Download Food was plentiful and cheap thanks to the large

Food
The introduction of refrigerators enabled healthier and longer storage of
perishable foodstuffs, with consequent health benefits as well as time saved
due to less frequent purchases. Refrigeration also permitted the transport of
perishable foodstuffs over much longer distances by road and sea. Smaller
farms were absorbed by larger farms who could afford the expensive farm
machinery that lowered costs and improved profitability while increasing
production.
Food was plentiful and cheap thanks to the large quantities produced by
American farms. The American diet in the early part of the century consisted
for a large part of meat and potatoes. A lot of time was taken up in
preparing and cooking meals. Data from 1920 reveals that 44 hours were
spent on preparing meals and cleaning up after them each week. As
vitamins began to be discovered from 1912 on, fruit, vegetables and milk
became much more important than they had in the earlier years. For the
first time people could drink fresh orange juice year round due to
improvements
in
storage
and
transport.
The public's eating habits changed as Americans ate fewer starches (like
bread and potatoes) and increased consumption of fruit and sugar. However,
the most striking development was the shift toward processed foods. Where
housewives had previously prepared food from scratch at home (peeling
potatoes, shelling peas, plucking chickens, or grinding coffee beans) an
increasing number of Americans purchased foods that were ready-to-cook.
World War I brought about new methods of food processing as
manufacturers streamlined production methods of canned and frozen foods.
Processed foods reduced the enormous amounts of time that had previously
been
taken
up
in
peeling,
grinding,
and
cutting.
Gas stoves, electric refrigerators, and other labor-saving kitchen devices
enabled ready preparation and storage of food and beverages, making
possible the introduction of greater varieties of foodstuffs into the American
diet, and condiments introduced by immigrants added new flavors.
The "Woman's Institute of Domestic Arts" in Scranton, PA ran a
correspondence cooking course to teach women how to prepare, cook and
serve food using the most up-to-date information available. Tens of
thousands of women in rural and suburban areas in America and worldwide
benefited
from
this
educational
program.
During the depression of the late 1920's and 1930's a cheap source of meat
was rabbits. In Australia rabbits were called poor man's mutton and were
the mainstay of many families’ diets. Like potatoes in Ireland, rabbits were
cooked
in
numerous
different
ways
to
provide
variety.
Manufactured foods introduced in the 1920s include - Baby Ruth Candy Bar
(1920). Wonder Bread (1920). Yoo-Hoo Chocolate Drink (1923). Reese's
Peanut Butter Cup (1923). Welch's Grape Jelly (1923). Popsicles (1924).
Wheaties (1924). Hostess Cakes (1927). Kool-Aid (1927). Peter Pan Peanut
Butter (1928). Velveeta Cheese (1928). (Source: Bon Appetit magazine),
and just like today there was debate over brown bread vs. white bread.
In 1920 Charles Birdseye deep-froze food. In September 1922, he formed
his own company, Birdseye Seafoods Inc. By 1930 Birdseye was selling 26
different frozen vegetables, fruits, fish and meats. In 1921 the White Castle
chain of hamburger shops opened, and in 1925 the first home mechanical
refrigerator,
the
Frigidaire,
came
on
the
market.
When Prohibition went into effect in America on January 16, 1920, it
increased the production of soft drinks and spurred the growth of tea rooms
and cafeterias, while alcohol production and consumption went
"underground". Prohibition may also have been partly responsible for the
remarkable increase in the consumption of cocoa and chocolate in this
country. Although there was a marked increase in the consumption of tea
and coffee during the same period, the ratio of increase fell far below that of
cocoa.
Horn & Hardart were pioneers of the fast food industry. Their TV and radio
advertising motto "Less work for mother," pioneered the concept of prepared
foods to eat at home. The restaurants were called Automats because,
besides a cafeteria line, they featured food behind small glass windows that
was accessed by putting a few nickels in the slots. Automats flourished in
the first half of the 20th century, but their profitability gradually declined,
and the last remaining one closed in 1991.