The TV dinner represents a major shift in our 20th Century lifestyle - the moon shot moment the aluminum-plated frozen meal met the living room. To be clear, I haven't had a TV dinner in more than five decades; however eating in the living room persists as a cultural shift.
Believe it or not, this uniquely American gastronomical contribution to our rich culture heritage has an origin story involving C.A. Swanson & Sons. Seems that following Thanksgiving in 1953, the company found itself with 260 tons of unsold frozen turkey sitting in ten refrigerated rail cars.
Gerry Thomas, a Swanson salesman, inspired by the tiered aluminum trays used by airline commissaries envisioned a complete frozen meal that could be heated and consumed smack dab in front of a television. In 1954 Swanson launched the TV Dinner and sold 10 million turkey dinners that year. The original price was 98 cents.
Naturally, this coincided with the launch of the space race and all things aluminum and before too long menu offerings included entrees like fried chicken, Salisbury steak, meatloaf and eventually a fourth compartment featuring a dessert such as a brownie or fruit cobbler. Swanson ditched the 'TV Dinner' name from their packaging by 1962; nevertheless, just like Kleenex tissues the name stuck as part of our vast genericized American cultural lexicon.
With the proliferation of microwave ovens, by the mid 1980s plastic and paperboard packaging conspired to deliver your frozen gourmet feast in less than ten minutes!
Sure, I'm being modestly snarky because I'm a food snob but I admit that this mash-up of industrialization and frozen food technology was a boon to working families struggling to get dinner on time and on the table. Trust me, I've eaten my share of frozen Banquet turkey pot pies served at the temperature of molten lava on the surface of the planet Mercury. You might have too.
Anyway, the Chopped Sirloin of Beef (hamburger) swimming in a ubiquitous brown gravy highlighted a partnership between Swanson and Pepperidge Farm featuring a blueberry muffin in the fourth compartment thus elevating the culinary experience to the level of festive celebration. Mad Men advertising brilliance!
Between you and me the inclusion of crinkle-cut fries and buttered peas is a monument to the pinnacle of American industrial processed food know-how, sodium content and poor food pairings. The birthday candle and even the smiling cat screams domestic tranquility.
Dammit; this is the Right Stuff. This is what Made America Great!
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