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Frozen pizza was created by Rose Totino in the 1950s. Rose and her husband Jim owned a small Italian restaurant in Minnesota and began experimenting with freezing their pizza dough to make it easier to transport. They soon realized they could sell the frozen pizzas to customers who wanted a convenient and quick meal. The Totinos’ frozen pizza became popular, leading to the creation of the Totino’s brand. Today, frozen pizza is a staple in many households worldwide, thanks to Rose Totino’s innovation.
Do you have a favorite holiday? Many children might choose Christmas as their favorite. Others might enjoy Rosh Hashanah or Eid. Maybe your favorite holiday falls on June 19, September 16, or February 14. Or perhaps you’re one of the millions of Americans who celebrate the holiday on March 6.
What is March 6? It’s Frozen Food Day, of course! The holiday was established by President Ronald Reagan and Congress in 1984. Since then, Americans have unofficially celebrated their favorite frozen treats on March 6 each year. How will you celebrate Frozen Food Day? If you’re like many children, having a frozen pizza for dinner may be part of your plans.
Today, most of us take frozen food for granted. The frozen food section in the supermarket has been around for as long as we can remember. And it has always been stocked with delicious options for every meal—and even snacks in between.
However, for centuries, most food was consumed fresh. It was typically eaten within a few dozen miles of where it was grown or raised. So how did frozen food come into existence?
For generations, people living in the Arctic preserved fish and meats by freezing them in barrels of seawater. In 1923, a man named Clarence Birdseye wanted his family to have fresh food all year round. He invested $7 in an electric fan, buckets of brine, and a lot of ice.
After some trial and error, he eventually discovered a way to flash-freeze food products without affecting their taste. He decided to package them conveniently and sell his product. Flash-frozen vegetables, fruits, and meats were first made available to the public in 1930. They were sold under the brand name Birds Eye Frosted Foods®.
Out of all the products in the frozen food section today, pizza is probably the most popular. However, did you know that frozen pizza is relatively new?
Pizzerias opened in America as early as 1890. But it wasn’t until after World War II that pizza became popular. Soldiers returning from Italy craved the pizza they had enjoyed overseas. When home freezers became common after the war, some pizzerias started selling unbaked frozen pizzas.
However, there were two main challenges faced by pizza chefs trying to make a good frozen pizza: ice crystals and interrupted chemical processes. Thanks to Birdseye’s flash-freezing technique, these challenges were soon overcome. Flash-freezing prevented ice crystals from forming and helped the toppings retain their flavor.
No one knows for certain who came up with the first frozen pizza. In the 1950s, Celentano Brothers became the first nationally sold brand of frozen pizza. However, many believe that the first major player in the industry was Totino.
In 1951, Rose and Jim Totino opened one of the first pizzerias in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Their business thrived, and they eventually ventured into making frozen pizzas. By the late 1960s, Totino’s had become the top-selling frozen pizza in the country.
Even as recently as the 1980s, frozen pizzas were still far behind freshly baked pizzas delivered from local pizzerias. However, food scientists eventually developed new dough types and processes that revolutionized the frozen pizza industry.
In the 1990s, a new type of frozen pizza called “rising crust” became available in stores. Since then, the frozen pizza industry has experienced a significant increase in sales, going from $1 billion per year in 1995 to over $5 billion per year at present. In the United States alone, more than 350 million tons of frozen pizza are sold annually.
Americans consume a staggering amount of frozen pizza, totaling over two billion slices each year. On average, an American family eats pizza at home 30 times a year, which means they enjoy it more than once every two weeks. How does your family compare? Do you also have a fondness for frozen pizza, or do you prefer a different type of frozen food?
If you’re feeling hungry, here are a few enjoyable activities you can try with friends or family:
1. Have a family dinner night and turn a simple pepperoni or cheese frozen pizza into a gourmet experience. Get creative by adding your favorite ingredients like onions, green peppers, or tomatoes. With a little effort, you can transform a plain frozen pizza into a delicious meal that rivals any pizzeria’s offerings. Buon appetito!
2. Plan a Frozen Food Day celebration for your family. How will you commemorate the occasion? Will you enjoy your favorite frozen foods for every meal? Perhaps you can draw pictures of your dream frozen pizzas or plan a day-long festivity. Share your plans with a friend or family member and see if they have any additions to suggest.
3. Can you imagine eating pizza every day? Many kids would happily do so, and it’s not surprising given how delicious pizza is. In fact, there are scientific reasons behind its taste. Check out the article “All in the Chemistry: Science Says Pizza Is Delicious” to learn more about the interesting scientific aspects that contribute to the irresistible flavor of pizza.
Here are some sources for further reading:
– http://www.ehow.com/how_2125968_celebrate-national-frozen-food-day.html (accessed 14 Oct. 2020)
– http://www.americanheritage.com/content/american-pie (accessed 14 Oct. 2020)
– http://www.thefreelibrary.com/_/print/PrintArticle.aspx?id=148718995 (accessed 14 Oct. 2020)
– http://inventors.about.com/library/inventors/blfrfood.htm (accessed 14 Oct. 2020)
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