Better Than Homemade: Amazing Foods That Changed the Way We Eat
Americans pride themselves in their knack for innovation, and nowhere has America’s can-do attitude been more apparent than at the supermarket.\ \ Need a cheese that is virtually indestructible? Want to find a way to stretch a pound of hamburger into a hearty main course for a family of five? Hard pressed for time to throw together a home-cooked meal? In the early decades of the twentieth century, and from the world wars to the cold wars, food producers and everyday dreamers met these...
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(1)Who put the Minute in Minute Rice? (2)What, exactly, is Spam? (3)And why do Pringles come in a tennis ball can? Discover the answers to all these questions and more in Better Than Homemade, a freewheeling illustrated history of the packaged foods industry. From Green Giant and Hamburger Helper to Jiffy Pop and Jell-O, syndicated columnist Carolyn Wyman reveals the fascinating origins of your favorite "food" products -- along with never-before published advertisements, innovative packaging (cheese in a can!?), and hilarious "unauthorized uses."You'll learn that Birds Eye frozen foods were invented by an Arctic adventurer; Kool-Aid got its start from an 11-year-old entrepreneuer; and Twinkies were once used to capture a gang of escaped baboons. Perfect for fans of the Food Network's Unwrapped, this guide is the ultimate paean to processed pleasures! (1) Afghan prince Attaullah Durrani, who brought the idea to General Foods. (2) According to Spam's website, "Pork shoulder and ham, mostly." Mostly?! (3) To answer consumer complaints that potato chips were greasy and broke too easily. Publishers Weekly In an effort that will perhaps be best enjoyed by baby boomers who have yet to overdose on the Food Network, Wyman (Spam: A Biography; Jell-O: A Biography) unwraps 46 very familiar products to reveal their histories, revel in their mysteries and devour their marketing ploys. Anyone still intrigued by Hamburger Helper, Twinkies, Wonder Bread and Jiffy Pop will enjoy the efforts at wordplay ("Velveeta, All-American Hunk") and the concise narratives (the saga of Minute Rice in a two-minute read). Trivia connoisseurs will be happy to learn it takes more than 90 minutes a day to wash the walls and floors at the Marshmallow Fluff factory and that "among Hispanics with Caribbean roots, Clamato (and most other shellfish-based foods) is considered an aphrodisiac." Odder than the inclusion of Beer Nuts in a chapter entitled "Triumphs of Technology" is the fact that Instant Mashed Potatoes and Minute Rice are delegated to the more humble "Homemaker Helpers" section. Most interesting is the chapter on "Marketing Marvels," which explores Jell-O flavors that are no longer available, the voice behind the classic SpaghettiOs jingle and the birth of the Jolly Green Giant. The book's graphics sparkle and should induce cravings for Mrs. Paul's Fish Sticks and a nice Hawaiian Punch. (Oct.) Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.
TABLE OF CONTENTS\ Introduction Homemaker Helpers: Foods that revolutionized the kitchen—freeing Mom from the role of kitchen slave\ Birds Eye Frozen Vegetables\ Minute Rice\ On-Cor Family-Size Entrees\ Hamburger Helper\ Kraft Macaroni & Cheese\ Potato Buds Instant Mashed Potatoes\ Marshmallow Fluff\ Shake ’n Bake\ Kool-Aid\ Dinty Moore Beef Stew Powerful Packages: Foods with innovative product delivery systems\ Pillsbury Poppin’ Fresh Dough\ Easy Cheese Aerosol (a.k.a. Snack Mate)\ Jiffy Pop Popcorn\ Pringles Potato Chips\ I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter! Spray\ Reddi-wip\ PAM\ Lipton Cup-a-Soup Triumphs of Technology: Foods that improve on Mother Nature\ Coffee-mate Non-Dairy Creamer\ Cool Whip\ Sweet ’N Low\ Tang\ Sanka\ Wonder Bread\ Minute Maid Orange Juice\ Bac-Os\ Beer Nuts\ Philadelphia Cream Cheese\ Carnation Instant Breakfast Indestructibles and Recyclables: Foods for the long haul—plus recycled food-factory scraps\ Carnation Instant Nonfat Dry Milk\ Twinkies\ SPAM\ Velveeta\ Slim Jim\ Cheez Whiz\ Mrs.Paul’s Fish Sticks\ Ore-Ida Tater Tots Marketing Marvels: Advertising has made these must-eats\ Jell-O\ Parkay\ Clamato\ Kellogg’s Pop-Tarts\ SpaghettiOs\ Little Debbie Snack Cakes\ Green Giant Canned Peas\ Swanson TV Dinners\ Hawaiian Punch Permissions and Trademarks Index Acknowledgments Table of Equivalents
\ Publishers WeeklyIn an effort that will perhaps be best enjoyed by baby boomers who have yet to overdose on the Food Network, Wyman (Spam: A Biography; Jell-O: A Biography) unwraps 46 very familiar products to reveal their histories, revel in their mysteries and devour their marketing ploys. Anyone still intrigued by Hamburger Helper, Twinkies, Wonder Bread and Jiffy Pop will enjoy the efforts at wordplay ("Velveeta, All-American Hunk") and the concise narratives (the saga of Minute Rice in a two-minute read). Trivia connoisseurs will be happy to learn it takes more than 90 minutes a day to wash the walls and floors at the Marshmallow Fluff factory and that "among Hispanics with Caribbean roots, Clamato (and most other shellfish-based foods) is considered an aphrodisiac." Odder than the inclusion of Beer Nuts in a chapter entitled "Triumphs of Technology" is the fact that Instant Mashed Potatoes and Minute Rice are delegated to the more humble "Homemaker Helpers" section. Most interesting is the chapter on "Marketing Marvels," which explores Jell-O flavors that are no longer available, the voice behind the classic SpaghettiOs jingle and the birth of the Jolly Green Giant. The book's graphics sparkle and should induce cravings for Mrs. Paul's Fish Sticks and a nice Hawaiian Punch. (Oct.) Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.\ \
