Frozen
The Maundy Monday Newsletter - This Week in History June 2 - 8.
Anonymous and I are trying to encourage me to eat as much protein as possible in every meal. One of the strategies that she came up with is to buy the biggest bag of frozen chicken breasts I have ever seen from Costco.
Along with my frozen turkey sausages, our frozen pizza, frozen vegetables, breakfast sandwiches (three kinds!), chocolate-covered strawberries, and ice, our freezer is packed.
I have taken for granted our ability as a human race to create and store frozen food for long periods, keeping it in a state of readiness when we are set to consume it and meet our macronutrient needs on the path to becoming fit.
And wouldn’t know it, as I have been consistently jamming food back into the freezer and trying to shut it, this week features a significant anniversary as frozen food was sold in retail stores for the first time on June 6, 1930.
Clarence Birdseye is considered the father of frozen foods, and his path began early in his career when he worked for the United States Department of Agriculture.
It was at the USDA that Clarence was sent all over North America to learn about farming, fishing, and ranching. He was assigned for some time in Labrador, Canada, where Blue’s ancestors are from. Birdseye learned from the Inuit people how to pack fish in ice, and when it thawed, it tasted fresh.
Clarence knew that the way the Inuits froze their freshly caught fish was superior to the methods used by companies that tried to pack fish back home in New York. The key is to freeze the fish quickly at a low temperature, rather than slowly. This seems like something I would immediately think makes sense, but back in the 1910s and 1920s, it wasn’t.
Birdseye quickly developed patents for rapid freezing methods for commercial use and successfully packed fresh fish into frozen cartons using a technique I would have no idea how to explain to you.
By 1929, Birdeye decided to sell his product and patents to Goldman Sachs and the owners of the Post Cereal company. That company became General Foods, and they began selling frozen food products in Massachusetts this week in 1930.
We haven’t stopped buying a large amount of frozen food since. Also, Anonymous doesn’t eat meat. So please come over and help me with this.
The frozen food industry is valued at approximately $250 billion. It is expected to grow to $530 billion by the end of the decade, as more societies can afford and maintain freezers.
So enjoy that frozen pizza. If you need any frozen chicken, just let me know!
Okay, let's highlight what else happened this week. As a reminder, these events celebrate their anniversary, ending in 5 or 0. Here's what I got:
1. Major Edward White walked in space on June 2, 1965. The West Point grad and military veteran piloted Gemini 4, in which he and another guy orbited Earth 66 times in five days. White went outside and walked around a bit (23 minutes) while the other guy watched a television show. White was tragically killed in 1967 in a fire during a pre-launch for Apollo 1 and was awarded the Congressional Space Medal of Honor later that year.
2. Andrew Jackson died on June 8, 1845. The seventh president of the United States left quite a legacy. I’ve written many essays on Jackson. Perhaps, too many. I mean, there’s a lot of content on Old Hickory, I can’t help it.
3. John Wooden died on June 4, 2010. The “Wizard of Westwood” won ten college basketball national championships in twelve years at UCLA. We haven’t seen this type of dominant winning since.
Happy first week of June, everyone! Despite some major thunderstorms, the past few weeks have seen fantastic weather.
Since I have paused the scandal rankings, I’d like to add a quick section to the Maundy Monday Newsletter where I highlight something awesome from this week.
Here’s what I got for this week:
The first Friday of June is set aside for National Donut Day. (Or Doughnuts if you prefer) The day of the Donut began in 1938 as a fundraiser for the Salvation Army to support those in need, honoring the women who provided doughnuts to American soldiers during World War I.
In 2009, all the donut stores got into the game of giving away donuts on this day, and that is one thing that is great about America – giving away fried dough.
Have a great week. May it be filled with donuts and frozen food.
Thanks for supporting Okay History. Grateful.
Okay,
Chris
Don't forget to include fresh food in ur diet!