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 2024 items.
Page 3 of 203
Swanson TV Dinner Tray
- Description
- The TV dinner represented a change in the way Americans were thinking about food. Introduced in 1954 by Swanson & Sons, of Omaha, Nebraska, it offered women--more and more of whom were working outside the home but still assumed to be responsible for cooking--an alternative to time-consuming meal preparations. The prepackaged TV dinner appealed to busy families because it required little time or effort and yet provided a well-balanced, nutritious meal.
- maker
- Swanson Company
- ID Number
- 1987.0265.01
- accession number
- 1987.0265
- catalog number
- 1987.0265.01
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Tarter Sauce Ratchet Gun
- Description
- This hand held condiment dispenser is primarily of metal construction, with a tartar sauce canister inserted into the tray. The canister is constructed of white cardboard with green lettering, which says “McDonald’s® Tartar Sauce” with McDonald’s® double arches logo. This canister holds 25 fluid ounces of tartar sauce. The McDonald’s® Corporation was well known for developing their own kitchen tools to create higher rates of standardization between locations and produce food products at greater efficiency. This dispenser would distribute precisely the correct amount of tartar sauce for each Filet-O-Fish™ sandwich.
- The McDonald’s Corporation is one of the most recognizable hamburger restaurants in the United States. As of 2011, the McDonald’s Corporation and franchisees were operating in 119 countries with 1.9 million employees, making it the 4th largest employer in the world.
- In 1940, Richard (Dick) and Maurice (Mac) McDonald opened the first McDonald’s Bar-B-Q drive-in restaurant in San Bernardino, California. In 1948, the brothers redesigned their menu, centering on the 15 cent hamburger. In 1954, Ray Kroc, a Multimixer (milkshake machine) salesman, became interested in the McDonalds brothers’ high volume restaurant. He worked out a deal with the brothers to be their franchising agent and opened the first franchise location in Illinois the following year. Under Kroc’s direction, the company grew to become the giant we know today.
- maker
- Prince Castle
- ID Number
- 1991.0324.02A
- catalog number
- 1991.0324.02A
- accession number
- 1991.0324
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
French Fry Scoop
- Description
- This object is a right-handed, stainless steel French fry scoop with a black plastic handle. On the reverse, writing etched into the scoop says “Bagging Scoop.” This scoop, used by right-handed employees, was designed to dispense a precise amount of French fries to create uniformity between servings in the quickest, most efficient way possible.
- The McDonald’s Corporation is one of the most recognizable hamburger restaurants in the United States. As of 2011, the McDonald’s Corporation and franchisees were operating in 119 countries with 1.9 million employees, making it the 4th largest employer in the world.
- In 1940, Richard (Dick) and Maurice (Mac) McDonald opened the first McDonald’s Bar-B-Q drive-in restaurant in San Bernardino, California. In 1948, the brothers redesigned their menu, centering on the 15 cent hamburger. In 1954, Ray Kroc, a Multimixer (milkshake machine) salesman, became interested in the McDonalds brothers’ high volume restaurant. He worked out a deal with the brothers to be their franchising agent and opened the first franchise location in Illinois the following year. Under Kroc’s direction, the company grew to become the giant we know today.
- date made
- mid 1960s
- maker
- Prince Castle
- ID Number
- 1991.0324.03
- catalog number
- 1991.0324.03
- accession number
- 1991.0324
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
French Fry Scoop
- Description
- This object is a left-handed, stainless steel French fry scoop with a black plastic handle. On the reverse, writing etched into the scoop says “Bagging Scoop.” This scoop, used by left-handed employees, was designed to dispense a precise amount of French fries to create uniformity between servings in the quickest, most efficient way possible.
- The McDonald’s Corporation is one of the most recognizable hamburger restaurants in the United States. As of 2011, the McDonald’s Corporation and franchisees were operating in 119 countries with 1.9 million employees, making it the 4th largest employer in the world.
- In 1940, Richard (Dick) and Maurice (Mac) McDonald opened the first McDonald’s Bar-B-Q drive-in restaurant in San Bernardino, California. In 1948, the brothers redesigned their menu, centering on the 15 cent hamburger. In 1954, Ray Kroc, a Multimixer (milkshake machine) salesman, became interested in the McDonalds brothers’ high volume restaurant. He worked out a deal with the brothers to be their franchising agent and opened the first franchise location in Illinois the following year. Under Kroc’s direction, the company grew to become the giant we know today.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- mid 1960s
- maker
- Prince Castle
- ID Number
- 1991.0324.04
- catalog number
- 1991.0324.04
- accession number
- 1991.0324
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Hand Refractometer
- Description
- This refractometer was used by winemakers at Stag's Leap Wine Cellars, in Napa Valley, during the 1997 harvest. Manufactured by Ty'mup Products, in Gardena, CA, this hand-held model is of the type commonly used to measure the sugar content of grapes and juice.
- Judging when grapes are ready to pick is not as straightforward as it sounds. Winemakers consider many factors before giving the go-ahead for harvest, and determining the fruit's sugar content is critical. Because sugar in wine grapes is fermented into alcohol during the winemaking process, it is important to allow the grapes to ripen to a level of sweetness that is pleasing to the palate, but not past the desired percentage of alcohol.
- While the senses of taste, sight, smell, and touch are the main instruments winemakers use, they also employ scientific devices to quantify their sensory perceptions. A hand-held refractometer is used in the field (as well as in the lab, during fermentation) to measure the "Brix" value, or the sugar content of the grapes. The user of the device presses a drop of juice against the glass plate, points it to a light source, and looks through the eyepiece. As light passes through the juice, molecules of the sugar refract the light on a scale, which assigns the sugar concentration a value. The measurement is represented by % Brix. For champagne grapes winemakers look for a reading of 19, for table wines between 21 and 24, and, for dessert wines, 27 or slightly higher.
- Winemakers don't "pick by the numbers," (the Brix value) alone, but carefully observe and taste the grapes in advance of harvest. In California, grapes typically ripen in August and September, and this is when winemakers and vineyard managers can be seen in the fields fervently monitoring their crop. Ripening depends to some extent on the variety of grape, but there are many environmental factors that influence the way fruit matures.
- Grapes planted on hillsides, for example, generally ripen more slowly than those on the valley floor because the rays of the sun are less direct and the vines are more exposed to cooling breezes.
- As harvest approaches, winemakers begin tasting fruit from different parts of the vineyard. They sample grapes several times a day, a process described by Julia Winiarski, one of the winemakers at Stag's Leap Wine Cellars, in Napa Valley, during an interview with Smithsonian researchers in 1997:
- When we go out to taste fruit we have an idea in our minds of what perfectly ripe fruit tastes like and looks like and feels like when you hold a cluster. And that's the form that all of the examples have to be compared to, all the different iterations or different versions of that form are overlaid in our minds when we're tasting and walking. Some fruit won't ever be there, they won't be that perfect cluster that we see, but it's [trying to get fruit] as close to that as you can.
- maker
- Ty'mup Products
- ID Number
- 1998.0181.14
- accession number
- 1998.0181
- catalog number
- 1998.0181.14
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
McDonald's Clam Shell Container
- Description
- This white, polystyrene clam shell food container held one McDonald’s® Quarter Pounder™ with cheese. “Quarter Pounder™ with cheese,” “100% pure beef. Wgt. ¼ lb. before cooking,” the name “McDonald’s®” and the double arches logo appear on the lid of the container in red and orange lettering. The Quarter Pounder™ was introduced in 1973 to the national market for customers who wanted a larger hamburger patty than McDonald’s® standard hamburger.
- The McDonald’s Corporation is one of the most recognizable hamburger restaurants in the United States. As of 2011, the McDonald’s Corporation and franchisees were operating in 119 countries with 1.9 million employees, making it the 4th largest employer in the world.
- In 1940, Richard (Dick) and Maurice (Mac) McDonald opened the first McDonald’s Bar-B-Q drive-in restaurant in San Bernardino, California. In 1948, the brothers redesigned their menu, centering on the 15 cent hamburger. In 1954, Ray Kroc, a Multimixer (milkshake machine) salesman, became interested in the McDonalds brothers’ high volume restaurant. He worked out a deal with the brothers to be their franchising agent and opened the first franchise location in Illinois the following year. Under Kroc’s direction, the company grew to become the giant we know today.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Polystyrene was used by McDonald's between 1975 - 1990. Due to pressures from environmental groups, McDonald's started phasing out the use of polystyrene clam shell containers in favor of paper wrapping.
- 1975-1990
- ID Number
- 1998.0349.02
- accession number
- 1998.0349
- catalog number
- 1998.0349.02
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
MacDonald's Clam Shell Container
- Description
- This polystyrene clam shell food container held one McDonald’s Quarter Pounder®. It is white with gold writing, which says “Quarter Pounder®” and “100% pure beef. Wgt. ¼ lb. before cooking.” There is also the McDonald’s double arches logo in red all over the top, sides and bottom of the container. The Quarter Pounder® was introduced in 1973 to the national market for customers who wanted a larger hamburger patty than McDonald’s® standard hamburger.
- The McDonald’s Corporation is one of the most recognizable hamburger restaurants in the United States. As of 2011, the McDonald’s Corporation and franchisees were operating in 119 countries with 1.9 million employees, making it the 4th largest employer in the world.
- In 1940, Richard (Dick) and Maurice (Mac) McDonald opened the first McDonald’s Bar-B-Q drive-in restaurant in San Bernardino, California. In 1948, the brothers redesigned their menu, centering on the 15 cent hamburger. In 1954, Ray Kroc, a Multimixer (milkshake machine) salesman, became interested in the McDonalds brothers’ high volume restaurant. He worked out a deal with the brothers to be their franchising agent and opened the first franchise location in Illinois the following year. Under Kroc’s direction, the company grew to become the giant we know today.
- Polystyrene was used by McDonald's between 1975 - 1990. Due to pressures from environmental groups, McDonald's started phasing out the use of polystyrene clam shell containers in favor of paper wrapping.
- 1975-1990
- ID Number
- 1998.0349.03
- accession number
- 1998.0349
- catalog number
- 1998.0349.03
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
McDonald's Clam Shell Container
- Description
- This yellow, polystyrene clam shell food container held one McDonald’s Quarter Pounder® with cheese. It is yellow with red writing all over, which says “Quarter Pounder® with cheese,” “100% pure beef. Wgt. ¼ lb. before cooking,” the name “McDonald’s®” and the double arches logo. The Quarter Pounder® was introduced in 1973 to the national market for customers who wanted a larger hamburger patty than McDonald’s® standard hamburger.
- The McDonald’s Corporation is one of the most recognizable hamburger restaurants in the United States. As of 2011, the McDonald’s Corporation and franchisees were operating in 119 countries with 1.9 million employees, making it the 4th largest employer in the world.
- In 1940, Richard (Dick) and Maurice (Mac) McDonald opened the first McDonald’s Bar-B-Q drive-in restaurant in San Bernardino, California. In 1948, the brothers redesigned their menu, centering on the 15 cent hamburger. In 1954, Ray Kroc, a Multimixer (milkshake machine) salesman, became interested in the McDonalds brothers’ high volume restaurant. He worked out a deal with the brothers to be their franchising agent and opened the first franchise location in Illinois the following year. Under Kroc’s direction, the company grew to become the giant we know today.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Polystyrene was used by McDonald's between 1975 - 1990. Due to pressures from environmental groups, McDonald's started phasing out the use of polystyrene clam shell containers in favor of paper wrapping.
- 1975-1990
- ID Number
- 1998.0349.04
- accession number
- 1998.0349
- catalog number
- 1998.0349.04
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
McDonald's Clam Shell Container
- Description
- This orange, polystyrene clam shell food container held one Quarter Pounder® with Cheese. “Quarter Pounder® with Cheese,” “100% pure beef. Wgt. ¼ lb before cooking” and the name “McDonald’s®” with double arches logo appear written in red overall. The Quarter Pounder® was introduced in 1973 to the national market for customers who wanted a larger hamburger patty than McDonald’s® standard hamburger.
- The McDonald’s Corporation is one of the most recognizable hamburger restaurants in the United States. As of 2011, the McDonald’s Corporation and franchisees were operating in 119 countries with 1.9 million employees, making it the 4th largest employer in the world.
- In 1940, Richard (Dick) and Maurice (Mac) McDonald opened the first McDonald’s Bar-B-Q drive-in restaurant in San Bernardino, California. In 1948, the brothers redesigned their menu, centering on the 15 cent hamburger. In 1954, Ray Kroc, a Multimixer (milkshake machine) salesman, became interested in the McDonalds brothers’ high volume restaurant. He worked out a deal with the brothers to be their franchising agent and opened the first franchise location in Illinois the following year. Under Kroc’s direction, the company grew to become the giant we know today.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Polystyrene was used by McDonald's between 1975 - 1990. Due to pressures from environmental groups, McDonald's started phasing out the use of polystyrene clam shell containers in favor of paper wrapping.
- 1975-1990
- ID Number
- 1998.0349.05
- accession number
- 1998.0349
- catalog number
- 1998.0349.05
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
McDonald's Clam Shell Container
- Description
- This off-white, polystyrene clam shell food container held one McDonald’s Big Mac™. Writing on overall container is brown for “Big Mac™” and the name “McDonald’s®” with McDonald’s® golden double arches logo. The Big Mac™, introduced in 1968 to the national market, consists of two regular beef patties with an extra bun slice separating them. The Big Mac™ was created as a way to compete with a similar sandwich offered at Big Boy®.
- The McDonald’s Corporation is one of the most recognizable hamburger restaurants in the United States. As of 2011, the McDonald’s Corporation and franchisees were operating in 119 countries with 1.9 million employees, making it the 4th largest employer in the world.
- In 1940, Richard (Dick) and Maurice (Mac) McDonald opened the first McDonald’s Bar-B-Q drive-in restaurant in San Bernardino, California. In 1948, the brothers redesigned their menu, centering on the 15 cent hamburger. In 1954, Ray Kroc, a Multimixer (milkshake machine) salesman, became interested in the McDonalds brothers’ high volume restaurant. He worked out a deal with the brothers to be their franchising agent and opened the first franchise location in Illinois the following year. Under Kroc’s direction, the company grew to become the giant we know today.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Polystyrene was used by McDonald's between 1975 - 1990. Due to pressures from environmental groups, McDonald's started phasing out the use of polystyrene clam shell containers in favor of paper wrapping.
- 1975-1990
- ID Number
- 1998.0349.06
- accession number
- 1998.0349
- catalog number
- 1998.0349.06
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
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