Before burgers, cronuts, and energy drinks, American plates were filled with dishes few today would recognize—let alone crave. Eel pie, roast beaver tail, and pear cider were once familiar staples, not oddities. These foods weren’t fads—they were necessities or delicacies rooted in colonial needs, cultural blends, or sheer availability.
Their decline had less to do with taste and more to do with overharvesting, convenience, or shifting lifestyles. Here are the true stories of once-popular foods that have mostly vanished from American menus.
Eel: From Bounty to Scarcity
In 17th and 18th-century America, eel was a prized catch. Colonists harvested eels from Cape Cod and inland streams, often using lobsters as bait. Eel pie, a favorite inherited from England, was so popular that local stocks thinned due to overfishing. Over time, the appeal faded.
Eels remained popular in Japan and later gained new life through sushi, but American interest in whole-animal cuisine declined. Today, eels are listed as endangered by the IUCN, and poaching in the U.S. has further reduced their numbers.
Beaver Tail: Frontier Fuel
Beaver tail was a fatty, calorie-rich food vital to Native Americans and European trappers. Cooked over open fires, it was praised for its pork rind-like texture and appeared in cookbooks into the 1940s.
The rise of processed foods and a decline in demand for beaver pelts contributed to its disappearance. Trapping declined, populations stabilized, and the labor-intensive preparation of beaver tails gave way to easier, more modern snacks. Today, the dish is nearly extinct from American kitchens.
Perry, Sassafras, and Syllabub: Vanished Drinks
Perry, or pear cider, was once preferred over beer due to its ease of production with orchard fruits. It faded in the 19th century as German lagers became dominant. Sassafras, once Virginia’s second-most valuable export, was prized for its medicinal claims.
Though it later flavored root beer, its safrole content was banned by the FDA in the 1960s. Syllabub, a frothy mix of cream, sugar, and wine or brandy, helped colonists stretch costly wine but faded as local alcohol preferences shifted.
Turtle Feasts and Secret Sauces
Turtles were once so abundant they headlined high-society roasts along the East River. Overharvesting decimated populations, and today, turtle soup is rare outside of the Gulf Coast.
Oysters Rockefeller, born in New Orleans in 1899, remains in select restaurants. Its original sauce recipe remains a secret at Antoine’s, where it was invented during an era that celebrated culinary extravagance.
Before burgers and cronuts, American meals featured eel pie, roast beaver tail, and pear cider.
These forgotten dishes were once common, born of need, tradition, or excess.
Their rise and fall reveals a different culinary past—one shaped by survival, scarcity, and change.🧵👇 pic.twitter.com/lJrpD13zlV
— Detective Tiger's Stories (@TigerDetective) June 19, 2025