Why This Vintage 1970s Dessert Never Came Back In Style

There's often some mystery to solve around desserts that were once popular and now all but forgotten. What could be possibly go so wrong for a sweet treat that it falls out of favor? Sometimes, it's as simple as changing preferences of ingredient quality and texture, and there being a million other recipes to turn to instead. That's the way it goes for glorified rice, at least.

Glorified rice gussies up rice into something outside of its typically savory wheelhouse. It's commonly cooked white rice mixed with sugar, whipped cream, canned pineapple, maraschino cherries, and marshmallows — think old fashioned ambrosia salad meets rice pudding, creamy and very sweet, slightly balanced by the tart pineapple. Glorified rice is one of those now-forgotten desserts that were all the rage in the 1970s, but this dish's roots stretch much further back. 

When Scandinavian immigrants settled in the northern Midwest in the 19th century, they brought their staple rice pudding-esque and gelatinous dishes with them. Glorified rice evolved from these, and recipes vary due to different influences. Because these immigrants learned about wild rice from the area's indigenous Ojibwe people, some recipes call for wild rice, while other recipes call for the addition of gelatin to make this more traditionally Scandinavian and structured. Passed down through generations, glorified rice became a staple at events and family gatherings. But modern tastes just don't seem as interested in the combination of sweetness, creaminess, tartness, and rice.

It's not that there's no room for rice in a sweet format. Plenty of recipes transform rice into an irresistible dessert, from kheer to arroz con leche. Unfortunately for glorified rice, however, it seems to have gotten pigeonholed in the midwestern category of sweet salads laden with ingredients like Cool Whip or Miracle Whip that many people don't seem to love anymore. Whereas kheer, or Indian rice pudding, calls for natural ingredients like pistachios, cardamom, and saffron, glorified rice's canned pineapple, maraschino cherries, and marshmallows may turn some home cooks off. 

On Reddit, user GoneGrimdark posted a glorified rice recipe from a 1920s-era book, "Jell-O Rhymes," calling it "the worst recipe ever." A commenter pointed out that this dish does still show up at midwestern potlucks — they mention they don't love the texture, but that it's actually not bad. Glorified rice really blew up when TikTok-er bdylanhollis recreated a 1909 recipe; while it generated some disgust in the comments, others still said this dish was a favorite of their grandparents or that it still shows up at potlucks. This dish may never go mainstream again, but it certainly has its fans thanks to being passed down in some families.