8 Modern Delicacies Once Associated With Poverty (4 of 5)

6. Sushi

Back in the days before refrigerators, the ancient Japanese would preserve fish in a casing of fermented rice. The rice was so sour and pungent that it was discarded when the fish was eaten. Centuries later, street vendors began serving the fish with vinegared rice that was meant to resemble the taste of fermented rice without having to wait forever. Given its reputation as a working-class dish, no 19th-century aristocrat would have dared to touch it. However, after World War II, with the widespread use of modern refrigeration, sushi gained popularity among all social classes, including the wealthy. These days, high-end sushi can cost as much as $500, the equivalent of a monthly car payment. 

7. Quinoa

In the days of the Incan Empire, quinoa was regarded as a sacred staple. When the Spanish arrived, they viewed it as a “pagan” crop that was associated with indigenous identity. Well, that simply could not stand! So they made the locals grow European wheat instead. Quinoa would have likely gone extinct if not for the indigenous farmers in the high Andes who continued to grow it for centuries. Snooty folks regarded it as no better than animal feed. But once it began to be marketed to oat milk latte-sipping, yoga-practicing American suburbanites as a “superfood,” it started flying off the shelves at Wholefoods. Sadly, the price of quinoa has gotten so high that the very farmers who grow it can no longer afford to eat it themselves.