Quick fix meals are back

 

October 30, 2020



“Mama Mia, that's a spicy meatball,” “Heat, eat and enjoy,” and “A meal in a minute with the Chef’s touch in it” were advertising slogans for quick-fix meals that are heating up again.

It all began in 1928 when Clarence Birdseye started freezing packaged fish. Maxson Foods used Birdseye’s technology to offer frozen dinners to airlines in 1945, but it was Swanson that opened the oven door for complete consumer meals in 1953 with what they called the “TV dinner.” Using some of the 260 tons of frozen turkey left over from Thanksgiving that year, Swanson added cornbread stuffing, sweet potatoes and peas alongside slices of turkey covered in gravy, all tidy in an aluminum tray ready to pop into the oven.

Why TV dinner? After World War II, many women continued working out of the home, and time to cook meals competed with the family. By 1960, 87% of households had a TV and so advertising showed a nutritious meal ready in 25 minutes, packaged in disposable aluminum to eat in front of the television.

My family often bought canned tamales and ravioli, but a TV dinner was a complete meal. Banquet and Morton entered the fray, but by 1977 the novelty had worn off. Enter the microwave, which revived the market when Campbell’s Soup introduced the microwave-safe tray.

Thanks to the pandemic and artisanal offerings including healthy entrees, frozen meals are back. Who would have thought that Clara Peller’s question “Where’s the beef?” would follow a revolution!

 

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