TV Dinners Unboxed: The Hot History of Frozen Meals
“There were no grand plans to write a food and pop culture history, but I was drawn to the absurdity of the topic and astounded by what was discovered. It turns out, TV dinners is the perfect agent to examine recent history.”
TV dinners conjure up memories and elicit opinions ranging from affection to disdain, yet few know its story and impact on social, pop, and food history. It goes back 100 years, with billions sold, and has led to a new world of meal solutions. A dinner ready in minutes was groundbreaking, and remains popular given Americans consume, on average, over 70 frozen meals annually.
The TV dinner origin is hotly contested. Colorful entrepreneurs to tenacious scientists claim credit. The book solves the mystery while examining the era that helped launch the product. Without feminism, the Baby Boom, television, and changing eating habits, TV dinners may have failed. Instead, within two years of launch, Swanson was selling over 25 million dinners annually.
Airline meals, cafeterias, and automats are examined for their interesting connections. Swystun believes the bento box, is the first TV dinner, albeit without television. The book regales with the sad saga of the Swanson family, shares the stories of defunct brands, and follows the exploits of intrepid reporters who subjected themselves to TV dinner experiments.
Culture writer, Kovie Biakolo, observed, “To many Americans, the TV dinner tastes like nostalgia; to others, it still tastes like the future.” With the sharp insight found in Mark Kurlansky’s Salt combined with the invaluable lessons from The Nineties by Chuck Klosterman, TV Dinners Unboxed will astonish and entertain.
