12 Foods And Drinks That Don't Taste As Good As They Used To
One of the most universal feelings in the human experience is nostalgia. We all have memories, particularly from our childhoods, about the way certain things should be. Naturally, this includes food, but it's also true that some of the corporations and other entities we have entrusted as the stewards of our snacking and dining options tend to fix what ain't broken, changing recipes in the name of publicity or profit. Some of these changes are big and others are small, but when people compare notes or research the ingredients of their favorite foods, it becomes clear that many of them really did taste better in the past.
It's a depressing concept that might make your next trip to the grocery store or a restaurant a little less enjoyable, but it's also fascinating to chart how different foods have changed over time. Sadly, sometimes it's simply for the worse though.
1. Twix
Twix is supposed to be the only candy with the cookie crunch, but some eagle-tongued snackers have detected a change in that crunch over the years that isn't as satisfying as it used to be. A 2018 Lifehacker Australia column on the less-crunchy crunch turned up an official statement from Mars, Incorporated, the company that makes Twix:
"Your taste buds have detected a very subtle change. TWIX is now made using the global signature recipe and has a more satisfying crunch in its biscuit, alongside the chewy, creamy caramel; a recipe which is loved by consumers around the world."
That sounds like marketing spin, but deeper answers on the precise changes in the Twix formula as well as the reasons behind it seem to be locked behind Mars company vaults for now. But if your last Twix doesn't quite crunch as well as you remember from your youth, the change in the biscuit might be why.
2. Campbell's Soup
Processed food products don't get much more old-fashioned than Campbell's, the canned soup brand that millions of people associate strongly with house and home. But if your childhood soup slurping days were before 2015, there's a good chance the soup you find today is objectively different than the one you remember from back in the day. That year, the company reformulated many of its soups to modernize its appeal.
But not everyone seems to be happy with the new Campbell's. One commenter on Reddit said, "I actually poured a pan of it out today because it was so terrible (and that was just by the smell of it alone). Not even an artfully crafted grilled cheese can make it bearable."
Is a change in recipe to blame, or simply maturing taste buds? Opinions differ, but it is a matter of record that Campbell's has tinkered with its recipes before. Even if these changes were purportedly made to keep the soups relevant to the tastes of new shoppers, the delicate art of doing so while keeping the old devotees satisfied isn't an easy thing to do.
3. Coca-Cola
Of all the products that have seen their recipes change over the years, none have faced as much scrutiny as Coca-Cola. Its so-called "secret formula" has purportedly remained a secret for some 137 years, and was even the subject of an investigation in 2011. But in 1985, the people at Coca-Cola decided to upgrade their flavor to better compete with Pepsi, and the New Coke fiasco was born. The Coca-Cola Company's own lore called New Coke "arguably the biggest risk in consumer goods history," and eventually public outcry led to the original recipe being brought back as Coke Classic, while "New Coke" had a brief period of availability as Coke II, which is now no longer available in the United States.
Unlike most of the other products on this list, the New Coke story has something of a happy ending, as public outrage over the change did eventually force the return of original recipe Coke. Of course, if you like New Coke, you're out of luck, and the story doesn't have such a happy ending after all.
4. Butterfinger
Another candy bar to have received a publicly visible recipe change is the Butterfinger bar. The crunchy peanut butter confection is known for its old Bart Simpson endorsement as well as the way it tends to stick to the teeth as it's being eaten. But in 2018, the Butterfinger brand got new corporate owners who promptly reformulated the Butterfinger bar with a new recipe, albeit one that still technically doesn't include chocolate.
Food and Wine called the new Butterfinger recipe an improvement: "The new recipe certainly delivers on an elevated Butterfinger experience, though the devil is really in the details. The chocolate-flavored coating is less waxy, less cloyingly sweet, and more cocoa forward." But users on Reddit don't seem to be on board, with one person writing: "Ferrero purchased Butterfinger from Nestle, and decided to change the recipe in order to 'build a better candy bar.' The idea was to use higher quality ingredients to obtain better, smoother chocolatey flavor. However, having eaten a new one recently... I think it's nowhere NEAR as good as the old Butterfinger!" Sometimes, even when a recipe is improved, the change itself is unsatisfying to those who liked the old one.
5. Twinkies
Diehard Twinkie fans undoubtedly remember with a shudder the Great Hiatus of 2012, when Twinkies were briefly discontinued on the American market. In 2013, they came back, but the recipe was not quite the same.
Twinkies Redux has an alarmingly high shelf life of 45 days compared to the older (but still alarming) shelf life of 14 days. That's less time than the urban legends about Twinkies never going bad, but the longer shelf life still came with a trade-off, with a harder and drier yellow cake. Today's Hostess expert Dick Schindler made an observation about the new flavor: "The new Twinkie seemed to have less chemical aftertaste than the version that disappeared from shelves eight months ago."
Whether you prefer old or new Twinkies might be a matter of preference for chemical aftertastes. Unfortunately, however, all of the old recipe Twinkies have expired by now — no matter what you might have heard.
6. Oreo
Chips Ahoy cookies are a classic part of the Nabisco family, but the jewel of the entire line has to be Oreo cookies. But even the Oreo isn't immune to the scourge of lowered standards, and back in 2017 consumer outrage over them hit a boiling point in the press and on social media.
But there might be more to this story than a subtle change in a classic cookie. Some of the controversy was traced to a decision by Mondelez International, the corporation that owns Nabisco, to shut down its Chicago Oreo plant, shifting operations to one in Mexico instead. Even though there were plenty of other factories still producing Oreo cookies in the good old U.S. of A., a big controversy still ensued, and there were plenty of people claiming to be able to taste the difference.
The hubbub over American-made Oreo cookies highlights one of the big problems with trying to pinpoint changes in recipes. The ingredients on the back simply do not tell the entire story, as companies can make changes in things like ingredient brands to save money, changes that aren't necessarily reflected on the packaging. A "brand new recipe!" can be used to mine some quick publicity, but just as often a company like Nabisco prefers to keep quiet about any changes to a classic recipe — and recipes don't get much more classic than Oreo.
7. Cadbury Creme Eggs and other Cadbury products
A Cadbury Creme Egg is another candy classic that has purportedly seen diminishing quality over the last few years, particularly in its native United Kingdom. Back in 2015, the Cadbury formula was tinkered with, much to the chagrin of the classic candy's many fans. Specifically, the egg's Cadbury Dairy Milk shell was replaced with a more conventional standard cocoa shell, before consumer displeasure forced the company to go back to its original recipe from 1971. But some UK snackers still think that Cadbury eggs are yet another treat that isn't made like it used to be.
One Reddit user had a grievance that goes even further than just Cadbury: "Half the chocolate in the UK since Cadbury's got bought by Kraft," they speculated. As it turns out, the change in the chocolate used to make the shells was only the tip of the iceberg, as it has also been reported that Cadbury has made a few other controversial changes over the years. An adjustment in the classic shape of their Dairy Milk chocolate bar purportedly to improve its mouth feel also resulted in a reduction in the product's size, from 49 grams down to 45. The company even got rid of the famous Cadbury chocolate coins, although it's a pleasure to report they finally returned in 2023.
8. Breyers Ice Cream/Frozen Dairy Dessert
You might not realize it, but certain conditions have to be met for a product to be legally described as ice cream. No less an authority than the United States Food & Drug Administration has the decree: "By federal law, ice cream must contain at least 10% milkfat, before the addition of bulky ingredients, and must weigh a minimum of 4.5 pounds to the gallon." Look closely at a carton of Breyers, and you'll notice that it doesn't meet those conditions — instead, Breyers has been classified as a frozen dairy dessert, something that definitely doesn't sound as appetizing, since a company-wide recipe change in 2013.
Ask any true ice cream devotee, and they'll confirm that the flavor of frozen dairy dessert isn't as good as ice cream either. Some technical details can be found in a CBS Pittsburgh report from around the same time that Breyers made the switch from ice cream to frozen dairy dessert. An unnamed ice cream blogger quoted in the article put it like this: "Frozen Dairy Dessert is the scourge of the ice cream aisle!"
A Redditor also had some thoughts on the Breyers changeover. "Breyer's used to be the 'good' supermarket ice cream," they said. "It was all natural and the vanilla had flecks of vanilla bean making it feel 'premium'. Now it just seems to get lost in a sea of mediocre ice cream and other 'frozen dairy desserts.'"
9. Nutella
It's shocking to think that the people in charge of giving us all the gift of Nutella would dare tamper with its flavorful perfection. The alarm was first sounded in 2017 by the Hamburg Consumer Protection Center, which revealed that Nutella was being made with more skimmed milk powder and less cocoa than it used to be made with. This change reportedly brought with it a lighter color and increased the sugar content, albeit with a reduction in fat content to go with it.
The Nutella brand released a press statement explaining the change (via Time): "The fine-tuning consists of substituting whey powder with an equivalent quantity (2.1g/100g total product) of milk powder (from 6.6% to 8.7% of total product). This enables us to improve the overall quality of the milk content and to ensure a better consistency of our unique taste over time. That's all. Our recipe contains 7 simple ingredients, with no colors or preservatives. The nutritional values remain practically unchanged."
Many Nutella nuts weren't satisfied with the explanation, and remained convinced that their favorite chocolatey spread was no longer chocolatey enough. The Nutella account on X, formerly known as Twitter, reportedly had to work overtime to address all the complaints. Things seem to have quieted down by now, but the true old-time Nutella fans doubtlessly remember its former glory.
10. Gardetto's Snack Mix
We all have preferences when it comes to snack mix. But it appears from online chatter on the subject that sometime in 2013, the people at Gardetto's made a change in their snack mix recipe that has many fans displeased to this day. As one Redditor put it: "I love Gardettos, they've been a favorite snack of mine since the mid-90s. I noticed a few years ago their Original Mix suddenly had those squiggly bread stick things from Chex Mix. They replaced a MUCH BETTER snack in the mix, the fat smaller bread stick things that had, like, sesame seeds in them or something."
You might be surprised at how many people chimed in to share in the lamentations about those missing sesame bread sticks. They were joined by snackers who said they too miss the old Gardetto's glory days like this Redditor and their poignant lament for bygone snack mix: "Omg! My brother and I always bring up the old Garttedos when they show up. Such a shame. I'd literally buy 100 family size bags if they brought the real gardettos back." As unconscionable as it may seem, it appears unavoidable that not even snack mix is as good as it used to be.
11. Chips Ahoy
Everyone loves a good, fresh-baked chocolate chip cookie, and everyone also loves a Chips Ahoy chocolate chip cookie, which sometimes scratches an itch that not even Mom's oven can scratch. But some users on Reddit say that Chips Ahoy aren't as good as they used to be.
It's hard to get good information on how Chips Ahoy cookies have changed over time, but one Redditor posted that they've changed, and not for the better: "I used to love Chips Ahoy! cookies. I have no proof but sometime over the years I suspect that Nabisco did something and changed the recipe. They just don't taste good anymore."
Another Reddit user claimed to have a little up-close corporate experience on the question of Nabisco cookies like Chips Ahoy. "They taste like chemicals now. I did some work at a Nabisco factory and bought a pack at the employee store thinking that freshest would be amazing — that was 6 years ago and I haven't had any since." If this post is accurate, even a fresh hot Chips Ahoy cookie right off the assembly line won't quite satisfy. Bleak, but in the world of increasingly diminishing returns in the world of processed snack foods, plausible.
12. Ritz Crackers
In the snack world, the texture of crackers is far more important than flavor. Crackers have to maintain enough structural integrity to support the cheese, peanut butter, or whatever other toppings may be applied to them while staying crunchy and satisfying in their own right. To many enjoyers of Ritz Crackers, the texture and crispness of the world's most famous cracker have been all wrong for years.
A self-described "Cracker Baker," one user on Reddit said that it's not just your imagination if you think Ritz Crackers crumble a lot more easily than they used to in the past: "This is a byproduct of lowering the moisture count in the crackers. It makes the shelf-life longer, but they crumble easier."
Once again, the quality of our favorite snacks has been allegedly lowered by longer shelf lives. It's enough to make you wonder if at some point in the far future, humans will be eating Ritz Crackers that last forever, but taste terrible and crumble in a stiff breeze.