A stroll down memory lane through vintage cookbooks proves that our grandparents had some weird ideas about what to put between slices of bread.
Yeast paste
In the 1930s, a major yeast manufacturer got the brilliant idea to market raw yeast cakes as a health food miracle. Consequently, many recipes paired compressed yeast with just a few dashes of steak sauce. The gray paste was then slathered onto buttered bread. Yeast paste tasted very similar to bitter, salty wallpaper paste.
Popcorn crunch
Appearing in a 1909 cookbook, this odd recipe instructed cooks to mash together freshly popped popcorn and canned sardines with ketchup, a pinch of cayenne pepper and Worcestershire sauce. The sandy, fishy paste was served on hot buttered toast and sprinkled with grated Parmesan cheese.
Banana liverwurst
One authentic mid-century recipe from 1931 calls for blending together half of a ripe banana with a slice of liverwurst sausage and a generous dollop of tomato ketchup. The overly sweetened, metallic-tasting meat spread is served on sliced bread.
Raw oysters
Before there were the crunchy, mouth-watering fried oyster po’boys, century-old cookbooks instructed the cook to chop up completely raw oysters, then mixing them with olive oil and Worcestershire sauce. Plopped between two slices of white bread with a wilted lettuce leaf, it was chilly, slimy, and extremely metallic.
Spaghetti mash
Recipes as early as the start of the 1930s instructed cooks to take leftover spaghetti noodles and process them into a paste with a sieved hard-boiled egg, minced onion, mayo, and sardines. And if that doesn’t sound bad enough, this dense, fishy, calorie-laden concoction is served specifically on sweet, buttered raisin bread.
Prune pickle
Taken from an antique cookbook, this recipe involves mashing cooked prunes into a black pulp and combining it with chopped toasted almonds. While that sounds like a decent pastry filling, the recipe takes a horrific turn by instructing cooks to fold in a generous scoop of Indian dill pickle relish before putting it on bread.
Anchovy pineapple
This ghastly spread requires mixing overly salty anchovy paste into a tub of unsalted cream cheese until it becomes spreadable. Then, you spread the pink, fishy cream cheese onto some sliced bread. Last, you put sweet canned pineapple spears on top of the creation.
Beef jelly
Originating from thrifty times during the Great Depression, this recipe consists of simmering a pot full of cheap cuts like beef heart, pig feet, and beef tongue until the liquid turns rich and dark. The beef is strained and placed in a loaf pan and refrigerated until it jells into a cold, rubbery, gelatinous brick to be sliced for lunches.
Toast filling
Originating in the Victorian era, a toast sandwich is made by putting one single slice of generously salted and peppered toast (that has been toasted only once) directly between two slices of ultra-buttered bread that has not been toasted at all. It’s an exceptionally dry, tasteless and dismal creation.
Salmon banana
Born in the experimental home kitchens, circa late 1960s, this sandwich involves mashing a can of pink salmon with a fork and spooning it directly onto a split raw banana atop a slice of white bread. This concoction was usually topped with a dollop of hearty mayo, making for one aggressively sweet and fishy mouthful.
Sources: Please see here for a complete listing of all sources that were consulted in the preparation of this article.
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