about convenience food: easy, tasty and with a long shelf life. They're also, arguably, everything that’s bad: sugary, processed and nutrient poor. Kellogg’s first introduced the product in the US in 1964, but Pop-Tarts didn't reach the UK until the early 1990s. When they did arrive, they were a huge success. 

‘Once you pop you can’t stop’ – never was a truer advertising slogan created. These addictive tubes of crisps launched in the UK in 1991 – 24 years after hitting shelves in the US. Today, they're a global phenomenon, with an incredible array of flavours from classic Sour Cream & Onion to unusual limited editions like Pecan Pie.

It’s not an urban myth – Doritos really were invented at a Mexican-style restaurant in Disneyland. Already a huge success in America after being rolled out nationwide in 1966, the corn tortilla style snack launched in the UK in 1994. There was nothing else like it available in the UK and they sparked a taste for tortillas, remaining the market leader today.

Red Bull launched in the UK in 1993, becoming the first energy drink on the market. Known for its hefty caffeine content, it fast became a favourite with sports players, students and partygoers. It’s still the bestselling energy drink in the world – in 2022, 11.6 billion cans were sold worldwide.

Inspired by New York City's pizzerias, Irish pizza brand Goodfella's launched its frozen deep-pan pizzas in 1993, before rolling out in the UK in 1995. In 1999, it added thin and crispy pizzas to the range and the brand is still going strong now.

What could be better than a pot of yogurt? A squeezy tube of yogurt, of course! Yoplait launched Frubes in 1996, and the brand remains a market leader to this day. With fun characters on the tubes and flavours including strawberry, red berries and peach, Frubes were a school lunchbox must-have.

This ice cream 'cake' was the dessert of the 1990s and its slogan, 'one slice is never enough', was certainly true. Layers of vanilla ice cream and wafer thin, crispy milk chocolate that made a satisfying crackling sound on slicing, Viennetta was considered a posh option thanks to its fancy advert. 

Cashing in on the 1993 box office smash Jurassic Park, Bernard Matthews launched Turkey Dinosaurs to great success, with sales of more than two million packets every week. The company saw its annual profits treble thanks to the product.

This cereal-milkshake hybrid launched in 1995 to much fanfare with a very over-the-top TV advertisement. An icon of the 1990s, Kellogg's Banana Bubbles sadly only lasted a few years before being discontinued. This decade also the era for cereal box toys, but this marketing idea was abandoned in the 2000s due choking fears.

The year 1996 saw the launch of Cheesestrings by Strings & Things, with an advertising campaign that made playing with your food acceptable. Made from real cheese, the slogan 'stringy goodness made fun' inspired a generation of kids to get their recommended daily amount of calcium.

A pack of crackers, cheese and ham, Dairylea Lunchables made preparing kids' packed lunches even easier for parents. Launched in 1998 with the slogan 'stackable and snackable', they made lunchtimes exciting for children.

A big food trend of the 1990s, fusion saw cuisines combine with delicious results. Asian-style cooking was particularly popular, along with Indian influences. Birds Eye even jumped on the bandwagon with its chicken Balti pie. That particular product didn't take off, but exploring different cuisines was here to stay.

In 1998, Sunny Delight fever hit the UK. Available in two flavours – Californian Style and Florida Style – the orange juice claimed to be 'the good stuff kids go for'. The drink became the third bestselling soft drink in the UK, behind Coca-Cola and Pepsi. However, while people assumed the drink was healthy, it turned out to contain as much sugar as cola. In the 2000s, it rebranded to Sunny D and relaunched with a higher fruit content, no artificial ingredients and no added sugar.

Available in the US since 1995, the McFlurry finally launched in the UK in 2000. The combination of soft serve vanilla ice cream and popular confectionary toppings proved irresistible. It's still as popular as ever, and McDonald's regularly releases new flavour combinations.

New York City's famous Magnolia Bakery appeared on an episode of Sex and the City in 2001, sparking a cupcake craze which reached the UK. More and more artisan bakeries selling beautifully iced cupcakes sprung up across the country, one of the most famous being London's Hummingbird Bakery. Google’s annual zeitgeist list in 2008 included cupcakes as the fastest-growing recipe search in the UK.

Bernard Matthew's processed spirals of turkey meat became the nation's most-talked about food item in 2005 after celebrity chef Jamie Oliver produced TV programme Jamie's School Dinners, with the aim of making kids healthier. High in saturated fat, salt and sugar, Twizzlers were a staple school dinner item and, despite Bernard Matthews revamping the product to make it healthier, Twizzlers soon disappeared from school canteens and supermarket shelves.

These bite-size cake lollipops were invented by American baker Angie Dudley, who shared a recipe on her Bakerella blog in 2007. The cake pops went viral, with cake pop mania sweeping both the US and the UK.

Chef Delia Smith made frozen mashed potatoes famous when she included them in her 2008 book, How To Cheat At Cooking. Sales of ready-prepared frozen mash doubled after the nod, as cooks throughout the UK looked for the easiest ways possible to whip up impressive recipes.

Many UK homes were first introduced to Mexican-inspired food by Old El Paso, whose sauces, crispy taco shells and fajita kits made midweek mealtimes a little easier. Mexican restaurants, and especially those serving more authentic, regional Mexican cuisine, became more prevalent in the 2000s. The first Wahaca restaurant, from MasterChef winner Thomasina Miers, opened in 2007, while fast food chain Chipotle opened in 2010.

These mini cupcakes topped with milk chocolate might not have been as aesthetically pleasing as the fancier versions popular at the time, but they were loved nonetheless. The brand produced other cakes such as lemon-topped cupcakes and brownies, but these were the bestseller before they gradually disappeared from supermarkets.

Smashed avocado on toast, sprinkled with chilli flakes and often topped with a poached egg, was the brunch dish of the 2000s and is still going strong today. The avocado craze was all over Instagram, and even actor and wellbeing guru Gwyneth Paltrow hopped on board, publishing her own avocado on toast recipe in her 2013 cookbook It's All Good. 

A nation's love for unicorns started in the mid-2000s, when unicorn cakes started trending all over Instagram. Now the unicorn can be found emblazoned on everything from pencil cases to T-shirts – and unicorn cakes like this one. They're still hugely popular and can be found in most supermarkets. 

Everyone was drinking fruit smoothies in the mid-2000s as they tried an easy way to get their five-a-day. Whether you were blending your own or buying them bottled, smoothies were big business. The trend remains today, and has expanded into thicker-consistency breakfast smoothie bowls topped with fruits, nuts and seeds.

Discover the retro ingredients that definitely deserve a comeback