The Decades-Old Tomato Soup People Chewed On (Yes, You Read That Right)

There are some vintage summer dishes you just don't see anymore, and for good reasons. Long ago, people would consume toxic substances or foods that used endangered animal parts as ingredients. Other dishes are just considered utterly disgusting nowadays, such as ham and hollandaise sauce over bananas. One retro recipe that has fallen by the wayside involved folks trading out their soup spoons for forks. It may sound wild, but some people actually used to chew their soup, thanks to tomato aspics.

You might think of jiggly sweet Jell-O as a dessert, but the truth is that this was a savory dinner party or summer luncheon dish. Called an "aspic salad," it involved mixing tomato soup with unsweetened gelatin along with chopped vegetables, spices, and sauces. The resulting creation was served chilled and had a taste resembling a Bloody Mary. Believe it or not, these aspic dishes were once considered show stoppers and ways to impress your guests rather than dismay them. The aspic fad lasted decades in the mid-1900s, and it has a history going back hundreds of years before that.

You may have heard of this fabled fare before, and may even have heard it called a salad. The fact is, Jell-O changed the definition of salad during the mid-20th century. For over a century, it was very fashionable to suspend fruits, vegetables, and even meats in a mold of gelatin. Sometimes the gelatinous part was made using animal collagen, as it was traditionally done centuries ago in the Middle Ages. But with powdered gelatin becoming so accessible during the 1900s, people could suddenly make aspics out of pretty much anything. That included soups, especially those sold by Campbell's.

We know that Campbell's soups were popular for aspics because Campbell's itself put out numerous aspic recipes on labels and in magazines. The company recommended jellifying its chicken or beef consommé, then using them as a base for vegetables and meat. It promoted these specifically in the summertime and for holidays, as a communal food that the whole family could enjoy. Nowadays, if you showed up to Christmas with a chicken or tomato aspic, you'd potentially be asked to leave. Times sure have changed!

Some people have too much curiosity for their own good, and maybe you're one of those curious cats who just can't resist reviving this vintage recipe. Luckily, or maybe unluckily, the Campbell's recipe survived. More than that, many family recipes with Grandma's tweaks and additions have graced the Internet in recent decades.

All you need is unflavored or lemon gelatin, hot sauce, vinegar, vegetables such as celery and carrots, Campbell's tomato soup (which is one of our least favorite canned tomato soups), onions, and your choice of mold. Mix the gelatin with cold water and then bring it to a boil. Stir the soup and other liquid ingredients into the prepared gelatin while it's still warm, then wait until it starts to thicken. Fold in all the veggies, then pour it into the mold. Chill it in the fridge until the whole thing gets nice and jiggly. Garnish it with mayo or sour cream and unmold it on a nice bed of lettuce for presentation. Then, there's nothing left to do except serve it, eat it, and hope your loved ones forgive you.