7 retro salad dressings that once ruled America's fridges are making a comeback

For decades, tangy, creamy and inventive concoctions defined the American salad bowl.

But in today's age of avocado-lime ranch and green goddess, many old-school dressings have quietly disappeared from grocery shelves and dinner tables.

Still, nostalgic home cooks are keeping the classics alive, recreating and sharing their takes and savoring the memories that come with them.

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"Catalina tastes like family gossip and the holidays," one Reddit user joked in a recent r/Old_Recipes thread about the 1960s-era favorite. 

Another recalled, "Hot bacon dressing — it smelled like feet, but everyone loved it."

Once fridge staples, some retro salad dressings are making a nostalgic comeback among home cooks. (Barbara Alper/Getty Images)

Another said, "Spinach salad with hot bacon dressing was the fancy salad of my childhood. … It seemed so exotic!" 

Here are seven retro dressings that once ruled America's fridge door.

1. Buccaneer dressing

Trademarked by the Louis Milani Foods Co. in 1954, Buccaneer dressing was marketed as an "exciting dressing [that] adds the touch of adventure to salads, sandwiches [and] hot vegetables," according to Chowhound. 

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It was popular through the 1970s, when Louis Milani Foods, now Kent Precision Foods, discontinued it.

While the exact flavor profile and original recipe seem to have faded with time, enthusiasts recall that its tangy, savory and umami-hinted flavor came from mayo, honey mustard, garlic powder and paprika.

2. Louis dressing

Not to be confused with the similarly creamy, pink-hued Thousand Island, Louis dressing packs a zesty punch with Worcestershire sauce, lemon juice, horseradish and hot sauce. 

Louis dressing looks similar to the pink-hued Thousand Island dressing, shown above. (iStock)

It is the signature topping for the Pacific Northwest's classic Crab Louie salad, but its slight spiciness and tang make it a versatile choice for seafood salads.

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Crab Louis dates back to a 1912 recipe in the Portland Council of Jewish Women's Neighborhood Cookbook. It was accompanied by lettuce and hard-boiled eggs, with early versions appearing on menus in San Francisco as well as Portland, Oregon, and Spokane, Washington, throughout the early 20th century, Chowhound reported.

3. Mayfair dressing

A St. Louis, Missouri, creation with origins tied to both the 1904 World's Fair and the Mayfair Hotel, Mayfair dressing has long puzzled food historians with its conflicting backstory. 

Mayfair dressing — a celery-forward cousin of Caesar, shown above — dates back to the early 20th century. (iStock)

"There's a dressing that I've only had in St. Louis, called Mayfair dressing, developed for the 1904 World's Fair," one Redditor remembered fondly. "It's like a celery-forward Caesar."

The dressing swaps Parmesan for raw celery and onion, giving it a chunky texture with an anchovy-rich base. 

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"If you like celery, it's really tasty," said another commenter. 

4. Boiled dressing

Boiled salad dressing, a Southern favorite, was made by cooking eggs, flour, mustard and vinegar over a double boiler to create a sauce somewhere between mayonnaise and hollandaise, according to food news review site The Takeout.

The sauce delivered a peppery, vinegary flavor that made it a favorite for hearty salads and vegetable dishes. The lack of oil made it an affordable alternative.

Nostalgic salad dressings were staples of family dinners, church potlucks and mid-century kitchens. (FPG/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

"Boiled dressing!" one Reddit user commented. "SO amazing. It is in between sweet and savory. … Imagine lemon curd but with mustard and vinegar instead of lemon."

5. Sour cream dressing

Tracing back to Central and Eastern Europe, sour cream dressing is thinned with lemon juice or vinegar, brightened with Dijon mustard and sometimes sweetened with sugar and paprika, for dressings that shine on potato or egg salads.

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It is a base for many home cooks, who dress it up further with fresh herbs or green onions.

Mid-century cooks often built their creamy dressings from mayonnaise and sour cream. (iStock)

6. Tomato-based dressings

Tomato-based dressings once added a pop of color and tang to mid-century salads, led by Kraft's Catalina dressing of the 1960s. 

Made with tomato purée, vinegar, sugar and seasonings, these dressings inspired later favorites like bacon and tomato dressing.

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Meanwhile, Nebraska's Dorothy Lynch dressing, created in the 1940s using tomato soup, proves tomato-based dressings have a legacy well beyond French dressing.

As one social media user fondly recalled, a tomato soup-based dressing was the star of many a church potluck in the 1960s.

7. Poppyseed and celery seed dressing

Vintage recipes and Reddit threads are helping revive forgotten salad dressings. (John J. Kim/Chicago Tribune/Tribune News Service)

Along with Catalina, poppyseed and celery seed dressings also once dominated supermarket shelves through the 1970s, each offering a different take on "sweet and tangy."

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Celery seed dressing, dating back to the 1960s, is a blend of oil, vinegar, sugar, mustard and celery seeds. Poppy seed dressing, popularized in the 1950s, combines sugar, vinegar, mustard, onion and oil with poppy seeds.

"My mom used to make celery seed dressing from her 'Better Homes and Gardens' 1965 cookbook. It's basically a poppy seed sweet-sour dressing made from scratch, but with celery seed instead," one Redditor recalled. "Very good."