Fabulous ’50s fare
GET NOSTALGIC FOR CHIKO ROLLS AND PADDLE POPS
F YOU were born in the ’50s, you’re probably the result of a smorgasbord of “culinary fare” that was then on offer. Spag bol, Tip Top bread and Savoury Shapes permeated our digestive systems. These foods went on to create a generation with a predisposition to cravings for nostalgia. So, in an era of swinging soirees and kitten heels, what was everyone actually eating?
1950: CHEESE TWISTIES
Kicking off the decade was Melbourne businessman Isador Magid who imported a new fandangled rotary head extruder from the US to create Australia’s first “extruded snack food”.
1951: CHIKO ROLLS
If you stood in line at a school canteen and hoped the person in front of you didn’t buy the last Chiko Roll, you need to thank Frank McEnroe for your addiction. He invented the “chicken roll” (sans chicken, by the way), which was inspired by Chinese spring rolls then in vogue.
1952: SPAG BOL
If you were born in 1952, you arrived in a hullabaloo of advancement. The first express trains began operation between Melbourne and Adelaide, and Queen Elizabeth succeeded her deceased father, bringing in a new monarchy. But topping all of this was the Australian Women’s Weekly publishing a recipe for spaghetti bolognaise. It became the catalyst for generations of families serving this pseudoItalian dinner party favourite.
1953: STREETS PADDLE POPS
Touted to be a nine-day wonder, Streets Paddle Pop went on sale in 1953 when an engineer-turnedice-cream-maker, Ron Street turned down an offer from NASA and joined his Uncle’s ice cream business instead. Paddle Pops went on to play a huge part in memories of childhood summers, and became the largest selling icecream in the world, per capita.
1954: SAVOURY SHAPES
So popular were Savoury Shapes that more flavours were introduced: Barbecue, Chicken
Crimpy, Onion, and even Turkey. Shapes were the work of German immigrant Adolf Brockhoff and his company Brockhoff Biscuit Company, which created other successful dry biscuits such as Cheds, Salada and Clix.
1955: CORONATION CHICKEN
This British dish was first served in 1953, inspired by the “Jubilee chicken” of the 1930s when King George V celebrated his silver jubilee. Coronation chicken was the new kid on the block, created to mark Elizabeth II’s coronation.
1956: BIRD’S EYE FISH FINGERS
If you’re sitting down to a plate of fish fingers tonight, you can thank Clarence Birdseye. He used learnings inspired by the Inuit people to ship frozen food across the world. By 1956, fish fingers were part of a marketing campaign to encourage Aussie kids to eat more fish. The campaign worked.
1957: RICE PUDDING
This hearty “dessert” has traversed cultures and countries as one of the easiest and creamiest dishes to make in a pot. But somehow, over time, we decided it was better to serve it from a can. Although tinned rice pud was created much earlier than 1957, this was the year Ambrosia in the UK built a new factory to service the demand for its product.
1958: TIP TOP SLICED BREAD
When you next utter “the best thing since sliced bread”, spare a thought for Australia’s first national bread brand: Tip Top. The launch of Weston’s Tip Top heralded several decades of standard Aussie white bread.
1959: STREETS GAYTIME
This toffee-chocolate-biscuit combo became an Aussie summer staple from 1959 all the way through the swinging 60s, with almost everyone choosing it at the corner store and reinforcing the 1980s campaign, “It’s hard to have a Gaytime on your own”. So popular was the Gaytime that additional flavours were created, but the original recipe did it for us, remaining one of our most-loved ice-creams even today.