The mid to late 20th century was the era of mass marketed snack cakes; national brands like Hostess were the best-known, but there were others including Drake’s Cakes (1896), Philadelphia’s Tastykake (1914) and the nobly named Dolly Madison. Dolly Madison began in 1937, and was formerly owned by Hostess’ thenMORE HERE
There are few foods more indicative of a place, and amenable to high margins, than food sauces. Sauces are the ultimate example of a profit-making brand of food. They keep for a long time. They can be cheaply made. Secret recipes can give a certain allure. They also cannot beMORE HERE
Stouffer’s Pizza. The pizza that’s not always in the pizza aisle. The pizza that’s not really a pizza. The pizza that has the weirdest and most precise directions ever, namely “Pour ingredients left in wrap onto pizza.” That’s right, Nestle, those little droppings of shaved cheese and quartered pepperoni, areMORE HERE
Leaf Brands is the maker of a number of revived brands, including Farts Candy, Astro Pops, tart n’ tinys , Wacky Wafers, Bonkers! and David’s “Beyond Gourmet” jelly beans. It is a tiny company compared to Mondelez, which is the successor company to RJR Nabisco, the maker of Oreos.
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SMITHFIELD, Va. – Yet another bit of appalling news from the world of conglomerate brands. This morning, The Washington Post reported that the now-Chinese-owned Smithfield Foods has stopped making hams in Smithfield. Of course, if you make ham in the most famous ham capital in the world, and you makeMORE HERE
There are few things more satisfying, food wise, than putting good cream on the top of fruit, or adding sour cream, or whipped cream, or coffee with cream, or tea with milk, or bread with butter, or cold or hot cereal with milk. Cream on top, buttered bread, ice cream,MORE HERE
ASTORIA, QUEENS – After the bankruptcy of the Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company, yearly customers of the company’s Jane Parker fruitcakes were left bereft of their favorite holiday treat. However, two Long Island food entrepreneurs, brothers Alex and Chris Ronacher, have revived the historic brand, which was nearly asMORE HERE
Perhaps this sounds a bit churlish to see cultural downfall in a child’s lunch. And to churlish, you might generously say inconsistent, as the vile concoction of items in a current Lunchables was something that was purchased by me in a fit of hurry and laziness. After I had purchasedMORE HERE
Perhap’s we should be writing about Bell’s Seasoning around Thanksgiving time, but the brand, founded in 1867, is a useful product all year round. At one time there were dozens of such regionally popular brands; one by one they have been shut down, repackaged, reformulated or forgotten. Bell’s, which isMORE HERE
WEST CONSHOHOCKEN – The Ritz cloth brand was originally founded in 1892 by the John Ritzenthaler Company. This lower Manhattan (aren’t so many great brands founded there?), was started by John Ritzenthaler, a German immigrant, who gave the products the name Ritz Cloths. In 1970, Howard Steidle bought the company, andMORE HERE