The beechnut post below gave me such nostalgia! I grew up in the 70s a 15 minute drive from the original plant. They were a big employer and a huge part of local history.
A little history, they started out in 1890 founded by brothers and a few friends and they originally sold sliced bacon in vacuum sealed jars which was a novelty and cured hams. The recipe for the ham was from the father of one of the founders and his hams were well known locally for their exceptional nutty flavor. The company was originally named Imperial packing company but a friend told them that was an undemocratic name for an American company so they renamed it. The flavor of that ham and the many beech trees growing in the area is what inspired the name beech-nut for the company.
One of the founders was advised by his mentor ham "Baron" Philip Armour to use cans for their ham because he felt the fat should be hidden in cans, but he went against that advice. He wanted to use transparent vacuum sealed jars for their bacon and hams and later on with baby food all of which were sold in cans by other companies. The bacon was so popular they were grossing $1 million a year by 1905.
In the next few years they added more products including sliced meats, peanut butter, baked beans, jam, tomato sauce, coffee, mustard, ginger ale, spaghetti, biscuits, candy, gum, and canned fish bait. The peanut butter was the top selling peanut butter in the country in its heyday.
Chewing gum was a major breakthrough for them in 1910 and keep them afloat during the depression. They had $18 million in sales in 1935 and $11 million of it was their chewing gum. Baby food came into the picture in 1931 and after WW11 their products were down to gum, peanut butter, coffee, and baby food. The baby food was the biggest selling product for the next 50 years.
This cookbook is fun to look at now
http://frugalsos.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/beechnutpeanutbutterbooklet.pdf
by Magari22
5 Comments
The beechnut post below gave me such nostalgia! I grew up in the 70s a 15 minute drive from the original plant. They were a big employer and a huge part of local history.
A little history, they started out in 1890 founded by brothers and a few friends and they originally sold sliced bacon in vacuum sealed jars which was a novelty and cured hams. The recipe for the ham was from the father of one of the founders and his hams were well known locally for their exceptional nutty flavor. The company was originally named Imperial packing company but a friend told them that was an undemocratic name for an American company so they renamed it. The flavor of that ham and the many beech trees growing in the area is what inspired the name beech-nut for the company.
One of the founders was advised by his mentor ham “Baron” Philip Armour to use cans for their ham because he felt the fat should be hidden in cans, but he went against that advice. He wanted to use transparent vacuum sealed jars for their bacon and hams and later on with baby food all of which were sold in cans by other companies. The bacon was so popular they were grossing $1 million a year by 1905.
In the next few years they added more products including sliced meats, peanut butter, baked beans, jam, tomato sauce, coffee, mustard, ginger ale, spaghetti, biscuits, candy, gum, and canned fish bait. The peanut butter was the top selling peanut butter in the country in its heyday.
Chewing gum was a major breakthrough for them in 1910 and keep them afloat during the depression. They had $18 million in sales in 1935 and $11 million of it was their chewing gum. Baby food came into the picture in 1931 and after WW11 their products were down to gum, peanut butter, coffee, and baby food. The baby food was the biggest selling product for the next 50 years.
This cookbook is fun to look at now
http://frugalsos.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/beechnutpeanutbutterbooklet.pdf
What temperature is a “quick oven?”
Omg the flash backs!! Thx for sharing this!
Interesting that they sold jellied strawberries. I wonder why only jellied cranberries remain as a canned jellied fruit today.
TIL Flavor Town is in upstate New York