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Christmas food has a long memory. Somewhere in the back of a cupboard, behind the good gravy boat, there’s a silver tray that once held pickles, olives and radishes carved into little roses. We wondered: which of these old-fashioned holiday dishes do people actually miss?
Please note that some of the images in this article were created with the assistance of AI.
So we asked. Across five Piaci Pizza Christmas articles, readers tapped ❤️ or 👎 under photos of the foods that used to crowd the holiday table. No names, no accounts, just anonymous votes on the dishes of Christmas past.
We expected a roast or a dessert to run away with it. Instead, the winner was something nobody used to admit they loved.
How 1,067 Readers Voted on Christmas Past
Here’s the setup. We put 159 old-fashioned Christmas foods in front of readers across five Piaci Pizza Christmas articles, and between Oct 2 and Oct 25, 2026, people weighed in with a simple ❤️ or 👎 under each photo.
That added up to 1,067 readers and 4,177 ❤️ or 👎 votes. Each reader could vote once per photo, and every vote was anonymous.
The mood? Warmly forgiving. A full 80% of all votes were a ❤️, which tells us holiday nostalgia tends to round up. But not everything got the love, as you’ll see.
The Winner Was the Humble Relish Tray
❤️ 98% of 43 readers who voted on this photo
It wasn’t the ham. It wasn’t the cookies. The food readers kept falling for was the relish tray, that center-of-the-table spread of pickles, olives and radishes.
What made it the winner was consistency. It showed up in three different articles, and readers adored it every time: 98% of 43 in our 1970s Christmas foods article, 93% of 44 for the silver relish tray in our 1970 Christmas dinner article, and 80% of 10 for the holiday relish tray with radish roses. Put all three together and it’s 94% ❤️ across 97 votes. Even the stuffed celery earned its keep at 90% of 29.
To be fair, the standing rib roast pulled off a perfect score: 100% of 33. But that came from fewer votes and a single article, so the two are genuinely too close to call head to head. The relish tray wins on showing up again and again and never missing.
Sweets and Party Food Beat the Main Event
When we grouped dishes by type, the snackable and the sweet came out on top. Candy & sweets led at 90% ❤️ across 227 votes, with cookies right behind at 87% across 1,028 votes and party snacks & appetizers at 86% across 791 votes.
The main event held its own but didn’t win the day: roasts & main dishes landed at 83% across 410 votes, and cakes, pies & puddings at 81% across 518 votes. The middle of the table — sides & casseroles at 75%, creamy & fruit salads at 77%, pickles & preserves at 74% — all drew a respectable crowd.
And then the basement. Oysters came in at 56% ❤️ across 138 votes, and gelatin & molded salads propped up the bottom at 45% across 280 votes. Some things, it seems, are nostalgic without being missed.
The Dishes Readers Want Back on the Table
Looking at individual dishes with 30 or more votes, the top of the list reads like a dream holiday buffet. Standing Rib Roast Carved at the Head of the Table took 100% of 33, and The Relish Tray Nobody Admitted They Loved followed at 98% of 43.
The cookie tin showed up strong, too: Peanut Butter Blossoms With Chocolate Kisses at 97% of 35, Red-and-White Candy Cane Twist Cookies at 97% of 34 — with savory Chicken à la King Spooned Into a Crisp Pastry Shell matching them at 97% of 30.
Then came the party-platter all-stars. Homemade Divinity at 96% of 47, French Onion Dip You Made From a Soup Mix Packet at 96% of 46, and Deviled Eggs Under a Dusting of Paprika at 96% of 44. Shrimp Cocktail Nestled in Little Footed Glasses took 95% of 41, Mini Hot Dogs Tucked Into Crescent Roll Dough 95% of 40, Frosted Sugar-Cookie Cutouts in Red and Green Icing 95% of 79, and The Whole Baked Ham Studded With Cloves in a Diamond Grid 95% of 38.
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What Readers Would Leave in the Past
❤️ 12% of 24 readers who voted on this photo
Every era has its experiments, and readers were ready to let a few of them rest. Among dishes with 20 or more votes, the Cranberry Candle Salad came in last at 12% of 24 — a salad dressed up as a Christmas candle was, apparently, a bridge too far.
The aspic family fared no better. Savory Tomato Aspic on Lettuce drew 29% of 24, and the Tomato Aspic Christmas Ring 32% of 25. Roast Goose With Baked Apples landed at 40% of 20.
And the oysters. Scalloped Oysters With Cracker Crumbs took 41% of 22, while Oyster Stew Served as the First Course split the room at 50% of 36. As groups, gelatin & molded salads sat at 45% across 280 votes and oysters at 56% across 138 votes — the two corners of the table readers would happily skip.
The Bottom Line
So here’s what readers told us. The foods they miss most aren’t the fussiest or the fanciest — they’re the ones that made a gathering feel like a gathering. A tray of pickles and olives. A bowl of onion dip. Deviled eggs under paprika. The stuff that got picked at before dinner even started.
The roast earned its perfect score, and the cookies will always have a seat. But the comeback nobody saw coming belongs to the humble relish tray, loved again and again and asking nothing in return but a little refrigerator space.
How we did this
- Readers of five Piaci Pizza Christmas food articles tapped ❤️ or 👎 under each food photo between Oct 2 and Oct 25, 2026.
- 1,067 readers cast 4,177 votes on photos still in those articles. Each reader can vote once per photo. Votes are anonymous: no names, emails or accounts.
- Percentages are the share of ❤️ votes. The 95% ranges show how much a result could move with more votes; when two ranges overlap, we call it too close to call.
- Readers were reacting to photos of each dish, not tasting it. The food photos are illustrations.
- Food types are our own grouping of each dish.
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