Food - Overview
Part of a nation's history lies in what people eat. Artifacts at the Museum document the history of food in the United States from farm machinery to diet fads.
More than 1,300 pieces of stoneware and earthenware show how Americans have stored, prepared, and served food for centuries. Ovens, cookie cutters, kettles, aprons, and ice-cream-making machines are part of the collections, along with home canning jars and winemaking equipment. More than 1,000 objects recently came to the Museum when author and cooking show host Julia Child donated her entire kitchen, from appliances to cookbooks.
Advertising and business records of several food companies—such as Hills Brothers Coffee, Pepsi Cola, and Campbell's Soup—represent the commercial side of the subject
"Food - Overview" showing 2145 items.
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Festival Bundt Pan
- Description (Brief)
- Nordic Ware, a family-owned manufacturing firm in Minneapolis, Minnesota, was founded in 1946 by brothers Dave and Mark Dalquist, as “Plastics for Industry.” In 1950, the brothers bought Northland Aluminum Products, a small firm with a line of “Nordic Ware” products including griddles and steak platters. The same year, Dave Dalquist created a cast aluminum, fluted cake pan and trademarked it as the “Bundt” pan. The company continued to grow its product line to include specialty baking and cookware items, including the microwave turntable. Nordic Ware is notable due to its history of product innovation through engineering, and its continued production of cookware in the United States.
- The Bundt cake pan has been one of Nordic Ware’s most popular products. Introduced in 1950, it was America’s best-selling specialty cake pan by 1960. This festival Bundt pan was produced in the early 2000s as part of Nordic Ware’s strategy of returning to its core business with a line of creatively shaped Bundt pans.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- maker
- Nordic Ware
- ID Number
- 2007.0034.22
- catalog number
- 2007.0034.22
- accession number
- 2007.0034
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Sandcastle Bundt Pan
- Description (Brief)
- Nordic Ware, a family-owned manufacturing firm in Minneapolis, Minnesota, was founded in 1946 by brothers Dave and Mark Dalquist, as “Plastics for Industry.” In 1950, the brothers bought Northland Aluminum Products, a small firm with a line of “Nordic Ware” products including griddles and steak platters. The same year, Dave Dalquist created a cast aluminum, fluted cake pan and trademarked it as the “Bundt” pan. The company continued to grow its product line to include specialty baking and cookware items, including the microwave turntable. Nordic Ware is notable due to its history of product innovation through engineering, and its continued production of cookware in the United States.
- The Bundt cake pan has been one of Nordic Ware’s most popular products. Introduced in 1950, it was America’s best-selling specialty cake pan by 1960. This sandcastle Bundt pan was produced in the early 2000s as part of Nordic Ware’s strategy of returning to its core business with a line of creatively shaped Bundt pans.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- maker
- Nordic Ware
- ID Number
- 2007.0034.23
- catalog number
- 2007.0034.23
- accession number
- 2007.0034
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Bacon-Meat Rack
- Description (Brief)
- Nordic Ware, a family-owned manufacturing firm in Minneapolis, Minnesota, was founded in 1946 by brothers Dave and Mark Dalquist, as “Plastics for Industry.” In 1950, the brothers bought Northland Aluminum Products, a small firm with a line of “Nordic Ware” products including griddles and steak platters. The same year, Dave Dalquist created a cast aluminum, fluted cake pan and trademarked it as the “Bundt” pan. The company continued to grow its product line to include specialty baking and cookware items, including the microwave turntable. Nordic Ware is notable due to its history of product innovation through engineering, and its continued production of cookware in the United States.
- Nordic Ware manufactured this microwave-safe bacon-meat rack during the early 1980s. This rack was developed to address the problem of microwave-cooked meat being limp and unappetizing. To be used in conjunction with their Micro-Go-Round for food rotation, the rack would drain some of the fat from the meat, leaving it crispier and less greasy.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- maker
- Nordic Ware
- ID Number
- 2007.0034.24
- accession number
- 2007.0034
- catalog number
- 2007.0034.24
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
U.S.A. Pan
- Description (Brief)
- Nordic Ware, a family-owned manufacturing firm in Minneapolis, Minnesota, was founded in 1946 by brothers Dave and Mark Dalquist, as “Plastics for Industry.” In 1950, the brothers bought Northland Aluminum Products, a small firm with a line of “Nordic Ware” products including griddles and steak platters. The same year, Dave Dalquist created a cast aluminum, fluted cake pan and trademarked it as the “Bundt” pan. The company continued to grow its product line to include specialty baking and cookware items, including the microwave turntable. Nordic Ware is notable due to its history of product innovation through engineering, and its continued production of cookware in the United States.
- Nordic Ware manufactured this cake pan in 1976 to commemorate the Bicentennial of the United States. The designers failed to account for the fact that when the cake was removed from the pan, it would appear as a backwards U.S.A. The pan was then marketed as a serving dish before being discontinued.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Date made
- 1976
- maker
- Nordic Ware
- ID Number
- 2007.0034.25
- accession number
- 2007.0034
- catalog number
- 2007.0034.25
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Original Bundt Limited Edition Pan
- Description (Brief)
- Nordic Ware, a family-owned manufacturing firm in Minneapolis, Minnesota, was founded in 1946 by brothers Dave and Mark Dalquist, as “Plastics for Industry.” In 1950, the brothers bought Northland Aluminum Products, a small firm with a line of “Nordic Ware” products including griddles and steak platters. The same year, Dave Dalquist created a cast aluminum, fluted cake pan and trademarked it as the “Bundt” pan. The company continued to grow its product line to include specialty baking and cookware items, including the microwave turntable. Nordic Ware is notable due to its history of product innovation through engineering, and its continued production of cookware in the United States.
- This Bundt pan was a limited edition version, produced for Nordic Ware’s sixtieth anniversary in 2006. This pan is made of heavy cast aluminum, is a 12-cup size, and has a silver, non-stick Teflon coating. The classic Bundt cake pan became very popular after the Tunnel of Fudge Bundt Cake won second-prize at the Annual Pillsbury Bake-Off in 1966.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- maker
- Nordic Ware
- ID Number
- 2007.0034.28
- catalog number
- 2007.0034.28
- accession number
- 2007.0034
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Bunny Cake Mold
- Description (Brief)
- Nordic Ware, a family-owned manufacturing firm in Minneapolis, Minnesota, was founded in 1946 by brothers Dave and Mark Dalquist, as “Plastics for Industry.” In 1950, the brothers bought Northland Aluminum Products, a small firm with a line of “Nordic Ware” products including griddles and steak platters. The same year, Dave Dalquist created a cast aluminum, fluted cake pan and trademarked it as the “Bundt” pan. The company continued to grow its product line to include specialty baking and cookware items, including the microwave turntable. Nordic Ware is notable due to its history of product innovation through engineering, and its continued production of cookware in the United States.
- This mold was used by Nordic Ware to manufacture its Bunny Cake Pan. Made of heavy metal, the mold is used to cast the front and back halves of the pan. Nordic Ware has always produced a variety of seasonal bakeware, such as the bunny pan created by this mold for Easter time.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- maker
- Nordic Ware
- ID Number
- 2007.0034.31
- accession number
- 2007.0034
- catalog number
- 2007.0034.31
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Short-Handled Hoe, 1950s and 1960s
- Description
- Migrant farm workers had to use the short-handled hoe or el cortito for thinning and weeding. Because it required them to stoop during long hours in the fields, the hoe became a symbol of the exploitive working conditions. Campaigns by the United Farm Workers and others helped outlaw use of the hoe in 1975.
- American agriculture’s dependence on Mexican labor has always been a source of great conflict and great opportunity for field workers and the agriculture industry. In the U.S., agricultural labor was overwhelmingly Mexican and Mexican American. Issues of legal status, workers rights, and use of domestic workers are issues the unions, agricultural producers, and the federal government have been struggling with since the 1920’s.
- ID Number
- 2009.0134.01
- catalog number
- 2009.0134.01
- accession number
- 2009.0134
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Budding Box
- Description
- This wooden box was used by Oscar Robledo and other Robledo family members to hold tools, and grafting wood. Budders walk the Robledo vineyards in Sonoma, Napa, and Lake County grating a piece of bud wood onto vine stock. This is highly skilled yet physical work. These tool boxes are often made by the individual and can sometimes be decorated or painted.
- Reynaldo Robledo is among a growing number of Latino winery owners and winemakers. He worked as a vineyard laborer, skilled budder, and vineyard manager before acquiring land in 1996, and then building his winery. His family’s Mexican identity is reflected in every aspect of the operation, from the tasting room to the special events that feature pairings of his wine with traditional foods from Mexico.
- ID Number
- 2011.0237.01
- catalog number
- 2011.0237.01
- accession number
- 2011.0237
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Picking Basket
- Description
- Worn by workers harvesting fruit by hand, this polymer bucket with a fabric, draw-stringed bottom, was used during the 2011 harvest of Norton grapes at Chrysalis Vineyards near Middleburg, Virginia. Manufactured by Wells & Wade, makers of harvest equipment in Wenatchee, Washington, this type of bucket is a more common sight in Virginia’s apple orchards than its vineyards. But the owner of Chrysalis, Jennifer McCloud, decided that the crew harvesting her Nortons would benefit from the equipment used by the region’s apple pickers.
- The Norton, a hybrid developed from native American grapes, thrived in Virginia in the 19th century, despite the region’s challenging, humid climate. The old vineyards were obliterated during Prohibition in the 1920s, but the varietal was still thriving in Missouri when Virginia vintner Dennis Horton brought back cuttings to plant in his vineyard near Gordonsville. His first vintage of Norton in 1992 inspired other Virginians to plant the hardy grape, including McCloud, who, by 2011, had 40 acres of Norton vines to tend.
- McCloud trellises her Nortons so that the fruit lies on top of the leaves, rathering than hanging low where the grapes would be subject to mildew and rot during the humid growing season. Nestled above the leaves, the clusters not only receive the sunlight, but also the benefit of occasional breezes that waft through the Piedmont terrain. At harvest time, which is typically in October and November, workers strap on the baskets, with the bucket at chest height. As they walk through the vineyard rows, they cut the clusters into the bucket, without having to bend or stoop down. Once the bucket is filed, the picker walks to a waiting tub or gondola, unties the drawstring, and lets the grapes fall into the container. During the 2011 harvest, pickers Efrain Rivera, Luis Fernando Nolazco Hedes, Fernando Nolazco Ortega, and Fredy Villalobos were among the workers picking grapes in this manner at Chrysalis.
- ID Number
- 2012.0011.01
- accession number
- 2012.0011
- catalog number
- 2012.0011.01
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Grape Picking Knife
- Description
- This razor knife was used during the 2011 harvest of Norton grapes at Chrysalis Vineyards in Middleburg, Virginia. The orange plastic head holds opposing razor edges, which can quickly sever even tough stems. The black handle can be bent to an angle preferred by a particular picker.
- The Norton, a hybrid developed from native American grapes, thrived in Virginia in the 19th century, despite the region’s challenging, humid climate. The old vineyards were obliterated during Prohibition in the 1920s, but the varietal was still thriving in Missouri when Virginia vintner Dennis Horton brought back cuttings to plant in his vineyard near Gordonsville. His first vintage of Norton in 1992 inspired other Virginians to plant the hardy grape, including McCloud, who, by 2011, had 40 acres of Norton vines to tend.
- McCloud trellises her Nortons so that the fruit lies on top of the leaves, rathering than hanging low where the grapes would be subject to mildew and rot during the humid growing season. Nestled above the leaves, the clusters not only receive the sunlight, but also the benefit of occasional breezes that waft through the Piedmont terrain. At harvest time, which is typically in October and November, workers strap on picking baskets, with the bucket at chest height. As they walk through the vineyard rows, they use razor knives to cut the clusters into the bucket, without having to bend or stoop down. Once the bucket is filed, the picker walks to a waiting tub or gondola, unties the drawstring, and lets the grapes fall into the container. During the 2011 harvest, pickers Efrain Rivera, Luis Fernando Nolazco Hedes, Fernando Nolazco Ortega, and Fredy Villalobos were among the workers picking grapes in this manner at Chrysalis.
- ID Number
- 2012.0011.02
- catalog number
- 2012.0011.02
- accession number
- 2012.0011
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
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