10 Foods That Went from Garbage to Gourmet

When you think of fine dining, you likely picture white tablecloths, a candlestick, and waiters who may be even better dressed than you are. The core of fine dining has always been a luxury experience. What’s changed quite a lot over the years is what you actually eat once you sit down at the table.

In fact, many foods now considered luxuries were once far more common but widely thought of as peasant fare or a “poor man’s dish.” So the next time you feel bad about having to eat on a budget, consider that today’s affordable meals often turn into tomorrow’s delicacies.

Related: 10 Totally Normal Foods That Were Once Considered Aphrodisiacs

10 Truffles

While Roman elites celebrated truffles as a delicacy, we now know them as these edible fungi sharply fell out of popularity during the medieval ages. Medieval church officials became concerned with the truffle’s reputation as an aphrodisiac, and food that grew from the ground was generally looked down on at that time. Few ate these supposed pieces of “witch’s fare” during that period, and those who did were often poor peasants who turned to them out of a simple lack of options.

Things started to change when Louis XIV expressed his adoration for truffles and often served them at royal banquets. Though Louis XIV’s attempts to farm truffles largely failed, the 1800s saw a global boom in truffle popularity that has only escalated in subsequent centuries. Even the pigs and dogs used to find truffles have become prized possessions (though pigs have developed a reputation for sometimes eating the truffles they are supposed to be hunting).^[1]

9 Goat Cheese

While various types of cheese have long been considered a delicacy by one civilization or another, goat cheese has long endured a less-celebrated reputation. Because goats were often associated with poor farmers (and were even called “poor man’s cows”), goat cheese was often looked down upon as the inferior cheese choice for peasants everywhere.

Goat cheese gained popularity in the 8th century when goats were introduced to France, and farmers began to produce and distribute chèvre (the French word for “goat”). Goat cheese would go on to experience bursts in global popularity. However, it remained a virtual non-entity in the United States until the ’70s and ’80s, when goat cheese once again went from a poverty oddity to an artisanal staple.^[2]

8 Foie Gras

The controversial practice of force-feeding ducks and geese to then cook and eat their fattened livers can be traced back to the Egyptians. Even rather cruel drawings in Egyptian tombs show ducks being fed in that distinctive manner. However, there is little evidence that the food was considered an especially prized dish or that it spread far beyond working-class (and slave) cuisine at that time.

The Romans later learned to value those fatty livers by treating their production as more of a culinary art form. Jewish people who eventually migrated throughout Europe helped preserve and spread the culinary practice. However, Louis XIV once again helped those livers earn the artisanal reputation they enjoy today under their widely accepted French name. Foie Gras remains a controversial but prized dish, thanks largely to its entrenchment in French fine cuisine over such a long period of time.^[3]

7 Kale

These days, kale is often considered one of those fabled “superfoods” people swear by with an enthusiasm previously reserved for spiritual awakening. Still, kale is certainly healthy, versatile, and, when prepared properly, delicious. It can currently be found in expensive salads and luxury side dishes everywhere. However, that’s a far cry from kale’s humble origins.

Historically, kale was considered a last resort option for people who couldn’t grow or acquire any other vegetables. While it briefly experienced a surge in popularity as part of Britain’s “Dig for Victory” campaign during World War II, it took until the early 2010s for a new generation of foodies and food influencers to turn kale into one of the artisanal vegetables of choice. In fact, until around 2013, the largest buyer of kale in the United States was Pizza Hut. However, they most often used it to decorate their salad bars rather than as a topping.^[4]

6 Caviar

While quite a few seafoods were previously considered poor people’s dishes (more on some of those in a bit), caviar has to be one of the most shocking reversals of fortune in culinary history. For thousands of years, caviar (sturgeon roe, specifically) was abundant and largely consumed by the fishermen who caught the sturgeon in the first place. As late as the 1800s, saloons would even serve caviar for free as a bar snack. Given how salty it is, they likely served it to encourage patrons to buy more drinks.

However, overfishing, trade restrictions, and other commercial factors gradually made quality caviar harder to find. Its scarcity quickly contributed to its reputation as one of the ultimate luxury dishes in the world.^[5]

5 Snails

You’ve undoubtedly seen a movie or show where an “unsophisticated” patron practically gags at the idea of eating snails at a fine restaurant. Yet that’s historically how snails have been viewed by those in power. The poor commonly consumed snail dishes as far back as ancient Rome (and likely well before then). Snails were plentiful, cheap, not particularly visually appealing, and didn’t necessarily taste very good in their basic form.

However, snails morphed into the dish “escargot” (which is just the French word for snails) when legend has it that Louis XIV’s chef added the special butter to the dish that would gradually help make it a favorite of the elite and future foodies everywhere. Of course, despite its rising prices, it still pops up as the source of a cheap food joke.^[6]

4 Sushi

The precursor to what we now know as sushi (narezushi) was really just a way to help preserve fish by fermenting it with rice. The process and resulting dishes were closer to necessities than delicacies. Over time, though, refinements to that process resulted in sushi becoming something closer to what we enjoy today. In the 1800s, a man named Hanaya Yohei opened a stall that sold a version of fish and rice, now considered the first recorded instance of “nigiri sushi.”

Sushi’s transition into a dish that people pay hundreds (if not thousands) of dollars for began in the late 1970s and early 1980s. While basic sushi (such as the legendary California roll) was becoming popular in parts of America at that time, the elites of American society created a need for the absolute best sushi they could afford. This contributed to the boom in expertly prepared sushi using the absolute finest ingredients that remains popular to this day. Of course, you can also find sushi at varying prices and of varying quality in more places than ever.^[7]

3 Chicken Wings

Granted, chicken wings aren’t nearly as expensive as some of the other dishes on this list, nor are they traditionally considered a delicacy (though they are becoming more expensive along with everything else). However, you have to consider that chicken wings as a standalone food never really spread far beyond parts of China for much of human history. There’s evidence of wings sporadically appearing on menus and in newspaper recipe write-ups through the 1800s. Still, wings got very little love for a long time.

That changed when the “Buffalo Wing,” as we now know it, was popularized in the 1960s. Though there’s still some debate about who really created the fabled dish, those wings soon became a phenomenon that quickly spread across the country and even inspired food chains that revolved around the affordable dish. Things are a bit different now.

Chicken wings are not only more expensive these days due to high demand, but some restaurants are bold enough to serve luxury versions of the dish at jaw-dropping prices. Many people alive today probably remember when wings were a cheap, common food and likely do a double-take when they see their price today.^[8]

2 Portobello Mushrooms

Did you know that portobello mushrooms are really just mature versions of common cremini mushrooms? That should make them equally popular, but that has historically not been the case. Actually, farmers used to throw away portobello mushrooms due to their odd shapes and seemingly strange textures. They were sometimes used in stews and similar dishes, but most stayed away from them entirely when possible.

That changed in the 1980s when a surplus of these mushrooms led to them being rebranded as “Portobellos” as part of a marketing scheme. That campaign coincided with a popularity spike in healthy foods and mushrooms in particular. Now, portobello mushrooms are staples of many high-end dishes and are sometimes even sold as “steaks” that retail for slightly less than an actual steak.^[9]

1 Lobster

For as long as many of us can probably remember, lobsters have been one of the major symbols of luxury. The very image of someone eating a lobster is often used to quickly convey extreme wealth. Of course, the prices of lobster only serve to justify that reputation. Yet, there was a time when being served lobster was the clearest sign you were on the other end of the social spectrum.

When European settlers reached North America, they soon found a bounty of lobsters in the sea. Their abundance made them a staple food for peasants, slaves, and even prisoners, who were regularly served what is now considered one of the finest possible meals. The lobster’s reputation changed over time as new preparation and preservation methods were discovered that made lobsters taste much better and made them far easier to ship to places where they were far less abundant. Gradually, a combination of scarcity, increased familiarity, and enhanced preparation techniques led to the lobster becoming what it is today.^[10]