1926 - Food And Drink

Food And Drink

The Toastmaster Model 1-A-1 patented in July by Charles Strite and introduced by Waters Genter Co. of Minneapolis is the first automatic pop-up toaster intended for home use and the first that can brown both sides of a slice of bread simultaneously (see Strite, 1921). The scaled-down, nickel-plated, dual-lever appliance promises in its advertising to produce "perfect toast every time," and its $12.50 price does not discourage buyers even though it is five times more costly than some "flip-open door" models. It can toast only one slice of bread at a time, and although Strite also designs a two-slice model it is considered too expensive to produce. McGraw Electric Co. founder Max McGraw, now 43, buys Waters Genter Co. as a personal investment. Sales of the appliance will exceed 500,000 units by 1930, but it will take some years before engineers can totally eliminate problems of burning, crispness control, and shock hazard (see 1930; sliced bread, 1928; Universal, 1929).

Hormel Flavor-Sealed Ham is the first U.S. canned ham. George A. Hormel & Co., which has been slaughtering upwards of a million hogs per year since 1924, produces its canned ham by a process patented by German inventor Paul Jorn, and enjoys immediate success (see Spam, 1937).

Machine-made ice production in the United States reaches 56 million tons, up from 1.5 million in 1894 (see 1889). Much of it is used to chill illegal beer, highballs, and cocktails.

Independent Grocers' Alliance Distributing Co. (IGA) is launched at Poughkeepsie, N.Y., where 60 eastern and midwestern retail grocers meet in the fall to organize a defense against inroads on their sales by such corporate chain-store giants as A&P and First National. IGA will develop its own brands of coffee and other products as it grows to include more than 3,600 stores in 46 states.