Clarence Birdseye and Frozen Foods
Clarence Birdseye, born on December 9, 1886, was working in the Arctic as a U.S. government naturalist when he observed that ice, wind and extreme cold froze just-caught fish so quickly that, when cooked and eaten, the taste and texture was scarcely different from fresh fish. Birdseye realized the secret was to freeze foods quickly so that ice crystals could not form and damage the food’s cell structure. After years of experimentation, Birdseye received a patent in June 1927 for packing fish, meat or vegetables into waxed cardboard containers, then flash-freezing them under pressure–reducing freezing time from 18 hours to 90 minutes. Since there were no freezer cases in grocery stores, Birdseye entered a joint venture to manufacture them in 1934. National distribution of frozen foods became a reality in 1944 when Birdseye began leasing refrigerated railroad cars to transport his products. Birdseye’s innovations led to the founding of General Foods Co.
Invention Dimension
