On this date in 1953 Gilbert and Clark Swanson launched their first TV dinner for 98 cents. Swanson had miscalculated the level of the American appetite for Thanksgiving turkey, leaving the company with 260 tons of frozen birds sitting in refrigerated railroad cars. Swanson salesman Gerry Thomas ordered 5,000 divided aluminum trays, filled them with a meal of turkey with corn-bread dressing and gravy, peas and sweet potatoes and, for better or for worse, the American food revolution was born.
Via
They weren't very good but a nice break from peanut butter and jelly.
ReplyDeleteThey probably contained fewer additives than today's packaged foods but this was the was the beginning of the end of home cooking.
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