Embedded Files
Class Date: January 8th
Location: Your couch! See your weekly e-mail for Zoom link!
Popping Through History
Popping Through History
This time we’re talking about popcorn! Our timeline will cover some food innovations over time. Enjoy!
1774 - 1779 - first ice cream shops in North America
The first official mention of ice cream in America comes from a letter written in 1744 by a guest of Maryland’s governor Bladen. During the summer of 1790, records show that President Washington spent nearly $200 on ice cream! Dolley Madison served strawberry ice cream at Madison’s second inauguration banquet in 1813. To read more about the sweet history of ice cream in America, click here: https://www.idfa.org/the-history-of-ice-cream
1817 - The first potato chip
An English doctor, William Kitchiner, published The Cook’s Oracle, a cookbook that included a recipe for “potatoes fried in slices or shavings.” To read more about the evolution of one of our favorite salty snacks, click here: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/curious-history-potato-chip-180979232/
1839 - Indian tea in Britain
Indian tea became available in Britain for the first time. Up until this time only tea from China had been available, and that was very expensive. The import of Indian tea brought the price down so all could afford it, and it quickly became the national drink.
1867 - The Hot Dog is born
Charles Feltman claims to have invented the hot dog in his Coney Island stall by pairing his frankfurter sausage with a bread bun. Of course, plenty of vendors and places claim to have invented this ‘All American’ food.
To learn more about this disputed dog history, check out this 11 minute video here:
1863 - Granula first manufactured
Granula was the first manufactured breakfast cereal. Invented by James Caleb Jackson, the bran nuggets were believed to be a way to aid the digestive system in curing illnesses. The precursor to Grape-Nuts was made from bran-rich graham flour and the nuggets had to be soaked overnight before they could be eaten.
1869 - Baby formula sells in the United States
Physicians had been trying to figure out a better solution to feeding babies that couldn’t nurse or wet nurse. Cow’s milk was not a good solution, so they recommended adding water, sugar, and cream to make it more digestible. German chemist Justus von Leibig developed the first commercial baby formula. The powdered wheat flour, cow’s milk, malt flour, and potassium bicarbonate was added to heated cow’s milk. It sold for $1 a bottle in grocery stores.
1886 - The Mahogany Cake appears in the The Philadelphia Cookbook
Before Americans had chocolate and red velvet cake, they baked mahogany cake! It dates back to the late 1800s, but the first time it appears published is in Sarah Tyson Rorer’s cookbook. Early versions used ermine frosting, a whipped buttercream, that was the frosting of choice before cream cheese frosting became popular. If you want to try your hand at making one, click here: https://www.thekitchn.com/mahogany-chocolate-cake-265853
1890 - Census collection competition
The 1880 US census had taken 7 years to complete since all processing had been done by hand from journal sheets. The increasing population suggested that by the 1890 census, data processing would take longer than the 10 years before the next census—so a competition was held to find a better method. It was won by a Census Department employee, Herman Hollerith, who went on to found the Tabulating Machine Company, later to become IBM. He invented the recording of data on a medium that could then be read by a machine.
1930 - Margarine consumptions exceeds butter consumption for the first time
Margarine had been developed in France in 1869. To be identified as margarine, it must contain a minimum of 80% fat. Lower fat products have been developed since, but they cannot be labeled as margarine. To read more about this product, click here: https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/food-science/margarine
1930 - Nestle Toll House Cookies were born
Ruth Wakefield ran the Toll House Inn in Massachusetts and was experimenting with cookie dough for her guests. She added semi sweet chocolate to her dough, expecting it to melt and create a chocolate cookie. The chocolate held its shape and chocolate chip cookies were created! Thanks, Ruth!
1940 - The First McDonald’s restaurant opened
Opened in San Bernadino, CA, the first of this now-massive chain was opened by Richard and Maurice McDonald. They put into practice the ‘Speedee Service System’ that had been used in eateries like White Castle and expanded on them to keep the menu simple, quick, and cheap.
That’s where our timeline leaves us for the week. Tune in to learn more about the period!
Recommended Reading
Recommended Reading
For kids:
Popcorn Country: The Story of America’s Favorite Snack by Cris Peterson
How does a field of corn become a delicious bowl of popcorn? The story behind the fluffy snack the entire country loves is revealed in this photographic nonfiction picture book.
Kids love food--and they especially love to eat popcorn! Author Cris Peterson offers an illuminating step-by-step examination of the history and science behind America's favorite snack. With photographs illustrating every stage, readers get a behind-the-scenes view of how popcorn is planted, grown, harvested, processed, tested, and finally shipped to stores and movie theaters all over the world. Back matter delves into the history of popcorn and how it became so popular in the United States.
Let’s Pop, Pop, Popcorn! by Cynthia Schumerth
Told through exuberant rhyme, a group of children shows the step-by-step process of how America's favorite snack comes about. Beginning with the planting of seeds, the cycle moves through the caretaking of the plant (watering and weeding), all the way to its harvest. Finally, it's time to shuck, then pop the kernels, and enjoy the finished product! Complete with back matter that includes scientific facts and activities, Let's Pop, Pop, Popcorn! offers a fun introduction to the process of creating popcorn.
For Adults:
Popped Culture: A Social History of Popcorn in America by Andrew F. Smith
The history, legends, and cookery of America's favorite snack food
Whether in movie theaters or sports arenas, at fairs or theme parks, around campfires or family hearths, Americans consume more popcorn by volume than any other snack. To the world, popcorn seems as American as baseball and apple pie. Within American food lore, popcorn holds a special place, for it was purportedly shared by Native Americans at the first Thanksgiving. In Popped Culture, Andrew F. Smith tests such legends against archaeological, agricultural, culinary, and social findings. While debunking many myths, he discovers a flavorful story of the curious kernel's introduction and ever-increasing consumption in North America.
Unlike other culinary fads of the nineteenth century, popcorn has never lost favor with the American public. Smith gauges the reasons for its unflagging popularity: the invention of "wire over the fire" poppers, commercial promotion by shrewd producers, the fascination of children with the kernel's magical "pop," and affordability. To explain popcorn's twentieth-century success, he examines its fortuitous association with new technology―radio, movies, television, microwaves―and recounts the brand-name triumphs of American manufacturers and packagers. His familiarity with the history of the snack allows him to form expectations about popcorn's future in the United States and abroad.
Smith concludes his account with more than 160 surprising historical recipes for popcorn cookery, including the intriguing use of the snack in custard, hash, ice cream, omelets, and soup.
The Orville Redenbacher Story: Kernels from the Popcorn King by Judy Wolfman
As a young boy, Orville Redenbacher always wanted to find the best popcorn in the world. Born on a farm in Brazil, Indiana, Orville grew corn and earned money popping and selling it. After he graduated from Purdue University, he worked at several jobs but was always in agriculture and never lost sight of his dream to develop a corn hybrid unlike any other.
Forty-two years later, his dream came true. Orville Redenbacher became famous for his popcorn that was fluffy and tasty. Long after his death, the Orville Redenbacher Popping Corn, with his picture on the box, remains a favorite.
Works Cited
Works Cited
Page updated
Report abuse